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The new MEDIENTAGE SPECIAL AI & MEDIA celebrated its premiere on April 21 and 22, bringing together around 300 participants and 60 speakers at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) to discuss the impact of AI in the film and television industry. The prevailing sentiment on-site was clear: The focus is no longer just on using technology to make processes faster and cheaper, but on exploring its possibilities. "Do we want to shape or be shaped?" summarized Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann, co-host of the MTM Special AI & MEDIA, capturing the conference’s central theme.
Daniel Sponsel, President of HFF Munich, raised the question of whether we are facing a major leap or a quantum leap: "Are we talking about AI as a means to produce entire feature films, or is it just a very good tool? That’s still undecided."

AI filmmaker Mark Wachholz shared his journey from screenwriter to "creator, storyteller, one-man band." For him, AI has been an enormous liberation, enabling him to work across all genres. He emphasized that filmmaking expertise remains essential, with "taste" being a decisive factor. While there are countless AI-generated videos, he noted, their quality often declines rapidly. "It won’t be easy," Sponsel continued. "We need to understand that AI is a completely new technology. We can’t approach it with old mindsets. We need to think anew; we can’t make top-down decisions—we have to experiment, to create." Paraphrasing the tech motto "Move fast and break things," he proposed a new maxim: "Move smart and make things," stressing the importance of experimenting with AI.

In the subsequent discussion, Dr. Marc Al-Hames of Hubert Burda Media called AI "the biggest disruption since the Industrial Revolution." Every job involving a computer will change dramatically, he warned. There’s a risk that value creation could shift entirely to the U.S., reducing others to mere users. He underscored the journalistic responsibility of publishers: "We take full responsibility for everything. In the end, a human always retains control and accountability. We don’t take the easy way out by blaming the algorithm."
Eric Lehmann, CTO of Constantin Film, spoke of the "insane possibilities" and diverse applications of AI. At Constantin, AI is used at every stage of production—with the goal that its use remains invisible to the cinema audience. Like other speakers, he stressed that storytelling is key: "If it’s irrelevant to the consumer in the end, it’s worthless."

Dr. Thorsten Schmiege, President of the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM), urged the industry to "get out of the shock freeze" and create opportunities for experimentation. To this end, BLM, together with Medien Bayern, has established an AI Competence Center to promote the location and foster collaborations.
During a panel discussion, Nikola Kohl, Managing Director of south&browse (part of All3Media), provided insights into two factual formats that use and thematize AI. For "Deepfake Diaries" (ZDF), interviews with historical figures were created based on real diary entries and documents, using six different tools to "deepfake" actors based on photographs. Kohl admitted the project was initially met with skepticism but added, "Innovation doesn’t happen in the comfort zone," praising ZDF’s courage. She emphasized that AI should not be used for its own sake but must serve the narrative. Kohl also previewed the first images of a new ARD project about Kaspar Hauser, who died in 1833. This true-crime thriller breaks with classical storytelling to make the historical subject accessible to a young audience, using fully synthetic reenactments—something that would be impossible within the budget otherwise. According to Kohl, the core question for the coming years is: Who will have the better production systems?

Dr. Georg Ramme, Managing Director of the newly founded PROMPTR, an agency for AI-based film and content production, highlighted AI’s limitations, and the essential role of human creativity. "Finding true AI artists and creatives is a challenge—a huge challenge—and we’re investing a lot of time and money in training them." The agency has developed a prompting tool that it now markets. The production processes, he noted, aren’t all that different from traditional ones: "We’re trying to make AI look ‘dirty’ again. Set designers are working to add patina back into AI."

Max Wiedemann, producer at LEONINE Studios and Head of Artificial Intelligence at the Mediawan Group since last year, addressed the high expectations surrounding AI. A lot is being justified under the AI label, he said, but often it’s just a pretext for job cuts. For him, the goal isn’t to make things cheaper but to do what wasn’t possible before. "Hybrid workflows are the focus to support creatives." He does not join the often-cited obituary for Hollywood. Fully AI-generated films, he argued, currently cannot compete in terms of quality. Tom Schwarz from Seven.One AdFactory (ProSiebenSat.1) provided insights into the new possibilities of ad integration: "AI is the democratization of creativity, but not everyone becomes creative because of it."

Micro drama & AI
Sasha Tkachenko from HOLYWATER TECH, which has a strategic partnership with Fox, shared fascinating insights into their workflow and impressive output. The Ukrainian company operates separate apps: My Drama, My Passion, and My Muse. Successful books on My Passion are immediately adapted for the vertical drama app My Drama. She explained that success heavily depends on paid marketing, where they invest significantly. On the mechanics of vertical dramas, she said: "Whether produced with AI or not, successful vertical dramas need hooks at the beginning and a ‘cliffhanger of death’ at the end." She added, "We are selling the fantasy, escapism." Currently, their dramas are partly shot and partly AI-generated. In one year, Tkachenko says, it will be all AI. "It’s all about storytelling; in the end, it doesn’t matter if it’s AI or not."

Meriem Rebai from reelistiq emphasized: "Everyone is dealing with vertical drama, but success will only come if you handle production, distribution, and monetization all in one." Constantin Entertainment CEO Otto Steiner shared his experiences collaborating with Asian partners, noting that the mechanisms and pace differ massively from classical fiction production. In the long run, he argued, it is not profitable to work as a contract producer in this field due to the low margins.

Leon Asianowaa also presented vertical content. With @hakimdecoded, he operates one of Germany’s largest AI-generated influencers, who embarks on humorous time travels. Asianowaa explained that this is about "suspension of disbelief," a concept from literary and media theory. The audience engages with the content even if it is clearly exaggerated and generated. After all, he noted, viewers of fictional series also know that what they’re watching isn’t real, yet they still root for the characters.

"In conclusion, AI is not on its way—it’s already here. Alongside risks and structural changes, it offers numerous opportunities and new possibilities, which naturally took center stage at the discussions in Munich."

From our correspondent Lühr-Martin Lemkau

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