The umbrella organization of the film industry (SPIO) represents the interests of the German film, television and video industry. As an umbrella organization, it currently comprises 18 professional associations representing more than 1,100 member companies. The SPIO was founded in 1950, making it one of the institutions with the longest tradition in the "film city of Wiesbaden". Since 2009, it has been based in the Deutsches Filmhaus near the main railway station.

The SPIO comments on economic, legal and political issues affecting the industry and represents its position. It is primarily concerned with proposed legislation, copyright protection and the protection of minors in the media. Its subsidiary, the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (FSK), is the oldest self-regulatory body in Germany.

The SPIO offers various service functions for its members. For example, it carries out statistical evaluations, maintains a release schedule for cinema films, publishes a yearbook, compiles a title register for films and maintains a TV database. Expert opinions on films can be commissioned from the SPIO Commission of Jurists.

The SPIO is one of the sponsors of the German Film Institute (formerly the German Institute for Film Studies). The SPIO made a significant contribution to the establishment of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation in 1966 and has been a member of the foundation's board of trustees ever since. With the SPIO Medal of Honor, it honors personalities in society for special services to German film. The German Film Ball in Munich, which she organizes, is an annual highlight for stars and filmmakers. Film artists are supported by the SPIO's German Film Artists' Emergency Aid, a charitable foundation financed by donations.