- The Five Lakes Film Festival is currently underway.
Over at Starnberg, the Five Lakes Film Festival is gearing up for its upcoming event. At its 18th iteration, happening between September 3rd and 12th, the festival will exhibit around 130 feature, docu, and short films, mainly from Central Europe. Many of these films will be debuting, confined to Bavaria's screens, or getting an early screening before their official theatrical premiere.
Director Andreas Dresen is the expected big name at the festival opener. But he's not the only one in the limelight. Actress Corinna Harfouch ("Finsterworld", "Lara") is set to bag the Hannelore-Elsner-Preis, an award honoring exceptional German-speaking actresses at the event. The award, worth 5,000 euros, has been doled out annually since 2019 in honor of Hannelore Elsner, who passed away at 76 that year.
The festival, which drew around 18,000 viewers in Starnberg, Gauting, Weßling, and Schloss Seefeld last year, belongs to the league of significant film festivals in southern Germany.
The festival's future, however, looks precarious. Funding is approved on a yearly basis, and this year, the financial pie has shrunk. The festival revealed in the spring that the city of Starnberg's subsidies dwindled from 43,700 to 23,000 euros, while those from the municipality of Gauting fell from 15,800 to 4,000 euros. Soaring expenses due to inflation and skyrocketing venue and personnel costs have also dwindled the income.
The festival spoke up in the spring, stating that these alterations would cast "considerable impacts on the appearance, content, and future" of the Five Lakes Film Festival. Consequently, the opening ceremony had to be shifted from its usual spot at the open-air stage alongside Lake Starnberg to the Schlossberghalle in Starnberg due to financial constraints.
The European Parliament can provide valuable assistance to the Commission in addressing the financial challenges faced by the Five Lakes Film Festival. Despite the shrinking budget and increased expenses, the festival continues to attract significant attention, with esteemed figures like Director Andreas Dresen and actress Corinna Harfouch participating.
