The ARD Film Book: Foreword by Udo Reiter

Bildunterschrift: Filmrolle ]
German cinema is a force to be reckoned with. Viewers no longer have an unshakeable preference for Hollywood productions or for French and Italian films. Film buffs from all over the world have entered Berlin as a fixed date in their Filofaxes, in addition to Cannes, Venice, New York and L.A.


Once more Cinemas are busy places, auditoriums are full, turnovers are on the increase and Germans take home ever more prizes and awards. These are unmistakeable signs of an increased interest in German films, of their growing reputation and of the creativity and achievements of the artists and producers involved.


The book in front of you not only wants to express its appreciation of all those changes, it also aims at showing the considerable contributions that television has made to these notable successes. For in Germany, film and cinema are like Siamese twins, they are inextricably linked, for better and for worse, they love and fight each other as only members of a family would, they eye each other with jealousy and suspicion, and yet they are ready to stand in for one another whenever necessary.


In discussions within the ARD (German Public Service Broadcasting Organisation) and in co-operations with other film and television institutes, the promotion and realisation of feature films play an important part. Fictional contributions make up a large section in ARD programmes. At present as many as 960 feature films a year are being shown on Channel One of the ARD ("Das Erste").

However, the conditions for the use of feature films in television programmes have changed considerably. In the face of increased competition and the resulting sharp rise in prices for quality feature films, the ARD has recently found it more difficult to be successful in the acquisition of licences of current films. Furthermore the exploitation chain of films to be shown on Free TV has undergone some changes. Frequently, the DVD of a film is made available shortly after its opening, thus allowing the interested viewer to watch new films at ever cheaper rates at his own convenience. This is quite apart from the legally questionable possibility of downloading films from the internet. Another method, video-on-demand, is on the increase, with pay-TV constituting yet a further form of exploitation.


These combined factors explain why feature films today are shown on Free TV long after their release. Films that are presented as a novelty on the TV channel may already be known to many viewers, a fact that is reflected in the audience response.
For a full service TV channel such as “Das Erste” the situation outlined here is not without its problems. On the one hand, feature films are an indispensable item in its programme-planning, on the other hand the developments mentioned here have to be taken into account when it comes to financing and programme-making.

Given these premises, the ARD film policy can be outlined as follows:

- Taking seriously its cultural responsibility, the ARD will continue to allocate adequate space to German and international films in its programmes. This includes the search for other suitable slots for films within the programme structure.

- Where film acquisitions, own productions and commissioned productions are concerned, the ARD will be guided by the principle of quality and diversity in the choice of material. This then will include a wide choice of films for cinema and television - ranging from comedies to crime stories, from high-quality adaptations of literary works to the rendering of historical material in multi-part series - geared towards the general viewing public as well as viewers with minority interests.

- The ARD will develop its role as a large national producer of films and will continue to commission both feature films and documentaries, thereby becoming an ever more important economic factor in the film industry. .

- The ARD will continue and, where possible, intensify its trustful co-operation with film producers and partners in co-productions as well as with regional and national film support bodies.

- The ARD will continue to pay special attention to the promotion of young people in film and television and give their films adequate space. .

- The ARD will fulfil its duty to promote the acceptance of films, especially those of German provenance, and institute additional measures to this end. In point of fact, the MDR ("Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk", a regional public service broadcaster and member of ARD) has launched a new film magazine this year.

In the realization of these goals we can build on solid foundations. Films such as the two-part version of the cinema hit "Der Untergang", the spectacular "Luther"-film, the three-part film "Speer und er" as well as "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen" were greatly appreciated by viewers and film experts alike. The many prizes and awards won by German feature and television films and documentaries in recent years and again in 2006, starting with the Berlinale and the Grimme-Preis to the European Film Award 2006 in Warsaw, would hardly have been possible without the ARD's financial and editorial contributions.

The present publication, the "ARD Filmbuch", will allow you to learn more about the exact nature of these contributions and about the opportunities arising from the partnership between cinema and television. In the last twenty years there has not been a comparable publication, with articles and opinions by film makers complemented by facts and figures, thereby giving a survey of the role of the ARD in the area of film, both in the cinema and in television.

One point stands out: The ARD and the film industry belong together, and despite occasional disagreements we will continue this productive and mutually beneficial approach. The large number of German films in this year's Berlinale are proof of this, allowing me to look optimistically into the future.

Udo Reiter, Director General, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), and "ARD Filmintendant"

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