German fund specialist David Groenewold is set to launch the first media fund in Germany since the end of 2005 when changes to the Income Tax Law put an end to the old-style private film funds.

German Film Productions Medienfonds Vierte Beteiligungs KG, or GFP IV for short, is being planned with a volume of $34.9m (Euros 27m) and will focus on the financing of German film and TV productions. The fund can draw on 'first look' relationships in place with such leading German producers as Helmut Dietl and Christian Becker as well as framework agreements with ProSiebenSAT.1 Media AG.

Groenewold's previous three GFP funds were involved in such productions as the ProSieben two-parter The Jesus Video, the box-office hits Der Wixxer and Sebastian Niemann's Hui Buh - The Castle Ghost (Hui Buh - Das Schlossgespenst), the 2006 Berlinale competition film Longing (Sehnsucht) by Valeska Grisebach and Marcus H. Rosenmueller's latest comedy Heavyweights (Schwere Jungs) which is being released by Constantin Film on Jan 18.

GFP was also a partner in the Studio Hamburg production of Florian Baxmeyer's English-language family film The Three Detectives And The Secret of Skeleton Island which was shot on location in South Africa last year.

Groenewold was also active in other areas in the past 12 months: an investment division of the GFP II and GFP III funds acquired a 53.66% shareholding the Munich-based TV/Film producer Odeon Film, and he joined forces with ex-Senator Film executive Benjamin Herrmann to set up the new production and distribution outfit Majestic Film.

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