ABOUT
JUNAFILM is one of the most highly awarded independent production companies in Germany. Since it was founded in 2009 by Verena Gräfe-Höft, Junafilm has been actively committed to the creation of both standout feature film productions and high-quality international co-productions. With our first feature, “Nothing Bad Can Happen” Junafilm was presented in Cannes in 2013 (Un Certain Regard). The film won more than 20 national and international awards and was successfully received in more than 100 festivals. Ever since then Junafilm feature film productions are present at all major international Film festivals and have won numerous national and international awards. Our hands-on strategy allows Junafilm to stay involved in each project. We also place great focus on building our projects on a foundation of strong relationships between both our creative filmmakers and financial partners. In addition to the feature film slate, Junafilm has multiple series in development of which one was invited to the Berlinale EFM series pitching session in 2024.
CEO, PRODUCER
VERENA GRÄFE-HÖFT
is the producer and CEO of JUNAFILM. As a former journalist and author, she is intensively involved in the development and realisation of film projects and series. She builds her projects on a basis of trusting co-operation and long- standing relationships with filmmakers and financial partners. Verena Gräfe-Höft is an EAVE and Inside Pictures alumni, was selected by German Films in 2017 as ‘Producer on the Move’ to represent Germany in Cannes and teaches the next generation of filmmakers at her former film school (HMS) film school (HMS) as a lecturer in the field of ‘International cinema production’. She is also a co-founder and representative of WIFT Hamburg (Women in Film & Television). She is currently working with Katrin Gebbe (Pelican Blood, The Empress) on an international miniseries in co-production with Great Britain. The coming-of-age thriller ‘Spirit in the Blood’ (FFHH, SITGES) will be released in 2024 in Germany and Canada in cinemas. In 2024, Verena Gräfe-Höft was chosen for the ACE Producers Programme with the project ‘An Uninvited Guest’ (AT).
JUNIOR PRODUCER
LISA HERBERS
joined JUNAFILM in late 2019 after completing an MA in Film at Screen Academy Scotland as well as a Bachelor degree in Business Studies at the University of Hamburg, with a semester abroad at the prestigious National Taiwan University in Taipei and one at the University of Nottingham, UK. Lisa Herbers is a board member of WIFT Germany (Women in Film & TV), working actively to enhance opportunities for women in the film and television industry and to make their voices heard. Furthermore, she has a strong interest in environmental sustainability and green storytelling. She is an alumna of TFL NEXT and the ACE Training Days NL, an international training program for young producers as well as the Impact Lab at When East Meets. In 2024 she attended the Sofia Meetings at the Sofia Filmfest on behalf of JUNAFILM and was part of a delegation chosen and funded by the German Federal Film Board to Focus Asia in Udine at the Fast East Film Festival, a program established to facilitate European-Asian co-productions.
TRAINEE
GRAŻYNA SOWA
Junafilm is one of thirteen companies in the Hamburg region selected for the “Get on Set” program 2024/2025, which is supported by MOIN Filmförderung, the City of Hamburg and Hamburg Media School. This program offers young people from different backgrounds the opportunity to deepen their film qualifications. Grażyna Sowa joined the JUNAFILM team as a trainee in September 2024. She has a background in architecture and urban design and found her way into the film industry through her passion for image design in production design and as cinematographer.
CONTACT
JUNAFILM
Behringstraße 16b
22765 Hamburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)40 3990 6567
info [at] junafilm [de]
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REGISTERED OFFICE
Junafilm GmbH (limited liability)
Behringstraße 16b
22765 Hamburg
Represented by: Verena Gräfe-Höft
Hamburg District Court
HRB 121536
VAT ID pursuant to Section 27 a of the German Value Added Tax Act: DE 282199713