And he’ll be sitting down on stage with befores & afters to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ‘Independence Day’!
I’m ecstatic to announce that director, producer and screenwriter Roland Emmerich will be part of my Then & Now track at FMX 2026 in Stuttgart to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his blockbuster hit Independence Day.
He’ll be joining me on stage to share untold stories from the making of the film, and to discuss its key place in visual effects history.
Here’s some info, below, from the FMX press release. Get your tickets for FMX here. The event runs from May 5th to 7th in Stuttgart with an online and campus day on May 8th.
Roland Emmerich’s movies have taken in more than $4 billion globally, making him one of the highest-grossing directors, and the most commercially successful German filmmaker of all time. His filmography includes blockbuster movies like “Stargate” (1994), “Independence Day” (1996), “Godzilla” (1998), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), “2012” (2009), “White House Down” (2013), and “Moonfall” (2022).
Roland Emmerich is equally comfortable with directing more personal projects such as “Anonymous” (2011) and “Stonewall” (2015). He is also dedicated to mentoring the next generation of aspiring filmmakers, such as Academy Award® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Tim Fehlbaum, whom he supported as Executive Producer on “Hell” (2011) and “Tides/The Colony” (2021). Roland was also instrumental in supporting directors Oliver Hermanus and Marco Kreuzpaintner in their respective careers.
Most recently, Roland Emmerich directed and executive produced “Those About To Die” (2024), an epic TV drama series set in the complex and corrupt world of ancient Rome’s spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition.
In his native Germany, Roland’s career began when his first film, a HFF Munich (Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München) student project called “The Noah’s Ark Principle” (1984), played in competition at the 1984 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
“Size does matter” was the tagline of “Godzilla”, and Roland Emmerich always thought as big as possible when making films: he consistently pursued his goal, went to Hollywood and realized his German-American dream. He and his sister, producer Ute Emmerich, subsequently established Centropolis Entertainment in 1985. Under this banner, Roland Emmerich continues to deliver impactful films that challenge both the eye and the mind.
Roland Emmerich was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the Directors Branch in 1997. Honoring his life’s work as a producer, Roland received the first-ever Carl Laemmle Producing Prize in 2017. In January 2020, the Visual Effects Society (VES) bestowed its prestigious Visionary Award upon him at its annual Hollywood gala.
