By continuing to use the site you agree to our Privacy & Cookies policy

Screenbase

Screen
Martin Blaney

Martin Blaney covers Germany for Screen.

  • Film journalist Claudia Laffranchi dies, aged 49

    24-May-2012

    Journalist and film expert Claudia Laffranchi, affectionately known as the “Face of the Piazza Grande” after serving as host and master of ceremonies of Locarno Film Festival’s nightly open-air screenings for seven years from 2005 to 2011, has unexpectedly died at the age of 49.

  • Territories voice "key concerns" about EU's proposed Cinema Communication

    22-May-2012

    The UK, Germany, France and Austria have voiced “key concerns” in a joint position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) draft Cinema Communication for state aid for films and other audiovisual works.

  • UK's 011 Productions to co-produce Bettinga's feature debut

    22-May-2012

    UK producer Zorana Piggott’s 011 Productions is to co-produce the feature debut of German filmmaker Eicke Bettinga who is competing in Cannes’ Short Films Competition this year with Gasp which has its world premiere on May 26.

  • Loznitsa plans project about Nazi massacre

    22-May-2012

    Project is one of five story ideas that the director is currently developing.

  • Cannes European Rendezvous talks Creative Europe

    21-May-2012

    New EU initiatives for European cinema such as the Prix MEDIA and the proposed Creative Europe programme are at the focus of the 10th  edition of the European Rendezvous in Cannes from May 20-22.

  • Resnais' co-producer Alamode Film boards two German projects

    21-May-2012

    Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is already lining up its next projects after making its first foray into production by serving as the German co-producer on 89-year-old French director Alain Resnais’ latest feature You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vu).

  • Alamode Film boards two German projects

    21-May-2012

    Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is already lining up its next projects after making its first foray into production by serving as the German co-producer on Alain Resnais’ competition title You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vu).

  • Bavaria teams with Russia and Italy for sci-fi film Amphibian Man

    20-May-2012

    English-language project to be penned by writer-director Sergei Bodrov [pictured].

  • Wenders to stay with 3D for next feature project starring Sarah Polley

    20-May-2012

    Director Wim Wenders is to stay with the 3D format for his next feature film project Every Thing Will Be Fine.

  • Hawke in talks for Georgia-UK project Epic

    17-May-2012

    Tbilisi-based Producer on the Move Vladimer Katcharava of 20 Steps Productions will partner with the UK’s Film & Music Entertainment for the first co-production between the UK and Georgia, Epic.

  • Film Base Berlin, Shaftesbury Films team for Paul Black's The Same Eyes

    16-May-2012

    Don 2’s German co-producer Film Base Berlin is teaming up with Patrick Cassavetti of Canada’s Shaftesbury Films to produce Paul Black’s second feature The Same Eyes.

  • Europe's Ministers of Culture agree to a 'balanced compromise text' for the Creative Europe programme

    10-May-2012

    The European Union’s Council of Culture Ministers agreed at a session in Brussels on Wednesday morning to a so-called partial general approach to the European Commission’s proposed Creative Europe programme after the Danish EU Presidency made a number of adjustments the proposal’s text.

  • European Commission rules that Spain must recover €265m public funding granted to Ciudad de la Luz studio

    9-May-2012

    The European Commission (EC) has ruled that Spain must recover the €265m public funding granted by the Valencia Regional Government in 2000 to the Ciudad de la Luz (City of Light) studio complex in Alicante.

  • First European shoot for Korean action director Ryoo

    9-May-2012

    South Korean action specialist Ryoo Seung-wan is shooting in Europe for the first time with his $9m spy thriller In Berlin which is filming in the German capital for nine days before moving to Latvia’s Riga for another 15 day of shooting.

  • Media Luna adds two new Cannes titles

    8-May-2012

    Cologne-based sales agent Media Luna New Films has unveiled two new titles to its lineup at this year’s Marché du Film in Cannes.

  • Europe's regions have their say on Creative Europe

    8-May-2012

    As EU culture ministers prepare to travel to Brussels this week for a two-day session of the Education, Youth Culture and Sport Council, Europe’s regions also have their say on the proposed Creative Europe framework programme fron 2014.

  • Aktis Film picks up Snowchild for Cannes market premiere

    8-May-2012

    Leipzig-based world sales outfit Aktis Film International will be presenting its latest acquisition, Uta Arning’s Snowchild, as a market premiere at Cannes’ Marché du Film.

  • Film Finances sets up shop in Germany

    7-May-2012

    The completion guarantees specialist has set up shop in Germany with Cologne-based subsidiary Film Finances Germany (FFG).

  • Beta Cinema to unveil two market premieres in Cannes

    4-May-2012

    New films by Ralf Huettner and Irina Probost will be presented as market premieres by Beta Cinema at the forthcoming Marché du Film in Cannes.

  • Global Screen to handle Denis Dercourt's third feature

    4-May-2012

    Global Screen, the world sales joint venture of Bavaria Film and Telepool, are to handle French director Denis Dercourt’s seventh feature film Zum Geburtstag and Arne Birkenstock’s documentary about the art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi.

  • Films Boutique selling two Critics' Week world premieres

    4-May-2012

    Berlin-based Films Boutique will handle international sales for David Lambert’s Beyond The Walls (Hors Les Murs) and Bulgarian Ilian Metev’s documentary Sofia’s Last Ambulance [pictured] which will both have their world premieres in this year’s Critics’ Week in Cannes.

  • The Match Factory to handle sales on Schwochow's third feature

    2-May-2012

    Campfire will begin shooting this autumn, adapted from Julia Franck’s 2003 novel.

  • In The Fog locks distribution for Germany, Russia, Poland, France

    1-May-2012

    EXCLUSIVE: The Match Factory handles sales for Sergei Loznitsa’s Cannes competitor, set in the German-occupied western frontiers of the USSR in 1942.

  • Matthew’s Laws wins Nyon Grand Prix; Sasnals triumph in Linz

    29-Apr-2012

    Matthew’s Laws, Dutch filmmaker Marc Schmidt’s journey into the world of autism, was awarded the Grand Prix at Nyon’s Visions du Réel International Documentary Film Festival in Switzerland (Apr 20-27), which reported admissions up year-on-year by 4,000 to 25,000.

  • Stopped On Track claims four Lolas including best film

    29-Apr-2012

    Andreas Dresen’s moving cancer drama earned the Golden Lola at the German Film Awards on Saturday night (Apr 28) and won for best director, male lead for Milan Peschel and supporting actor for Otto Mellies.

  • Creative Europe comes in for criticism at public hearing in Brussels

    26-Apr-2012

    Experts express concern at European Commission’s proposed programme

  • Mommy Is Coming to North America and France

    26-Apr-2012

    EXCLUSIVE: Berlin-based sales outfit Raspberry&Cream has sold Cheryl Dunye’s kinky comedy Mommy Is Coming to TLA Releasing for the US, Canada and France.

  • Living takes top prize at goEast; Crossing Europe opens

    25-Apr-2012

    Russian newcomer wins Golden Lily and FIPRESCI prize at Wiesbaden’s goEast, Crossing Europe gets underway with Crulic ­– The Path To Beyond and others and Plzen launches Industry Days

  • M-Appeal picks up Israeli debut for Cannes market premiere

    25-Apr-2012

    EXCLUSIVE: Berlin-based sales company picks up first-time Israeli film-maker Michael Mayer’s Out In The Dark

  • Film-makers call for distribution and exhibition to remain central to the MEDIA Programme

    24-Apr-2012

    Ken Loach, the Dardenne brothers and Jerzy Skolimowski among signatories supporting 37% budget increase

  • EFP selects Producers on the Move for Cannes

    23-Apr-2012

    25 emerging producers chosen for the networking initiative, including the first producer selected from Georgia

  • Calls for minimum budget for each of Creative Europe's strands

    23-Apr-2012

    Calls have been growing for the European Commission to be more specific on the level of the budgets allocated to the three stands in its proposed Creative Europe framework programme.

  • Scud makes Voyage to Europe

    20-Apr-2012

    Hong Kong filmmaker Scud has made his first foray into shooting in Europe with his fifth feature Voyage which was filming in Germany’s Hanover this week before moving on to the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.

  • Thorsten Ritter joins Beta Cinema

    19-Apr-2012

    Thorsten Ritter, formerly head of Bavaria Film International, has joined the Munich-based sales company Beta Cinema as executive vice president with responsibility for worldwide acquisitions, sales and marketing.

  • StudioCanal Germany boards Christian Alvart's Banklady

    17-Apr-2012

    StudioCanal Germany has boarded Banklady, Christian Alvart’s first German language film since Antibodies in 2005, and Oscar winner Caroline Link’s latest project Exit Marrakech (working title) as a co-producer and distributor.

  • Antonia Campbell-Hughes to star in Constantin biopic

    16-Apr-2012

    Rising Irish star Antonia Campbell-Hughes has been cast as Natascha Kampusch in Constantin Film’s English-language biopic 3096 (working title) to be directed by German-American Sherry Hormann at the Bavaria Film studios outside Munich from next month.

  • Uwe Boll back in the director's chair for Bailout

    12-Apr-2012

    Maverick German director Uwe Boll has been reunited with the Vancouver-based independent production house Brightlight Pictures Inc. for his new feature project The Bailout which has begun shooting in the Canadian city before travelling to New York.

  • Marc-Daniel Dichant to oversee expansion at Falcom Media

    11-Apr-2012

    Marc-Daniel Dichant has joined producer-distributor Falcom Media to oversee an expansion of its production output.

  • Kim Basinger to star in new feature by Morgenthaler; One Two wraps Israeli debut Youth

    11-Apr-2012

    Kim Basinger is set to take the lead role in Danish writer-director Anders Morgenthaler next feature film Petit which will be shooting mainly in Hamburg this summer.

  • Constantin and SamFilm continue successful collaboration; von Garnier to direct first German film since 1996

    10-Apr-2012

    Leading German distributor Constantin Film is continuing its collaboration with SamFilm after the box-office success of the Munich-based production house’s adaptation of the Enid Blyton classic Famous Five book series (Fünf Freunde).

  • Global Screen to handle sales of Oops! Noah Is Gone

    5-Apr-2012

    Global Screen is to handle international sales for Ulysses Filmproduktion’s 3D CGI animation film Oops! Noah Is Gone… which is expected to go into production at the end of year as a co-production with Belgium, Luxembourg and Ireland.

  • Schweighofer kicks off Warner slate with Goller's Frau Ella

    4-Apr-2012

    EXCLUSIVE: Actor-producer-director Matthias Schweighöfer is to be reunited with director Markus Goller for Frau Ella, the first project of Schweighöfer’s four-picture deal with Warner Bros Entertainment.

  • Iron Sky co-producer turns to First World War for DH Lawrence adaptation

    4-Apr-2012

    Oliver Damian’s Berlin-based 27 Films Productions, the German co-producer on Iron Sky, is turning to the First World War for an adaptation of DH Lawrence’s 1923 novella The Fox to be directed by Matthias Luthardt [pictured].

  • Constantin Film named Germany's most successful producer and distributor of 2011

    3-Apr-2012

    For the seventh year in a row, Constantin Film has been named by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) as the nation’s most successful producer and distributor of German films.

  • ARRI Media Worldsales to handle Reitz's Die andere Heimat

    3-Apr-2012

    79-year-old director will start shooting the project on April 17.

  • Bavaria Film and Senator Film strike partnership

    2-Apr-2012

    Bavaria Film and Senator Film are to become partners as Senator’s Munich-based production arm Senator Film München comes on board Bavaria Film’s subsidiary Bavaria Pictures.

  • Fribourg’s Grand Prix for Israel’s Never Too Late, four prizes for Brazil’s Julia Murat

    2-Apr-2012

    Special jury award goes to Al-Abdallah’s The Last Friday.

  • Courage named Best Film in Vilnius, parallel industry event attracts 80 delegates

    30-Mar-2012

    Other winnesr include Best Intentions, Untouchables, A Place We Call Home.

  • Moritz Hemminger leaving Telepool and Global Screen

    30-Mar-2012

    He will join ARRI from April 1.

  • East-West initiatives launched between EU and Caucasus, and CIS countries

    29-Mar-2012

    The Stuttgart Animation Co-Production Forum and the Baltic Bridge East by West (B’EST) are two initiatives being launched this year to bring film professionals together from Eastern and Western Europe for collaboration on film projects.

  • Lithuanian parliament sets May 8 tax incentive vote

    28-Mar-2012

    The Baltic state is set to become the latest European country to join the circle of production hubs offering tax rebates to film producers.

  • EU committee calls for better recoupment and windows flexibility for online distribution

    28-Mar-2012

    Flexibility of release windows, fair remuneration for rights holders for online distribution and net neutrality called for in European Parliament committee report.

  • Locarno's Casa Del Cinema project secures funding

    28-Mar-2012

    The Locarno Film Festival’s long gestating Casa Del Cinema project has taken a major step forward following a CHF 10m donation by the recently established private foundation Fondazione Stella-Chiara.

  • Andreas Rothbauer leaving Beta Cinema

    27-Mar-2012

    Andreas Rothbauer, Head of Theatrical Sales & International Acquisitions at Beta Cinema, is to leave after 12 years in the post.

  • Meise's Still Life wins at Diagonale; Fribourg opens with Salt

    26-Mar-2012

    Michael wins several awards in Graz; Thierry Jobin takes the helm at Switzerland’s Fribourg.

  • Barbara leads nominations for Germany's Lola Awards

    23-Mar-2012

    Christian Petzold’s Berlinale competition film Barbara has received eight nominations for this year’s German Film Awards, known popularly as the Lolas, which will be presented in a gala ceremony at Berlin’s Friedrichstadtpalast on April 27.

  • European Commission's plans for Creative Europe under scrutiny

    23-Mar-2012

    The European Commission’s (EC) proposal for a new Creative Europe programme to replace the current Culture, MEDIA and MEDIA Mundus programmes from 2014 has come under criticism from German politicians and representatives of the German arts and media world.

  • Sofia's Grand Prix goes to Brazil's Julia Murat, local filmmaker Bojanov receives four awards

    19-Mar-2012

    Stories Only Exist When Remembered wins the Grand Prix for Best Film; Special Award goes to Magic Valley; Konstantin Bojanov wins Best Director and three more.

  • Swiss Oscar entry Summer Games receives three Swiss Film Prizes

    18-Mar-2012

    Switzerland’s Oscar entry Summer Games was the big winner at this year’s Swiss Film Prize “Quartz 2012” ceremony held in Lucerne at the weekend, picking up the awards for Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

  • Board backs Olla to remain in Eurimages post; projects by Gondry and Pawlikowski backed at latest session

    15-Mar-2012

    Nearly €5m awarded to 16 productions.

  • EC launches public consultation on rules for state film support schemes

    14-Mar-2012

    The European Commission publishes 12-page draft Cinema Communication which “intends to create a level playing field between member states and to encourage cross-border productions.”

  • Klitschko documentary sold to Universal Pictures

    14-Mar-2012

    Universal Pictures has picked up global rights to Sebastian Dehnhardt’s documentary Klitschko about the boxing brothers Vitaly and Vladimir.

  • EU's MEDIA Mundus backs 35 projects with €5m

    14-Mar-2012

    The new Berlinale Filmmakers-in-Residence Programme, Europa Cinemas International, and EFP’s third edition of Producers Lab Toronto are among 35 projects supported with a total of € 5m by the European Union’s MEDIA Mundus programme for 2012.

  • Second features by Gardev, Jalali and Achim, debuts by Segal and Chiarini to be pitched at Sofia Meetings

    13-Mar-2012

    Second features by Javor Gardev, Babak Jalili and Gabriel Achim [pictured] and debuts by Ron Segal and Duccio Chiarini are among 14 projects being pitched at the ninth edition of the Sofia Meetings which kick off in the Bulgarian capital on Thursday (March 15).

  • Studio Hamburg and C-Films reteam for Simple as Night Train To Lisbon starts shooting

    12-Mar-2012

    Markus Goller [pictured] to direct Simple, a coming-of-age story about two brothers.

  • UK's DCMS seeking views on EC's plans for Creative Europe

    9-Mar-2012

    German Producers Alliance calls for changes to a future guarantee fund and retention of MEDIA Desks/Antenna.

  • Global Screen reports strong debut at Berlinale's EFM

    9-Mar-2012

    Global Screen, the joint venture of Telepool and Bavaria Media, did brisk business with its wide-ranging lineup at its first market in the new incarnation during the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM).

  • Jihlava launches new platform for documentary producers, East Doc Platform launched in Prague

    8-Mar-2012

    A new networking and training platform for European documentary producers is to be launched by the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival during its 16th edition between October 25-28, 2012.

  • Ascot Elite secures seven titles at EFM, Splendid Film picks up nine

    1-Mar-2012

    New films by Brian de Palma and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are among seven new acquisitions made by Zurich-based Ascot Elite Entertainment Group at lastmonth’s European Film Market (EFM), while Cologne’s Splendid Film has picked up nine titles for exploitation in German-speaking Europe and the Benelux.

  • Germany floats towards €1bn

    23-Feb-2012

    The German box office increased year-on-year in 2011 but didn’t crack the elusive billion-euro mark. Martin Blaney reports on the year’s highlights

  • UPDATE: Caesar Must Die wins Berlin's Golden Bear

    19-Feb-2012

    Other winners include Fliegauf, Petzold.

  • MEDIA says Bosnia & Herzegovina to be full member by end of year

    24-Jan-2012

    Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to become a full member of the EU’s MEDIA Programme later this year.

  • 39 new film projects looking for partners at 9th Berlinale Co-Production Market

    17-Jan-2012

    New films by such award-winning directors as Russia’s Alexei Popogrebsky, Romania’s Tudor Giurgiu and Finland’s Petri Kotwica [pictured] are among 39 new film projects from 30 countries, which have been selected for the ninth edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (Feb 12-14).

  • Sonia Mehandjiyska to head distribution at Global Screen; Thorsten Ritter to leave Bavaria

    16-Jan-2012

    Former Echo Bridge Entertainment VP international sales to head recently formed Telepool and Bavaria Media joint venture.

  • European Film Market's Probst 'very excited' about new American indies presence

    13-Jan-2012

    So far, nearly 550 market premieres scheduled.

  • Never Alone

    12-Jan-2012

    The true story behind Finnish director Klaus Harö’s fifth feature film Never Alone (Nie Allein), which received the Screen Internatonal Best Pitch Award at December’s Baltic Event in Tallinn, has fascinated the director and producer Ilkka Matila alike ever since their childhoods.

  • Kosslick: Berlinale may consider Cannes or Locarno management model in the future

    12-Jan-2012

    Dieter Kosslick notes strong Asian, German, French selections for 2012 Berlinale; popular themes include upheaval and exercise of power.

  • Ophüls Prize Film Festival to include nine world premieres in competitions

    11-Jan-2012

    Weingartner’s Hut In The Woods will open festival in Saarbrucken.

  • DCM assumes sole ownership of Delphi Filmverleih

    9-Jan-2012

    DCM to become sole owner of distributor Delphi Filmverleih by acquiring remaining 50% stake from founder Claus Boje

  • Kosslick likely to stay at head of Berlinale until 2016

    21-Dec-2011

    Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick is set to remain at the head of the leading international festival event until 2016.

  • Georgia joins European Film Promotion

    20-Dec-2011

    Georgia has become European Film Promotion’s  (EFP) 33rd member with the acceptance of the Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) into the promotional network to present its films and talent at international marketing activities under the European banner.

  • Wolfgang Braun steps down as head of StudioCanal Germany

    20-Dec-2011

    Wolfgang Braun, chairman and CEO at StudioCanal in Germany since July 2009, will exit the company on Jan 1, 2012.

  • Eye on Films network grows to 30 distributors; deals signs on Iranian, Canadian films

    19-Dec-2011

    Charlotte Rampling and Maria de Medeiros are among a number of European actors who have been approached to be recruited as “godmothers” to promote the work of the Eye on Films (EoF) network which was launched at the beginning of 2011.

  • Projects by Fridriksson, Cvitkovic, Ronde to be pitched at Trieste co-production market

    16-Dec-2011

    Second edition of multi-region co-production forum to be held Jan 19-21 in Trieste.

  • Eurimages mooting idea of associate membership for the likes of South Africa, Argentina

    13-Dec-2011

    Eurimages head notes that non-member UK is “special case.”

  • European Film Promotion unveils 2012 Shooting Stars longlist

    8-Dec-2011

    UK actor Riz Ahmed and Germany’s Anna Maria Mühe are among ten up-and-coming European acting talents selected from a longlist of 23 candidates.

  • Bychkova, Quabeck and Mindadze films among 12 projects submitted to German-Russian Co-Development Fund

    7-Dec-2011

    Also, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg launches another two artist in residence initiatives with Mumbai and Hong Kong.

  • MEDIA head calls for more lobbying; working paper suggests possible MEDIA financial breakdown

    6-Dec-2011

    Commission Staff Working Paper says bigger countries could see more slate funding; Europa Cinemas could get almost €100m.

  • Melancholia wins top prize at European Film Awards

    4-Dec-2011

    Other winners include In A Better World, The King’s Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Kid With A Bike and Pina. Special honours bestowed upon Michel Piccoli [pictured] and Mads Mikkelsen.

  • German broadcasters allay producers' concerns after the dismissal of Degeto CEO

    3-Dec-2011

    Germany’s public broadcaster ARD has sought to allay producers’ concerns after the dismissal of Hans-Wolfgang Jurgan, CEO of ARD’s central film purchasing agency Degeto Film, this week “for serious organisational deficiencies“.

  • Finnish drama Never Alone among Baltic Event winners

    2-Dec-2011

    Films from Finland, Georgia and Hungary were voted by sales agents, distributors and potential co-producers as the most promising projects at the Baltic Event’s 7th Co-Production Market which came to a close on Friday evening (Dec 2).

  • Christian Lemche elected new EFP president

    30-Nov-2011

    Danish Film Institute’s Lemche takes over presidency of European Film Promotion from Eva Vezer

  • Tallinn's Black Nights gives grand prix to A Simple Life

    30-Nov-2011

    Other festival prize winners include We Need To Talk About Kevin, Barzakh, 33 Animals of Santa Claus, and Kotoko.

  • German and French film producers meet to discuss projects at Paris Rendezvous

    25-Nov-2011

    A dramatic comedy with Holocaust survivors, a horror film set in Morocco and a Balkan Romeo and Juliet love story were among 25 projects presented to potential production partners at this year’s German-French Film Meeting in Paris (Nov 23-24).

  • EC commissioner unveils Creative Europe programme details

    23-Nov-2011

    Vassiliou says new programme (which replaces MEDIA) will allocate more than €900m for film/audiovisual sectors; European parliament passes resolution on digitisation.

  • Ireland's Parked wins top prize at Mannheim-Heidelberg

    21-Nov-2011

    Irish filmmaker Darragh Byrne’s feature directorial debut Parked, starring Colm Meaney and Colin Morgan, won the main award at this year’s edition of the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival which came to a close on Sunday evening.

  • Industry disputes claims of European 'subsidy race'

    17-Nov-2011

    European Commission had argued in consultation on EU state aid for film industry that countries were in a race to attract US productions.

  • Lindhardt, Solomon among jurors for EFP's Shooting Stars

    15-Nov-2011

    The jury of experts has been named to select Europe’s 10 best acting talents for European Film Promotion’s (EFP) Shooting Stars 2012 showcase, which will be held during the upcoming Berlinale from Feb 11-13, 2012

  • UK films among world premiere line-up at Mannheim-Heidelberg

    9-Nov-2011

    World premieres of films by UK directors Martin Wallace and Zam Salim are in the lineup of the 60th anniversary edition of the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg which kicked off on Wednesday (9) with the international premiere of Reynir Lyngdal’s Our Own Oslo.

  • Ounpuu, Härö and Kotwica projects at Baltic co-production market

    8-Nov-2011

    13 projects from 10 countries will be presented at the Baltic Event’s 7th Co-Production Market in the Estonian capital of Tallinn from November 29 to December 2.

  • Russian films triumph in Cottbus, Zelenka gives Best Pitch

    7-Nov-2011

    Russian cinema was the big winner at this year’s FilmFestival Cottbus with Angelina Nikonova’s feature debut Twilight Portrait taking home the € 20,000 main prize for best film.

  • Verhoeven's hit sequel among Beta's half dozen market premieres

    2-Nov-2011

    Beta’s AFM slate includes Men In The City II, Summer In Orange, Westwind.

  • Czech director Martin Marecek big winner in Jihlava

    31-Oct-2011

    Czech director Martin Marecek’s Solar Eclipse was the evening’s big winner at the weekend’s awards ceremony of the 15th Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival which was followed by a screening of Jafar Panahi’s This Is Not A Film.

