It is now more than 40 years since the Filmwerkstatt Münster was entered in the official register as the non-profit organisation “Filmgruppe Münster e.V.“. The “people who want to make films” have grown into an association with many members, tasks and programmes – the core has remained the same: The promotion of film culture in the region. The association is now called Filmwerkstatt Münster e.V.
How it all began – 1980s
1981: Helmut Schmidt is Federal Chancellor, Margarethe von Trotta is the first female filmmaker to be honoured with the Golden Lion in Venice for “Die Bleierne Zeit” and Adolf Winkelmann shoots “Jede Menge Kohle” in the Ruhr region.
Seven students from the Academy of Fine Arts come together at the Pumpenhaus in Münster. They want to make films. But the film world is still analogue, which means it’s expensive. What to do? On 18 May 1981, they founded the Filmwerkstatt (then Filmgruppe). The foundation is followed by action: More than a dozen productions were made in the first few years. But how do the films find their audience? Although the number of cinemas is high, only the big films from the major studios usually make it onto the screens. Television only shows three programmes and there is hardly any film art there. A cinema screen was needed. So in the same year, the founding generation launches its own film festival, the Filmzwerge – the oldest competition festival in Westphalia to this day.
Structures emerge – 1990s
At the beginning of the 90s, the circle of technicians and film artists expands. Full-time structures can be established through two ABM positions. It is possible to obtain permanent funding (from the city of Münster and later also from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia) for the growing tasks of the Filmwerkstatt.
In addition to the film productions and the film festival, a third mainstay is being established. Renowned directors such as Peter Greenaway, Carlos Saura and Ulrike Ottinger come to Münster to talk about their work. Young filmmakers such as Tom Tykwer and Thomas Kufus, who were making their first film attempts at the time and are now having a significant influence on German film, listen and discuss with great interest. The discussions with directors developed into a regular seminar programme. At this time, Winfried Bettmer takes over the management of the Filmwerkstatt and will shape it for more than two decades.
Establishment and networking – 2000s
As the organisation becomes more and more established, it becomes increasingly networked. The Filmwerkstatt becomes an important partner institution for numerous cultural actors and social movements in the city and networks nationally and internationally. As part of the German-Dutch foundation film|spiegel, an intensive and long-standing exchange with filmmakers and curators in the Netherlands began in 2000. Film policy work becomes an increasingly important part of the organisation’s work.
Together with the renowned director Peter Lilienthal, the Filmwerkstatt is producing the documentary CAMILO – The Long Road to Disobedience, which will be broadcast on arte after its cinema release. The film is in the tradition of the auteur documentary film, which is also taught in the Masterschool Documentary Film. This has been a core element of the seminar programme ever since.
Digital film production – 2010s
While the purchase of production equipment was still essential for the founding generation, digitalisation is making filmmaking increasingly affordable. The circle of filmmakers is growing ever larger. In addition to cinema and television, the Internet is becoming the central venue for moving images. The number of people who not only consume film but also become “broadcasters” themselves is increasing dramatically. The role of the Filmwerkstatt is changing accordingly. In addition to the seminar programme, project consulting is taking on an increasingly important position.
However, the Filmwerkstatt also continues to produce its own works, such as Die Kaffeekantate by Julian Isfort or the documentary film Die Berkel by Anna Schlottbohm and Willem Kootstra. Not only narrative films are created, but also installation film works, which are shown at the Flurstücke festival, among others, which enlivens Münster’s streets with performative art every four years.
From the film dwarves to the Münster Film Festival
The 19th Münster Film Festival will take place in September 2021 – 40 years after the first edition, which started out under the name Filmzwerge. The fact that these figures don’t quite match up at first glance is due to the eventful history of the festival, which was characterised by turbulence and funding problems, especially in the early days.
