Potsdam selected as Germany's first UNESCO Creative City of Film

Renowned for its Babelsberg Film Studio (photo), Potsdam is now Germany's first and so far only member of the UNESCO Creative Cities of Film. You'll also find there a movie-based theme park, the country's oldest and largest film school, and the film funding body Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Mumbai in India, Valladolid in Spain and Wellington in New Zealand also became new members this year.

Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski: They all studied at the Lodz Film Academy. The city is also home to the Feature Film Studio, which was long Poland's largest film studio. Hundreds of cultural events take place in Lodz every year, and the National Center for Film Culture, with its focus on audiovisual culture and cinema history, is scheduled to open in the city in 2020.

Bitola's cinematic history goes back to two brothers who made the first films in the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century — and opened a photo studio in Bitola. In recognition of their pioneering work, the northern Macedonian town has held the Manaki Brothers Film Festival every year since 1979, with a special focus on documentary film.

The Sofia International Film Festival (Sofia IFF) has for years been the most important film festival in the Balkans. Sofia is also home to Bulgaria's largest film academy (NAFTA), popular for its in-depth exchange with foreign universities and for organizing international student film festivals. Bulgaria's considerable film history is presented at the city's National Film Archive.

The Rome Film Festival, one of the most popular film festivals in the world, has been held in the Italian capital every October since 2006. Film culture there goes back to the early 20th century. The photo shows Italian director Roberto Rossellini filming in the 1950s. His 1944 "Rome, Open City" is regarded as a milestone in Italian neorealistic film.

Terrassa, an industrial city in Spain's Barcelona province, made a name for itself early on in the film industry, going all the way back to 1887, when the first films were shown there. The film industry plays an important role to this very day. After renovation in the early 2000s, the Catalan Film Archive today commemorates the art of filmmaking and 100 years of regional film history.

Bristol is the birthplace of film pioneer Willam Friese-Greene, who applied for a patent for a camera in 1889 that allowed him to snap 10 frames per second on paper film. To this day, the film industry plays a central role in Bristol, both culturally and commercially. The city hosts 11 international film festivals every year, including the Bristol Film Festival.

Bradford is a popular location for film and TV productions. Both amateurs and professionals in the film business like to settle there, not least because the industrial city avidly promotes filming. Filmmaking has a long tradition — even primary school children take classes. Every year, the Bradford International Film Festival attracts an international audience.

Along with Rijeka in Croatia, Galway is the European Capital of Culture in 2020. Generations of musicians, writers and artists came here to draw inspiration from the countryside, rich culture and multilingual history. In recent decades, Galway's film and television industry has also developed into an emerging industry.

Qingdao is considered to be the cradle of Chinese film. Films were made here as early as 1900. A gigantic film city opened in 2018. Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin and his Wanda Group invested €6.5 billion ($7.3 billion) in the Qingdao Movie Metropolis studio complex in 2014. The area, which houses 30 ultra-modern studios, is the size of 500 soccer pitches.

The capital of the prefecture of the same name, located in central Japan, hosts the most important documentary film festival in Asia. Due to its geographical diversity, Yamagata is a popular location for film productions. This is where Japanese hit movies were filmed, including the TV drama "Oshin" (photo above) and "Departures," which won an Oscar in 2009.

Busan was the first city in South Korea to show films. The picturesque region with its mountains, rivers and the Japanese Sea is a popular film backdrop. Today the city is the creative center of Asian film industry. Founded in 1996, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is the largest film festival in Asia. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea after the capital, Seoul.

Whether underwater, in the mountains or on breathtakingly beautiful beaches: Sydney offers a colorful mixture of fascinating locations. The city that has about five million inhabitants is Australia's hub for film and TV productions. Almost 60% of Australian film production workers live in Sydney. Stars like Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett started their careers there.

The first film club in Brazil opened in the mid-1920s in the Brazilian port city of Santos. Since then, the city has continuously developed the film sector into an important motor for the local economy. The Santos Film Festival started in 2002 and is now one of the country's biggest film festival magnets. All events, including film screenings and workshops, are free of charge.