  • Berlinale and European Film Market (EFM) plan digital innovations for 2012

    26-Oct-2011

    Moving its accreditation procedure online is one of the innovations introduced for the 2012 editions of the Berlinale and European Film Market (EFM) next February.

  • Europa Cinemas cancels plans for Athens conference

    25-Oct-2011

    November event called off due to fears over disruptions in Greece.

  • EC wants European film industry to strengthen ties with China

    25-Oct-2011

    Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou is visiting Beijing this week.

  • EC proposes 20% budget increase for next generation of EU MEDIA Programme for 2014-2020

    25-Oct-2011

    The next generation of the European Union’s MEDIA Programme from 2014-2020 could see a 20% hike in its budget to € 900m from € 755m for MEDIA 2007.

  • Nicolas Cage to headline first film project from Bavariapool International Coproductions

    18-Oct-2011

    Nicolas Cage is to headline Brian Goodman’s psychological thriller Black Butterfly (working title) which will be the first project for the cinema from Bavariapool International Coproductions, a joint venture between Bavaria Film and Telepool.

  • Wojciech Smarzowski's Rose takes top prize in Warsaw

    17-Oct-2011

    Polish cinema triumphed at the International Competition of this year’s Warsaw Film Festival (Oct 7-16) with Wojciech Smarzowski’s Rose picking up the Warsaw Grand Prix and Greg Zglinski’s Courage taking the special jury award for Best Actor as well as the ecumenical jury’s award.

  • Janet McTeer joins cast of von Trotta's Hannah Arendt

    13-Oct-2011

    UK actress Janet McTeer, who recently appeared opposite Glenn Close in Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs, will play the novelist Mary McCarthy in German director Margarethe von Trotta’s latest feature Hannah Arendt (working title) which begins shooting on location in North Rhine-Westphalia this weekend.

  • Special Flight/A Morning Stroll opens Leipzig, Jihlava turns 15 with many industry events

    10-Oct-2011

    Boom year for submissions to DOK Leipzig; Jihlava plans new inspiration forum.

  • m-appeal takes on international sales for Golden Shell winner and Veit Helmer's Baikonur

    7-Oct-2011

    m-appeal has taken on international sales for Isaki Lacuesta’s San Sebastian Golden Shell winner The Double Steps (Los Pasos Dobles) and German filmmaker Veit Helmer’s romantic comedy Baikonur, which will both have their international premieres in Busan tonight.

  • Culture action plan also to encourage co-production between  EU and Brazil

    6-Oct-2011

    Encouraging more co-production between the EU and Brazil could be part of a new Joint Programme on Culture signed by the European Commission (EC) and Brazil.

  • More than 350 individuals, organisations respond in MEDIA Mundus consultation

    5-Oct-2011

    More than 350 individuals and organisations from the European Union (EU) and around the globe have participated in a public consultation on the next round of the MEDIA Mundus Programme after 2013.

  • Otto leaves Sony to join Ascot Elite's German operations

    3-Oct-2011

    Daniel Otto has been appointed as the Head of Acquisitions; Sales and Co-Productions at Swiss Ascot Elite Entertainment Group’s Munich-based German theatrical operation Ascot Elite Filmverleih.

  • Lore

    29-Sep-2011

    Producers Karsten Stöter, Liz Watts and Paul Welsh talk about working with acclaimed Australian director Cate Shortland on her German-language project Lore.

  • Colla and Madsen among 20 European filmmakers showcased by EFP in Korea's Busan

    27-Sep-2011

    Switzerland’s Rolando Colla, Romania’s Adrian Sitaru and Denmark’s Ole Christian Madsen are among 20 European directors who will be having their latest films showcased by European Film Promotion (EFP) at the forthcoming Busan International Film Festival (Oct 6-14).

  • Extremely Tragic Story top winner at Adana's Golden Boll

    25-Sep-2011

    Festival prize money totals $543,500.

  • Page Eight, A Dangerous Method to book-end Warsaw

    22-Sep-2011

    David Hare’s Page Eight and David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method will open and close this year’s Warsaw Film Festival (WFF) which is running for ten days on nine cinema screens with a programme of 127 feature-length films and 97 shorts from 59 countries from October 7-16.

  • Quiet Revolution, Fobic Films to co-produce Enthoven's Winnipeg

    16-Sep-2011

    Belgian director Geoffrey Enthoven’s dark comedy Winnipeg, will be an English language Canada/Belgium co-production

  • Barbara

    15-Sep-2011

    Yella and Jerichow director Christian Petzold and producer Florian Koerner von Gustorf speak about their latest collaboration.

  • Filmfest Hamburg 2011 programme unveiled, No Sex Is No Option opens Filmfest Oldenburg

    14-Sep-2011

    Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s Good Bye will kick-off Filmfest Hamburg’s 2011 lineup of over 150 titles on September 29.

  • Future MEDIA Programme should promote ‘film literacy’

    12-Sep-2011

    The European Union’s MEDIA Programme should be opened up to cultural goals and promote ‘film literacy’ in the support programme’s next generation from 2014, according to recommendations made during the European Culture Congress in the Polish city of Wroclaw at the weekend.

  • Cloud Atlas awarded the maximum amount by German incentive programme

    6-Sep-2011

    The €100m Cloud Atlas has become the first project in the history of the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive programme to be awarded the maximum possible sum of Euros 10m.

  • Gabriela Bacher joins Kreuzpaintner’s Summerstorm as CEO and co-shareholder

    4-Sep-2011

    Bacher joins Berlin-based production outfit after recent success with local hit What A Man

  • Berlin Today Award to be presented for last time in 2012, new screening venue added for Berlinale

    1-Sep-2011

    The Berlinale Talent Campus (BTC) will making its last presentation of the Berlin Today Award (BTA) during the Campus‘ 10th anniversary edition next February.

  • Tyrannosaur marks Bavaria Film’s return to theatrical distribution

    25-Aug-2011

    UK actor Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur is set to mark Bavaria Film’s return to the world of theatrical distribution when the film opens in German cinemas on October 13.

  • Viennale paying tribute to Jeremy Thomas, Harry Belafonte and Chantal Akerman

    22-Aug-2011

    This year’s Viennale (Oct 20 – Nov 2) will be staging special programmes to celebrate the work of UK producer Jeremy Thomas [pictured], US actor and political activitist Harry Belafonte and the Belgian director Chantal Akerman.

  • New genre pitching forum coming to Croatia's Zadar festival

    21-Aug-2011

    Industry figures will discuss a new pitching forum dedicated to films in the thriller and horror genres at the upcoming Film Forum Zadar festival in Croatia.

  • Films Boutique takes on new films from Enthoven, Tsitos and Jude

    18-Aug-2011

    Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique has secured international distribution rights for new films from Geoffrey Enthoven, Filipos Tsitos and Radu Jude.

  • The Match Factory picks up Orizzonti opener Cut, and new Petzold film

    17-Aug-2011

    The Match Factory has picked up international distribution rights for Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi’s new feature Cut which will have its world premiere as the opening film of Venice’s Horizons (Orizzonti) section on Sept 1.

  • Locarno's Golden Leopard awarded to Argentina's Back To Stay

    13-Aug-2011

    The international jury headed by Portuguese producer Paolo Branco presented the festival’s top honour to Argentinian-born Milagros Mumenthaler for her debut feature Back To Stay (Abrir Puertas Y Ventanas).

  • Locarno's Pere claims 'perfect balance' for 2011 festival

    11-Aug-2011

    The 64th Locarno Film Festival achieved “a perfect balance” this year, according to Olivier Père in his second outing as the festival’s artistic director. Also, the ambitious Casa Del Cinema project could be in place by 2015.

  • Locarno's Open Doors top award shared by two Indian projects

    10-Aug-2011

    The Trapper’s Snare and Burqa Boxers win the Open Doors Co-Production Lab awards.

  • Brandenburg launches €5m gap financing programme

    10-Aug-2011

    The State of Brandenburg and the regional investment bank ILB have launched a € 5m gap financing programme for films produced in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

  • Second edition of Producers Lab Toronto selects 24 producers from Europe and Canada

    8-Aug-2011

    Producers Lab Toronto has selected 24 producers from Europe and Canada for the second edition of the lab (Sept 7-10).

  • Fest hits should be rewarded, Swiss minister says

    8-Aug-2011

    Meanwhile, Locarno kicks off with rain, Abel Ferrara honours and Cowboys & Aliens.

  • Aviva Silver speaks about future MEDIA Programme from 2014

    8-Aug-2011

    Role of international projects discussed going forward.

  • German films sold to Asia, South America and Scandinavia

    8-Aug-2011

    Rainer Matsutani’s horror thriller Room 205, Christian Zübert’s comedy drama Three Quarters Moon and Joseph Vilsmaier’s mountaineering drama Nanga Parbat are among a raft of titles sold by German sales companies at this year’s German Films Previews.

  • Hell to China and CIS, other Locarno titles picked up for sales

    5-Aug-2011

    Also, Swiss distributor Ascot Elite adds five titles.

  • UFA Cinema partners for first time with Warner Bros.

    3-Aug-2011

    Also, Warner starts shoot for Ludwig II starring Sabin Tambrea.

  • Attenberg wins Grand Prix at Wroclaw’s New Horizons

    1-Aug-2011

    Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari won this year’s Grand Prix for her feature debut Attenberg at the 11th edition of the New Horizons International Film Festival which sold more than 110,000 tickets in its eleven days from July 21-31.

  • State of the art studio to open in Wroclaw, 2012

    29-Jul-2011

    Wroclaw’s traditional feature film studios WFF is to be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility with a focus on innovative special effects techniques from 2012.

  • Shooting wrapped on Zentropa Poland’s first Polish-language project

    27-Jul-2011

    Baby Blues is the second feature from Kasia Roslaniec, who was also participating in New Horizons Studio training programme in Wroclaw this week.

  • Cate Shortland’s Lore backed by Germany‘s DFFF

    22-Jul-2011

    Australian director’s WWII drama latest international co-production to benefit from DFFF incentive this year.

  • German-Russian Co-Production Treaty signed after years in the works

    21-Jul-2011

    Journey to get treaty created has been more than 10 years.

  • IM Global, TrustNordisk, Pacha Pictures and UK’s Blue Light among newcomers to Locarno

    20-Jul-2011

    International sales and distribution company IM Global, Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk, the new French-Arab sales outfit Pacha Pictures, and UK producer-distributor Blue Light are among more than 20 companies already confirmed to attend Locarno’s Industry Days for the first time this year.

  • Calls for future MEDIA Programme to increase support for digitisation of cinemas

    19-Jul-2011

    New report from Polish MEP calls on Europe to speed up the digital shift, as the European Commission gathers views on how Europe can move towards a digital single market.

  • Kinoforum, St Petersburg

    18-Jul-2011

    Photos from the awards ceremony at the second edition of the St Petersburg International Kinoforum which took place Jul 10-15.

  • Black Blood, A Separation triumph at Kinoforum

    16-Jul-2011

    Films from China and Iran took home the top prizes at the second edition of the Saint Petersburg International Kinoforum (Jul 10-15), which despite teething troubles was attended by 40,000 cinemagoers at six cinemas and other special venues.

  • German media mogul Leo Kirch dies at 84

    14-Jul-2011

    Kirch Group became one of the biggest film and TV concerns in Europe

  • Alexey German Jr’s Under Electric Clouds starts casting

    14-Jul-2011

    Russian-Ukrainian-Polish co-production to start shooting from October after German Jr completes short film From Tokyo

  • Russia’s Rock Films joins Friends From France

    12-Jul-2011

    Anne Weil and Philippe Kotlarski’s 1982-set feature will shoot in Germany, Russia and Israel

  • French-Russian Film Academy launched, Carole Bouquet and Pavel Lungin serve as presidents

    12-Jul-2011

    Relations between the French and Russian film industries are set to be given an additional boost with the creation of the French-Russian Film Academy.

  • Tyrannosaur crowned king at VOICES, St Petersburg's Kinoforum kicks off

    11-Jul-2011

    Pure also wins big in Vologda; Kinoforum, presents two competition programmes.

  • Ralph Fiennes in talks to return to 19th century Russia

    11-Jul-2011

    Ralph Fiennes is in talks to star in another adaptation of 19th Russian literature – Ivan Turgenev’s 1872 play A Month In The Country.

  • German Films Previews to include films by Glawogger, Fehlmann, Thalheim

    8-Jul-2011

    75 buyers set to attend the Hamburg event starting July 10.

  • Le Quattro Volte producer to partner on Italian remake of Uchitel’s The Stroll

    8-Jul-2011

    Project is discussed by Cinecitta Luce at Russia’s Voices festival, where there is a strong Italian presence.

  • Switzerland, Germany and Austria sign trilateral co-production agreement

    6-Jul-2011

    Trilateral co-production agreement between Switzerland, Germany and Austria comes into effect, but international visibility of Swiss cinema dealt a blow by ministry’s cost-cutting.

  • Aktis acquires KVIFF competitor Lollipop Monster

    6-Jul-2011

    Aktis Film International has acquired the international distribution rights for Ziska Riemann’s feature debut Lollipop Monster which has its international premiere in Karlovy Vary’s main competition today (July 6).

  • Sherry Hormann to direct one of Bernd Eichinger's last screenplays

    5-Jul-2011

    The US born director of Desert Flower has been picked by producer-distributor Constantin Film to direct Kampusch, one of the last projects which Bernd Eichinger had been working on before his untimely death in January this year.

  • Le Havre, In A Better World amongst winners at Filmfest Munchen

    4-Jul-2011

    Hell and In A Better World also picked up awards at the festival in St Petersberg.

  • EC proposes €1.6bn for culture and the audiovisual industry from 2014-2020

    3-Jul-2011

    The European Commission has proposed in its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 to allocate €1.6bn for culture and the audiovisual industry.

  • Ukraine eyeing Eurimages membership

    1-Jul-2011

    Ukraine is the next East European country signalling interest to become a member of the Council of Europe’s co-production fund Eurimages.

  • Second edition of Moscow Business Square attended by about 350 professionals

    30-Jun-2011

    Moscow Co-Production Forum included new project from team behind Innocent Saturday, as well as Sarah Bernhardt English-language project.

  • New international film festival to start in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

    30-Jun-2011

    Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent is to host its first international film festival this October organised by the Uzbekkino National Agency and the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan.

  • Georgia to become 36th Eurimages member

    29-Jun-2011

    “Revolutionary” change to guidelines making projects with non-European directors eligible, collaboration between European Producers Club and Russian Cinema Fund

  • Bekmambetov goes outside Russia for Six Degrees sequel

    29-Jun-2011

    The sequel to Russian hit comedy Six Degrees Of Celebration has begun shooting with directors including Oksana Bychkova and Alexander Kott.

  • German funds partner with Russia's RCF to encourage joint development of films

    28-Jun-2011

    Also German-Polish co-production treaty in the works.

  • Munich to open with The Kid With A Bike

    23-Jun-2011

    Festival will show 237 titles in festival director Andreas Strohl’s last edition.

  • European Commission launches public consultation on EU state aid for film industry

    20-Jun-2011

    The European Commission has launched a public consultation as part of a review of the criteria for assessing the compatibility of national, regional, and local film and audiovisual support schemes with European Union state aid rules.

  • EU commissioner: we won't cut MEDIA Programme

    19-Jun-2011

    The funding source’s budget is to be kept at its current level and could possibly be increased in the European Union’s budget period for 2014-2010, EU budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski told a delegation of filmmakers in Warsaw on Friday [17].

  • European Commissioner proposes guarantee fund for cultural and creative industries

    16-Jun-2011

    Androulla Vassiliou wants to work with the European Investment Bank to provide guarantees to banks for loans to cultural and creative industries

  • Fernando Meirelles’ 360 first English language production to tap Austrian incentive

    15-Jun-2011

    The €11m project shot in Austria last month

  • Argentina's No Return takes top prize at Transilvania’s Cluj

    13-Jun-2011

    Romanian Days awards go to Morgen and Outbound at Transilvania International Film Festival.

  • Media Luna New Films adds four new titles

    10-Jun-2011

    Films by Hong Kong filmmaker Scud and Finland’s Riamo O. Niemi are among four new titles acquired by Media Luna New Films for international distribution.

  • Locarno names first two competition titles, plans two new initiatives

    8-Jun-2011

    Mia Hansen-Love’s third feature Goodbye First Love [pictured] will have its international premiere.

  • Restructured Egoli Tossell lines up slate including Hirschbiegel project

    7-Jun-2011

    Films by Peter Chelsom, Maria von Heland, and Oliver Hirschbiegel are among the projects being lined up by a reinvigorated Egoli Tossell Film (ETF) for its 2011/2012 slate following the restructuring of the Berlin-based production company after its insolvency at the beginning of this year.

  • Locarno’s Pere reveals “stronger American presence”; Rohrer moves to Solothurn

    31-May-2011

    Locarno’s Olivier Père is expecting to have a “stronger American presence” for his second outing as artistic director at this year’s festival (Aug 3-13).

  • Beta Cinema secures US deal on My Best Enemy

    27-May-2011

    The deal was one of almost two dozen sales agreements concluded by Beta Cinema at this year’s Cannes market.

  • UK actors Max Irons and Claire Foy set to star in Boris Damast’s Vivaldi

    27-May-2011

    Celsuis is handling international sales on the historical drama to shoot this autumn; Patricia Riggen also planning different Vivaldi project.

  • Circles (Krugovi)

    26-May-2011

    The Trap director Srdan Golubovic’s latest feature is the true story of a Serbian soldier who risked his life to protect a Muslim civilian during the war in Bosnia.

  • Kinowelt and Universum buy big in Cannes

    26-May-2011

    New films by Niels Arden Oplev, Olivier Megaton and Martin Scorsese were bought by German independent distributors Kinowelt and Universum Film at this year’s Cannes ...

  • German sellers and buyers report brisk business at Cannes Market

    23-May-2011

    Constantin says it has best market in history including Resident Evil 5 deal with Sony;

  • James Foley thriller in Bavaria Film Partners slate, Dakota Fanning attached

    15-May-2011

    Coming of age thriller Furious Angel one of the first projects lined up for production by new Munich-based co-production/co-financing entity

  • Four X-Filme classics find new home at The Match Factory

    15-May-2011

    Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) and Wintersleepers (Winterschläfer) among the four to move to Cologne-based sales agent

  • Critic and filmmaker Michael Althen dies

    12-May-2011

    German film critic and filmmaker Michael Althen passes away aged 48.

  • Claim that industry “not part of the process” in planning new MEDIA Programme

    12-May-2011

    European Commission comes under fire from professionals over future of MEDIA

  • Senator Film sets up Munich base after 17-year absence

    9-May-2011

    Germany’s Senator Entertainment has established two new production arms in Munich after 17 years’ absence from the Bavarian capital.

  • Locarno’s Open Doors launches new initiative

    9-May-2011

    Locarno Film Festival’s co-production lab Open Doors is to launch a new initiative entitled Carte Blanche from this August.

  • Future of MEDIA up for discussion in Cannes

    9-May-2011

    The ninth edition of Cannes’ European Rendezvous focuses on MEDIA’s preparations for the new programme

  • Mobilising for MEDIA

    6-May-2011

    The future role of the European Union’s MEDIA programme in the continent’s film industry remains unclear following plans to restructure arts spending in Europe. Martin Blaney reports

  • Bavaria to begin presales on Eddie – The Sleepwalking Cannibal

    6-May-2011

    Bavaria Film International will begin presales on its latest acquisition of writer-director Boris Rodriguez’s Eddie – The Sleepwalking Cannibal at the Marché du Film in Cannes.

  • Til Schweiger box-office hit among four Beta market premieres

    5-May-2011

    Beta’s Cannes Market titles also include family film The Tigerduck Gang.

  • Filmmakers have Niki Lauda’s near fatal crash of 1976 in their sights

    5-May-2011

    Former Formula One racing champion Niki Lauda’s near fatal crash on the Nürburgring in August 1976 is at the heart of two rival film projects.

  • The Match Factory has four world premieres in Cannes

    3-May-2011

    The Match Factory will be coming to Cannes this year with four new films as world premieres showing in the festival’s Official Selection.

  • Locarno Open Doors selects 12 Indian projects

    3-May-2011

    Projects by Indian filmmakers Anup Singh [pictured] and Alka Raghuram are among 12 selected for this year’s edition of the Open Doors co-production lab to be held in Locarno from August 6-9.

  • EastWest Filmdistribution picks up two Cannes world premieres

    3-May-2011

    EastWest Filmdistribution has pickedup international distribution rights for two films having world premieres in Cannes this year.

  • Films Boutique offers two Fortnight titles, two market premieres

    1-May-2011

    Berlin-based sales company’s slate includes Guilty of Romance, Iris in Bloom.

  • Klitschko doc lands North American deal at Tribeca

    28-Apr-2011

    Sebastian Dehnhardt’s documentary Klitschko about the Ukrainian-born heavyweight boxing champions Vitaly and Vladimir Klitschko has been sold to US distributor Corinth Films.

  • Atrix Films boards The Sandman for Cannes Marché

    27-Apr-2011

    Munich-based sales outfit readies comedy The Sandman (Der Sandmann) for Cannes.

  • Loznitsa re-teams with Deckert for WWII drama In The Fog

    26-Apr-2011

    My Joy director’s second feature is set to start shooting in Latvia in September

  • Cinepool presents four new titles in lineup at Cannes Marché

    21-Apr-2011

    Titles include comedy, historical drama and family film.

  • EFP selects candidates for Producers On The Move in Cannes

    20-Apr-2011

    25 producers to participate in 12th edition, including first producer invited from Albania.

  • German funds back new projects from Vincent Perez, Cate Shortland, Jos Stelling

    19-Apr-2011

    Three German funds invest over $25m in new projects from Vincent Perez, Cate Shortland, Jos Stelling and others

  • Galter and Marais share Linz’s Crossing Europe Award

    18-Apr-2011

    Lluís Galter’s Caracremada and Pia Marais’ At Ellen’s Age [pictured] shared the Crossing Europe Award in this year’s European Competition in the Austrian city of Linz at the weekend.

  • Kaplanoglu, Teoman and Özge projects supported by new German-Turkish fund

    15-Apr-2011

    New films by Semih Kaplanoglu, Seyfi Teoman and Asli Özge are among the first supported by the German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund with a total of €100,000.

  • Oliver Schmitz leaves directors chair on Russendisko, replaced by screenwriter

    15-Apr-2011

    Berlin-based production house Black Forest Films has changed directors in the middle of shooting the film adaptation of Wladimir Kaminer’s bestseller Russendisko.

  • Mexico’s Sanchez wins Nyon’s Grand Prix

    14-Apr-2011

    Mexican filmmaker Tatiana Huezo Sanchez’s El Lugar Mas Pequeno won the Grand Prix for Best Feature-Length Film at this year’s Visions du Réel international documentary festival in Switzerland’s Nyon.

  • Zurich Film Festival to launch competition for German-language documentaries

    13-Apr-2011

    The Zurich Film Festival has announced that it will be launching a new competition for German-language documentaries at its seventh edition from September 22-October 2, 2011.

  • Balabanov's A Stoker wins goEast top prize

    13-Apr-2011

    Marian Crisan wins best director prize for Morgen.

  • Mike Medavoy to get honour in Locarno

    11-Apr-2011

    Veteran US producer Mike Medavoy to receive Locarno Film Festival’s Raimondo Rezzonico Prize

  • Romanian film critic Alex Leo Serban dies at 51

    11-Apr-2011

    The Romanian film community is in deep shock this weekend at the news that one of its most loved and highly respected film critics Alex Leo Serban has died of cancer at the age of 51.

  • Vincent Wants To Sea wins gold at German Lolas

    11-Apr-2011

    Ralf Huettner’s Vincent Wants To Sea (Vincent Will Meer) picked up the Golden Lola for best feature film at this year’s German Film Awards in Berlin. Tom Tykwer’s Three ...

  • UK’s House of Lords calls for continued support for future MEDIA Programme

    8-Apr-2011

    The United Kingdom’s House of Lords has added its voice to the growing line of supporters for a future MEDIA Programme.

  • DFFF pays out more than $9m for Hansel and Gretel in 3D

    5-Apr-2011

    Tommy Wirkola’s 3D feature started shooting last month at Babelsberg.

  • EU culture ministers reaffirm support for MEDIA Programme

    29-Mar-2011

    Future support for the European Union’s MEDIA Programme was given additional boost at an informal meeting of EU Ministers for Culture held at the Royal Palace in the Hungarian town of Gödöllö this week.

  • Poetry wins Grand Prix in Fribourg, The Fatherless bags prizes at Graz’s Diagonale

    28-Mar-2011

    South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-Dong’s Poetry picked up the Le Regard d’Or Grand Prix and FIPRESCI Award at Switzerland’s Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) which celebrated its 25th edition this year.

