Pathways to Equity: the Special Edition Seminar Podcast

09/09/24 • 51 min

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by Curator and Impact Producer Nadia Denton, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

Funded by Creative Europe MEDIA and taking place yearly at the EFM 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Equity & Inclusion Pathways Seminar is an industry-wide consultation forum that brings together European decision-makers, advocacy groups, stakeholders and change-makers with the aim of shifting the needle regarding equity, inclusion and accessibility in terms of policymaking, strategy, measures and actions. The change and advances that this Seminar aims to bring about for the European film industry are resolutely structural, and involve not only integrating marginalised groups into a European film sector that is free of biases, barriers and exclusions but also valuing the hitherto unrealised potential of the contributions of marginalised film professionals to the industry as well as redistributing resources and decision-making power more equitably. Featuring the Seminar’s 3 moderators (Nadia Denton, Yolanda Rother and Sailesh Naidu), one of the Ambassadors, Tina Trapp (EAVE), the leadership of OMNI Inclusion Data, Helge Albers (MOIN Film Fund) and a speaker and representative of an advocacy group, Julian Carrington (REMC - Racial Equity Media Collective), this episode will explore the mission, vision, objectives and challenges to implementing effective, long-lasting and sustainable DEI and accessibility policies at institutional level across the European screen industries.

OMNI Inclusion Data aims to underpin the diversity of the media and culture sector and the people working in it with factual data. At the same time, OMNI Inclusion Data aims to close the blank spots due to a lack of data. OMNI also intends to collect data that is compliant with data protection legislation from cast and crew on a voluntary basis and provide the industry with the most up-to-date analysis on inclusion statistics. With the OMNI project, the initiator MOIN Film Fund, in co-operation with Australia’s The Everyone Project, is taking on this important task for the European film industry and, more importantly, taking a leadership role in promoting diversity in the industry.

The host Nadia Denton (she/her) has worked in the UK film industry for over a decade as an Impact Producer, Curator and Author. She specialises in Nigerian Cinema and coined the term BEYOND NOLLYWOOD. She has worked with the BFI London Film Festival, Berlinale EFM, British Film Institute, British Council, Doc Society, London Film School, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and Comic Relief. Her books include The Nigerian Filmmaker’s Guide to Success: Beyond Nollywood and The Black British Filmmaker’s Guide to Success: Finance, Market and Distribute Your Film. She is an Honorary Research Fellow with the University of Exeter.

Yolanda Rother (she/her) is co-founder of "The Impact Company", a diversity, audience and culture consultancy. She moderates and speaks on topics related to digital society, politics and open government, diversity and sustainability. The Berlin native is a graduate (Master of Public Policy) of the Hertie School and has lived in Brazil, France and the United States.

Sailesh Naidu (they/them) is a writer, researcher, and performance artist working in the sphere of migration, gender, and education. Their work interrogates the queer body as territory, ancestral knowledge, and building of queer personal narratives as archive.

Tina or Kristina Trapp (she/her) has worked in the international film industry for over 20 years, amongst others at the German regional film fund MFG-Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg, with the European culture channel ARTE, heading the Film Commission Strasbourg and with the European training programme “Atelier Ludwigsburg Paris”. She joined EAVE in 2004 as Programme Manager. In 2007, she became Deputy Chief CEO and was appointed CEO in 2009. Kristina has been closely working with several European festivals and production companies in her career. She was part of various selection committees and juries for film funds and co-production markets and is member of the European Film Academy and ARTEF (Anti-Racism Taskforce European Film). She was co-director and board member of the umbrella organisation for European training providers, ATC (audiovisual training coalition), as well as member of the advisory board of the CEE Animation Workshop and board member of EWA (European Women’s Audiovisual Network).

Helge Albers (he/him) Helge ...

Helge Albers (he/him) Helge ...

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Spotlight Edition: A Personal Conversation with Beki Probst

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by Matthijs Wouter Knol, this episode spotlights an important figure in the history of the EFM through a personal conversation and a journey through time.

This special episode revolves around the former EFM director Beki Probst through a conversation that took place during the Cannes Film Festival between her and Matthijs Wouter Knol, who himself has been in the seat as director of the EFM as a successor. Beki depicts her journey through the film industry with anecdotes from her life in the film industry, from her starting out as a young journalist traveling to Cannes, to suddenly finding herself in Berlin.

She shares stories of people she crossed paths with along the way, how the Berlinale took place right after the fall of the wall and draws a picture of the future industry through her own expectations and lived experiences. This all adds to the portrayal of the woman who came to found the European Film Market as we know it today.

