Babelsberg Studio Studio remains a key player in European international production shooting, but it is expanding its focus in Germany and is eager to provide its vast infrastructure to more local productions as global industries continue to navigate the wild waters.

The studio is not only celebrating the fifth Cannes screening with Wes Anderson, the Phoenician Project, co-produced and filmed by Babelsberg, but has just obtained two other major works planned for this year’s footage.

Francis Lawrence returns to the studio at the pace of “The Hunger Games: Hunger Games: Sunrise in Harvest,” the latest installment of Lionsgate’s long-running Suzanne Collins series.

Babelsberg Studio also attracted well-known filmmaker and once CEO Volker Schlöndorff ("The Tin Drum"), where they will also shoot his new work "Heimsuchung". Schlöndorff operated the studio between 1992 and 1997, when it was owned by the French group Compagnie Généraled des Eaux (later Vivendi).

The films are the studio’s first major work since the arrival of Marcus Loges, who joined the studio in January as managing director, overseeing the German and international joint production and production services, inheriting the soon-to-be-departed Henning Molfenter. His appointment comes after new CEO Joerg Bachmaier in November.

Babelsberg is no stranger to some of Loges' biggest works in the studio over the past 30 years, from 1995's "Catherine the Great" and starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Jean-Jacques Annaud's 2001 Stalingrad's epic "Epic of the Gates" with "Bourne Elemacy" and more recently, Babylin''and Babylin''

He also worked with Berlin-based X Filme as a series producer for many high-profile products and later as managing director of the company.

In 2021, Loges won the producer of the Primetime Emmy and PGA and PGA awards Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit", which was shot almost entirely in Berlin.

"After I did all of this, late last year, I was asked if I wanted to inherit Henning," Rockes recalls. "I thought, I was going home. It was really the best thing you could have happened to. Especially in a team like this - a good team and an inside of a company with a century of tradition and a strong reputation."

A key part of the team’s co-production and production service strategy is to expand the scope of the studio and increase collaboration with domestic industries.

"Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg used to be primarily Hollywood-centric, but as the budget gets closer, the studio is repositioning." Loges explained.

However, as evidenced by the new Hunger Games image, regional funding in Germany still attracted great interest, which just received 800,000 euros ($893,975) in production coins from the local Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

He added that while it is important that the work of Hollywood is still fully funded, it makes sense for the studio’s Babelsberg to attract more domestic productions and open them to German producers.

Babelsberg Studio is one of Europe's largest film studios, with 21 soundstages, a versatile background and extensive facilities on 42 acres of land near Berlin, providing sufficient capabilities for international and local productions.

"When Volker Schlöndorff said he was really happy to make this movie with Babelsberg, that was because we welcomed the project with real enthusiasm," Lodges noted. "We absolutely hope that German producers think they could contact Studio Babelsberg to explore if there is a way to make something happen."

As it expands its scope, the studio has turned its attention to the main areas where Babelsberg can be an ideal partner.

“That’s exactly what we want – international work, especially productions from the United States, but we also want to support independent European works. These projects come from many different countries, often largely depending on incentives and support from multiple partners – without these, financing can be very difficult. Of course, we want to work with German works. After all, we are based on Germany.

Loges noted that Germany's recent funding reform has achieved a lot to this end. The government announced in December that it would add two major funding incentives, increasing the cost discount on production from 25% to 30%.

"We received 30% of Christmas gifts," Loges quipped, adding that reforms have "had a big impact" as the motivational hats further increase.

He added that it was a considerable kickback for the movie with a budget of $80 million. During a recent trip to Los Angeles, news about the increase in funds was also a major point of discussion between the Loges team and studio representatives.

Another topic discussed in the international circle is the plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, which plans to 100% tariffs on films produced abroad.

"It may be just part of the presidential deal, but things like that always cause turmoil," Loges noted. "He is the president of the United States; his words have implications."

He added that while the impact on large studios may be small, it may scare new investors in the film business. “The uncertainty now exists.”

At the same time, discussions could lead to more funding opportunities in the United States and increase the increase in films shot in the United States, Loges noted.