The name Filmfestival Münster was introduced in 1997, along with the biennial rhythm that still exists today. After a few years of travelling through the city’s cinemas, the festival returned to the Schloßtheater in 2017. Over time, the programme has continued to develop, becoming more European and more regional at the same time. In 2005, a feature film competition was established alongside the short film programme. The focus on young talent and independent films continues to characterise the festival to this day. The focus on the Netherlands is unique in Germany.
Celebrity guests, film and poetry
Numerous prominent filmmakers, such as Johanna ter Steege, Theo van Gogh, Rutger Hauer, Liv Lisa Fries, Robby Müller and many more, have been guests at the film festival in Münster over the years and have had a lasting influence on the oldest competition festival in Westphalia.
In 2016 and 2018, the Filmwerkstatt organised the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival at the Schloßtheater Münster and provided a platform for the world’s largest festival for poetry films before it moved back to Berlin. The LITFILMS Literature Film Festival Münster was created from the artistic interweaving of image and text and the idea of capturing this wealth of relationships in a larger framework. It will celebrate its premiere in autumn 2020 and, as Germany’s first festival explicitly dedicated to the diverse cinematic adaptations of literary texts, will immediately generate a positive response. In future, the Münster Film Festival and LITFILMS will alternate annually.
Regular film and event programme
The filmclub münster was founded on 11 June 1948 as a film club in the British occupation zone. This makes it the oldest film club still in existence in Germany. It quickly reaches more than a thousand members, who meet regularly in the cinema to discuss films. In the 1970s, the Volkshochschule, the Westfälischer Kunstverein and the AStA of Münster University joined the club and curated a repertoire programme outside the mainstream. In 1995, the Filmwerkstatt took over the management of the club together with the Münstersche Filmtheater-Betriebe. In addition to the political and film-historical focus, fixed series, such as the Russian Film Days, form focal points with international premieres.
The Filmwerkstatt is also active as a curator outside of the cinema. Since 2011, it has been organising the international Flurstücke Festival together with the Theater im Pumpenhaus, the Kunsthalle Münster and the Theater Titanick.
Training and qualification of female filmmakers
Many roads lead to film, most of them long and rocky. The Filmwerkstatt was and is an important companion for many on this path. It offers a wonderful opportunity to gain qualifications outside of film schools, build networks and take further steps into the world of film. The programme ranges from one-day seminars to long workshops.
A central component of the programme for over 20 years has been the Masterclass in Documentary Film under the direction of Horst Herz. Participants from all over the world come to Münster for three weeks to develop their cinema documentaries – a film class that has produced numerous successful and award-winning films.
New Film Generation is aimed at children, teenagers and young adults. The new label promotes young talent and places a greater focus on film education.
Filmmaking at Filmwerkstatt
“Sound is on! Camera running! And please!” Film productions have been one of the central building blocks of the Filmwerkstatt for 40 years. Over the years, an immense pool of film technology has accumulated: from professional 4K full-format cameras to the old Arri SR 16mm “mill”, from the high-quality digital editing suite to the old “Steenbeck table”.
Even though film is now predominantly produced digitally, the Filmwerkstatt still offers analogue film technology and therefore opportunities that are not only appreciated by nostalgics. In the spirit of the first generation, the Filmwerkstatt supports artistic film projects with its technical equipment. It also advises and supports filmmakers in their projects. Several hundred short and feature-length films have been made with the help of the Filmwerkstatt. Many of these have been shown and awarded prizes at festivals all over the world.
The association as a foundation
Social, but above all technical and digital processes have changed the film world and the Filmwerkstatt considerably over the last 40 years. Despite all the change, important constants remain. To this day, the Filmwerkstatt is a non-profit organisation that is supported by the impulses and commitment of its members – filmmakers and cineastes – as well as a permanent team. It is a place that offers up-and-coming filmmakers numerous opportunities to realise their own projects and gain access to the national and international film scene. At the same time, renowned filmmakers from all over the world find their way to Münster through the Filmwerkstatt.
The association started out as a “self-training machine”, but today its numerous programmes are aimed at a wide audience.