Beki Probst is considered the grande dame of the film world. Under her direction, the European Film Market has developed into one of the largest and most important trade fairs for cinema on the international scene. Beki Probst was born in Istanbul, where she first worked as a journalist after completing her studies in law and journalism. In 1960, Probst moved to Switzerland, where she became the general manager of the Probst-Kinobetriebe, known today as Quinnie Cinemas. From 1981 to 1988, Beki Probst served as the Berlin International Film Festival's official delegate for Turkey and Greece. Up until 1995, she also served as a member of the selection committee for Locarno International Film Festival. From 1988 to 2014, Beki Probst was the director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market – Probst rebranded the former “film fair” as the European Film Market and subsequently transformed the event into one of the most significant industry meet-ups for the international film business. In addition, from 1988 to 1996 Beki Probst was artistic director of the Geneva-based festival “Stars de Démain”. She has served as a jury member on multiple occasions at international film festivals, including appearances in Toronto, Jerusalem and San Sebastián. In 1992 Beki Probst was decorated as “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture, was honoured with the Berlinale Camera in 2018 and in 2019 with the Honorary Award of the Swiss Film Award. In 2024 she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz am Bande der Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

Since 2021, Dutch-born Matthijs Wouter Knol is the CEO and Director of the European Film Academy. Before reading and graduating with an MA in Contemporary History at Leiden University and the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome, he worked as a magazine editor and journalist. From 2001 onwards, he worked in Amsterdam as creative and associate producer on 30 award-winning documentary films, with renowned directors such as Heddy Honigmann, Maria Ramos, and Mani Kaul. For ARTE, he co-produced a digital edition of 40 re-mastered works of Dutch documentarian Johan van der Keuken, which was awarded the Prix Cahiers du Cinéma (2006). After a short stint at IDFA (2007-2008), he formed for 12 years part of the senior Berlinale team, first as Head of Programming of Berlinale Talents (2008-2014), then as Director of the European Film Market (2014-2020). Apart from launching several new training and industry platforms over the course of his career, Matthijs is an advocate for more Diversity and Inclusion. He initiated D&I schemes at both EFM and the European Film Academy, and was one of the founders of the Anti-Racist Taskforce for European Film (ARTEF). He teaches and coaches at various film schools and is a regular moderator and speaker at international film industry events. Matthijs has been part of the main jury at the festivals of Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Locarno.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA.

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Alive and Kicking: Company Strategies Today

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by media analyst, broadcaster and experience designer Johanna Koljonen, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

In this episode, the Berlinale Co-Production Market invites two experienced producers to share their innovative strategies as part of a film industry in flux and how they address the changes of their own roles. Didar Domehri, producer and founder of Maneki Film and Maneki Stories, and Roman Paul, producer and co-founder of Razor Film Produktion, join forces to discuss the need for both, flexibility and collaboration while maintaining one’s own outstanding focus as an independent producer.

Cooperating with other producers in the creative collectives Athena Collective and The Creatives, respectively, is giving them a chance to work with creatives across borders with a high level of solidarity, and allows them to put together each independent producer’s strengths. Developing and sustaining successful business strategies and slates in disruptive and difficult times also means that the role of the producer is changing in the lifecycle of a film, and their relationship to audiences takes on new forms. Being original and thinking differently is key when connecting with today’s audiences, so the appeal to staying curious, teaching and learning at the same time is something they agree on. Being involved with training young producers, they also deliver a tip or two on how to stay sane in the industry while maintaining the passion for the work.

Roman Paul began his film career in acquisitions for German distributors and Celluloid Dreams in Paris. In 2002, he co-founded Razor Film Produktion with Gerhard Meixner. Razor’s work has earned two Golden Globes, three Oscar nominations, and recognition at major festivals. In 2019 was named professor at the Filmakademie Ludwigsburg, and received the “Chevalier des Arts et Lettres” by the Republic of France. Razor joined "The Creatives" in 2021, a global alliance developing high-end drama series and films.

Didar Domehri, founder of Maneki Films, has produced more than 20 features including Eva Husson’s Bang Gang & Girls of the Sun in Cannes Competition, Santiago Mitre’s Paulina, Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prix, La cordillera, Cannes UCR, & Petite fleur, Laurent Cantet’s Return to Itaca, Venice days Grand Prix, Erige Sehiri’s Under the fig trees,15 aine des réalisateurs Cannes, Godland by Hlynur Pálmason, Cannes UCR, and recently Une nuit by Alex Lutz, Cannes UCR, Me Too by Judith Godrèche, and MOTEL DESTINO by Karim Aïnouz, Cannes Competition.

The host Johanna Koljonen is a media analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer. She is the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report on the near future of the screen industries, which is in its 11th year. She lectures internationally on changes in the media sector, and on participation and narrative design. Her background is in public service broadcasting; in 2011, she received the Swedish Grand Journalism Award in the Innovator category.