Commissioned by Inge Classen

Very few films are made in Germany without television funding. Film funding rules mean that public service broadcasters set the course of how a film develops significantly. The decisions of TV departments thus play an important role when it comes to whether a film is made or not. In her function as ZDF editor and a long-serving head of the film department at 3sat, Inge Classen insisted over 20 years with all her force that there was a place for cinematographic art funded by television and she gave it regular slots in the program. Passionately and expertly, she also managed to push through difficult topics and unusual aesthetic forms, both in documentaries and features. She promoted auteurs with a particular style, filmmakers with a specific vision of film and thus supported many films that have enriched German cinema in artistic terms. So as to pay homage to Inge Classen's work and merits, now that she has taken early retirement, we are showing four films that came about under her supervision and hint at the variety of her projects. We are very glad that Inge Classen will be our guest to present the films with the directors and others involved such as the editor Bettina Böhler.