Finding crew members has not been an easy task this summer with local production booming throughout Germany. In an echo of the motto 'diversity is our strength' from the halcyon days of New German Cinema in the 1970s, German film-makers are trying their hands at a smorgasbord of genres.

Following the success of Downfall and Sophie Scholl - The Final Days, this chapter of German history is being revisited in films such as Max Faerberboeck's Anonyma - A Woman In Berlin and Florian Gallenberger's John Rabe - The Good Man of Nanking.

More recent German history, the Red Army Faction terrorist group of the 1970s, is the focus of Uli Edel's Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex and Connie Walther's Schattenwelt.

Lavish costume dramas are making a comeback with the literary adaptations Effi Briest and Die Buddenbrooks, and Helma Sanders-Brahms' love triangle Clara. And the insatiable German appetite for broad comedy is set to be fed by upcoming projects including Sven Unterwaldt's submarine comedy U-900, and Mike Eschmann's Police Academy-style Ausbilder Schmidt.

The local animation sector is working on projects including Niko And The Way To The Stars and A Case For Friends. The Counterfeiters director Stefan Ruzowitzky has moved over to family entertainment for Lilly The Witch, based on the children's books by Knister.

Audience anticipation

German films may not go on to snag as much of the local box office in 2007 as they did last year (25%) but their films are drawing sizeable audiences, according to the FFA. A total of 11.6 million tickets were sold for German films in the first half of this year, which translates into a market share of 19.5%. In February, the share climbed to 31.1% with the release of the fourth outing from The Wild Soccer Bunch. Eight German films - including family film Wild Chicks In Love - garnered more than 500,000 admissions each.

Expectations are now high for the release of Fatih Akin's Cannes competition film The Edge Of Heaven, Hans Weingartner's satire Reclaim Your Brain, Michael 'Bully' Herbig's 3-D animation feature Lissi Und Der Wilde Kaiser, and Florian Baxmeyer's The Three Investigators and The Secret Of Skeleton Island.

International acclaim

German films are also back in demand with festivals and buyers. A year after the triumph of Chris Kraus' Four Minutes at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Franziska von Meletzky's According To The Plan picked up the best film prize at the Chinese festival. A slew of German films and co-productions won prizes at Locarno in August, while Andrea Sawatzki won the best actress award for The Other Boy in the Montreal World Film Festival. Venice Days premiered Andreas Kleinert's thriller Head Under Water. Toronto is hosting the world premieres of Weingartner's Reclaim Your Brain and Jan Schuette's Love Comes Lately.

The German films buzz following the Oscar win of The Lives Of Others is as loud as ever. The Counterfeiters has sold to more than 60 territories and will be released, for example, in the UK by Metrodome on 60 prints. Four Minutes will be released in France on 80 prints and in the US by Senator Entertainment's new US arm.