Christoph Gröner

Film thrives when it fulfills its own criteria — when cinephiles discover something in a blockbuster, when the industry respects the creative power of the avant-garde.

Christoph Gröner studied in Munich, Venice and Salamanca. Since 2004 cultural and media journalist, from 2008 at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN as International Programmer, since 2012 he was responsible for the section New German Cinema, since 2017 additionally responsible for Strategic Themes and Stars, since 2019 he had the role of Artistic Director and in addition, Programmer at the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn. In addition, he introduces films on ARTE. In 2023, he was appointed Festival Director and CEO of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN and FILMSCHOOLFEST.

My love of cinema was born of a suburban love of VHS tapes. The collected works of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Woody Allen, and John Carpenter paved my way to the cinema — Allen’s LOVE AND DEATH (1973) to Bergman, John Carpenter to pulp — which led to a decidedly eclectic taste in film.

FILMFEST MÜNCHEN 2004 was a threshold; it redirected my passion from wanting to know everything about cinema to doing a lot for cinema myself. I spent 16 hours a day writing a daily Filmfest newsletter, which turned out not to have been distributed — supposedly the copier wasn’t working. Someone must have had a guilty conscience, since I was given a job as a magazine editor the following year. Circulation: 100,000.

From there, one thing led to another. I was a host at FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH for seven years, curating films with a soft spot for any project involving Mads Mikkelsen, Alice Rohrwacher, or Bong Joon Ho. I wrote for the Abendzeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Blickpunkt:Film and Film & TV Kameramann.

From 2011 onwards at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, I focused on discovering German talent and exceptional films, and since 2014 international celebrities as well. Since 2019, I’ve been running the gamut as FILMFEST MÜNCHEN’s artistic director. Film thrives when it fulfills its own criteria — when cinephiles discover something in a blockbuster, when the industry respects the creative power of the avant-garde. On that note, I also work for the A-list festival in Tallinn and introduce films on Arte. From October 2023 on, I will be working as the festival director of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN.