Berlin is rolling out the red carpet for film and TV productions

The city already sees 6,000 days of shooting in a year, meaning the film flap falls roughly 17 times a day

Yesterday, Berlin’s Mayor, Franziska Giffey, visited the hip "Delphi Lux" cinema in the posh Charlottenburg quarter to hold a press conference on amendments to the city’s cinema and filming regulations.

The revamped policy project “Berlin as a film-friendly city” (Berlin als filmfreundliche Stadt) will build upon the strengths of the German capital and expand it as a filming location.

The city first introduced the policy in 1999 and since then it has seen major success in attracting both television and film productions, both big and small. In fact, Berlin currently is the most popular film location in Germany.

According to an official statement, the city sees around 6,000 days of shooting per year. As Managing Director of Film Funding at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Kristen Niehuus, put it: “The film flap falls 17 times a day in the metropolitan region.”

The three main pillars of Berlin’s film strategy

Mayor Giffey explained that the project has three main pillars. First of all, authorities plan to increase the funding of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the main funding body for film and television productions in the German capital.

The Medienboard can expect 44 million euros for 2022 and 2023, an increase to their budget. Director Kirsten Niehuus also pointed out that this is a sound investment for the local budget as official estimates point out that for every one euro the Medienboard hands out, film productions bring in 7 euros to Berlin.

Furthermore, authorities plan to set up a single point of contact between film production and the city. This office is supposed to give film production permits for the entire territory of Berlin. Before, this system was set up district by district and for some, it worked quite well, while for others - not so much.

Lastly, the plan calls for modernising Berlin’s Film Academy 'Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie' with more equipment and a new location.

Franziska Giffey was quoted in a press statement: “Berlin is the film capital. Our city already records the most days of shooting in a Germany-wide comparison. The film industry is at home here and invests here with multiple effects for the region.”