Germany

German producers uncorked the champagne just days before the start of the 2026 Berlinale. Wolfram Weimer, minister of state for culture and media, announced an agreement had been reached that obliged national and international streamers and VoD services to invest 8%-12% of their annual net turn­over in German and European productions.

Weimer indicated the agreement would mean the country’s finance ministry could now release additional funds for the DFFF and GMPF incentives, bringing their overall annual budgets up to $292.5m (€250m) from the present $155.6m (€133m). However, the bubbly lost some sparkle as producers and their prospective international partners saw the necessary legislation will probably not be in place until the end of 2026.

Nevertheless, Germany remains an important production hub, as last year’s record volume of approved funding awarded by DFFF and GMPF — $214.1m (€183m) for 140 national and international feature films and high-end series — shows.

“We had initially budgeted and scouted for Padraic McKinley’s The Weight to shoot on Vancouver Island, but couldn’t make the mathematics work,” recalls
producer Simon Fields of Los Angeles-based Fields Entertainment. But then Bavaria in Germany proved to be an attractive alternative, with a $2.3m (€2m) grant coming from the local film fund and locations that were a perfect fit for a story set in 1930s Oregon, which stars Russell Crowe and Ethan Hawke.

“The topography, beautiful scenic views and the forests were just what we were looking for,” adds Fields, pointing out that having actress/producer Veronica Ferres’ Munich-based Construction Film facilitating the grant was “another critical factor” for deciding to come to Germany last summer.

Later in the year saw Hunger Games prequel Sunrise On The Reaping shoot at locations in North Rhine-Westphalia and at Studio Babelsberg, while Paul Greengrass’s historical drama The Uprising filmed throughout Bavaria.

Meanwhile, 2026 began with Studio Babelsberg hosting Peter Morgan’s Net­flix series The Boys From Brazil and Tom Shankland’s untitled Apple TV series, based on the Metropolis entry in Philip Kerr’s Berlin Noir book series. This summer should see Potsdam serve as the backdrop for Anthony McCarten’s political thriller The Price Of Peace, exploring the events around the 1945 conference that set out the future for post-war Europe.

Germany is proving resilient thanks largely to its world-class studios, film-friendly approach and wide array of locations, including its historic capital. The Hunger Games prequel made use of monuments like the Völkerschlachtdenkmal monument in Leipzig and the Tieranatomisches Theatre.

Germany has a lot of diversity to offer, from coastline to picturesque landscapes with lots of forest and mountain. Also German cities and towns are surprisingly varied.

It's worth noting though that Germany is a federal country and the rules in every state and town are different, so sometimes permits from several authorities are needed for just one location.

German locations are also being lined up for Zentropa’s period drama King’s Land by Nikolaj Arcel, with Mads Mikkelsen in the lead.

International projects often source many of their heads of department locally when shooting in Germany. Studio Babelsberg (Potsdam), Bavaria Studios (Munich) and MMC Studios (Cologne) were joined in 2022 by Penzing Studios, a facility 30 miles west of Munich, which has hosted visiting international projects including Paul Greengrass’s historical action drama The Uprising.

Germany’s filming hubs are no more than an hour apart by air, but shoots must meet minimum ecological standards before being able to access public funds. Studio Babelsberg, MMC Studios, Bavaria Studios and Penzing Studios are all less than an hour’s drive from their respective city centres.

Contact :

Anja Geissen, DFFF and GMPF project head geissen@ffa.de