Media Relevance & Impact: NRW Foundation Insights

From his office on the 5th floor of the Deichmannhaus, Walid Nakschbandi looks directly at Cologne Cathedral. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and its 52 employees have had their new headquarters here on an area of ​​around 1,000 square meters for a year now. The cathedral is “a good and valued neighbor,” says the media manager who grew up in Solingen and who often traveled to Cologne as a student – ​​and also to Düsseldorf. Both cities are at a similar distance from the Bergisch city of Solingen.

World on Sunday: Mr. Nakschbandi, you and your employees have been sitting in Cologne for a year, what is your initial conclusion?

Walid Nakschbandi: The move to Cologne marks our first change of location after more than 30 years in Düsseldorf. Right in the middle of the city center, right on the train station forecourt, in close proximity to the cathedral, the Rhine and a vibrant media ecosystem, the move brings us closer to the industry and in particular to the reality of people’s lives. We have created a new meeting place here. We are now in even more direct contact with producers, creative people, production studios like MMC, and with TV channels. And our film schools are also around the corner.

WamS: You are sitting here in the historic Deichmannhaus, your corner office offers a wonderful view of the cathedral. And you also knew Countess Freya von Moltke, the youngest child of the banker Carl Theodor Deichmann, a resistance fighter against National Socialism, a writer and lawyer. She was born here in Cologne in 1911 as Freya Maria Helene Deichmann.

Nakschbandi: Yes, I was able to meet Freya von Moltke several times in Berlin. Her husband, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, and she were committed resistance fighters in the Kreisau district. Her husband was executed on January 23, 1944 in Berlin-Plötzensee. She was an impressive political woman with poise, clarity and a warm Rhenish tone, which she retained into old age. Above all, she was a convinced democrat. The fact that we are here at the Deichmannhaus means a lot to all of us. For us this is not just a nice symbol. It is a place that breathes history and at the same time reminds us that we can achieve a lot with our work for a plural, humane and open society.

WamS: You have been head of the Film Foundation for two years. Why does the state of North Rhine-Westphalia need its own foundation?

Nakschbandi: The foundation is an extraordinary and remarkable success story. It was founded almost 35 years ago under the then SPD politician Wolfgang Clement. He saw early on that coal and steel would become less important and that the country needed new economic stimulus. Today we are the number one media location in Germany: around 50 percent of the minutes produced on German television come from North Rhine-Westphalia. This puts us far ahead of Munich or Berlin.

WamS: And how do you do that?

Nakschbandi: Relevant stories don’t happen by chance. You need courage, creativity, effective impulses and a strong structure that makes them possible. Without relevance, media loses its impact. And good ideas are important for a shared future. This is exactly what we stand for as the Film and Media Foundation NRW. We support producers and other creatives in a wide variety of formats and genres. Always with the aim of content relevance, artistic quality and internationality.

WamS: So the foundation is also active abroad?

Nakschbandi: Yes, whether in Cannes at the film festival, in Venice, Gothenburg, Trieste, Tallinn, Tel Aviv or Locarno, most recently at the International Emmys, the Gamescom Latam in São Paulo or the Africa Games Week in Cape Town: We are there, initiate collaborations, get important projects rolling and present our location in North Rhine-Westphalia.

WamS: The Film Foundation was recently represented at the International Emmy Awards in New York, the most important television award, the Oscar of the TV world, so to speak. Could NRW score points there?

Nakschbandi: North Rhine-Westphalia is very visibly represented at the International Emmys every year. We were there with a strong delegation of filmmakers, producers, broadcaster partners and our shareholders such as RTL and ZDF and once again showed what international appeal NRW has as a media location. This time Mala Emde, who most recently won the Bambi for “Köln 75”, and Emilio Sakraya, who presented an award as a presenter at the International Emmys, were there. The nomination of the political thriller series “Herrhausen – The Lord of the Money” with Oliver Masucci in the lead role, which we supported, also received a lot of attention. The fact that such a historically and politically demanding series is recognized internationally speaks for the quality of the material and talent from NRW. North Rhine-Westphalia has been a partner of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for 17 years now. This pays off and underlines our claim as a leading German TV location.

WamS: How high is the budget that your shareholders – the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, WDR, ZDF and RTL – provide annually?

Nakschbandi: We support cinema and television films, series, games, web content, podcasts, animation, radio plays, short content formats and audio, cinemas and young talent with over 35 million euros annually – from scholarships such as the Gerd Ruge, Wim Wenders or web video scholarships to the Baumi Award and innovative digital projects. In addition, we support numerous festivals and our own industry events. In total, we have supported 10,700 funding recipients with almost one billion euros over the years.

WamS: Please give us a few examples. Where could you help?

Nakschbandi: Since its founding in 1991, the foundation has supported numerous films that have made film history. The first funded project, “Schtonk!”, was nominated for an Oscar. With international cinema hits such as “Lola Run”, the Golden Palm for “Dancer in the Dark” and countless awards for “The Fabulous World of Amélie”, North Rhine-Westphalia established itself as an outstanding film location early on. Even later successes like “Good Bye, Lenin!” or “Toni Erdmann” with German and European film awards as well as an Oscar nomination show the lasting impact of NRW film funding – artistically and economically.

