UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (German: [ˈuːfa] (listen)), is a German film and television production company that unites all production activities of Bertelsmann in Germany. Its history comes from Universum Film AG (abbreviated in logo as UFA) that was a major German film company headquartered in Babelsberg, producing and distributing motion pictures from 1917.
In August 2013, UFA underwent an organizational restructuring that simplified the company down to three production divisions. Today, UFA Fiction, UFA Serial Drama and UFA Show & Factual are the three units responsible for production.
UFA experienced a golden age in cinema from the 1920s. In this period, the company contributed significantly to the history of German film. The following are among UFA's most famous productions:
- 1922: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (directed by Fritz Lang)
- 1924: Die Nibelungen (directed by Fritz Lang)
- 1924: The Last Laugh (directed by F. W. Murnau; invention of the Unchained camera technique)
- 1927: Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang; first feature science fiction film)
- 1929: Woman in the Moon (directed by Fritz Lang; invention of the countdown)