  • Oberhausen launches VOD platform that gives filmmakers more options

    24-Mar-2011

    Short films by Robert Frank, Jan Svankmajer and Jeanne Faust are among the first titles available at Oberhausen Films Online, a new kind of video-on-demand platform launched by the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.

  • European sales companies join forces to launch Europa International

    22-Mar-2011

    Michael Weber [pictured] of The Match Factory is the founding president of the group, which also includes representatives from HanWay, TrustNordisk and ...

  • European Commission supporting film in the Mediterranean with $15m

    21-Mar-2011

    The European Commission is supporting the film industry in the Mediterranean region through a third edition of its Euromed Audiovisual Programme with $15m (€11m) between 2011-2013.

  • EC President commits to 'close cooperation' with industry for MEDIA's future

    21-Mar-2011

    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has committed to a “close and permanent exchange and cooperation” with European filmmakers for planning the framework of the future MEDIA Programme, according to France’s ARP.

  • Mungiu: European filmmakers able to take risks thanks to MEDIA

    18-Mar-2011

    European filmmakers have been able to take risks thanks to the European Union’s MEDIA Programme, director Cristian Mungiu declared in a keynote speech during the public hearing on MEDIA and MEDIA Mundus in Brussels today.

  • European film industry faces MEDIA showdown with EU

    18-Mar-2011

    Securing the future of the MEDIA Programme could be just one battle of many to come betwen leading lights of theEuropean film industry and their counterparts at the European Commission.

  • Bulgarian filmmakers appeal to prime minister

    16-Mar-2011

    Continuing concerns about the future of the Bulgarian film industry have led the local community to petition Prime Minister Boyko Borissov [pictured] “to find a lasting solution for the tremendous problems of Bulgarian cinema.”

  • European Commission earmarks $19.5m for African, Caribbean and Pacific films

    15-Mar-2011

    The European Commission is to support filmmakers from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) with a total of $19.5m (€14m) as part of its new ACP-EU Support Programme to the ACP Cultural Sectors running between 2011 and 2016.

  • Shelter wins in Sofia; Indian Wife, Youth take pitches awards

    14-Mar-2011

    Dragomir Sholev’s feature debut Shelter has become the first Bulgarian film to win the Grand Prix of Sofia International Film Festival’s (SIFF) International Competition.

  • Swiss Oscar entry wins two awards at this year’s Swiss Film Prize

    14-Mar-2011

    Switzerland’s 2011 Oscar entry La Petite Chambre by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond won the awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay at this year’s Swiss Film Prize Quartz 2011.

  • Tykwer’s Three picks up six Lola nominations

    11-Mar-2011

    Tom Tykwer’s love triangle with a difference Three (Drei) has picked up six nominations for this year’s German Film Awards which will be presented at a gala ceremony in Berlin’s Friedrichstadtpalast on Friday, April 8.

  • EC Commissioner Vassiliou responds to producers' fears about MEDIA

    11-Mar-2011

    Androulla Vassiliou, EC Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, has sought to allay European producers’ concerns about the financial independence of a future MEDIA Programme.

  • European industry mobilises ahead of MEDIA hearing

    10-Mar-2011

    European film professionals are anxious to hear what’s discussed on March 18 about the hotly debated future of the MEDIA Programme.

  • Sofia Meetings pitches include new films from Qurbani, Akram, Horvath

    9-Mar-2011

    Second features by Burhan Qurbani, Barmak Akram and Viktor Chouchkov Jr and debuts by Lili Horváth and Tom Shoval are among 18 projects being pitched at the eighth edition of the Sofia Meetings which kicks off in the Bulgarian capital on Thursday.

  • Barroso claims threats of cuts to MEDIA are 'completely inaccurate'

    7-Mar-2011

    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has denied that he has been behind plans to reduce or completely cut the MEDIA Programme after its current cycle comes to an end in December 2013.

  • Telepool has strong EFM with Leave, Days To Come

    4-Mar-2011

    Munich-based sales company Telepool reports that this year’s European Film Market (EFM) was “a very successful market” with further deals concluded for Feo Aladag’s award-winning When We Leaveand “great interest” shown by buyers from the US in Lars Kraume’s futuristic thriller The Days To Come.

  • Flying Concorde

    3-Mar-2011

    In an extract from Screen’s new Independent Distribution Report, Martin Blaney looks at how larger German independents grew their market share despite an overall dip in box office.

  • Telepool handling sales for first film from Cinema Jenin

    1-Mar-2011

    Munich-based Telepool is handling international sales on the documentary After The Silence, which is the first film project to be supported by the German-Palestinian initiative Cinema Jenin.

  • Top filmmakers sign petition to support future of MEDIA Programme

    23-Feb-2011

    More than 300 European filmmakers including Wim Wenders and Mike Leigh sign the petition.

  • Beta signs more than 35 deals during busy EFM

    22-Feb-2011

    Hot sellers include My Best Enemy, Almanya, In Darkness, Black Bread and Naples

  • EFM 2011: Berlin’s most successful ever market for arthouse titles

    21-Feb-2011

    Hot sellers included Nader and Simin: A Separation, Tomboy and documentary Khodorkovsky.

  • Berlin's Golden Bear goes to Farhadi's A Separation

    19-Feb-2011

    This marks the first time that an Iranian film has won the Golden Bear; other winners include The Turin Horse, If Not Us, Who, The Forgiveness of Blood and

  • Kosslick says 2011 Berlinale couldn't 'avoid the political'

    19-Feb-2011

    Dieter Kosslick says Bela Tarr FIPRESCI prize could be a show of solidarity with Hungarian filmmakers; he also talks about challenges of digital cinema in regards to festival and market.

  • Brownian co-producers to reunite for Leopold’s next film

    17-Feb-2011

    The Netherlands’ Circe Films and Germany’s Coin Film, co-producers of Nanouk Leopold’s Forum film

  • Europe's national film agencies support MEDIA future

    16-Feb-2011

    Agencies offer Declaration in support of MEDIA after Berlinale meeting.

  • Haas joins Paramount Germany

    16-Feb-2011

    Former Disney and Sony Pictures studio executive Maike Haas has brought onboard by Paramount Pictures Germany as executive consultant for local language acquisition and production.

  • Berlinale's World Cinema Fund launches new programme for Africa

    16-Feb-2011

    A new WCF programme entitled WCF Factories will contribute in the near future to the greater creative and structural autonomy of African cinema.

  • New heads for funding bodies in Ireland, Austria, Switzerland

    16-Feb-2011

    Funder appointments met with widespread approval.

  • Bille August checks in for Holmqvist's The Unit

    16-Feb-2011

    Story is about an unusual romance between society outcasts in the near future.

  • Unafilm leaves behind Despair for new co-productions

    16-Feb-2011

    Our Grand Despair’s German producer boarding new projects by Adrian Sitaru Xavier Simon, Norbert ter Hall

  • Senator Entertainment taps new P&A fund

    15-Feb-2011

    Senator Entertainment has signed an agreement with the newly established PandA fund to guarantee up to 70% of the P&A costs on the future releases of its distribution arm Senator Film Verleih.

  • Steinborn’s Arden lines up films with directors including Ainouz

    15-Feb-2011

    Former X-Filme exec Andro Steinborn lining up projects by Karim Ainouz, Nadav Schirmann and Marianne Sägebrecht culture clash comedy with his new company Arden Film

  • MEDIA programme to have three major meetings about programme's future

    15-Feb-2011

    MEDIA unit head Aviva Silver speaks about programme’s future, cinema digitization pilot project launched with €2m in 2011

  • Komplizen Film co-produces new films by Gomes, Albert

    14-Feb-2011

    Berlin/Munich-based company hot for Tabu and Otherworld.

  • Delphi back in business, buying at EFM

    14-Feb-2011

    Berlin-based Delphi Filmverleih busy at Berlin and Unifrance Rendezvous.

  • Berlinale Talent Campus targets Tokyo, Durban gets DocStation

    14-Feb-2011

    Tokyo Filmex could become the next venue to host one of the Berlinale Talent Campus (BTC) Campus Abroad programmes.

  • Manchevski plans fake documentary

    14-Feb-2011

    Mothers director tackles mockumentary.

  • German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund launched

    13-Feb-2011

    Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FilmFörderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein team with Istanbul film festival and Turkey’s Ministry for Culture.

  • Michael London's Groundswell climbs into Koltai's Treehouse

    13-Feb-2011

    Jeremy Irons, Tom Sturridge and Kim Cattrall to star.

  • Industry worries about MEDIA's future

    13-Feb-2011

    Some industry observers are worried that with the current economic climate, MEDIA after 2013 will be severely curtailed or phased out.

  • German producer Grunert readies third project with David Mackenzie

    13-Feb-2011

    Berlin/Hamburg-based producer Malte Grunert is to embark on a third collaboration with director David Mackenzie after being one of the producers on Perfect Sense and You Instead ...

  • Wenders' Neue Road plan his next feature to shoot in Canada

    13-Feb-2011

    Wim Wenders’ Berlin-based Neue Road Movies, the producer of his 3D dance film Pina, is planning to shoot two films in Eastern Europe this year and preparing Wenders’ ...

  • Beta Cinema books several deals for Goethe!

    12-Feb-2011

    Beta Cinema is off to a flying start at this year’s European Film Market with sales concluded for Philipp Stölzl’s Goethe! to US distributor

  • Italy’s state of South Tyrol launches €5m film fund

    12-Feb-2011

    South Tyrol received the greenlight from the European Commission in Brussels this week.

  • KfW Bank Group offers new film financing plans

    11-Feb-2011

    Germany’s KfW Bank Group has now launched its raft of film financing instruments for development funding as well as interim and gap financing.

  • Maryanne Redpath and Florian Weghorn

    11-Feb-2011

    The co-directors of Berlin’s Generation section talk about its new venue and why film-makers keep coming back for more.

  • MEDIA Mundus launched by EU Commissioner in Berlin

    11-Feb-2011

    MEDIA Mundus aims to strengthen ties between the European and global film industries.

  • Wim Wenders

    11-Feb-2011

    The German director talks about his 3D film Pina, world premiering out of competition in Berlin this week, which explores the work of the renowned choreographer Pina Bausch.

  • European cinema attendance a mixed bag in 2010

    11-Feb-2011

     2010 was “a year of mixed results” for cinema attendance in Europe, according to provisional figures collated by the Strasbourg-based European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO).

  • Lailaps plans international slate including August’s Time

    11-Feb-2011

    German outfit takes rights to three screenplays; director Billie August attached to In A Different Time.

  • REM movies into Utopia Ltd

    11-Feb-2011

    Rapid Eye Movement takes Sandra Trostel’s debut feature.

  • Wieland Speck

    10-Feb-2011

    Wieland Speck, who heads up the Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival, talks about 30 years on the job.

  • Serbian football hit set for sequel; Soul Food sells original

    10-Feb-2011

    The sequel to the current Serbian box-office hit Montevideo, Taste of a Dream, is set to begin shooting at original locations in Uruguay from March.

  • Aktis Films picks up Thome’s Red Room and Adlon re-issue

    10-Feb-2011

    Aktis Film International has taken on films by two New German Cinema veterans for this year’s European Film Market.

  • German cinemas sold  20m fewer tickets in 2010

    9-Feb-2011

    Ticket sales down but every sixth cinemagoer saw a 3D film.

  • State Minister for Culture Neumann throws weight behind incentive extension

    9-Feb-2011

    On the eve of this year’s Berlinale, State Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann has signalled his support for further extension of the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive programme.

  • New films added to lineups for Media Luna, Beta Cinema and m-appeal

    8-Feb-2011

    My Best Enemy has already pre-sold to the UK (Metrodome), Japan (Klockworx), Czech Republic/Slovakia (Hollywood C.E.) and China (ERG Film).

  • Khodorkovsky doc to premiere at Berlinale despite break-in

    5-Feb-2011

    The world premiere in Berlin of Cyril Tuschi’s Khodorkovsky will apparently now go ahead despite reports that a final version of the film was stolen from the LALA Films offices yesterday [Feb 3].

  • Babelsberg to co-produce Paramount action movie

    4-Feb-2011

    Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters to star Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton [pictured].

  • Films Boutique, Media Luna, Telepool line up EFM slates

    4-Feb-2011

    Films Boutique and Media Luna New Films are among the latest sales agents to add titles to their sales lineups for the forthcoming Berlinale.

  • Berlin adds extra venue, Taxi Driver 4K to line-up

    1-Feb-2011

    Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) has added another venue to its existing screening facilities due to the increase in demand for screening slots.

  • Egoli Tossell planning financial reorganisation

    31-Jan-2011

    Just two weeks after winning a Golden Globe for its co-production of Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film (ETF) has announced the restructuring of the company’s finances via the German equivalent of Chapter 11 (Insolvenzplanverfahren).

  • World premieres by Kaurismäki, Dörfler added to Berlin Panorama

    26-Jan-2011

    World premieres of new documentaries by Mika Kaurismäki (Mama Afrika) and Peter Dörfler (The Big Eden) are among the last batch of films to be confirmed by the Berlinale’s Panorama 2011 lineup.

  • UPDATED: Tributes pour in for Bernd Eichinger

    26-Jan-2011

    German chancellor Merkel calls him a ‘passionate motivator and dreamer’; Berlinale adds special screening.

  • Bernd Eichinger dies at 61

    26-Jan-2011

    The German film industry is in a state of deep shock at the news that film producer Bernd Eichinger has died at the age of 61 from a heart attack during a meal with family and friends in Los Angeles on Monday evening.

  • Ophuls winner The Albanian to screen at Berlinale, Culinary Cinema lineup unveiled

    24-Jan-2011

    Johannes Naber’s feature debut The Albanian (Der Albaner)  will be presented in the Berlinale’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar after winning the main prize at the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival in Saarbrücken at the weekend.

  • Aamir Khan, Sandy Powell among members of Berlinale's jury

    21-Jan-2011

    Festival holding place open for Panahi; Berlinale Special screenings to include Late Bloomers, The King’s Speech, Toast.

  • Locarno dedicates 2011 to Vincente Minelli and gets more funding

    21-Jan-2011

    This year’s Locarno Film Festival (Aug 3-13) will dedicate its retrospective to the work of the American director Vincente Minnelli.

  • m-appeal picks up Rent Boys and Karen

    20-Jan-2011

    m-appeal has picked up Rosa von Praunheim’s Rent Boys (Die Jungs vom Bahnhof Zoo) ahead of its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama next month.

  • Berlin's Panorama programme adds more titles

    19-Jan-2011

    New films by Constantine Giannaris, Sabine Bernardi and Iciar Bollain have been added as the organisers for the Berlinale’s Panorama are close to finalising the 2011 lineup for Berlin’s Panorama section. Also added is UK 3D film The Mortician (pictured).

  • Berlin's EFM to screen a record 40 3D films

    19-Jan-2011

    At least 40 3D films to screen at EFM; new exhibitors at market will include Albania and UAE.

  • UPDATE: Berlin competition adds premieres by Tarr, Marston, Köhler

    18-Jan-2011

    German production companies are involved in about half the Competition titles.

  • Berlinale plans Jafar Panahi film screenings, censorship discussion

    18-Jan-2011

    Panahi had been invited to serve on Berlinale jury before his conviction; Rafi Pitts plans global protest in support of Panahi during Berlinale.

  • LOLAs longlist out; German Film Academy joins forces with Berlinale

    17-Jan-2011

    Berlinale competition films Pina and If Not Us, Who? and Sundance documentary The Green Wave on LOLA longlist, premiere of new Berlinale programme LOLA@Berlinale as collaboration between festival and German Film Academy

  • Berlinale boss says 2011 festival will be 'the usual Kosslick mixture'

    17-Jan-2011

    Dieter Kosslick tells Screen that the programme is also notable for films by and about women, as well as Latin American and Indian work, plus a diverse group of 3D films.

  • Mundruczo, Riklis projects selected for Berlinale Co-Production Market

    14-Jan-2011

    New films by such award-winning directors as Lucia Puenzo, Eran Riklis, Uberto Pasolini and Kornel Mundruczo [pictured] are among 38 projects from 25 countries which have been selected for pitching to 450 potential co-production and financing partners at the eighth Berlinale Co-Production Market (Feb 13-15).

  • Film critic Thierry Jobin named new director of Fribourg festival

    14-Jan-2011

    Thierry Jobin, responsible for the film section of the Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps since 1998, has unanimously been appointed the director of the Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) which will celebrate its 25th anniversary from March 19-26.

  • Berlinale Generation to include Street Kids United, Jorgen + Anne

    13-Jan-2011

    The Berlinale’s Generation sidebar has finalised its 2011 lineup of 59 films (including 32 shorts) from 32 countries selected for the competitions of Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus.

  • Record number of films supported in DFFF incentive’s fourth year

    12-Jan-2011

    A record number of 114 projects were supported with $ 75.4m (€ 57.9m) by the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) in its fourth year of operations.

  • Utopia Ltd. to open Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino

    11-Jan-2011

    The Perspektive’s new section head Linda Söffker has now completed her lineup of 11 films.

  • Germany box office revenues slip almost 9% in 2010, local films struggle

    10-Jan-2011

    Box-office revenues in Germany fell year-on-year by almost 9% in 2010, according to figures collated by Rentrak EDI.

  • Berlin's Panorama selections include Elite Squad 2, Mothers

    4-Jan-2011

    The Berlinale’s Panorama section has now unveiled almost half of its 2011 lineup for next month’s festival, including 10 world premieres of new films by such directors as Rosa von Praunheim, Alexander Zeldovich and newcomers Jan Schomburg and Marie Kreutzer.

  • Heisenberg's The Robber leads nominations for Austrian Film Awards

    28-Dec-2010

    Hausner’s Venice and Roehler’s Jud Suess - Film Ohne Gewissen also have multiple nominations.

  • Baltic Event Best Pitch winner: Under Electric Clouds

    20-Dec-2010

    The Screen International Best Pitch Award was presented for the third time during Tallinn’s Baltic Event co-production market (Dec 1-3). This year’s winners, Russian director Alexei German Jr and producer Artem Vassiliev, talk about their project Under Electric Clouds.

  • 2010 3D releases mitigate German admissions drop

    19-Dec-2010

    Additional revenues generated by 3D releases in 2010 cushioned the negative effects of a year-on-year decline in film-going in Germany.

  • German culture and media minister Neumann agrees to finance boost

    19-Dec-2010

    State Minister For Culture And Media Bernd Neumann handed German producers and the country’s reputation as film hub a boost after he agreed with the Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) to a package of financing instruments for development funding as well as intermediate and gap financing.

  • Illegal wins Golden Bull at Festival on Wheels in Artvin

    17-Dec-2010

    Olivier Masset-Depasse’s second feature Illegal has won this year’s Golden Bull at the International Golden Bull Film Competition held in Turkey’s Artvin as part of the 16th edition of Festival on Wheels.

  • Berlin’s European Film Market "nearly booked solid"; new docs services offered

    16-Dec-2010

    With just under two months before Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) opens its doors on February 10, 2011, the organizers are already reporting that exhibition space in the EFM venues at the Martin-Gropius-Bau and the Marriott Hotel are “nearly booked solid” with companies from almost 50 countries set to attend.

  • Andrea Riseborough and Alexander Fehling among 2011 Shooting Stars

    14-Dec-2010

    UK actress Andrea Riseborough (pictured) and Germany’s Alexander Fehling are among ten up-and-coming European acting talents which have been selected from a longlist of 25 candiates for European Film Promotion’s Shooting Stars showcase at next February’s Berlin International Film Festival.

  • Swiss market share climbs by 50% as record number of local films released in cinemas

    14-Dec-2010

    Swiss films’ market share climbed year-on-year by around 50% to 5.2% in 2010 from last year’s 3.5% with a record number of local film – 82 – released in the cinemas.

  • My Joy wins in Tallinn, Baltic Event expanded further East, but fewer buyers

    5-Dec-2010

    In co-pro market, Hungarian director Arpad Bogdan and his producer Gabor Sipos from Laokoon Filmgroup won for thriller Necromancer.

  • UPDATED: Polanski's Ghost Writer has record-setting wins at EFAs

    5-Dec-2010

    Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer was the big winner at the 23rd European Film Awards which took place in Tallinn, Estonia, on Saturday night.

  • Baikonur

    2-Dec-2010

    Shooting wrapped last week on Veit Helmer‘s fourth feature Baikonur in a ‘Zero-G’ Airbus A300 at the French Test Flight Centre in Bordeaux.

  • 10 1/2 wins top prize at Mannheim Heidelberg

    22-Nov-2010

    10 1/2 by Canada’s Daniel Grou (aka Podz) picked up the Main Award of this year’s Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival which ended on Sunday evening.

  • Skanhaus Group plans to invest $24m in new studio complex near Berlin

    17-Nov-2010

    UK-based Skanhaus Group is planning to invest $24m (Euros 18m) in the construction of a new film production complex north-east of Berlin which is being billed as the world’s “first eco-friendly film studio.”

  • Madsen, Kolar among jurors for EFP's Shooting Stars

    17-Nov-2010

    The jury of experts has been named to select Europe’s ten most talented up-and-coming actors to participate in European Film Promotion’s (EFP) Shooting Stars 2011 showcase, which will be held during the forthcoming Berlinale from Feb 12-14, 2011.

  • Bize’s The Life Of Fish opens 59th Mannheim-Heidelberg festival

    11-Nov-2010

    The Chilean film-maker’s film will open the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival today (November 11) and runs until November 21.

  • New pitching platform at Berlinale for Central European producers

    10-Nov-2010

    Berlin’s Hungarian Institute (Collegium Hungaricum Berlin) is to host a new pitching platform, Pitch Stop, for producers from Central Europe as part of its “Cinema Total” initiative during the forthcoming Berlin Film Festival.

  • New Austrian incentive FISA backs 5 films with €1m

    8-Nov-2010

    Peter Payer’s Where Is Little Manuela is one of five projects to be supported by Austria’s new film financing incentive Film Location Austria.

  • Serbia's White White World wins Cottbus top prize

    7-Nov-2010

    Serbian filmmaker Oleg Novkovic’s modern-day Greek tragedy White White World (Beli, Beli Svet) has been awarded the Grand Prix for Best Film at the 20th edition of FilmFestival Cottbus (Nov 2-7).

  • Viennale posts record attendance as German zombie film and Romanian debut win prizes

    3-Nov-2010

    Mexican director Pedro González-Rubio’s Alamar and the Austrian avant-garde short Shadow Cuts were the closing films tonight of this year’s edition of the Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale) which posted record attendance figures.

  • The Woman With A Broken Nose opens 20th edition of FilmFestival Cottbus

    2-Nov-2010

    Culture Minister Neumann attending; Connecting Cottbus copro market convenes for 12th time.

  • Warsaw’s CentEast market welcomes more than 200 participants

    18-Oct-2010

    Over 200 participants attended  the sixth edition of the CentEast Market, the industry arm of the Warsaw International Film Festival , running from Oct 15-17.

  • Berlinale market extends birthday discount offer for second year for 'early birds'

    18-Oct-2010

    The Berlin International Film Festival is retaining the € 100 discount on its market badges, which was introduced as a 60th birthday present last year, as an offer for “early birds” for a limited period. 

  • German sales agent Beta Cinema takes on Toronto surprise hit Viva Riva! from the Congo

    14-Oct-2010

    German sales agent Beta Cinema has picked up writer-director Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s feature debut Viva Riva! and signed its first deals with the US, UK and Australia/New Zealand.

  • Three Musketeers is sixth international production at Studio Babelsberg in 2010

    13-Oct-2010

    Berlin’s shooting frenzy continues with Paul W.S. Anderson 3D project.

  • German zombie film Rammbock sold to US, Japan and other territories

    12-Oct-2010

    Sales to distributors in the US, Japan, Poland and Romania are among the deals signed by the Vienna-based EastWest Filmdistribution for Marven Kren’s zombie film Rammbock which had its international premiere on the Piazza Grande in Locarno in August.

  • Sarah Bolger cast in lead for 3D fantasy adventure Starbright

    8-Oct-2010

    Irish actress Sarah Bolger has been cast in the lead of Canadian writer-director Francesco Lucente’s 3D fantasy fairytale adventure Starbright which will begin shooting in the US in early 2011.

  • Dorsch leaves German Films

    7-Oct-2010

    Christian Dorsch has left the German film industry’s Munich-based promotional agency German Films Service + Marketing GmbH “to take up new professional challenges.”

  • Paramount’s German outpost picks up second German production

    6-Oct-2010

    Shooting has begun today on Elmar Fischer’s sensitive comedy Offroad, which marks the second local pickup by the German outpost of Paramount Pictures.

