Görlitz strengthens itself as a location for film professions

Görlitz wants to raise its profile as a location for training and further education in the film industry. The Saxon Film Academy in the city on the Neisse, which has been in existence since 2022, has been given a permanent supporting structure and will be run as a limited company in future. "I am very pleased that we are ready," said the Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu. The city has a long tradition of film production. For years, the idea of training urgently needed specialists for the industry locally has been pursued persistently. According to the information provided, this primarily concerns assistance for camera and lighting, but also for film production and equipment.

Grit Wißkirchen announced that the first courses, each with 10 to 15 participants, will start at the beginning of next year. She took up her position as managing director of the Filmakademie on August 1. The majority shareholder is the Alliance of German Producers for Film and Television. The German association, which has around 370 member companies, is involved for the first time in a regional structural project for more qualification and training, said Björn Böhning, spokesman for the entire board. The film academy was launched two years ago at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. It is now a shareholder in the newly founded company, as is Europastadt Görlitz-Zgorzelec GmbH, which is responsible for business development.

Görlitz as a beacon

Skilled workers are a crucial resource for production to take place at all, said Böhning. Supported by the Saxon producers Saxonia Media and Looks Film GmbH, the production alliance had made a strategic decision to develop Görlitz as a "lighthouse" alongside major locations in the industry such as Berlin, Cologne and Munich. There are currently great expectations in the industry. The German government is planning a film reform for 2025 to make Germany competitive again.

Scenes for around 120 films have been shot in Görlitz since the 1950s, including "Inglourious Basterds" directed by Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson's later Oscar-winning production "The Grand Budapest Hotel". The city on the German-Polish border has already been Paris, New York, Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt/Main in feature films. Stars such as Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum and Jackie Chan have appeared in front of the camera. The episodes of the ARD crime series "Wolfsland" have been regularly produced in Görlitz with Yvonne Catterfeld and Götz Schubert since 2015.

There is a separate local contact point for production teams. The city runs its own film office, which provides support in preparing for filming. In addition, an online database helps with the search for suitable motifs and locations in Görlitz and the surrounding area.