WamS: The foundation also supported the new film “The Medicus II”.

Nakschbandi: Yes, “The Medicus II” by Philipp Stölzl has been in cinemas since December 25th. It was partly shot and post-produced at MMC Studios Cologne, and the world premiere took place at the Cinedom here in Cologne. The production had an enormous NRW effect, which benefits the location! The project combines much of what NRW stands for: relevance and internationality, a large budget, a fascinating history, opulence as well as positive energy and joie de vivre. We also supported “Extrawurst” by Marcus H. Rosenmüller, which will be in cinemas in a few days, on January 15th, and stars Hape Kerkeling and Christoph Maria Herbst, among others.

WamS: You are also heavily involved in the area of ​​computer and video games, also known as the gaming industry. What’s going on there? Here in Cologne we also have the leading trade fair Gamescom as a flagship event.

Nakschbandi: NRW is not only the number one film destination, but also the hotspot for games – worldwide. I like to think back to the Gamescom Latam in São Paulo in the spring, an offshoot of the Cologne Gamescom. And first of all, our once again very successful event at Gamescom 2025, a home game so to speak! Nobody can ignore it in Cologne when the world’s largest trade fair for computer and video games takes place here. Yes, games and new media are a very important funding area for us! We were able to have many conversations with developers, studios and international partners and network creative people from different areas. We presented our new funding guidelines for games and interactive content there.

WamS: How many projects and productions have you supported in the last three to four years, how have the volumes developed?

Nakschbandi: In 2024 there were 320 projects with a funding volume of around 30.7 million euros, in 2023 there were 421 projects with a volume of around 37.3 million euros, and in the previous year there were 406 projects with a total funding amount of around 34.4 million euros. This is primarily about larger, marketable film, series and animation projects with high production value and a NRW effect, i.e. employment and substantial sales locally. This is followed by funding for scripts, production and festival participation, as well as for smaller, artistically demanding low-budget projects and, of course, for young talent – for example through funding for graduation films by students from NRW film universities.

WamS: Is the current economic crisis that is affecting the entire newspaper and media industry also being felt in the film sector?

Nakschbandi: We are also feeling the current poor economic situation in the film and media industry – it is currently extremely challenging, especially for producers. The prices for material development, acquisition of intellectual property or equipment, personnel and filming locations are rising, but at the same time budgets have by no means grown accordingly. We all have to realize that there really is a lot at stake and ask ourselves: What course do we want to set?

WamS: Are you perhaps hoping for support from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia?

Nakschbandi: First of all, we welcome the signals from the federal government, such as the increase in funding for the film funding funds at the federal level. However, they do not provide any basic planning security and will not have any serious effect. Fewer productions also mean less media diversity. Ultimately, this affects all of us as an audience. Other countries – many around us – offer attractive tax incentive models that we unfortunately do not have in Germany. Media productions have a significant economic leverage effect, for example for the hotel and catering industry in a region, and for the cityscape anyway.

WamS: In September, the North Rhine-Westphalia State Chancellery announced cuts to the Film and Media Foundation. There was talk of a total of around 1.7 million euros for 2026 and also that the basic financing should be reduced by 150,000 euros. What does that mean specifically?

Nakschbandi: First of all: Yes, the state has austerity requirements, and they also affect the Film and Media Foundation. In the funding area, i.e. where we directly support projects, there are plans for a cut, which we take very seriously. Less funding always means: less money in the economic cycle – and that we have to prioritize even more sharply. However, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our media minister Nathanael Liminski and his team in the State Chancellery for the fact that the cut in the end was less than you mentioned.

WamS: When presenting your new premises here at the cathedral, you recently said at the press conference that the quality of scripts needed to be further increased – also by giving the authors more time and perhaps also through higher, new funding formats.

Nakschbandi: So far, the authors have been able to receive 20,000 to 25,000 euros each for developing scripts. But that’s not much for documentaries if you have to travel for research and want to shoot something at the same time. In order to support documentary filmmakers, there has long been a preparatory funding program with a significant amount of funding per project.

WamS: At the press conference in question, a Cologne producer said that the conditions for the industry in Germany had always been excellent, but now also in other countries. Politicians have to do something here. How do you assess the situation in international comparison?

Nakschbandi: The Film and Media Foundation is a decisive factor in why NRW has so many strong producers. There is a mature, creative and economically solid scene here that sets standards throughout Germany. At the same time, of course, we also feel that the general conditions have changed nationally and internationally in recent years, due to rising production costs, a shortage of skilled workers, inflation and new market logic, for example through streaming providers – and not least through the internationalization of productions. Other countries are investing massively in their film and media industries with tax incentives. Germany must remain competitive here and not fall further behind in international comparison. The fact is: the media world has changed, and the Film and Media Foundation is responding with a new funding strategy. However, there is a need for an overall political strategy for the media sector – from training to funding to evaluation. I am optimistic here: the industry is creative, our politics is vital. You have strength and desire for the future and progress. We in North Rhine-Westphalia are pioneers!