  • Germany's Splendid unveils Toronto deals

    4-Oct-2010

    Splendid Medien signed deals for German-language territories and the Benelux to four films at last month’s Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Good Bye, Lenin! director Becker plans second feature Oskar

    4-Oct-2010

    Seven years after his last film Good Bye, Lenin!, director Wolfgang Becker is now in preparations for a second feature project entitled Oskar alongside the previously announced Ich und Kaminski.

  • Zurich's international Golden Eye goes to Woman With A Broken Nose

    2-Oct-2010

    European films took home all of the prizes at this year’s edition of the Zurich Film Festival which will come to an end on Sunday evening (Oct 3) with a gala screening of Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

  • David Lynch to receive Film Award Cologne 2010

    1-Oct-2010

    Last year’s award is still waiting for Polanski.

  • Gainsbourg opens Filmfest Hamburg, Douglas Sirk Award for Julian Schnabel

    30-Sep-2010

    Joann Sfar’s Gainsbourg will open the 18th edition of Filmfest Hamburg tonight.

  • Uncle Boonmee German co-producer backed by new regional film fund

    28-Sep-2010

    Hans W. Geissendoerfer, one of the co-producers of this year’s Golden Palm winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, has become one of the first film producers to benefit from a new regional fund based in South Tyrol.

  • Fribourg fest director Waintrop moving to Geneva arthouse cinema

    27-Sep-2010

    He will leave his post as director of the Fribourg Festival after the festival’s 25th edition.

  • Swiss Oscar entry nominated for Prix Europa

    27-Sep-2010

    Switzerland’s Oscar entry La Petite Chambre by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond is among fiveSwiss films nominated in this year’s Prix Europa competition, being held in Berlin from October 16 to23.

  • Markus Welter starts shoot for 3D slasher film One Way Trip

    27-Sep-2010

    Shooting begins today at Swiss locations on Markus Welter’s 3D horror slasher film One Way Trip.

  • Disney Research gets Swiss innovation award

    25-Sep-2010

    Disney Research Zurich (DRZ)  has been awarded the Tell Award “for most significant Swiss Technology and Innovation Investment in 2009” in recognition of the Walt Disney Company’s inward investment into the Greater Zurich Area.

  • Constantin Film and Michael Steiner plan future collaborations

    24-Sep-2010

    Constantin Film Schweiz and Michael Steiner, director of Zurich Film Festival’s opening film Sennentuntschi, are to collaborate on film projects in the future.

  • Swiss national fund backs five international co-productions

    24-Sep-2010

    Switzerland’s Federal Office of Culture (BAK) has awarded over $2.6m (CHF 2.5m) to five international co-productions in the latest round of funding from its film section.

  • Zurich Film Foundation doles out $1m; Film Office plans afoot

    24-Sep-2010

    New feature films from Oliver Paulus, Isabel Kleefeld and Friederike Jehn are among the projects supported with over USD 1m (CHF 1m) by the Zurich Film Foundation at its latest sitting.

  • Pellegrino sets up new company with writer-director Birgit Stein

    23-Sep-2010

    Producer-financier Roland Pellegrino has set up the Stuttgart-based production outfit PS-Filmproduction with writer-director Birgit Stein to produce her feature debut No Mercy.

  • Atrix sells out on Turtle doc, adding sales to Japan and China

    23-Sep-2010

    Hot sellers are Turtle: The Incredible Journey and How To Cook Your Life.

  • Bavaria sells Silence; EEAP takes on Kokowääh

    21-Sep-2010

    Bavaria Film International has closed a series of all-rights deals for Baran bo Odar’s debut feature The Silence (Das letzte Schweigen).

  • Switzerland, Austria select Academy Award submissions

    19-Sep-2010

    Switzerland and Austria have announced their entries for the best foreign language film category at the Academy Awards, selecting fiction feature debuts by directing duos.

  • When We Leave named Germany's Oscar submission

    17-Sep-2010

    Feo Aladag’s feature debut When We Leave (Die Fremde) has been selected by Germany as its national entry for the Academy Awards’ Foreign Language Film category.

  • Berlinale revamps EFM local cinema showcase

    17-Sep-2010

    The German Cinema sidebar at EFM will now feature films from the longlist for the German Film Awards.

  • Austria launches 20m euros film financing incentive

    14-Sep-2010

    Austria launches new film incentive after green light from Brussels; International co-productions attract most support from German fund this year

  • Match Factory sells Attenberg to Benelux and Austria

    13-Sep-2010

    Cologne-based sales agent The Match Factory signed deals for Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg to Benelux and Austria ahead of the awarding of the Best Actress Coppa Volpi to Ariane Lebed in Venice on Saturday evening.

  • Films Boutique picks up Colombian animated doc

    11-Sep-2010

    Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique has picked up the international rights for Jairo Eduardo Carrillo’s Little Voices which premiered in Venice Days..

  • When We Leave finds North American buyers

    11-Sep-2010

    Munich-based sales agent Telepool has sold Feo Aladag’s feature debut When We Leave (Die Fremde) to the US and Canada.

  • Berlin-based EEAP signs exclusive distribution deal with Bulgaria

    10-Sep-2010

    Berlin-based license trader Eastern European Acquisition Pool (EEAP) has signed an exclusive distribution deal with Bulgaria’s leading theatrical distributor and exhibitor Alexandra Groupholding.

  • World premiere of Sennentunschi opens Zurich Film Festival

    9-Sep-2010

    Michael Steiner’s long-awaited fourth film Sennentuntschi will open this year’s Zurich Film Festival as a world premiere.

  • Camino Filmverleih to release Womb in Germany

    8-Sep-2010

    Stuttgart-based distributor Camino Filmverleih will release Benedek Fliegauf’s English language debut Womb in Germany next spring.

  • m-appeal picks up The Christening; Media Luna New Films Silence is Golden

    5-Sep-2010

    Berlin-based sales company m-appeal has added Polish filmmaker Marcin Wrona’s second feature film The Christening to its lineup ahead of its international premiere in Toronto’s Vanguard sidebar next week.

  • Films Boutique picks up international distribution for Special Treatment

    3-Sep-2010

    Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique has taken on international distribution for writer-director Jeanne Labrune’s Special Treatment (Sans Queue Ni Tete) which will have its world premiere as a Special Presentation at this month’s Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Bavaria, Beta bulk up slates ahead of awards season

    27-Aug-2010

    Bavaria Film International has taken on worldwide sales rights to Icelandic film-maker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson’s melancholic comedy Mamma Gogo ahead of its international premiere in Toronto.

  • German writer/director Christoph Schlingensief dies at 49

    23-Aug-2010

    Christoph Schlingensief, the “enfant terrible“ of the German theatre and film scene, has lost his battle against lung cancer at the age of 49 on Aug 21.

  • SquareOne takes on Hungry Rabbit Jumps, Dark Tide, Ironclad

    17-Aug-2010

    German independent licence trader SquareOne Entertainment is set to consolidate its new position in the German theatrical market with further acquisitions to be released with distribution partner Universum Film.

  • French sales company picks up Golden Leopard winner; Lubitsch retrospective to tour

    16-Aug-2010

    French sales agent/theatrical distributor Capricci Films has taken on international sales for Winter Vacation by China’s Li Hongqi, which won Locarno’s Golden Leopard at the weekend. Plus other touring news from Locarno.

  • China's Winter Vacation lights up Locarno summer

    14-Aug-2010

    Locarno’s top award, the Golden Leopard (Pardo d’oro), has been awarded by the international jury headed by Singaporean film-maker Eric Choo to Li Hongqi for his third feature Winter Vacation.

  • Olivier Père says his first Locarno exceeds expectations

    13-Aug-2010

    Ahead of the awards ceremony at the Piazza Grande on Saturday evening, Olivier Père is very enthusiastic about his first outing as Locarno’s artistic director.

  • Playoff

    12-Aug-2010

    Shooting wrapped this week on Eran Riklis’ first film to be shot in Germany, a drama inspired by the life of Israel’s most famous basketball coach Ralph Klein.

  • German film investor CP Medien to wind down

    12-Aug-2010

    German film investor CP Medien, who raised €450m from private investors to channel into around 40 films between 1995 and 2002, is currently being wound up.

  • Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan projects take top awards at Locarno's Open Doors

    10-Aug-2010

    Films from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were the winners at the end of this year’s Open Doors event in Locarno, which was dedicated to projects from Central Asia.

  • FiGa Films sells Aardvark to Spain, with strong interest elsewhere

    10-Aug-2010

    International sales agent FiGa Films has sold Kitao Sakurai’s Argentinian-US film Aardvark, a Locarno selection, to Madrid-based distributor Aquelarre.

  • Producers Lab Toronto participants to include Tilic, Jackowski, Selen, Marr

    10-Aug-2010

    The new Producers Lab Toronto will welcome 24 producers from Europe and Canada.

  • Swiss government suggests creation of new film funding body by 2012

    9-Aug-2010

    Changes are afoot in Swiss cinema to reorganize the national film funding system from 2012.Also, Nyon festival announces changes.

  • Palestine’s Cinema Jenin re-opens thanks to international support

    5-Aug-2010

    Cinema Jenin, one of Palestine’s largest and most impressive movie houses, is re-opening today thanks to international support after remaining closed for more than 20 years since the first Intafada in 1987.

  • German Films Previews stir interest in new Tykwer, Fliegauf films

    19-Jul-2010

    A promoreel of Tom Tykwer’s urban love story Three (Drei), Benedek Fliegauf’s Womb and Wolfgang Panzer’s drama The Day Of The Cat (Der grosse Kater) were ...

  • Studio Babelsberg expansion plans supported by Potsdam and Brandenburg

    15-Jul-2010

    Studio Babelsberg’s desire to increase the number of sound stages has received support from the local authorities in Potsdam and the federal state of Brandenburg.

  • Strong presence for German productions for Pere’s first Locarno competition

    14-Jul-2010

    German cinema has a high profile Olivier Pere’s first outing as artistic director of the Locarno International Film Festival this year.

  • German Films Previews to present 19 films including Womb and The Silence

    13-Jul-2010

    Almost 100 international buyers will be attending the 10th edition of the German Films Previews, which will be held in Hamburg this year from July 15-18.

  • MMC Studios lines up shoots with Szabo, Rappeneau and Hallstrom

    29-Jun-2010

    Cologne’s MMC Studios are currently giving Studio Babelsberg a run for its money in the no-holds barred competition for hosting attractive international projects with films by Istvan Szabo, Jean-Paul Rappeneau and Lasse Hallström lined up on its sound stages for the coming months

  • Venezuelan debut earns top prize at Moscow Int'l Film Festival

    27-Jun-2010

    Venezuela’s Marcel Rasquin’s Brother (Hermano) was presented with the Golden St George Grand Prix at this year’s Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF), which closed on Saturday evening [26] with jury president Luc Besson’s latest film The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec.

  • German film industry mourns passing of Frank Giering at 38

    25-Jun-2010

    The actor played the lead roles in Christopher Roth’s Baader and Romuald Karmakar’s Nightsongs.

  • Swiss and Austrian producers join forces for 3D slasher film

    24-Jun-2010

    Zurich-based HesseGreutert Film and Vienna’s Superfilm are to co-produce the first 3D feature film to come from Switzerland and Austria.

  • Sony Russia eyes international co-productions; starts 3D shoot for Best Movie

    22-Jun-2010

    Sony Pictures Entertainment Russia is considering becoming involved in international co-production in the future as its local franchise The Very Best Movie starts shooting in 3D this week.

  • Moscow’s Co-Production Forum held for second  time while first edition of film market lacks fizz

    21-Jun-2010

    The forum attracted 150 foreign delegates over three days.

  • LA-based fund accesses $ 50m Russian investment for slate of international co-productions

    21-Jun-2010

    Projects include Simon West’s Dali biopic and Patricia Riggen’s Vivaldi.

  • WFC. International Capital Group extends its portfolio to include first film fund

    20-Jun-2010

    WFC. International Capital Group has extended its portfolio of financial services to the field of media funds with the setting up of its Motion Picture Fund 1.

  • Aktis strikes for Broken Nose; in Moscow with Berlin

    18-Jun-2010

    German sales agent Aktis Film International has picked up international sales for Serbian director Srdjan Koljevic’s second feature The Woman With a Broken Nose which won five awards at last week’s Cinema City film festival in Novi Sad.

  • Von Trotta, Hallstrom and Riggen backed by Filmstiftung NRW

    16-Jun-2010

    New feature films by Margarethe von Trotta, Lasse Hallström and Patricia Riggen are among 11 projects awarded around €5.7m production funding by the Düsseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW at its latest session.

  • My Joy, Truce lead winners in Sochi

    14-Jun-2010

    Sergei Loznitsa’s Cannes competition film My Joy took two prizes at this year’s Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival which came to a close in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sunday evening (June 13).

  • New law to make broadcasters pay into German film fund

    13-Jun-2010

    Germany’s broadcasters will be required to make statutory payments to the German Federal Film Board (FFA) in future after the Bundestag passed an amendment to the existing German Film Law (FFG) on Friday [11].

  • Munich Film Festival to open with Me Too

    11-Jun-2010

    Abbas Kiarostami and Mads Mikkelsen to be honoured at the festival which opens on June 25.

  • German funds support new films from Michael Glawogger, Istvan Szabo

    10-Jun-2010

    International co-productions with countries as diverse as Argentina, China, Spain, and Finland are among new projects supported with over $7.2m (€6m) by the two national funds German Federal Film Board (FFA) and German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).

  • Ascot’s German theatrical arm readies launch with Buried

    9-Jun-2010

    Leading Swiss independent distributor Ascot Elite Entertainment has now put its German theatrical arm Ascot Elite Filmverleih, in place to begin with its first release – Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried - this autumn.

  • China’s Jia Zhang-ke youngest director ever to receive Locarno’s Leopard of Honour

    8-Jun-2010

    China’s Jia Zhang-ke is to become the youngest director ever to receive Locarno’s Leopard of Honour at the forthcoming edition in August.

  • Match Factory climbs The Wall with Martina Gedeck

    8-Jun-2010

    The Match Factory has picked up international sales for Julian Roman Pölsler’s adaptation of Marlene Haushofer’s bestselling novel The Wall (Die Wand) which has begun shooting in Upper Austria.

  • Media Luna to handle sales on Black Field, Im Not Harry Jenson

    7-Jun-2010

    The Cologne based company will handle the Greek cross gender love story and New Zealand murder mystery.

  • Mundane History takes grand prize in Cluj

    7-Jun-2010

    Thai director Anocha Suwichakornpong was presented with her prize by Wim Wenders, who himself received a lifetime achievement award.

  • German national, regional funds hand out over €9m to European productions

    4-Jun-2010

    Cronenberg’s Method gets €0.5m from MFG Baden-Württemberg, while MDM awards Golubovic, Dresen.

  • 22 projects selected for Moscow Co-Production Forum

    3-Jun-2010

    New features by Ismailova, Lehto and Pak among projects in the event taking place 18-20 June.

  • Cinepool's busy Cannes sales led by Legends of Valhalla and 7 Dwarves

    2-Jun-2010

    Munich-based Cinepool made its first sales on two stereoscopic 3D animation films in a raft of deals at a busy Cannes market.

  • EFP adds Alabanian National Center of Cinematography

    1-Jun-2010

    European FIlm Promotion now has 31 members in 32 countries.

  • Beta reports strong Cannes market sales

    28-May-2010

    Hot sellers include Au Revoir Taipei, Vincent Wants To See and

  • The Match Factory does brisk business with Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee

    27-May-2010

    New deals include Pyramide for France, Karma for Spain and BIM for Italy.

  • Falcom, Le Pacte come on board for animated Moon Man

    26-May-2010

    Katharina Thalbach, Ulrich Tukur and Ulrich Noethen are among the voice cast.

  • Loznitsa's My Joy heads for competition in Sochi

    24-May-2010

    Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival held at the Black Sea resort of Sochi from June 6 -13 will have 14 titles in competition.

  • Germany's Pro-Fun expands into sales

    21-May-2010

    The new division - Pro-Fun Media - International Sales - has been launched with three titles.

  • Funds management

    21-May-2010

    Worth more than $400m per year, Germany’s array of funds can make up a significant portion of a budget. Martin Blaney explores the ups and downs of the territory’s funding options, and how each can be tapped.

  • Friends in all the right places

    21-May-2010

    Who are the German co-producers that international producers need to know when contemplating a shoot in the territory? Martin Blaney profiles a selection.

  • The German connection

    17-May-2010

    With its generous array of finance and an ever-expanding pool of talent, Germany is a natural location choice for film shoots from around the world. Martin Blaney looks at how the territory’s muscular production sector is strengthening its international links.

  • Europe’s major studio

    17-May-2010

    Berlin’s venerable Studio Babelsberg is playing a key role in Germany’s production upturn. Now it is looking to strengthen its offer as a co-producer.Martin Blaney reports.

  • Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg backs new projects by Cronenberg, Wright, Gansel and von Garnier

    6-May-2010

    Latest funding round backs 20 projects backed with over $7.4m (€ 5.8m).

  • New features by Ismailova and Vakkasova among Open Doors Central Asia selection

    5-May-2010

    Locarno Film Festival’s co-production event Open Doors Factory selects 12 projects from 114 applications.

  • Films Boutique picks up two Un Certain Regard premieres

    4-May-2010

    The two new additions to Berlin-based sales company’s slate are Tuesday After Christmas and R U There.

  • War drama The Blacks wins Linz’s Crossing Europe Award

    26-Apr-2010

    Crossing Europe Award for Best European Documentary goes to Erik Gandini’s Videocracy.

  • The White Ribbon dominates Germany's Lola Awards

    25-Apr-2010

    Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon continued its run of awards by sweeping the board at this year’s German Film Awards with ten Lolas, including Golden Lolas for best feature film, direction, screenplay, cinematography and leading actor for Burghart Klaussner.

  • Paramount Germany unveils first local pickup, German funds pay out over €10m in support

    22-Apr-2010

    Tim Fehlmann’s post-apocalyptic thriller 2016 – Das Ende der Nacht has been unveiled as Paramount Pictures Germany’s first local pickup.

  • Petra Müller named managing director of Filmstiftung NRW

    20-Apr-2010

    She replaces Michael Schmid Ospach as the head of the film fund.

  • EFP selects candidates for Producers On The Move in Cannes

    20-Apr-2010

    The line-up includes Son Of Babylon producer Isabelle Stead and Lauranne Bourrachot, who produced A Prophet.

  • Volcano casts cloud on Linz’s Crossing Europe

    20-Apr-2010

    The seventh edition of the festival will be affected by the travel chaos

  • Morawetz to join Kinowelt in Austria

    19-Apr-2010

    Outgoing Disney manager to become Kinowelt’s new distribution partner in Austria.

  • Liman’s Cannes competition debut among Ascot Elite acquisitions

    19-Apr-2010

    The Swiss distributor has also secured rights to Soderbergh’s Knockout and Nigel Cole’s Made in Dagenham.

  • Luciano Barisone suceeds Jean Perret as director of Visions du Réel

    18-Apr-2010

    Luciano Barisone, artistic director of Florence’s Festival dei Popoli since 2008, has been named the successor to Jean Perret as director of Nyon’s Visions du Réel.

  • Sony Pictures to release new children’s film franchise Yoko

    16-Apr-2010

    Franziska Buch will direct the German-Austrian-Swedish co-production about an 11 year old girl and her friendship with a yeti.

  • Veteran German filmmaker Werner Schroeter dies at 65

    14-Apr-2010

    The Golden Bear winning director had been battling cancer

  • BavarianBankFund extended for another 10 years

    8-Apr-2010

    The fund has provided gap financing for the production and distribution of commercially promising feature films.

  • EFP working with Toronto for new Producers Lab

    7-Apr-2010

    The three-day event during TIFF 2010 will include pitching sessions, roundtable meetings and case studies.

  • German box office up 18% in first quarter

    5-Apr-2010

    German cinemas have reported that box office takings climbed 18% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010 thanks to such 3D releases as Avatar and Alice In Wonderland.

  • Constantin Film named Germany’s most successful producer and distributor of 2009

    1-Apr-2010

    Company gets FFA “Industry Tiger” award and was allocated over €2.8m “reference” funding for future projects.

  • Germany

    31-Mar-2010

    For German cinema-owners, 2009 was one of the most successful years ever thanks to 3D which boosed the theatrical performance of already big releases such as Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs and Up.

  • SquareOne Entertainment moves into German theatrical market

    30-Mar-2010

    The Munich-based outfit will start by co-distributing StreetDance 3D with Universum Film in June.

  • German funds back new projects from Kusturica, Wright, von Garnier

    29-Mar-2010

    Projects backed in $15m funding round include Joe Wright’s thriller Hanna, now shooting at Babelsburg Studios.

  • Nyon's Visions du Reel to present 30 world premieres

    26-Mar-2010

    Festival will open with Kinshasa Symphony on April 15.

  • goEast unveils competition for April festival

    25-Mar-2010

    Alexey Popogrebsky’s Silver Bear winner How I Ended This Summer, Peter Calin Netzer’s Medal Of Honor and Robert Glinski’s Piggies are in the programme.

  • Pina

    25-Mar-2010

    Wim Wenders 3D dance project Pina, about the legendary dance choreographer Pina Bausch who died before production began, is about to enter its second phase of shooting.

  • Hessen extends film funding scheme until 2013

    23-Mar-2010

    The German state has extended its film investment programme for a further four years.

  • La Pivellina wins Diagonale Grand Prix

    21-Mar-2010

    Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s La Pivellina won the Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Feature Film at festival director Barbara Pichler’s second year heading up the annual national showcase of Austrian cinema in Graz.

  • The White Ribbon leads nominations for Germany's Lola awards

    19-Mar-2010

    Michael Haneke’s award winning film scores the best nominations at the German film industry awards.

  • M-appeal sells Last Summer Of The Boyita

    9-Mar-2010

    Berlin based sales company secures more deals following last month’s European Film Market

  • Animal Heart is surprise winner at Swiss Film Prizes

    8-Mar-2010

    Julia’s Disappearance lost out to surprise winner Animal Heart at the Swiss Film Prizes

  • Aktis picks up Homies

    5-Mar-2010

    Aktis Film picks up rights to Adnan G Kose’s hiphop drama

  • Henry of Navarre producer launches feature film label

    4-Mar-2010

    Ziegler Film launches cinema label to concentrate its activities on feature film production

  • European Union to launch new production fund 

    3-Mar-2010

    The European Union’s MEDIA Programme is launching a new production guarantee fund, worth 8m euros

  • Bavarian fund backs Reynolds, Emmerich, Dietl

    3-Mar-2010

    Germany’s Bavarian fund will support new projects from Kevin Reynolds, Roland Emmerich and Helmut Die.

  • Eva Hubert to stay at Hamburg film fund

    2-Mar-2010

    Eva Hubert will stay on as managing director of Hamburg based regional fund Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein GmbH (FFHSH) for another five years

  • Durban Film Festival to launch African continent's first co-production market

    27-Feb-2010

    The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is to launch the CineMart-style Durban FilmMart (DFM).

  • Cinepool, Beta Cinema reveal EFM sales

    26-Feb-2010

    German sales agents Cinepool and Beta Cinema did brisk business at last week’s European Film Market (EFM).

  • Buyers swarm to Match Factory's Honey

    25-Feb-2010

    Sales agent The Match Factory has concluded a raft of deals on Semih Kaplanoglu’s Honey (Bal), which became the second Turkish film in the Berlinale’s history to win the Golden Bear last weekend.

  • Tom Tykwer's One Fine Day leads launch of FilmAfrica! training scheme

    22-Feb-2010

    Tom Tykwer (pictured) and Marie Steinmann’s One Fine Day Films and the Deutsche Welle Akademie launch new training scheme for African film-makers.

  • "Optimistic" EFM offers light at the end of the tunnel

    22-Feb-2010

    There was a glimmer of optimism at this year’s European Film Market, according to director Beki Probst who said she was “agreeably surprised” buy this year’s edition.

  • Semih Kaplanoglu's Honey takes Berlinale Golden Bear

    22-Feb-2010

    Semih Kaplanoglu’s Honey (Bal), the third part of his reverse-order trilogy after Egg and Milk, became only the second Turkish film to win the Golden Bear in Berlin.

  • Drei Freunde picks up German rights on Dispensables

    18-Feb-2010

    Young German theatrical distributor Drei Freunde has picked up German language rights for Andreas Arnstedt’s international award-winning film The Dispensables (Die Entbehrlichen) from sale agent Aktis Film International.

  • Ascot Elite burrows into German theatrical market

    18-Feb-2010

    Swiss distributor Ascot Elite is launching into the German theatrical market with the release of Rodrigo Cortes’ Sundance buzz film Buried.

