Save 3sat!

Film schools demand the preservation of 3sat!

The German film schools (Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Hamburg Media School, Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München, ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln, Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln) as well as the Film Academy Vienna, the Zurich University of the Arts and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Design Film Art are urgently calling for the independence of the German-language cultural channel 3sat to be maintained.

In principle, all film schools welcome the necessary reforms for the further development of public broadcasting with a view to increasing acceptance in large sections of society – especially among younger target groups. A merger of 3sat with ARTE with the aim of saving costs, as currently proposed in the discussion draft for the reform of public broadcasting by the Broadcasting Commission of the German federal states, would massively weaken the already limited cultural offerings. 3sat stands for culture, i.e. its offerings are defined by art, research and knowledge transfer, popular and high culture, fiction and, above all, documentaries. 3sat is thus clearly distinct from the Arte broadcasting profile. A merger with Arte would inevitably mean the end of 3sat.

From the point of view of film schools, a programming strategy that would further develop the fulfillment of the mandate in digital offerings would therefore be recommended as a matter of priority.

Despite its limited budget, 3sat is indispensable for film schools, their students and alumni. In addition to the co-production opportunities it offers young filmmakers, 3sat often provides the only visibility for young talent on TV by supporting independent festivals and providing corresponding coverage.

In addition, thanks to its partnerships, the most important German-language cultural channel enables many young people to take their first professional steps.

The film KRUSTE by Jens Kevin Georg won a Student Oscar this year for a collaboration with 3sat () – a reason to be proud for Germany as a cultural location as a whole.

The communication of culture is one of the essential tasks of public broadcasting. Although the cultural mandate was expressly strengthened in the last Interstate Broadcasting Treaty, one gets the impression that culture is receiving less and less support and funding in the TV and media library offerings there. 3sat is an indispensable exception here as THE German-language cultural channel for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The reform proposal of the Broadcasting Commission of the German federal states seems to have been made without knowledge of the diverse and different tasks of these two cultural channels.
We therefore urge the Broadcasting Commission of the German federal states and the Minister Presidents to take a close look at both institutions and to strengthen them in their objectives, provide them with better financial resources and promote their digitization instead of weakening or even dismantling them.

Losing 3sat and the important partnerships that go with it would inevitably lead to even higher demands and expectations in the area of cultural and film funding in the federal states and cities. Professional and successful training at film schools is only an investment in a promising and competitive future if the well-trained talents from our schools are funded and supported by the public system in the first few years after graduating. 3sat and Arte make an indispensable contribution here – independently of each other and with their own budgets. This is another reason why 3sat, with all the necessary and urgently needed contemporary changes, must remain the independent German-language cultural offering!

Here is the link to one of the petitions to preserve 3sat:

https://innn.it/3sat