Munich (dpa / lby) - Bavaria's Digital and Film Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) has criticized the lack of funding for the Munich Film Festival by the federal government. The film festival has developed into an international festival highlight, but unlike the Berlinale, it does not receive a cent from the federal government, said Gerlach on Thursday, according to a statement at the start of the Berlinale in Berlin.
The increase in funding for the Berlinale by 2.2 million euros to a total of 10.7 million euros was good, according to Gerlach. However, she has no understanding that Bavaria is being neglected as an important location. "The federal government must promote the diversity of the festivals here."
Together with Munich's deputy mayor, Katrin Habenschaden, Gerlach wrote in a letter to the Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, that the film festival could gain significantly in importance as an international platform for German film with additional federal funds - "which ultimately represents a major contribution to Germany as a film location as a whole would".
According to Gerlach and habenschaden, the film festival is financed jointly by the state and the capital. According to the website, the next Munich film festival will start on June 23. Last year, 50,000 people attended the festival.