  • Match Factory raises sales on Submarino

    18-Feb-2010

    The Match Factory has closed a raft of deals for key territories on Thomas Vinterberg’s Submarino, which screened in competition here in Berlin.

  • Pinewood, Studio Hamburg form joint venture

    17-Feb-2010

    Pinewood Studios and Studio Hamburg have launched a joint venture to encourage European and international film-makers to shoot in Germany.

  • Travel ban forced Panahi to stay home

    17-Feb-2010

    Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has fallen victim to the travel ban imposed by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime

  • Rumours abound on next fund chief

    17-Feb-2010

    The German film industry rumour-mill has gone into overdrive during the Berlinale over who will replace Filmstiftung NRW chief Michael Schmid-Ospach when he departs in April.

  • Bittersuess lines up Love, Run Boy Run and Santiago

    17-Feb-2010

    Berlin-based Bittersuess Pictures is lining up new films by directors Christian Alvart, Pepe Danquart and Christian Schwochow.

  • Independent, Mogador team on erotic thriller

    17-Feb-2010

    Independent Partners Films and Mogador Films have announced plans to collaborate on a second erotic arthouse film. Rolf Peter Kahl will direct The Lost Love, and Melanie Kretschmann (Blutsfreundschaft) is already attached to star.

  • Pere promises flexibility in Piazza Grande line-up

    16-Feb-2010

    Locarno Film Festival’s new artistic director Olivier Pere will be more flexible in his programming for the nightly open-air programme on the town’s Piazza Grande.

  • Karathanos reveals new projects

    16-Feb-2010

    New films from Tadjik director Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov and Georgia’s Dito Tsintsadze are being lined up for production this year by Thanassis Karathanos of Twenty Twenty Vision and Pallas Film.

  • White Ribbon scoops German critics’ awards

    16-Feb-2010

    Michael Haneke’s Oscar-nominated The White Ribbon took four prizes, including best film and screenplay, at the German Film Critics Association Awards last night.

  • Badge holders breathe sigh of relief as screenings ban is lifted

    15-Feb-2010

    EFM non-buyer badge holders were relieved yesterday after a stressful couple of days in which they found themselves barred from the competition press screenings.

  • Generation faces 2011 premiere rule

    15-Feb-2010

    From 2011, films seeking selection for the Berlinale’s Generation sidebar, which focuses on children’s and youth titles, must be European premieres.

  • Cinema Chile to push country’s films as a brand

    15-Feb-2010

    Chilean producers have launched a cinema brand at the EFM in a bid to raise the profile of Chilean films internationally.

  • NFD commits to local film with new hires

    14-Feb-2010

    Nordisk Film Distribution (NFD) has appointed Lone Korslund as head of co-productions, and Rasmus Krogh as its new local film buyer.

  • I Phone You engages Kohlhaase

    14-Feb-2010

    Wolfgang Kohlhaase (Summer In Berlin), winner of this year’s honorary Golden Bear, is attached as screenwriter to the Chinese-German culture-clash comedy I Phone You (working title).

  • Allfilm boards Screen best pitch title Rat King

    14-Feb-2010

    Estonia’s Allfilm will co-produce Petri Kotwica’s third feature Rat King, which received the Screen International Best Pitch Award at Tallinn’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market last December.

  • Bodrov in town to outline plans for Mongol sequel

    13-Feb-2010

    Russian writer-director-producer Sergei Bodrov will be in Berlin on Sunday to unveil his upcoming directing and production slate, including The Great Khan, the anticipated sequel to his Oscar-nominated 2007 film, Mongol.

  • Neumann praises Berlinale’s ‘bridge building’

    13-Feb-2010

    Germany’s Culture Minister Bernd Neumann has praised the Berlinale’s for building cultural bridges

  • Producers hatch romantic portmanteau in Berlin

    12-Feb-2010

    An English language omnibus featuring 10 short films by German and international directors has been hatched with the title Love Berlin – How We Met. The film, which will shoot this summer, plans to show the city at its most romantic.

  • Aktis adds two to EFM slate

    12-Feb-2010

    Sales agent Aktis Film International adds two new films to EFM Berlinale line-up.

  • International shoots flock to Germany

    12-Feb-2010

    International films shooting in Berlin during the Berlinale is becoming something of a tradition.

  • Media Luna acquires Tenants

    12-Feb-2010

    Media Luna New Films has acquired international rights to veteran Brazilian filmmaker Sergio Bianchi’s TheTenants (Don’t Like It, Leave) (Os Inquilinos).

  • Sola picks up Sycholt's Themba

    12-Feb-2010

    Sola Media picks up international rights to South Africa-set football tale Themba.

  • Joint venture to simplify film insurance policies

    11-Feb-2010

    European Film Bonds (EFB) and German Film Insurance Association Deutsche Filmversicherungsgemeinschaft (DFG) announced joint venture to simplify insurance.

  • Berlinale reboots German films

    11-Feb-2010

    Organisers moot restructure of German film strands for 2011 edition.

  • Films Boutique picks up Dancing Dreams

    11-Feb-2010

    Films Boutique has taken international rights to documentary Dancing Dreams, which has its world premiere in Berlin this weekend (February 14).

  • Wide falls in love with Borcuch’s Sundance title

    11-Feb-2010

    Wide Management takes international rights to Jacek Borcuch’s Sundance competition title

  • 3D films boost 2009 German box office

    10-Feb-2010

    German box office and cinema admissions boosted by 3D and local titles.

  • German funds support international co-productions with $20m

    5-Feb-2010

    German funds pay out more than $20m in support fpr international co-productions, including David Cronenberg’s The Talking Cure.

  • An anniversary party to savour

    4-Feb-2010

    The 60th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 12-21) will be marked by a citywide celebration and an eye-catching line-up comprising the festival’s favourite film-makers and emerging new directors. Martin Blaney reports

  • Focus, Fortissimo, Timeless to use new EFM 3D venue for market premieres

    4-Feb-2010

    Sales companies line-up to present 3D features at the European Film Market’s dedicated venue.

  • The Match Factory adds Salmenpera's Bad Family to Berlin slate

    3-Feb-2010

    The Match Factory has added Aleksi Salmenpera’s third feature, Bad Family (Paha Perhe), to its Berlinale slate. The film will have its international premiere in the Panorama section.

  • Optimum takes UK rights to Ivan Engler and Ralph Etter's Cargo

    2-Feb-2010

    The UK-based outfit becomes the latest distributor to acquire the co-directors’ debut feature.

  • Berlinale completes line-up for 60th anniversary edition

    1-Feb-2010

    Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick reveals late additions to this year’s programme.

  • Beta Film to handle sales on new Agnieszka Holland feature

    31-Jan-2010

    The German outfit will handle international sales on Hidden (working title).

  • M-appeal picks up Panorama and Forum titles ahead of Berlin

    29-Jan-2010

    German sales agent pickes up features by von Praunheim, Navia

  • German government agrees new film funding law

    28-Jan-2010

    Broadcasters face statutory contributions to film funding under new plans

  • Renee Zellweger, Cornelia Froboess to sit on Berlinale's international jury

    27-Jan-2010

    Actress Renee Zellweger (pictured), Italian writer-director Francesca Comencini and verteran German actress Cornelia Froboess have been confirmed as members of the international jury at the 60th Berlinale, which will be led by director Werner Herzog.

  • Ascot Elite takes German-speaking rights to Cortes' Buried

    27-Jan-2010

    Switzerland’s Ascot Elite Entertainment Group has acquired all German-speaking European rights to Rodrigo Cortes’ Sundance thriller Buried.

  • Medienboard director Kirsten Niehuus extends contract until 2014

    26-Jan-2010

    Kirsten Niehuus, executive director of the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), has extended her contract until 2014.

  • Bavaria, Memento, Sola Media and Aktis Film snap up Berlinale titles

    25-Jan-2010

    Bavaria Film International, Memento Films International, Sola Media and Aktis Film International have taken on sales for six films screening at this year’s Berlinale.

  • Berlinale completes Panorama line-up

    22-Jan-2010

    The line-up for the Berlinale’s Panorama is now complete with the confirmation of the remaining films including projects from Ferzan Ozpetek, Andreas Kleinert, Rosa von Praunheim, Feo Aladag and Patrick Hughes.

  • Germany's Beta Cinema, Media Luna New Films take on Berlin titles

    22-Jan-2010

    Germany’s Beta Cinema and Media Luna New Films will be handling sales for two new films having their world premieres in the Berlinale’s Forum and Panorama sections next month.

  • The new internationalist

    22-Jan-2010

    With ambitious plans to build on Bavaria Film’s successful local film-production activities, the company’s head tells Martin Blaney why he believes international co-productions are the key to its future

  • IndiePix acquires Venice Silver Lion winner Women Without Men

    22-Jan-2010

    New York-based IndiePix has acquired all US media rights to Women Without Men, which won the Silver Lion Award in Venice last autumn, as well as Sundance entry All My Friends Are Funeral Singers.

  • Austria to fast-track launch of €20m film incentive

    21-Jan-2010

    The Austrian government is planning to pay out €5m ($7.1m) to film projects this year after ‘fast-tracking’ the introduction of its production incentive.

  • Rob Marshall's Nine to receive birthday screening at Berlin

    21-Jan-2010

    Rob Marshall’s Nine and new films by Doris Dorrie, Matti Geschonneck and Jo Baier will be screened as part of the Berlinale’s Special programme this year.

  • Berlinale official selection hosts world premieres from Vinterberg, Baumbach

    20-Jan-2010

    Thomas Vinterberg’s Submarino, Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg (pictured) and Benoit Delephine’s Mammuth are among 12 additional world premieres that will screen in the official selection at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

  • Berlinale's International Forum unveils 19 world premieres for 40th edition

    19-Jan-2010

    New films by Angela Schanelec (pictured), Nicolas Wadimoff, Arvin Chen and Thomas Arslan are among 19 world premieres in the 40th edition of the Berlinale’s International Forum.

  • Sony reveals second German project after Friendship! success

    19-Jan-2010

    Sony Pictures Releasing is forging ahead with preparations for its second local production after the strong opening of Markus Goller’s comedy Friendship!.

  • Quanan Wang's Apart Together to open 60th Berlinale

    19-Jan-2010

    The world premiere of Quanan Wang’s Apart Together (Tuan Yuan) will open the Berlinale’s 60th edition on February 11, while Yoji Yamada’s About Her Brother (Otouto) (pictured) will close the festival on February 20.

  • Berlinale's Co-Production Market reveals line-up

    18-Jan-2010

    New projects by Italy’s Marco Bechis, the UK’s Benjamin Ross and Russia’s Andrey Zvyagintsev as well as directorial debuts by actors Hiam Abbass and Ulrich Thomsen are among the 37 projects selected for the seventh edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 14-16).

  • Producers share top prize at 31st Bavarian Film Awards

    18-Jan-2010

    Desert Flower producer Peter Herrmann and Dietmar Güntsche and Wolfgang Behr, producers of Wolfgang Panzer’s Der Grosse Kater, shared the best producer prize at the 31st Bavarian Film Awards held over the weekend.

  • Jean Perret to leave Visions Du Reel

    14-Jan-2010

    Jean Perret, director of Visions du Reel - Nyon International Film Festival since its inception in 1995, is leaving in August.

  • Berlinale reveals line-up for Perspektive local film section

    14-Jan-2010

    Dietrich Bruggemann’s Run If You Can and RP Kahl’s Bedways will bookend the Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar at the Berlin Film Festival.

  • Germany's DFFF awards $11.5m to Emmerich, Collet-Serra

    14-Jan-2010

    The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) has paid out $11.5m (€8m) to major international projects by Roland Emmerich and Jaume Collet-Serra.

  • Probst aims to be flexible in run up to EFM

    13-Jan-2010

    Flexibility has been the key to preparing the 2010 edition of the European Film Market (EFM), according to market director Beki Probst.

  • Berlin unveils first wave of Panorama, Forum titles

    12-Jan-2010

    Documentaries are set to put in a strong showing at the Berlinale’s Panorama section this year as selectors announce that half of the 50-title programme has now been confirmed. A third of the final line-up will be made up of documentaries.

  • The White Ribbon, Storm lead nominations for German film critics' awards

    11-Jan-2010

    Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon and Hans-Christian Schmid’s Storm have each scored four nominations for the German Film Critics’ Association’s (VDFK) awards.

  • The Match Factory boards Epstein and Friedman's Howl

    8-Jan-2010

    Cologne-based The Match Factory has picked up international sales for Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Howl, which will be the narrative world premiere on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival.

  • Independent cinema in "the best of health", says Berlinale chief

    23-Dec-2009

    Independent cinema is in the best of health, says Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick, who is currently completing the competition line-up for the forthcoming 60th edition (February 11-21).

  • Rat King wins Screen's Best Pitch Award at Tallin

    17-Dec-2009

    Finnish film-maker Petri Kotwica’s third feature, Rat King, scooped Screen International’s Best Pitch Award at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, held in Tallinn, at the start of December

  • Veteran film historian and critic Ron Holloway dies at 76

    17-Dec-2009

    The international film festival circuit will not be the same following the sad news that the veteran film historian, critic and filmmaker Ron Holloway died in Berlin on Wednesday morning at the age of 76.

  • Haneke, White Ribbon triumph at European Film Awards

    14-Dec-2009

    Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) was the big winner at this year’s European Film Awards, taking awards for European film, director and screenwriter of the year.

  • Ajami scoops Grand Prix at Tallinn Black Nights festival

    7-Dec-2009

    Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani’s Ajami, which premiered at this year’s Director’s Fortnight, picked up the Grand Prix for Best Eurasian film in the EurAsia competition at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

  • Ascot Elite, Splendid Films close raft of post-AFM deals

    4-Dec-2009

    Independent  Swiss distributor Ascot Elite and Cologne-based Splendid Films have unveiled deals on films acquired at last month’s AFM.

  • The Match Factory takes on international sales for Tom Tykwer's Three

    1-Dec-2009

    The Match Factory will handle international sales for Tom Tykwer’s latest feature film, Three (Drei) which completed principal photography in Berlin last week.

  • Germany’s Senator launches Cologne production arm

    23-Nov-2009

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment is launching a Cologne-based production arm to be called Senator Film Koln Produktion to take advantage of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as an international production hub.

  • Baltic co-production market unveils new projects

    20-Nov-2009

    Projects from Estonian film-maker Kadri Kousaar, Finland’s Petri Kotwica, Poland’s Bartosz Konopka and Uzbek producer-director Ella Vakkasova are among 12 projects selected for the Baltic Event Co-Production Market.

  • German nationwide digital exhibition plan in tatters

    18-Nov-2009

    An all-industry solution for a nationwide digital roll-out in German cinemas has stalled after the UCI Kinowelt cinema chain refused to withdraw its legal action against the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Austrian film-makers protest against Cruise film funding

    12-Nov-2009

    James Mangold’s action comedy Knight & Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, has become the target of protests from Austrian film-makers after receiving $448,455 (€300,000) in support from the Salzburg authorities.

  • Hausner's Lourdes wins Viennale best film award

    4-Nov-2009

    Jessica Hausner ‘s Lourdes was presented with the Vienna Film Prize for best film as the Viennale wrapped on Wednesday evening (November 4) with a screening of  Coen brother’s A Serious Man.

  • Germany at AFM

    4-Nov-2009

    Horror, a local hit comedy and a family animation.

  • The Station agents

    30-Oct-2009

    Berlin-based producer Egoli Tossell Film has comfortably ramped up its activities to focus on $10m-$22m international films, scoring initial success this autumn with Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station. Martin Blaney reports

  • Former Kinowelt marketing chief launches new venture

    30-Oct-2009

    Georg Miros, the former head of marketing and sales at Kinowelt Filmverleih, has joined forces with local distributor Eduard Barnsteiner to launch distribution and production outfit Projektor Filmverleih und Filmproduktion.

  • New German government pledges support for film

    28-Oct-2009

    Angela Merkel’s new government confirmed its support for the local film industry as it prepared to be sworn in on Wednesday (October 28). 

  • World premiere of Koepp’s Berlin-Stettin opens Leipzig

    26-Oct-2009

    Veteran German documentary film-maker Volker Koepp’s latest project Berlin-Stettin will open the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film tonight (October 26).

  • M-appeal takes international distribution for Last Cowboy Standing

    21-Oct-2009

    M-appeal, the Berlin-based sales company, has taken on the international distribution for Zaida Bergroth’s debut feature Last Cowboy Standing, which had its international premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival.

  • Hausner's Lourdes takes Grand Prix at 25th Warsaw Film Festival

    19-Oct-2009

    Austrian director Jessica Hausner’s third feature Lourdes, which had its world premiere at Venice last month, took the Grand Prix at the 25th edition of the Warsaw Film Festival, which ran October 9-18.

  • La Pivellina to be first Austrian title to open Viennale

    14-Oct-2009

    Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s debut feature The Little One (La Pivellina), will become the first Austrian production in the Viennale’s 47-year history to open the festival, which runs October 22 to November 4.

  • Berlin kicks off birthday year with Market pass discounts

    13-Oct-2009

    The Berlin Internationa Film Festival has kicked the celebrations for its 60th birthday next year by slashing the price of its Market Badge and European Film Market (EFM) Screening Pass for a limited period.

  • ndF: and Beta Film create venture to focus on children’s films

    5-Oct-2009

    Munich production house ndF: and sales agent Beta Film have joined forces to launch a new venture that will produce feature films for the children’s and youth sector.

  • Studio Braun in independent arena

    2-Oct-2009

    Studio veteran Wolfgang Braun talks to Martin Blaney about the challenges of his new role as head of recently galvanized German distributor Kinowelt

  • Germany at Mipcom

    1-Oct-2009

    Screen International brings you the profiles of German broadcasters ProSiebenSat.1 Media, ZDF, RTL Television, and Ard Degeto.

  • Switzerland submits Meier's Home to Academy

    20-Sep-2009

    Ursula Meier’s feature debut Home has been selected by Switzerland to be entered for the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

  • The Swiss connection

    28-Aug-2009

    The Zurich Film Festival’s MD and artistic director talks to Martin Blaney about his other role, as managing director of production outfit Millbrook Pictures, which made a splashy debut with a $4.3m investment in Oliver Stone’s W.

  • Xiaolu Guo's She, A Chinese takes Locarno's Golden Leopard

    17-Aug-2009

    This year’s Golden Leopard in Locarno was awarded to Chinese novelist-filmmaker Xiaolu Guo for the UK-German-French co-production She, A Chinese.

  • Germany's DFFF halves support over first six months of 2009

    30-Jul-2009

    The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) has supported 50% fewer projects over the first half of 2009 compared to the same period last year.

  • The X man

    24-Jul-2009

    Invigorated by his success at this year’s Cannes with The White Ribbon, German producer Stefan Arndt of X-Filme explains his vision for getting arthouse cinema into production.

  • From conception to Womb

    23-Jul-2009

    Could his contemporary fairy tale about cloning, starring Eva Green and Matt Smith, push Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf into the mainstream? Martin Blaney visits the German set of Womb.

  • German exhibitors report best six months since 2004

    17-Jul-2009

    German exhibitors have posted their best six months for five years driven by a strong performance of local and international films, according to data for Nielsen EDI.

  • German Films Preview draws buyers to Cologne

    16-Jul-2009

    The third German Films Previews in Cologne, which ran July 12 – 15, attracted more than 80 international buyers and saw a number of films sold.

  • Battle to convince courts of the threat of piracy

    9-Jul-2009

    Martin Blaney looks at how the German film industry is effected by piracy.

  • Wolfgang Braun joins Kinowelt as chief executive

    6-Jul-2009

    German film industry veteran Wolfgang Braun has been appointed as CEO of sales and distribution company, Kinowelt. He replaces Jan-Pelgrom de Haas, who left the company at the end of last month.

  • Regional German funds support Alex Winter's horror remake

    6-Jul-2009

    Frankfurt’s HessenInvestFilm and Stuttgart-based MFG Baden-Württemberg have allocated $1.9m (€1.35m) to Germany’s first 3D live action film, Alex Winter’s The Gate.

  • German film fund to invest $56m in digital expansion

    23-Jun-2009

    The German Federal Film Board (FFA) is planning to invest $56m (€40m) to help speed up the development digital cinema.

  • Jan-Pelgrom de Haas to step down from Kinowelt

    22-Jun-2009

    Kinowelt chief executive Jan-Pelgrom de Haas is stepping down from the company at the end of this month for family reasons.

  • Open Road, Whiskey to premiere at Munich FilmFest

    10-Jun-2009

    Michael Meredith’s The Open Road  and German Film Award-winner Andreas Dresen’s latest feature Whisky With Vodka are among over 30 world premieres at this year’s Munich Filmfest.

  • Austria set to launch incentive scheme

    4-Jun-2009

    Austria is considering launching a film industry incentive before the end of this year.

  • Locarno to honour producer Martine Marignac

    3-Jun-2009

    France’s Martine Marignac will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize for Best Independent Producer at the Locarno International Film Festival in Augus

  • Portugal's Pantheon picks up Kinatay and Milk Of Sorrow

    2-Jun-2009

    Portuguese distributor Pantheon has picked up Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza’s Kinatay and this year’s Berlin Golden Bear winner The Milk Of Sorrow by Peru’s Claudia Llosa.

  • Iannucci's In The Loop to open 20th Emden-Nordeney Festival

    1-Jun-2009

    Armando Iannucci’s political satire In The Loop will open the 20th edition of the Emden-Norderney International Film Festival (June 10-17).

  • German footballer Jens Lehmann follows in Cantona's footsteps

    1-Jun-2009

    Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is following in the footsteps of football star-turned-actor Eric Cantona with his first acting role in Stefanie Sycholt’s Themba.

  • Munich's CineMerit Award 2009 goes to Michael Haneke

    29-May-2009

    Palme d’Or winner Michael Haneke will be presented with the Filmfest München’s CineMerit Award 2009 for his services to cinema as an art form.

  • German distributors hit Marche with gusto

    28-May-2009

    German distributors went on a spending spree at Cannes picking up news films by Michael Douglas, George Romero, Sophie Marceau and Cecile de France.

  • Macedonian Film Fund joins EFP

    28-May-2009

    The Macedonian Film Fund has become the 30th member of European Film Promotion (EFP), the pan-European network of film promotion and export organisations.

  • Studio building

    28-May-2009

    Thomas Peter Friedl tells Martin Blaney why running the new German film company UFA Cinema is his dream job

  • German court lifts ban on Martin Weisz’s cannibal film

    28-May-2009

    The German Federal Supreme Court has lifted the ban on Martin Weisz’s Butterfly – A Grimm Story (Rohtenburg), a horror film based on the true story of a cannibal.

  • Universum picks up four titles in Cannes spending spree

    27-May-2009

    Munich-based Universum Film has picked up German rights for another four titles to add to its previous acquisition of Hideo Nakata’s psychological thriller Chatroom.

  • Wenders to direct first 3D dance feature

    26-May-2009

    Wim Wenders and the legendary choreographer Pina Bausch are collaborating on the first dance feature film to be shot in 3D.

  • Actor Daniel Brühl launches production venture with Film1

    25-May-2009

    German actor Daniel Brühl is launching a production company with Berlin-based Film1. Fouronfilm will concentrate on international co-productions.

  • HanWay Films sells Black Death to 12 distributors

    15-May-2009

    UK-based sales agent HanWay Films has already concluded pre-sales with 12 distributors for Christopher Smith’s medieval mystery thriller Black Death

  • Atlas starts presales on Quick, Slip Me A Bride

    13-May-2009

    German sales agent Atlas International film will be in Cannes to handle pre-sales for the UK romantic comedy Quick, Slip Me A Bride.

  • Match Factory adds The Light to Cannes line-up

    11-May-2009

    The Match Factory has added Kyrgyz filmmaker Aktan Arym Kubat’s next feature The Light to its sales line-up.

  • Glawogger's Contact High to premiere at Cannes Market

    11-May-2009

    Austrian director Michael Glawogger’s latest feature film Contact High will receive its market premiere through The Match Factory at Cannes this week.

  • Gus van Sant named as jury president of KunstFilmBiennale

    11-May-2009

    US filmmaker Gus van Sant will serve as the president of the International Jury for this year’s KunstFilmBiennale.

  • Munich retrospective dedicated to British director Stephen Frears

    11-May-2009

    The British director Stephen Frears will be honoured with a retrospective at this year’s Munich Filmfest, which will be held from 26 June - 4 July.

  • M-Appeal picks up Karaoke

    8-May-2009

    Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has picked up international distribution for Chris Chong Chan Fui’s Karaoke in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight.

