Berlinale Pro director Tanja Meissner delivers her first European Film Market this week. The sales industry veteran tells Screen what attendees can expect.
It is nearly nine months since Tanja Meissner was appointed director of Berlinale Pro, a role that encompasses leadership of the European Film Market (EFM) as well as the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and World Cinema Fund. Asked about her thoughts on delivering her first Berlinale industry programme, she reaches for a motherhood metaphor: “It will feel like the end of a pregnancy, and I’ll give birth to my first EFM.”
Meissner is, of course, approaching the task with a strong understanding of the needs of Berlinale industry visitors. For many years, she was an EFM regular as director of sales and acquisitions at Paris-based Memento Films International and before that as director of sales at Celluloid Dreams.
Rather than wholesale changes, Meissner has introduced a number of new elements to EFM. There are more networking opportunities, such as a daily Breakfast Club and Happy Innovation Hour. The second floor of the event’s Gropius Bau home will be dedicated to an Innovation Hub, showcasing new tech for producers. There is an EFM distribution award, “to recognise the important work of European arthouse distribution”, as well as a new Female Summit that focuses on career development, networking and empowerment for women in the film industry.
Best of both worlds
Longer term, Meissner’s plan is for the various Berlinale Pro initiatives to work closer with the festival and to stress their joint offer. “The combination of being the biggest audience festival in the A-category and one of the most important audiovisual trade fairs is unique,” says Meissner. “Buyers have the immense advantage of being able to check out audience reactions first-hand.”
She also plays up EFM’s strengths: a “fantastic location” in the Gropius Bau, an efficient infrastructure and the excellent technical standards of its screenings. “We take place in one of the most vibrant cities in the world. We may not have the sea or sun, but let’s say we prefer being cool.”
This year’s EFM promises to be busy: it has sold out of exhibition space and Meissner says it will have the same visitor numbers as last year (2024’s event had more than 12,000 participants from 143 countries).
The largest contingents this year are from Germany, the US, France, Spain and the UK respectively, and there is stronger participation from Eastern Europe. EFM has not traditionally been a big market for Asian companies due to its proximity to Chinese New Year and Hong Kong’s Filmart. Meissner says the number of Asian executives attending is level with last year, including more Indian companies but fewer Chinese.
Certainly, she can expect to harness a tremendous amount of goodwill towards her and new Berlinale artistic director Tricia Tuttle. Many companies contacted by Screen International say they are looking forward to seeing how the Berlinale develops under their leadership after a period in which Cannes only seems to have become stronger as a festival and market.
Meissner stresses EFM’s role as a robust market to “kick off” the year. She reckons there is “an optimistic outlook for business opportunities” coming into this year’s event, although notes many projects are coming together late. The Los Angeles fires, in particular, have affected the preparations of US sellers.
Her newly created role as Berlinale Pro director is designed to create more synergies between the festival’s industry-facing activities — EFM, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and World Cinema Fund — while also being cost-effective.
Her role is also about looking to the future and how the Berlinale can respond “very authentically” to the needs of the next generation of film industry talents. “It’s important to be diverse and inclusive across our activities — and to foster community building,” stresses Meissner.
Berlinale Talents is a good example: some 201 filmmakers are taking part in this year’s programme of talks and workshops, and more than 50% of the participants are female.
Meanwhile, there are 35 film projects selected for the 2025 Berlinale Co-Production Market from 27 countries, all looking for financing and production partners. Nineteen of them are directed by women, while cash prizes include a new $5,200 (€5,000) Gen Z audience award.
Representation is also key to the World Cinema Fund, which supports projects from underrepresented regions and has five features in the Berlinale programme this year. EFM’s Market Badge Inclusion Initiative and the Toolbox Programmes, backed by Creative Europe and regional funds in Germany, support underrepresented film professionals from Europe and across the globe.
“We remain very committed to this mission of democratising the film industry and facilitating access to our market,” says Meissner.
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