  • German regional fund hands $14.7m to co-productions

    7-May-2009

    Germany’s leading regional film fund, Filmstiftung NRW, has allocated $14.7m (€11m) – a third of its annual budget - to 35 projects, including a film by UK director Alex Winter.

  • Films Boutique picks up new films by Rodrigues and Safdie brothers

    7-May-2009

    Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique has picked up Joao Pedro Rodrigues’ To Die Like A Man and US indie filmmakers Josh & Benny Safdie’s Go Get Some Rosemary.

  • German film fund back on track

    7-May-2009

    German film production will step up a gear this week after the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board finally agreed its budget for 2009. It is understood to be close to last year’s $93.4m (€70m).

  • Locarno reveals 2009 jury line-up

    6-May-2009

    The Locarno International Film Festival has announced the first names for this year’s official juries. The Swiss festival takes place between August 5 – 15 this year.

  • Bavaria completes Cannes slate

    6-May-2009

    Bavaria Film International has added genre titles Ole Bornedal’s Deliver Us From Evil and Jonathan auf der Heide’s Van Diemen’s Land to its sales slate for this year’s Cannes.

  • Bavaria Film picks Bad Day To Go Fishing

    5-May-2009

    Munich-based sales agent Bavaria Film International will handle international sales for Alvaro Brechner’s feature film debut Bad Day To Go Fishing (Mal Dia Para Pescar).

  • First Ticino Film Prize to be presented at Locarno

    1-May-2009

    The Swiss canton of Ticino is presenting its Film Prize (Premio Cinema Ticino) during this year’s Locarno Film Festival (August 5-15).

  • Thierry Potok steps down from Germany's VIP fund

    1-May-2009

    Thierry Potok, the head of private German media fund VIP Medienfonds, is returning to producing after almost a year in the role.

  • Canadian filmmaker wins top prize at Nyon

    1-May-2009

    Canadian filmmaker Richard Brouillette’s study of neo-liberalism and democracy Encirclement won the Grand Prix at Nyon’s Visions du Reel documentary festival, which closed on April 30.

  • Volkswagen drops Berlinale sponsorship

    30-Apr-2009

    Volkswagen is scrapping its seven year sponsorship of the Berlinale, ahead of the festival’s 60th anniversary next year.

  • The Other Bank wins Golden Lily

    29-Apr-2009

    Georgian director George Ovashvili’s film debut The Other Bank (Gagma Napiri) picked up the GoldenLily for best film and the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at this year’s goEast Festival.

  • Medienboard boosts 2009 budget by $1.3m

    27-Apr-2009

    Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), the German regional fund, will invest an additional $1.3m(Euros 1m) in the film projects this year.

  • Florian Gallenberger’s epic drama John Rabe wins four Lolas

    25-Apr-2009

    Florian Gallenberger’s epic drama John Rabe about the “Oskar Schindler of China” was the big winner at this year’s German Film Awards, taking home four Golden Lolas, including for Best Film and Best Lead Actor for Ulrich Tukur as John Rabe.

  • Market Report Germany

    17-Apr-2009

    With around 30 releases a year, the German market was the third most important for French films abroad, after the US and Russia, with 5.6 million tickets sold according to Unifrance. Asterix At The Olympic Games and Welcome To The Sticks were the two top French-language performers in Germany last year.

  • EFP selects candidates for Producers On The Move in Cannes

    15-Apr-2009

    European Film Promotion (EFP), the Hamburg-based promotional organisation, has selected 23aspiring European producers for the 10th edition of its Producers On The Move networking initiative,which will be held during the Cannes Film Festival next month.

  • Medienboard fund supports international productions

    15-Apr-2009

    New films by Roman Polanski, Christopher Smith, Danis Tanovic and Agnieszka Holland are among 36projects awarded more than $5.9m (Euro 4.5m) by Germany’s second largest regional film fund,Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

  • Eichinger and Edel reunite for Bushido biopic

    14-Apr-2009

    The Baader Meinhof Complex’s writer-producer Bernd Eichinger and director Uli Edel are to bereunited this summer for a biopic of Germany’s No. 1 rapper Bushido.

  • German Federal Film Fund gives $2m to new projects

    3-Apr-2009

    New films by Leander Haussmann, Benedek Fliegauf and Isabelle Stever will receive $2m (Euro 1.5m) from incentive scheme German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).

  • German films take 30% of local market in first quarter

    2-Apr-2009

    German films took almost 30% of the local box-office over the first quarter of 2009, according to figures from Nielsen EDI. It is down from 33% for the same period last year.

  • Hamburg backs projects by Polanski, Espinosa and Guo

    30-Mar-2009

    International co-productions by Roman Polanski, Daniel Espinosa and Xiaolu Guo are among the projects to be supported by FilmFörderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH), which has handed out a total of $3.5m (Euro 2.69m) at its latest funding session.

  • German cinemas post strong first quarter with $280m takings

    30-Mar-2009

    German cinemas have posted a strong start to the year with one of their strongest first quarter performances in five years, according to figures from Nielsen EDI.

  • Waltz With Bashir producer boards Turkish project

    27-Mar-2009

    Razor Film is to produce Turkish filmmaker Asli Özge's next feature film Asphyxia (working title).

  • El Sistema to open Nyon's Visions du Reel 2009

    25-Mar-2009

    Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier's El Sistema will be the opening film at the 2009 Nyon International Film Festival.

  • German producers fear $135m worth of production at risk

    24-Mar-2009

    Work on more than 30 German feature film projects could be ‘at acute risk’ in 2009 because of the uncertainty surrounding the finances of the German Federal Film Fund (FFA), according to the German Producers Alliance.

  • Kill Daddy Good Night wins at Diagonale, My Magic in Fribourg

    23-Mar-2009

    Glawogger’s Kill Daddy GoodNight wins Austrian Diagonale Grand Prix, Eric Khoo’s My Magic top winner at Switzerland’s Fribourg.

  • Babelsberg boards Boxhagener Platz and Jerry Cotton

    19-Mar-2009

    Studio Babelsberg will co-produce two German feature productions Matti Geschonneck's Boxhagener Platz and Cyrill Boss and Phillip Stennert's Jerry Cotton.

  • Jude, Komanderev win best pitch prizes at Sofia Meetings

    16-Mar-2009

    At the Sofia International Film Festival's sixth Sofia Meetings, atotal of 22 projects werepresented in the Second Films Pitching lineup, the Plus Minus One selection of debut and third features, and the new Sofia Cinelinks Sarajevo programme.

  • John Rabe leads German Film Awards with seven nominations

    13-Mar-2009

    John Rabe is the clear favourite for this year's German Film Awards after picking up seven nominations including best film, and best director for Florian Gallenberger.

  • How Senator builtThe Reader into a German hit

    13-Mar-2009

    It might have a UK director and US producers, but The Reader has been largely perceived as a local film by Germany's cinema-goers, thanks to the source material of Bernhard Schlink's best-selling 1995 novel. It also has a large number of German actors in the cast and the film was shot mainly in Germany.

  • Berlinale film The Secret Of Kells wins at Cartoon Movie Tributes

    9-Mar-2009

    Brendan And The Secret Of Kells was the big winner at this year's Cartoon Movie in Lyon, winning best European director and best producer.

  • Antoniazzi's Small Fish to open Austria's Diagonale

    8-Mar-2009

    Marco Antoniazzi's feature debut Small Fish (Kleine Fische) will open this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema (March 17-22) in the Styrian capital of Graz.

  • Ursula Meier's Home is big winner at Swiss Film Prizes

    8-Mar-2009

    Ursula Meier's Home was the big winner at this year's ceremony for the Swiss Film Prizes which were presented for the first time in a gala event in Lucerne on Saturday evening (March 7).

  • Award winning Burma VJ picked up by Oscilloscope and Dogwoof

    6-Mar-2009

    Zurich-based sales agent First Hand Films has concluded deals for the UK and US for Anders Ostergaard's award-winning festival favourite Burma VJ - Reporting From A Closed Country with Dogwoof for the UK and Oscilloscope Laboratories for the US.

  • Germany's MDM fund awards $4.6m in first funding round of 2009

    5-Mar-2009

    Films from Israel's Eran Riklis and Hungary's Kornel Mundruczo are among the projects sharing more than $4.6m (Euros 3.7m) from Germany's Leipzig-based regional film fund Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM).

  • Constantin posts profit as parent company plans delisting

    4-Mar-2009

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film posted positive turnover and operating results for 2008 as its parent company Highlight announced plans to delist Constantin and merge with it as Constantin Medien.

  • Berlinale announces dates for 60th anniversary edition

    3-Mar-2009

    The Berlin film festival has announced that its 60th anniversary edition will run from February 11 to 21, 2010, thus avoiding a potential overlap with the Rotterdam film festival.

  • Road movie and black comedy among winners at Belgrade

    2-Mar-2009

    The 2009 Belgrade co-production market chose Georgian director Tamara Sulamanidze's feature debut and second features from Kazakhstan's Nariman Turebayev and Macedonia's Igor Panov as best in group at this year's B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings.

  • Georgia planning tax incentives for film production

    2-Mar-2009

    Georgia is planning to introduce its own programme of tax incentives for film production in the second halfof 2009.

  • German Federal Film Board's finances in question after court ruling

    27-Feb-2009

    Future financing of the German Federal Film Board (FFA) was potentially put into question after the German Administrative Court ruled this week that the national funding institution's cinema levy is unconstitutional.

  • Finalists for the Cartoon Movie Tributes 2009 announced

    26-Feb-2009

    Irish animator Tomm Moore who directed Berlinale offering Brendan and The Secret Of Kells, French distributor Bac Films and the production team behind Niko & The Way To The Stars are among the finalists nominated for this year's Cartoon Movie Tributes.

  • Bavarian fund backs projects by Hirschbiegel, Wieland and Kraus

    25-Feb-2009

    New films by Sundance winner Oliver Hirschbiegel, Ute Wieland and Chris Kraus are among the projects receiving funding totalling $5m (Euros 3.9m) from the Bavarian regional fund FFF Bayern.

  • Ascot picks up five more titles in EFM

    24-Feb-2009

    Leading Swiss independent distributor Ascot Elite, acquired the rights for German speaking Europe to another five titles to add to the previously announced black thriller comedyChawby Shin Jeong-Won.

  • Tom Tykwer dreams big with 'fascinating' adaptation ofCloud Atlas

    20-Feb-2009

    Much has happened in Berlin in the decade between the release of Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, which exploded onto the European film-making scene in the late 1990s, and his latest film, The International, which opened this month's Berlinale.

  • Germany's TMG picks up new films by Redford, Gilliam, Carpenter

    17-Feb-2009

    Herbert Kloiber’s Tele München Group (TMG) acquired the German rights to new films by Robert Redford, Terry Gilliam and John Carpenter at this year’s European Film Marketduring the Berlinale.

  • Berlin Bear winners sell well for Match Factory, Bavaria

    17-Feb-2009

    Sales have been strong for Berlin Bear winners handled by German-based sales agents The Match Factory and Bavaria Film International.

  • Film producers to access Saxony-Anhalt $64m loan programme

    16-Feb-2009

    Film producers will have access to a $64m (Euros 50m) loan programme in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt which has been launched to support the media industry in the state.

  • Peru's The Milk Of Sorrow wins Golden Bear at Berlinale

    14-Feb-2009

    For the second year running, the Berlinale's Golden Bear has gone to Latin America with the International Jury led by Tilda Swinton selecting Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa's second feature The Milk Of Sorrow for the top honours this year.Sold internationally by The Match Factory and supported by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund among others, ...

  • Berlin's EFM a 'mixed bag', according to market director Beki Probst

    14-Feb-2009

    'It has been a mixed bag this year' was market director Beki Probst's verdict on the 2009 edition of the European Film Market (EFM) which finally closed its doors on February 13.'Some people would say it was good, some better than what they expected and some that it was not good,' observed Probst in an exclusive interview with Screen Daily. 'In a way, I think we have had that kind of reaction in other years. Only, this year you have the ...

  • Fidalgo takes Norwegian rights to two Berlin competitors

    12-Feb-2009

    Norwegian distributor Fidalgo has acquired two films which had their world premieres in this year's Competition at the Berlinale.

  • Dieter Kosslick extends Berlinale contract till 2013

    12-Feb-2009

    Dieter Kosslick is staying put at the Berlinale - the festival director confirmed to Screen that his contract as festival director has been extended by another two years until April 30, 2013, four weeks before his 65th birthday.

  • Match Factory floats with Vinterberg's Submarino

    12-Feb-2009

    The Match Factory has taken on sales for Thomas Vinterberg's low budget feature Submarino which is based on the novel of the same name by Jonas T Bengston.

  • Universum Film developing Tractors bestseller with UK's Trijbits

    12-Feb-2009

    German distributor Universum Film has joined forces with UK-based producer Paul Trijbits of Ruby Films for the development of an adaptation of Marina Lewycka's A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian.

  • German distributor Universum Film developing Tractor bestseller with UK's Trijbits

    11-Feb-2009

    German distributor Universum Film has joined forces with UK-based producer Paul Trijbits of Ruby Films for the development of an adaptation of Marina Lewycka's A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian.

  • Uchitel to hunt Lions with Sokolovsky

    11-Feb-2009

    Russian director Alexey Uchitel's company Rock Films has lined up local filmmaker Vadim Sokolovsky to direct thriller Hunting The Lions.

  • Winter booked for Gate remake by H20, MMC

    11-Feb-2009

    UK-born actor-director Alex Winter, still best known for playing Bill in the Bill & Ted films, has been confirmed as the director for a remake of the 1987 horror film The Gate which could become the first 3D feature film to be shot completely in Germany later this year.

  • Eva Green, Matt Smith to star in Benedek Fliegauf's Womb

    10-Feb-2009

    Eva Green and Matt Smith, the UK's new Doctor Who, are to star in Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf's first English language feature film Womb which will begin shooting on location at Germany's North Sea coast at the beginning of March.The production by Waltz With Bashir producers Razor Film and Budapest-based Inforg Studio is being co-produced by ASAP Films, ...

  • Locarno's Open Doors to focus on Greater China

    10-Feb-2009

    Greater China will be the focus region of the Open Doors co-production platform at this year’s Locarno Film Festival.

  • Szasz signs for The Notebook

    10-Feb-2009

    Agota Kristof's award-winning anti-war novel The Notebook (Le Grand Cahier) is to be adapted for the cinema screen by Hungarian writer-director Janos Szasz.

  • Russia steps up as fourth biggest European market

    9-Feb-2009

    The Russian Federation became Europe's fourth largest cinema market in terms of cinema attendance in 2008, according to estimates from the Strasbourg-based European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO).

  • EU's MEDIA International funding increased by$3m for 2009

    9-Feb-2009

    The European Commission's MEDIA International initiative has more than doubled its budget for 2009, isencouraging new approaches to distributionand will expand to include projects designed to reach new audiences.

  • Match Factory joins Tanovic's Cirkus

    9-Feb-2009

    The Match Factory (TMF) will handle international sales for Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic's Cirkus Columbia (working title) which will be his first feature to be shot in his Bosnian homeland.

  • Media Luna picks up Memory, Jennifer

    9-Feb-2009

    Media Luna Entertainment has picked up Memory, the second feature by Matthias Luthardt, who is the president of the 'Dialogue en perspective' jury of young German and French film buffs for this year's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar.

  • Schmidtz Katze lines up English language thriller slate

    9-Feb-2009

    German production outfit Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv (SKF) is in Berlin to look for an international sales partner for a three-picture slate of English-language thrillers.

  • Sophie goes to Turkey for Atlas

    9-Feb-2009

    Turkey's Horizon has picked up Leif Bristow's family film Sophie which begins shooting in Canada this week with Brittany Bristow, John Rhys-Davies, Augustus Prew and German actor Thure Riefenstein in the cast.

  • Films Boutique picks up Rots, Jude titles

    8-Feb-2009

    Berlin-based sales company Films Boutique has picked up four new titles for international distribution, including two Forum titles - Esther Rots' Can Go Through Skin and Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude's The Happiest Girl In The World.

  • Match Factory waltzes again with Folman

    8-Feb-2009

    The Match Factory is continuing its collaboration with Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman after handling international sales on his Oscar-nominated animated documentary Waltz With Bashir.

  • GrandHotel to make gay footballer story

    7-Feb-2009

    Berlin-based GrandHotelPictures has unveiled its development slate which includes Iranian-born Reza Memari's adaptation of Ronny Blaschke's Versteckspieler, a biography of the gay footballer Marcus Urban from former eastern Germany.

  • UK's Hudson launches Cologne-based production outfit

    7-Feb-2009

    UK-born, Cologne-based director Steve Hudson has launched his own production company GRINGO Films with producer Sonja Ewers to develop and produce international features.

  • Kinowelt's Ziannis sets up new sales shop Aktis

    6-Feb-2009

    Former Kinowelt world sales chief Stelios Ziannis is in Berlin with his new sales company Aktis Film International.

  • Atrix boards Murnberger's Bone Man

    6-Feb-2009

    Beatrix Wesle's Munich-based Atrix Films has taken all international rights, excluding German-speaking territories, to Wolfgang Murnberger's laconic mystery drama The Bone Man (Der Knochenmann) which will be having its world premiere in Panorama.

  • Rotterdam and Berlin could overlap in 2010

    6-Feb-2009

    The Rotterdam and Berlin film festivals are on a potential collision course with their dates for 2010 when the Berlinale will be celebrating its 60 th anniversary.

  • Tom Tykwer teams up with the Wachowskis

    6-Feb-2009

    Tom Tykwer is teaming up with the Wachowski brothers on one of two projects he currently has in development.

  • Basterds swings German cash

    5-Feb-2009

    Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds has been awarded $8.7m (Euros 6.8m) support by Germany's much praised DFFF incentive scheme.

  • Number of buyers at EFM increases year-on-year by almost 40%

    2-Feb-2009

    The number of international buyers attending this year's European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlinale is set to increase by almost 40% year-on-year.

  • Medienboard backs films from Stölzl, Garbarski, Haussmann

    31-Jan-2009

    Just a week before the 59th Berlinale opens, local regional film fund Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) has announced over $6.8m (Euros 5.3m) for 38 projects, including new films by director Philipp Stölzl, Sam Garbarski, and Leander Haussmann.

  • German films - Doors open for rush of local films

    30-Jan-2009

    The entire Berlin festival this year acknowledges the role played by German production houses in international projects.

  • Interview: EFM director Beki Probst

    30-Jan-2009

    As director of the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) for 20 years, Beki Probst has borne witness to seismic changes at both the festival and the international film business. One of the most striking changes she has observed is in the attitudes of people attending the market.

  • The Match Factory to present five world premieres at EFM

    27-Jan-2009

    Cologne-based sales agent The Match Factory will handle international sales on four new films invited to screen in Berlinale's Competition.

  • Films by Loncraine, Scherfig and Guggenheim complete Berlinale programme

    27-Jan-2009

    Richard Loncraine's 1950s-set My One And Only, starring Renee Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, and Logan Lerman, will screen as a world premiere in Competition, while Scherfig's An Education, with Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard and Dominic Cooper, will be coming direct from Sundance for a gala presentation at the Friedrichstadtpalast in the Berlinale Special sidebar.

  • Happy New Year bags four Swiss Film Prize nominations

    26-Jan-2009

    Christoph Schaub's Happy New Year garnered four nominations for the 2009 Swiss Film Prize QUARTZ in the categories of best fiction film, best screenplay, best actor and best film score.

  • Bavaria Film International adds six Berlinale world premieres to EFM sales slate

    26-Jan-2009

    Bavaria Film International has added six of the forthcoming Berlinale's world premieres to its sales slate for the upcoming European Film Market (EFM).

  • Interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel

    23-Jan-2009

    The Northern Ireland 'Troubles' of the 1970s are a long way from Oliver Hirschbiegel's hugely successful drama Downfall about the last days of Adolf Hitler, but the German director sees many similarities.

  • Berlinale's 2009 Panorama programme finalised

    21-Jan-2009

    The section's main programme will open on February 5 with Danish actress-director Rie Rasmussen's debut feature Human Zoo while the Panorama Special strand will kick off with another debut, North (Nord) by Norway's Rune Denstad Langlo.

  • Berlinale announces members of International Jury

    20-Jan-2009

    The Berlinale has announced the members of the International Jury, joining jury president Tilda Swinton.

  • Khlebnikov, Schipper, Ottinger and Lom premieres at Berlinale Forum

    19-Jan-2009

    World premieres of new films by Boris Khlebnikov, Sebastian Schipper, Ulrike Ottinger and Petr Lom have been confirmed as the Berlinale's Forum section finalises its 2009 line-up of 48 films from 31 countries.

  • Baader Meinhof and John Rabe share top Bavarian prize

    18-Jan-2009

    Uli Edel's Oscar shortlisted The Baader Meinhof Complex and Florian Gallenberger's John Rabe shared the top honour of the Producer Prize at the 30th Bavarian Film Awards held in Munich at the weekend.

  • UFA Cinema slate to include Robert Harris's Vaterland.

    16-Jan-2009

    German producer-distributor UFA Cinema has added eight projects to its ambitious production slate, including a new screen adaptation of Robert Harris's international bestseller Vaterland.

  • Elevenworld premieres in 14 latest titles for Berlinale Competition

    15-Jan-2009

    Some eleven of the 14 latest films announced for the Berlinale's Competition programme are world premieres, including new films by Stephen Frears (Cheri), Bertrand Tavernier (In the Electric Mist), Francois Ozon (Ricky) and Andrzej Wajda (Sweet Rush).

  • Panorama world premieres include Breillat, Winterbottom, Glawogger

    14-Jan-2009

    World premieres of new films by Catherine Breillat, Micheal Winterbottom and Michael Glawogger will screen in Berlinale's Panorama section.

  • Generation and Perspektive Deutsches Kino line-ups complete

    13-Jan-2009

    Lars Büchel's Lippel's Dream, and Alexis Dos Santos's Unmade Beds make the Berlinale's Generation selection while Lars Jessen's Dorfpunks and Stefan Schaller's To Each His Own are invited to Perspektive Deutsches Kino as selectors finalise their line-ups for 2009.

  • Ascot Elite adds four new titles to 2009 release slate

    13-Jan-2009

    Leading Swiss indepedent distributor Ascot Elite has acquired rights for Kari Skogland's Fifty Dead Men Walking with up-and-coming star Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley and Rose McGowan, from Handmade Films International.

  • Visitor passfor the EFM, Wild Bunch returns (almost) to the market

    13-Jan-2009

    The European Film Market plans a number of logistical changes to make life easier for its delegates and in doing so has brought sales agent Wild Bunch back into the market - almost.

  • Berlinale co-production market selects The Diary from Bille August

    12-Jan-2009

    The Diary from Bille August is one of 22 projects chosen for the official selection of Berlin's 6th co-production market.

  • Germany's M-Appeal picks up Panorama world premiere Ghosted

    12-Jan-2009

    Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has picked up Monika Treut's latest feature Ghosted which will have its world premiere in the Berlinale's Panorama section next month.

  • US indies and strong Asian presence in Berlinale's Forum

    9-Jan-2009

    Films from the USA, Lebanon, Germany, and Asia are among the new titles confirmed for the Forum's programme at next month's Berlinale.

  • German 2008 box office up 3.5%, year on year, admissions up 1.57%

    9-Jan-2009

    2008 ended with a 3.5% year on year increase in box-office takings and a year on year increase of 1.57%admissions in German cinemas, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.

  • Projects by Alvart, Stölzl, Schwochow planned by new Berlin outfit

    8-Jan-2009

    Berlin-based production outfit Bittersuess Pictures has revealed new feature projects by Christian Alvart, Philipp Stölzl and Christian Schwochow.

  • Berlin Panorama announces first half of programme and Forum titles

    7-Jan-2009

    World premieres of The Countess, by Julie Delpy, Fig Trees by John Greyson, Light Gradient by Jan Krüger and Ghosted by Monika Treut are among the 21 titles selected so far for the Berlinale Panorama by section director Wieland Speck.

  • More than 90 first-time exhibitors as Berlin's EFM sells out

    6-Jan-2009

    The Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) has sold out with 386 companies and organisations from 55 countries booking, including more than 50 first time exhibitors.

  • Senator and IM Internationalmedia make management changes

    30-Dec-2008

    Publicly-listed Senator Entertainment and IM Internationalmedia have announced management shakeouts in the final days of 2008.

  • Sieben's Distance to open Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino

    19-Dec-2008

    Writer-director Thomas Sieben's feature debut Distance (Distanz) will open the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino - the sidebar dedicated to German films on February 6.

  • European Film Market launches documentary initiative

    19-Dec-2008

    The European Documentary Network (EDN) is collaborating with the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) to provide a new initiative for documentary sellers entitled Meet The Docs.

  • Stelios Ziannis to leave Germany's Kinowelt International

    19-Dec-2008

    Stelios Ziannis, head of world sales at Germany's Kinowelt International for the past eight years, is leaving the company of his own accord at the end of December.

  • Production fund to double for German film funder MFG

    18-Dec-2008

    Christmas has come early for film producers in Germany's Baden-Württemberg region as Prime-Minister Günter H. Hettinger and Media Minister Wolfgang Reinhart have agreed to more than double regional film fund MFG Baden-Württemberg's production budget.

  • Six world premieres selected for Berlinale's Generation section

    17-Dec-2008

    World premieres of new films by Sweden's Fredrik Edfeldt and Germany's Lars Büchel are among the first 13 titles selected for Generation, the Berlinale's section for children and young people.

  • Oliver Berben new managing director of Constantin Film Produktion

    15-Dec-2008

    Oliver Berben has been appointed as the managing director of Constantin Film's production arm Constantin Film Produktion from January 1, 2009.

  • Moodysson's MammothjoinsBouchareb, Potter, Ade, Miller at Berlinale

    12-Dec-2008

    Lukas Moodysson's Mammoth, with Gael Garcia Bernal, Michelle Williams, and Sophie Nyweide, and world premieres of new films by Sally Potter, Maren Ade, Rebecca Miller and Rachid Bouchareb are among ten titles confirmed so far for the Competition programme of the 2009 Berlinale international film.

  • International co-productions benefit from $11.4mGerman support

    5-Dec-2008

    New international co-productions by Poland's Agnieszka Holland, Serbia's Oleg Novkovic and Sweden's Björn Runge are among a raft of feature projects supported with a total of over $ 11.4m (Euros 9m) by German public film funders at their latest funding sessions.

  • Senator Entertainment to reduce number of international titles

    4-Dec-2008

    Germany 's financially beleaguered Senator Entertainment has said that it will reduce the number of international titles it acquires for distribution in future.

  • Joel Silver and Studio Babelsberg Group agree five-year alliance

    3-Dec-2008

    US producer Joel Silver and the Studio Babelsberg Group have agreed a strategic partnership until 2013.

  • Tykwer's The International to open 59th Berlin Film Festival

    28-Nov-2008

    The world premiere of Tom Tykwer's The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts has been named as the opening film of the 2009 Berlinale on February 5.

  • Co-production focus at Festival of German Films in London

    28-Nov-2008

    International co-production will bea focus of this year's Festival of German Film at London's Curzon Soho Cinema, which begins November 28 (Friday).

  • Studio Hamburg scales down feature film activities

    27-Nov-2008

    Germany 's Studio Hamburg has decided to scale down its feature film activities after the disappointing international performance of its English language projects.

  • Spanish-German co-production The Anarchist's Wife to go to Sundance

    27-Nov-2008

    Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr's The Anarchist's Wife (Die Frau des Anarchisten) has been selected for Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Competition in January.

  • Germany and France plan $376,000 co-development fund

    21-Nov-2008

    Germany and France are planning to launch a $376,000 (Euros 300,000) co-development fund from next year as part of their existing bilateral mini co-production agreement.

  • Moszkowicz commits to Constantin for another five years

    20-Nov-2008

    Constantin Film's executive director for production Martin Moszkowicz has had his contract as a member of the German producer-distributor's management board extended to end 2013.

  • 2009 European Film Awards to be held in Essen

    19-Nov-2008

    The 22nd European Film Awards in December 2009 will be hosted by the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Essen and not Berlin as generally expected.

  • Mannheim top prize for Rain, FIPRESCI Prize to Borderline

    19-Nov-2008

    Argentinian director Paula Hernandez's Rain (Lluvia) received the top award at this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.

  • Russia dominates awards at FilmFestival Cottbus

    16-Nov-2008

    Russian cinema was the big winner for the second year running at the FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema (November 11-16) taking home six of the 12 awards presented at the weekend. The International Jury, which included the Israel Film Fund's Katriel Schory, Oscar-winning set designer Allan Starski, and Kosovo-born actress Arta Dobroshi, gave their Main Prize for Best Film to Alexey Uchitel's

  • Cottbus gives boost to German-Russian film relations

    13-Nov-2008

    Relations between the German and Russian film industries have been given a boost at this week's FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of European Cinema.

  • 14 projects to be pitched at Cottbus East-West co-production market

    13-Nov-2008

    New films from Romania, Slovenia, Austria and Bulgaria are among 14 projects from 13 countries selected for presentation at this year's Connecting Cottbus East-West co-production market.

  • Tilda Swinton to be jury president at Berlinale 2009

    12-Nov-2008

    Actress Tilda Swinton has been named as president of the international jury for the next edition of the Berlinale (February 5 - 15 2009) by festival director Dieter Kosslick.

  • Mannheim Meetings co-production market selects 50 film projects

    10-Nov-2008

    The Mannheim Meetings has selected 50 projects from Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Africa for this year's edition of the co-production market for arthouse films, which runs from November 12 to 16. Almost half of the selected projects are from Western Europe including UK film-maker David Andrew Ward's wry thriller New Instruction, to be produced by Lightvalve Media.The Polish Bride director ...

  • Beta Cinema clinches US deal with MPI for Il Divo

    7-Nov-2008

    Beta Cinema has announced its first raft of sales at the AFM, including a US sale to MPI Media Group for Paolo Sorrentino's Cannes award-winner Il Divo. The drama about the controversial Italian politician Giulio Andreotti has also been sold to Germany (Delphi Film), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Denmark (Sunrise Film), Poland (Against Gravity, and HBO Poland for pay-TV), Czech ...

  • Oliver Hirschbiegel's back with Angel Face at Telepool

    7-Nov-2008

    Telepool has secured world rights, excluding German speaking territories, to Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel's new project Angel Face (working title).The adaptation of the best-selling book by Spiegel magazine author Andreas Ulrich unites Hirschbiegel with Moritz Bleibtreu, the lead actor in his 2001 psychodrama The Experiment. Principal photography on the German-Italian thriller by Munich-based ...

  • Axiom in UK, Star Sands in Japan take on Dornhelm's La Boheme

    4-Nov-2008

    UK distributor Axiom and Japan's Star Sands/Theaters have acquired Robert Dornhelm's film version of the Puccini opera La Boheme ahead of its market premiere at the AFM.According to sales agent Beta Cinema, the film featuring opera stars Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon has also been picked up by Palace for Australia and New Zealand and Hollywood Classics for Czech Republic and Slovakia.La Boheme is currently on release in Germany and Austria through NFP/Warner ...

  • Leipzig's top prize for Rene, FIPRESCI Award for Oblivion

    3-Nov-2008

    Czech filmmaker Helena Trestikova's Rene has received the International Jury's Golden Dove at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.

  • Berlinale expands eastwards with new venue for 2009

    3-Nov-2008

    The Berlinale will include Europe's largest revue theatre, the Friedrichstadtpalast, as one of its screening venues at the 2009 festival.

  • Gomes receives FIPRESCI at Viennale for Aquele Querido Mes De Agosto

    31-Oct-2008

    Portuguese director Miguel Gomes received the FIPRESCI Critics Award at this year's Viennale for Aquele Querido Mes De Agosto.

  • AFM buzz - Germany

    31-Oct-2008

    German sales agents will be at the AFM presenting a diverse range of product from the territory. Bavaria Film International will have a promo-reel of Esther Gronenborn's mystery thriller Kaifeck Murder, starring Benno Furmann and Alexandra Maria Lara, which is inspired by one of Germany's most infamous crimes.

  • Beta Cinema presents four market premieres at AFM

    30-Oct-2008

    The Munich-based sales agent will be having market screenings for the first time of:

  • Berlinale 2009 retrospective dedicated to 70mm

    28-Oct-2008

    The programme will concentrate on 70mm films which were originally shot on 65mm or 70mm negative film and then printed onto 70mm for the cinema screen. It will be prepared by the Deutsche Kinemathek - Museum for Film & Television.

  • South-East Asian projects backed by World Cinema Fund

    28-Oct-2008

    Three South-East Asian film projects have been backed with a total of Euros 160,000 by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF).

  • Aramid backs first German P&A fund for independents

    27-Oct-2008

    Aramid Capital Partners (ACP) is behind the launch of PA CO, the first fund in Germany specialised in P&A financing for independent films.

  • On Set: Christian Alvart's Pandorum

    24-Oct-2008

    German director Christian Alvart could not believe his eyes when he was given an early draft of Pandorum to read by UK producers Jeremy Bolt and Paul WS Anderson of Impact Pictures and Robert Kulzer of Germany's Constantin Film: Travis Milloy's spec script was similar to a project Alvart had been developing himself called No Where.

  • Berlinale doubles festival accreditation fee

    23-Oct-2008

    The Berlinale has introduced a 100% price hike for festival accrediation next year (February 5-15).

  • Strong European representation under EFP's AFM umbrella

    21-Oct-2008

    28 European sales agents and production companies from 13 countries have registered at European Film Promotion's (EFP) umbrella office in Santa Monica's Loews Hotel for the forthcoming AFM.

  • Khamsa and Still Walking take top awards at Eurasia Film Festival

    20-Oct-2008

    Tunisian-born filmmaker's Karim Dridi's Khamsa was named Best Film at this year's International Eurasia Film Festival at the Turkish resort of Antalya.

  • Strong Austrian presence as 2008 Viennale opens

    17-Oct-2008

    Austrian filmmakers will have an unprecedented presence at this year's Viennale (Vienna International Film Festival).

  • Fatih Akin's Soul Kitchen, begins shooting in Germany

    15-Oct-2008

    Shooting began today (October 15) in Hamburg on Soul Kitchen, Fatih Akin's first feature film since his European Film Award 2007 winning The Edge Of Heaven. The Match Factory will be handling international sales.

  • European promotion network expands to 30 countries

    15-Oct-2008

    The European-wide network European Film Promotion (EFP) is expanding to 30 countries, with the arrival of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and the Film Centre Serbia (FCS) as the latest members.

  • Senator's head of acquisitions leaves for Atlas Film + Medien

    11-Oct-2008

    Milada Rybarova has exited her position as Head of Acquisitions at the beleaguered German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment to take up the newly created post of VP Sales and Acquisitions at Atlas Film + Medien from this week. Rybarova began working at Senator in 2000 as an acquisitions executive and was made Head of Acquisitions in 2003. Commenting on Rybarova's appointment, Atlas Film + Medien's majority shareholder and board chairman Paul Liwa explained ...

  • German domestic market share at record 21.3%

    10-Oct-2008

    German films have secured a market share of 21.3% in the first nine months of 2008, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI. This is almost 50% higher than 2007's 14.4% share and higher than 2006's record 20.3%.

  • A Perfect Day opens Antalya's Eurasia Film Festival

    8-Oct-2008

    The festival has programmed more than 60 Turkish premieres of international titles including The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Genova,

  • Beta Cinema picks up world sales for German feature on Iraq War

    7-Oct-2008

    Beta Cinema has picked up world rights for Lancelot von Naso's feature debut Ceasefire (Waffenstillstand).

  • German admissions take dip in third quarter 2008

    6-Oct-2008

    German cinema admissions have slipped by 7% in the third quarter of 2008 though box-office revenues remain stable, according to figures from EDI Nielsen.

  • Beta joins forces with Discovery's Hoerl to launch doc sales outfit

    6-Oct-2008

    International distributor Beta Film and former Discovery Germany CEO Patrick Hoerl have joined forces to launch the new sales company Autentic. The company will focus on the acquisition and sales of documentaries and to foster co-productions with German and foreign partners.

  • Tulpan named Best Filmat Zurich film festival

    5-Oct-2008

    Documentary film-maker Sergei Dvortsevoy's feature debut Tulpan was awarded the Golden Eye for best feature film at the 4th Zurich Film Festival.The tragicomedy set in the steppes of Kazakhstan had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard in Cannes and was now shown for the first time in the German speaking area.The International Jury under president Peter Fonda gave its Golden Eye award for best debut feature to Arash T. Riahi's refugee drama

  • Japanese anime focus for 2009 Locarno

    3-Oct-2008

    The world of Japanese anime will be the subject of the retrospective for next year's Locarno Film Festival (August 5-15, 2009) which will also mark the last edition under artistic director Frederic Maire before he becomes head of the Swiss Cinematheque in Lausanne.

  • Loveridge joins Eastwest Filmdistribution

    1-Oct-2008

    International film industry stalwart Helen Loveridge has joined the sales team of EastWest Filmdistribution working out of its London office.

  • Tiziana Finzi steps down from Locarno team

    30-Sep-2008

    Italian-born Tiziana Finzi is to leave her post at the Locarno Film Festival team after nine years citing 'personal reasons.' A graduate in Architecture and History of Cinema at the universities of Venice and Trieste, Finzi joined Locarno in 1999 when she became the chief programmer for the Filmmakers of the Present, Video Competition and In Progress sections. In 2006, she became Head of Programming, a delegate of the Artistic Direction, and the director of the ...

  • Atom Egoyan to receive Douglas Sirk award

    26-Sep-2008

    Filmfest Hamburg will honour Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan this weekend with the Douglas Sirk Award.

  • Olivier Pere named as Locarno artistic director from 2009

    25-Sep-2008

    Olivier Père has been named as the next artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, succeeding Frederic Maire, and will take up his post from September 1, 2009.

  • 3Rosen Filmverleih and Alpenrepublik join German distribution scene

    24-Sep-2008

    New German distribution companies, 3Rosen Filmverleih and Alpenrepublik to release Love Comes Lately and My Friend From Faro

  • TwentyTwenty Vision to co-produce Rafi Pitts' The Hunter

    22-Sep-2008

    Berlin-based production house TwentyTwenty Vision will be the German co-producer on Iranian-British director Rafi Pitts' fifth feature The Hunter.

  • Swiss selectLewinsky'sThe Friend as Oscar entry

    22-Sep-2008

    Micha Lewinsky's feature debut The Friend (Der Freund) has been selected by an expert group convened by the Federal Office for Culture to be Switzerland's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar.The drama about a shy outsider who poses as the boyfriend of a woman after her sudden death and is welcomed into her family was named Best Film at this year's Swiss Film Awards.In addition, the newly created prize of Best Emerging Actor or ...

  • A Mouse's Tale winner of Cartoon d'Or

    19-Sep-2008

    French-born Benjamin Renner's graduation film from La Poudriere animation school A Mouse's Tale has been named the winner of this year's Cartoon d'Or at the 19th Cartoon Forum in Ludwigsburg.

  • Fortissimo Films picks up Parque Via

    19-Sep-2008

    Fortissimo Film Sales has picked up world sales for Mexican filmmaker Enrique Rivero's feature debut Parque Via.

  • Studio Babelsberg to co-produce Inglorious Bastards

    18-Sep-2008

    Studio Babelsberg has now confirmed that it will be serving as the German co-producer on Quentin Tarantino's Second World War drama Inglorious Bastards.

  • Telepool to handle distribution rights on Der Grosse Kater

    18-Sep-2008

    Munich-based Telepool will handle international distribution on Wolfgang Panzer's adaptation of Thomas Hürlimann's 1998 bestselling novel Der Grosse Kater.

  • New programme manager forBerlinale Talent Campus

    17-Sep-2008

    Dutch-born Matthijs Wouter Knol has become the fourth programme manager at the Berlinale Talent Campus.

  • Cartoon expands with EU MEDIA International support

    17-Sep-2008

    Cartoon Connection is one of 18 projects involving partners from Canada, Latin America, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Bosnia, Turkey and Georgia, which have been provided with almost $2.88m (Euros 2m) by the EU to develop closer cooperation between European and third country film professionals.

  • Berlinale Co-Production Market announces deadline

    16-Sep-2008

    The 6th Berlinale Co-Production Market has announced that submissions are now open for new film projects for the 2009 market (Feb. 8-10).

  • Berlinale Co-Production Market announces deadline

    16-Sep-2008

    The 6th Berlinale Co-Production Market has announced that submissions are now open for new film projects for the 2009 market (Feb. 8-10).

  • Berlinale Co-Production Market announces deadline

    16-Sep-2008

    The 6th Berlinale Co-Production Market has announced that submissions are now open for new film projects for the 2009 market (Feb. 8-10).

  • Baader Meinhof Complex is German entry for foreign language Oscar

    16-Sep-2008

    Germany has announced its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar as Uli Edel's The Baader Meinhof Complex.

  • Berlinale's European Film Market centres business presence

    16-Sep-2008

    The Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) has found an alternative venue for its EFM Business Offices which are currently on Potsdamer Platz.

  • German incentive programme to pay outall $86.4m annual budget.

    15-Sep-2008

    The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive programme will pay out all of its $86.4m (Euros 61m) annual budget this year.

  • Goetz Spielmann's Revanche named as Austria's Oscar entry

    14-Sep-2008

    Goetz Spielmann's Revanche has been selected as Austria's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Academy Awards.The rural drama had its world premiere in the Panorama Special section of the Berlinale in February and is handled internationally by The Match Factory.To date, Revanche has received 10 prizes and been shown at 27 international festivals, most recently in Telluride and Toronto, picking up the prize ...

  • Match Factory takes on Wuste projects from Oberli, Taddicken

    12-Sep-2008

    The Match Factory will handle international sales on two new feature film projects by Wüste Film - Bettina Oberli's The Murder Farm (Tannöd) and Sven Taddicken's Zwölf Meter Ohne Kopf - which both began principal photography this week.

  • IM Internationalmedia's future as 'Film library company'

    12-Sep-2008

    The beleaguered IM Internationalmedia Group may see its future operating as 'a mere film library company.' according to the company's interim report for the first half of 2008,

  • IM Internationalmedia's future as 'Film library company'

    12-Sep-2008

    The beleaguered IM Internationalmedia Group may see its future operating as 'a mere film library company.' according to the company's interim report for the first half of 2008,

  • Blow to Germany as Cartoon Movie market moves to Lyon

    12-Sep-2008

    Just days before this year's Cartoon Forum financing market is held in the south-west German town of Ludwigsburg from Sept 16, Brussels-based CARTOON has announced that its annual market for animation feature films, Cartoon Movie, is leaving its venue of 10 years at Potsdam's Babelsberg Studios to be held in France's Lyon.

  • Peter Fonda to serve as jury president in Zurich

    11-Sep-2008

    Veteran actor-director Peter Fonda will serve as the president of the feature film jury at this year's Zurich Film Festival which will open on September 25 with the Swiss premiere of Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex in the presence of the director Edel, producer Bernd Eichinger, author Stefan Aust and actors Moritz Bleibtreu and Nadja Uhl.Fonda will be joined in the seven-person ...

  • Catherine Buresi named European Film Market deputy director

    8-Sep-2008

    French-born Catherine Buresi has been appointed as the deputy director for Berlin European Film Market (EFM). She took up her post as from September 1 as the successor to Karen Arikian who stepped downas deputy director after this year's Berlinale in February to become the executive director of the Hamptons International Film Festival in March.

  • 3L follows Adam Resurrected with Among Farmers, Hangtime

    8-Sep-2008

    Germany's 3L Filmproduktion, co-producer of Paul Schrader's Adam Resurrected which screens in Toronto's Masters section this week after its world premiere in Telluride, has returned to Germany's recent dark past to back Dutch-born filmmaker Ludi Boeken's latest feature Among Farmers (Unter Bauern).The German-French co-production with Joachim von Mengershausen's FilmForm, Cologne-based Pandora ...

  • Films Boutique takes on sales for Woschitz's Universalove

    7-Sep-2008

    Berlin-based fledgling sales agent Films Boutique has picked up international rights for Austrian filmmaker Thomas Woschitz's Universalove which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last night.The co-production by Austria's Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production (KGP) with Luxembourg's Red Lion, Serbia's Art & Popcorn and the donaufestival.at was shot on location in Belgrade, Brooklyn, Luxembourg, Marseilles, ...

  • Media Luna adds five titles including Katia's Sister

    6-Sep-2008

    Sales company Media Luna Entertainment has added five new titles to its Toronto lineup, including Mijke de Jong's Katia's Sister (Het Zusie Van Katia) which will have its North American premiere in Toronto tonight.De Jong's intimate portrait of a 13-year-old girl living in Amsterdam who loses her Russian mother and older sister Katia to the world of prostitution had its world premiere in the International Competition of the Locarno International ...

  • Momentum takes UK rights to Let The Right One In

    3-Sep-2008

    Momentum Pictures has secured all rights for the UK and Ireland to Tomas Alfredson's Swedish vampire romance Let The Right One In from sales agent Bavaria Film International.

  • Grbavica director Zbanic starts shoot for On The Path

    3-Sep-2008

    Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic, winner of Berlin's Golden Bear in 2006 for her feature debut Grbavica, began shooting her second feature film On The Path in Bosnia-Herzegovina today.

  • Germany's UFA Cinema unveils 11-film production slate

    29-Aug-2008

    Germany's UFA Cinema has unveiled an 11-picture production slate encompassing bestseller adaptations, family entertainment and political cinema, with the first project going before the camera in spring 2009.The company's executive managers Wolf Bauer, Thomas Peter Friedl, Nico Hofmann and Jürgen Schuster have selected 11 projects from more than 60 in active development:- Bad Karma (Mieses ...

  • Profile: Online company mediapeers

    29-Aug-2008

    'We do not want to replace the Mipcoms and AFMs of this world,' says Moritz Viehweger, co-managing director of mediapeers, the new Berlin-based virtual film and TV market.

  • Beta Cinema handling sales on two Venice world premieres

    22-Aug-2008

    Beta Cinema is to handle international sales on two Italian films - Marco Pontecorvo's Pa-Ra-Da, the opening film of the Horizons sidebar, and Uberto Pasolini's Venice Days title Machan - which are having their world premieres at next week's Venice Film Festival.

  • Zurich to welcome Sly Stallone for first Golden Icon Award

    20-Aug-2008

    Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone is to receive the Golden Icon Award which is presented for the first time in recognition of an actor or actress's life's work at this year's Zurich Film Festival (Sept25 to October 5).

  • Constantin's theatrical distribution up 92% in first half of 2008

    20-Aug-2008

    Constantin Film's theatrical distribution arm generated 92% more revenues year-on-year to June 30, according to the group's interim management report issued today for the first six months of 2008.

  • IM Internationalmedia filing for insolvency

    19-Aug-2008

    The beleaguered IM Internationalmedia filed for insolvency proceedings in Munich today since pending illiquidity was putting continued business operations at risk.

  • Five animated shorts nominated for Cartoon d'Or

    19-Aug-2008

    Five animation shorts from Belgium, France and the UK have been nominated for this year's Cartoon d'Or prize which will be announced at an awards ceremony during the forthcoming Cartoon Forum (Sept 16-19) in Germany's Ludwigsburg.

  • Widely tipped Parque Via from Mexico wins Locarno Golden Leopard

    17-Aug-2008

    Mexican director Enrique Rivero's feature debut Parque Via won the Golden Leopard at this year's Locarno International Film Festival which closed with the world premiere of Solveig Anspach's Back Soon.Based on the life of Nolberto Coria who plays himself (as Beto) in the story about the gap between rich and poor and white and Indios in Mexico, Parque Via also ...

  • Speculation heats up over Maire replacement in Locarno

    15-Aug-2008

    Locarno's Frederic Maire has pronounced himself 'very pleased' with how his third outing as the festival's artistic director panned out this year. Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com ahead of the announcement of the awards at the weekend, Maire pointed to such highlights as the reaction of the audience to the Amos Gitai film One Day You Will Understand ...

  • In Focus: Britta Knoller and Hans-Christian Schmid's Storm

    15-Aug-2008

    Hans-Christian Schmid could not have wished for better timing to start shooting his latest feature project, the English-language political thriller Storm, about the aftermath of the Balkan war.

  • Oberli's The Murder Farm to star Jentsch, Bleibtreu

    14-Aug-2008

    German actress Julia Jentsch, the star of Malgoska Szumowska's Locarno competition film 33 Scenes From Life, is to appear with Monica Bleibtreu in Swiss director Bettina Oberli's next feature The Murder Farm (Tannöd), which begins shooting in the Sauerland and Eifel regions of Germany from September.

  • Max & Co producers declare bankruptcy after megaflop

    14-Aug-2008

    A dark cloud descended on Swiss cinema at this week's Locarno Film Festival with the news that Lausanne-based producers MAX-LeFilm and Cinemagination have been forced to declare bankruptcy after the flop of their $27.5m (CHF 30m) animation feature Max & Co.

  • Locarno deals: Finecut goes Drinking, Autre Homme sells to India

    14-Aug-2008

    Finecut has acquired the world distribution rights to the South Korean film Daytime Drinking by Noh Young-seok which was screened as an international premiere in Locarno's International Competition at the weekend.

  • Wide Management to handle Montreal and Venice premieres

    14-Aug-2008

    French sales company Wide Management will handle the international distribution for two films having world premieres at the forthcoming Montreal and Venice film festivals.

  • Chile, Dominican Republic/Mexico take awards at Locarno Open Doors

    13-Aug-2008

    Filmmakers from Chile, Dominican Republic/Mexico and Guatemala were the recipients of the awards presented on Wednesday at the end of the Open Doors Factory organised by the Locarno International Film Festival with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

  • Panov's War Is Over is first production out of Europe's Babylon

    13-Aug-2008

    Macedonian-born Mitko Panov's The War Is Over has become the first project to go into production after being developed at the Babylon programme promoting cultural diversity in Europe.

  • Wide Management picks up Lionel Baier's Un Autre Homme

    13-Aug-2008

    Paris-based sales agent Wide Management has picked up international distribution rights for Swiss director Lionel Baier's Un Autre Homme which had its world premiere in Locarno's International Competition at the weekend.

  • Swiss television increases its support for film industry by $2.3m

    12-Aug-2008

    Swiss public television is to increase its support for independent Swiss production in gradual steps from the current annual $18.2m (CHF 19.8m) to $20.5m (CHF 22.3m) from 2011.

  • Warner comes on board for Simon Verhoeven's Maennerherzen

    12-Aug-2008

    The Lives Of Others producer Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion is collaborating for the second time with the German outpost of Warner Bros. for Simon Verhoeven's Maennerherzen which begins shooting in Berlin today.

  • Goran Paskaljevic to shoot Honeymoon from October

    11-Aug-2008

    Veteran Serbian film-maker Goran Paskaljevic (How Harry Became a Tree, The Optimists) will begin shooting his next feature Honeymoon from mid-October as the first film co-produced between Albania and Serbia.

  • Thoeren steps down from IM Internationalmedia

    11-Aug-2008

    Konstantin Thoeren has stepped down from all of his responsibilities in the Internationalmedia Group with immediate effect.

  • M-Appeal takes on sales for Locarno title Yuri's Day

    11-Aug-2008

    Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has picked up international distribution rights for the Russian-German co-production Yuri's Day (Yuriev Den) which has its international premiere in Locarno's Official Competition tomorrow.

  • Le, Gigandet, Moehring join cast of Alvart's Pandorum

    8-Aug-2008

    Martial arts world champion Cung Le, US actor Cam Gigandet (winner of the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Scene for his performance in Never Back Down), and German actors Wotan Wilke Moehring and Andre Hennicke have joined Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster in the cast of Christian Alvart's futuristic and claustrophobic thriller Pandorum.

  • The Match Factory picks up Turkish Venice title Milk

    8-Aug-2008

    Cologne-based The Match Factory has picked up international distribution for its third Venice competition title with the acquisition of Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu's Milk (Süt), the second part of his Yusuf trilogy.

  • TrustNordisk picks up Glasner's This Is Love

    8-Aug-2008

    TrustNordisk will handle worldwide distribution for Matthias Glasner's latest feature This Is Love which is currently shooting on location in Berlin before moving to North Rhine-Westphalia next week.

  • Media Luna picks up Locarno competition title Autumn

    7-Aug-2008

    With the Locarno film festival kicking off last night, Media Luna Entertainment has picked international distribution rights for Turkish director Özcam Alper's feature debut Autumn (Sonbahar) which has its international premiere in Locarno's International Competition on Thursday.

  • Vladivostok festival to host new Coproduction & Financing Forum

    6-Aug-2008

    Vladivostok, Russia'sPacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asian-Pacific countries is staging a Coproduction & Film Financing Forum and the Generation Campus for young film-makers as part of its first Eurasia International Film Summit (Sept 14-17).[The name is not to be confused with Kazakhstan's Eurasia film festival also in September.]

  • Bavaria takes on Toronto world premiere Krabat

    6-Aug-2008

    Bavaria Film International has picked up international distribution rights for Marco Kreuzpaintner's $15.5m (Euros 10m) fantasy film Krabat which will have its world premiere in the official selection of the forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Weber steps down as CEO of Senator parent to take LA head job

    6-Aug-2008

    As of Sept 1, Marco Weber will acquire all shares in Los Angeles-based Senator Entertainment Inc. and step down as chief creative officer of the German parent company Senator Entertainment AG.

  • Beta Cinema handling 1936 Olympics drama

    5-Aug-2008

    Beta Cinema will handle international distribution for Kaspar Heidelbach's drama Berlin 1936 (working title) which begins shooting in North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday (Aug 6), just two days before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.The production by Cologne-based Gemini Film, one of co-producers of the Dardenne brothers' Cannes competition film The Silence Of Lorna, centres on the leading German track and field athlete ...

  • Swiss cinema continues decline in first half of 2008

    1-Aug-2008

    Swiss cinema's market share has continued its downward trend, according to provisional figures for the first half of 2008, with local films only clinching a 2.3% slice of the box-office compared to last year's 7% and 2006's record 11.6%.Statistics collated by the industry body Procinema showed that the ambitious animation film Max & Co., released by Walt Disney, attracted 29,498 cinema-goers -- way below the makers' expectations. Next ...

  • Projects by Fliegauf, Alvart, Sax receive backing from German funds

    31-Jul-2008

    New productions by Benedek Fliegauf, Christian Alvart, and Geoffrey Sax are among 35 projects receiving over $12m in support from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and Leipzig-based Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung (MDM).At its latest sitting the Berlin-based FFA supported such projects as Hungarian director Fliegauf's first English language production, Womb, produced by Razor Film with Hungary's Inforg Studio, France's A.S.A.P. Films ...

  • Match Factory handles Venice competitors Jerichow, Teza

    31-Jul-2008

    Cologne-based The Match Factory will handle international sales on two Venice competition titles - Christian Petzold's Jerichow and Haile Gerima's Teza - screening as world premieres at the festival.

  • John Goodman, David Wenham confirmed for Pope Joan

    30-Jul-2008

    US actor John Goodman and Australian-born David Wenham have joined the cast of Soenke Wortmann's adaptation of Donna W. Cross' bestselling novel Pope Joan, which begins principal photography in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt next week.

  • Locarno to honour Chahine with Destiny screening

    30-Jul-2008

    The Locarno International Film Festival will pay tribute to the Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, who died last weekend at the age of 82,with a special screening of his film Destiny (Al Massir) on the Piazza Grande on August 7.This film had also been shown eleven years ago at the festival as part of the Piazza Grande nightly open-air programme in 1997. 'We were greatly saddened at the passing away of Locarno's dear friend, Youssef Chahine', ...

  • Locarno adds new films from Francois Rotger, Sean Baker

    29-Jul-2008

    New films by Francois Rotger and Sean Baker have been added to Locarno's official selection a week before the festival opens on Aug 6 with Brideshead Revisited on the Piazza Grande.

  • Schmid stirs up Storm with Berlin shoot starting today

    29-Jul-2008

    Shooting begins in Berlin today for German filmmaker Hans-Christian Schmid's first major international English-language project Storm (Sturm) [working title] with a cast including Kerry Fox, Anamaria Marinca, Stephen Dillane, Rolf Lassgard and Alexander Fehling.

  • Studio Babelsberg hopes 2008 will be as strong as last year

    24-Jul-2008

    Studio Babelsberg is optimistic that this year's operations will generate comparable results to 2007 which was the most successful financial year since the production complex's privatisation in 1992.

  • Torsten Koch and Oliver Koppert to head Constantin's distribution arm

    22-Jul-2008

    Torsten Koch and Oliver Koppert have been appointed as managing directors of Constantin Film's theatrical distribution arm Constantin Film Verleih with effect from Oct 1.Koch, who has been Marketing & Publicity Director for Constantin Film since 1999, will serve as Marketing/Distribution Managing Director for Constantin Film Verleih, while Koppert will take over the position of Sales Managing Director. He had been sales director at the Munich-based outfit since April ...

  • Locarno Critics Week world premieres include Mr December

    22-Jul-2008

    Locarno's Critics Week sidebar will present four world premieres and three international premieres in this year's programme of creative documentaries.

  • Maire's replacement search to start after Locarno festival ends

    21-Jul-2008

    The search for a successor to Frederic Maire as Locarno Film Festival's artistic director will be launched once this year's edition has ended on August 16.

  • Local hits drive German box-office boom

    20-Jul-2008

    Thanks to such local hits as Til Schweiger's romantic comedy Rabbit Without Ears and Dennis Gansel's school drama The Wave, box-office takings for German films increased year-on-year by almost 50% in the first half of 2008.

  • Kinowelt's distribution chief Miros leaves company

    18-Jul-2008

    Georg Miros, head of marketing and sales at Leipzig-based Kinowelt Filmverleih since 2003, has left the company as of today to pursue new professional challenges.

  • Locarno adds Paskaljevic, Brakni to international jury

    17-Jul-2008

    The members for Locarno's International Competition jury are now complete with the addition of French actress Rachida Brakni (The Over-Eater) and Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljevic to the previously announced line-up of directors Masahiro Kobayashi (Japan), Dani Levy (Switzerland), and Paolo Sorrentino (Italy), and Mexican producer Bertha Navarro.

  • Houellebecq to present premiere of feature debut in Locarno

    16-Jul-2008

    Bestselling French writer Michel Houellebecq's feature film directorial debut The Impossibility Of An Island, adapted from his 2005 novel of the same name, will have its world premiere in Locarno's Play Forward sidebar which is dedicated to all contemporary forms of audio-visual experimentation and creation.

  • Europe, Latin America take centre stage in Locarno programme

    16-Jul-2008

    European and Latin America cinema will have a high profile at this year's Locarno Film Festival which will open on August 6 with the European premiere of UK director Julian Jarrold's Brideshead Revisited and close August 16 with the world premiere of Solveig Anspach's Icelandic-French co-production Back Soon on the Piazza Grande.

  • Jerry Cotton, Flucht Aus Tibet gets top funding from FFF Bayern

    15-Jul-2008

    New feature films by Joseph Vilsmaier, Margarethe von Trotta, Rainer Matsutani and Maria Blumencon are among the projects awarded a total $10m (Euros 6.26m) by the Bavarian regional fund FFF Bayern at its latest sitting.The largest amount - $ 1.1m (Eu 700,000) - went to Phillip Stennert and Cyrill Boss’ action comedy Jerry Cotton by Rat Pack Filmproduktion and to Maria Blumencron’s Flucht Aus Tibet, ...

  • Switzerland's Ascot Elite picks up 8 titles including Milk and Red Cliff

    15-Jul-2008

    Leading Swiss independent distributor Ascot Elite Entertainment has announced eight new acquisitions for its release lineup. As part of a strategy to consolidate its market position, theZurich-based company has secured all rights for Focus Features' HarveyMilk biopic Milk, directed by Gus van Sant and starring Sean Penn andJosh Brolin, the Sam Mendes Untitled Project, and

  • Yerevan plans second Regional Co-Production Forum

    15-Jul-2008

    Eight features and four documentary projects from Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine are being pitched to potential co-producers and financiers at the Directors Across Borders' (DAB) second Regional Co-Production Forum (July 15-17) during this week's Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan.The low-budget projects include the family drama Before And After by Moldovan director Violeta Gorgos, which was previously ...

  • Sasha Buehler moves from SquareOne to Constantin

    11-Jul-2008

    Film and TV veteran Sasha Buehler is to join Constantin Film's acquisitions and licensing team from Oct 1 after spending the past three years as head of acquisitions for Munich's SquareOne Entertainment.

  • Locarno Swiss Cinema Day to include Luftbusiness

    11-Jul-2008

    Three new Swiss films will have their world premieres during the Swiss Cinema Day at this year's Locarno Film Festival, while Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov's Yuri's Day (Yuriev Den) will screen in the International Competitiion.

  • Match Factory to sell Somali supermodel film Desert Flower

    9-Jul-2008

    The Match Factory will be handling international sales on Sherry Hormann's adaptation of Waris Dirie's bestselling autobiography Desert Flower.

  • German box office slips 50% from first quarter to second quarter

    7-Jul-2008

    Admissions to German cinemas fell by 50% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2008, according to figures prepared by EDI Nielsen.

  • New US, Spanish buyers line up for Locarno

    7-Jul-2008

    Four weeks ahead of the opening of this year's Locarno filmfestival on August 6, its Industry Office has reported that buyers from the US, Spain and South Korea are among 10 companies coming to the Swiss festival for the first time this year.

  • Germany fails to keep up Q1 momentum

    7-Jul-2008

    Admissions to German cinemas fell by 50% in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2008, according to figures prepared by EDI Nielsen.

  • Karlovy Vary and Locarno premieres unveiled at Previews in Cologne

    4-Jul-2008

    World premieres at this week's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Locarno's forthcoming Piazza Grande open-air programme are among 23 films being presented at the German Films Previews in Cologne from July 10-13.

  • Jan-Pelgrom de Haas takes CEO post at Kinowelt Group

    3-Jul-2008

    Jan-Pelgrom de Haas has been appointed as CEO of the Kinowelt Group with immediate effect as the successor to Bertil Le Claire who stepped down from this post at the end of May.

  • Germany's DFFF extended from 2010 to 2012

    3-Jul-2008

    The German Government has agreed to extend the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) for another three years from 2010 to 2012 with an annual budget of $94.2m (Euros 60m).

  • Berlinale WCF backsfive new projects with $315,770

    2-Jul-2008

    Five new feature film projects from Lebanon, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and Columbia have been selected by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF) from 110 projects submitted from a total of 36 countries for production funding totalling $315,770 (Euros 200,000).

  • Koelmel unveils expanded production slate for renamed company

    1-Jul-2008

    Following StudioCanal's takeover of Germany's Kinowelt Group earlier this year, Rainer Koelmel has now renamed his Munich-based production company Kinowelt Filmproduktion as Starhaus Filmproduktion as part of an expanded production slate.

  • Cannes hits taketop honours at Munich

    29-Jun-2008

    Laurent Cantet'sThe Class, Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah and Valeria Gaia Germanica's Everybody Dies But Me were among the prizewinners at this year's Munich Filmfest which closed with the world premiere of Thomas Schamoni's documentary Botero.

  • Kolirin, Bernasconi, Toth line up for Locarno short jury

    26-Jun-2008

    Filmmakers Fulvio Bernasconi (Fuori Dalle Corde) and Eran Kolirin (The Band's Visit) are among the five jury members for Locarno International Film Festival's Leopards of Tomorrow competitions for Swiss and international short films.The other members are the Hungarian actress Orsi Toth, who played the female lead in Kornel Mundruczo's Cannes competition film Delta, Dutch producer-director-DoP Dick Rijneke, and Angele Paulino, who ...

  • Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburghands out$8.7m

    26-Jun-2008

    Feature films by veteran US actor Dennis Hopper, German comedy star Mario Barth and the Cannes/Sochi prize-winning production house Rohfilm are among 26 German and international projects awarded over $8.7m (Euros 5.6m) by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) in its latest funding session.

  • Davaa's new documentary project begins shooting in Mongolia

    26-Jun-2008

    Principal photography on the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Byambasuren Davaa's new feature documentary project Two Horses Of Genghis KhanstartedMonday(June 23) in the Mongolian city of Ulaanbaatar.

  • Krabbe and Hershey to star in Albert Schweitzer biopic

    26-Jun-2008

    Jeroen Krabbe and Barbara Hershey are headlining the cast of UK director Gavin Millar's biopic Schweitzer (working title) on the life of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer.

  • Gabizon leaves Telepool after 17 years

    25-Jun-2008

    Marc Gabizon is to leave Telepool and its subsidiary Europool after 17 years of working for the Munich-based licensing group.Gabizon had been with Europool since 1991 and was appointed the managing director there in 2004. In addition, he had been an executive director and head of the film division at Telepool since 1999.Telepool is currently in negotiations to find a successor for Gabizon.

  • Wim Wenders and Dariush Mehrjui receive Yerevan honours

    24-Jun-2008

    Germany's Wim Wenders and Iranian film-maker Dariush Mehrjui are to receive lifetime achievement awards at this year's Golden Apricot International Film Festival (July 13-20) in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

  • Palme d'Orwinner The Class opens Munich Filmfest

    19-Jun-2008

    Laurent Cantet's Palme d'Or winner The Class (Entre Les Murs) will open this year's Munich Filmfest on Friday evening (June 20), which will show 237 films from 41 countries, including a retrospective dedicated to the Bavarian film-maker and artist Herbert Achternbusch and an homage to the UK actress Julie Christie who will be presented with the CineMerit Award for her services to cinema on June 27.

  • Bize, Gomes projects selected for Locarno's Open Doors

    16-Jun-2008

    New feature films by Chilean director Matias Bize and Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Gomes are among 12 projects from 10 Latin American countries selected out of a total of 332 submissions to participate in the Open Doors Factory co-production meeting from August 10-12 during this year's Locarno Film Festival.

  • Shultes takes top prize atSochi

    16-Jun-2008

    Georgian-born Bakur Bakuradze's Shultes won the Grand Prix for Best Film at this year's Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival in Sochi.

  • Sony's German arm lines up local comedy

    15-Jun-2008

    Deutsche Columbia Pictures Film Produktion, Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SPE) local German production arm, has begun pre-production on the comedy Friendship (Freundschaft) with the Oscar-winning Munich-based production company Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion and actor Til Schweiger and Tom Zickler's Barefoot Films.

  • Fortissimo picks up Baksy; Rezo sells Everybody to France

    13-Jun-2008

    Fortissimo Films will handle international distribution on Guka Omarova's second feature Baksy (Native Dancer) which had its world premiere in competition at the Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday night.The Russian-Kazakh-French-German co-production between the CTB Film Company, Kazakhfilm, Les Petites Lumieres, Kinofabrika, Cinetools Film and Caspian Beverage Holding was presented as a project at such past co-production ...

  • German fund backs new Wayne Wang feature

    12-Jun-2008

    Germany's regional fund Filmstiftung NRW is backing Wayne Wang's next feature project 920 Sacramento with $1.86m (Euros 1.2m).

  • A Company buys out Prorom and Cinemania in EEAP

    12-Jun-2008

    A Company Consulting & Licensing AG has acquired all of the shares in EEAP Eastern European Acquisition Pool which were held until now by Munich-based Prorom Media-Trade und the Ljubljana-based Cinemania Group. With this step, A Company now owns 100% of EEAP.

  • Akin, Tykwer and Weingartner backed by Hamburg fund

    11-Jun-2008

    The Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Fund has allocated over$4.8m (Euros 3.15m) to new feature projects by Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer and Hans Weingartner as well as international co-productions by such filmmakers as Les Brodeuses directorEleonore Faucher, Norway's Sara Johnsen and Poland's Radek Wegrzyn.

  • Agreement signed to support German and Irish collaboration

    10-Jun-2008

    North Rhine-Westphalia's regional film fund Filmstiftung NRW and the Irish Film Board have signed a cooperation agreement to support producers working together on feature films and documentaries.

  • Splendid's Cannes buys include Swing Vote, Unshakable

    9-Jun-2008

    German distributorSplendid Film has acquired German-language rights for a raft of US features currently in postproduction or production.

  • German distributors announce Cannes sales

    8-Jun-2008

    German distributors Kool Filmdistribution, Arsenal Filmverleih and Piffl Medien have unveiled a number of deals concluded during at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • EEAP acquires Saw 5, new Schweiger comedy

    6-Jun-2008

    Berlin-based EEAP has secured Eastern European rights to Saw 5, the latest edition of the horror franchise, the Hilary Swank-starrer Betty Ann Waters, and Mike Judge's comedy Extract starring Jason Bateman.

  • Constantin dances with Step Up 3-D; Ascot takes Revolver

    5-Jun-2008

    Constantin Film has secured the German-speaking rights toStep Up 3-D from Summit Entertainment after successfully releasing StepUp (over 620,000 admissions in Germany) and Step Up 2 The Streets (over900,000).The dance sequel is again being produced by Summit with TouchstonePictures, anf Offspring Entertainment and will be directed by

  • New Bondarchuk, Bychkova films to be presented at Sochi market

    4-Jun-2008

    New films by such directors as Fedor Bondarchuk and Oksana Bychkova will rub shoulders with presentations of upcoming releases by Russian distributors and the US majors at this year's Russian International Cinema Market which is being held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi from June 5-10 to coincide with the Open Russian Film Festival 'Kinotavr'.

  • Locarno's Frederic Maire will move to head Swiss Film Archive

    2-Jun-2008

    The Locarno Film Festival will now have to start looking for a new artistic director after the news that the present incumbent Frederic Maire is to become the successor to Herve Dumont as head of the Swiss Film Archive from November 1, 2009.

  • Bavaria takes on new Gronenborn, Haussmann films

    2-Jun-2008

    Bavaria Film International has picked up worldwide distribution rights to new films by Esther Gronenborn and Leander Haussmann.

  • The Match Factory announces further sales for Cannes slate

    30-May-2008

    Cologne-based sales agent The Match Factory has unveiled another raft of deals for this year's Cannes slate in addition to the previously annonuced sales.By the end of the market, the animated documentary and competition film Waltz With Bashir by Ari Folman had been sold to over 40 territories, the latest including Australia (Sharmill Films) and Scandinavia (Future Film).Deals on Sergey Dvortsevoy's feature debut Tulpan, which won the Un Certain ...

  • Films Distribution picks up Heisenberg's The Robber

    30-May-2008

    Paris-based sales agent Films Distribution will handle international sales on Benjamin Heisenberg's second feature The Robber (Der Räuber) which completed a first block of shooting last week in Lower Austria and Vienna, including scenes during the 25th Vienna City Marathon.

  • Counterfeiters' Markovics to play Freud in new Adlon project

    29-May-2008

    Karl Markovics, the lead actor in Stefan Ruzowitzky's Oscar-winning The Counterfeiters, is to play the legendary psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in the fictionalised docudrama Mahler On The Couch by the father and son team of Percy and Felix Adlon.

  • New films by Popogrebsky and Voloshin to bepitched in Sochi

    29-May-2008

    New feature films by Alexei Popogrebsky, Igor Voloshin and Alexander Kott are among eight projects selected from more than 20 entries for the second edition of the Producers' Pitching to be held during the 'Kinotavr' Open Russian Film Festival in Sochi (June 7-15).

  • Sorrentino and Levy line up for Locarno jury duty

    28-May-2008

    Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, whose latest feature film Il Divo won the Jury Prize in Cannes' Official Competition, and Swiss actor-director Dani Levy (Mein Fuehrer) are among the first names to be confirmed as jury members for this year's International Competition at the Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).The other two confirmations so far are the Mexican producer Bertha Navarro (Pan's Labyrinth) and the Japanese filmmaker ...

  • Kinowelt's Cannes acquisitions include Toback and Aronofsky

    28-May-2008

    Germany's Kinowelt has announced its first raft of acquisitions from the Cannes official programme and market as well as projects picked up on the strength of their screenplays.

  • Boomtown Media seals sales on music doc

    27-May-2008

    Berlin-based sales company Boomtown Media International closed a number of distribution deals for major territories at last week's Cannes market for Thomas Grube's new theatrical documentary Trip To Asia / The Quest For Harmony.

  • Beta Cinema closes about 40 deals at Cannes market

    27-May-2008

    Munich-based sales agent Beta Cinema has concluded around 40 deals at this year's Cannes market, including US pickups for the family entertainment film The Three Investigators And The Secret Of Skeleton Island, Veit Helmer's quirky comedy Absurdistan and Jo Baier's TV drama Stauffenberg.

  • H2O planning further international productions with Germany's MMC

    14-May-2008

    Andras Hamori's LA-based H2O Motion Pictures is planning two international productions with Germany's Magic Media Company (MMC).Principal photography on thriller Running Wild, with lead actor and co-producer Samuel L. Jackson, will shoot later this year in South Africa and at the MMC studios in Cologne. Kevin Kerslake will direct Running Wild from a screenplay written by David Leland ...

  • Enid Blyton's schoolgirl heroines get big-screen treatment with UFA Cinema

    12-May-2008

    Enid Blyton is set to be given the big-screen treatment by Germany's new player UFA Cinema with a feature film based on the bestselling children's author's St Clare's books from the 1940s.

  • Herbig, Wortmann and Davaa receive support from Bavarian fund

    11-May-2008

    New films by leading German comedian Michael Bully Herbig, Soenke Wortmann, and Oscar-nominated documentary film-maker Byambasuren Davaa (The Story Of The Weeping Camel and The Cave of The Yellow Dog) are among 25 film and TV projects supported with $9.4m (Euros 6.1m) by Bavaria's FFF Bayern regional fund at its latest sitting.

  • Spielberg will shoot long-awaited Abraham Lincoln project after Tintin

    10-May-2008

    Steven Spielberg's long-gestating project about US president Abraham Lincoln will be the director's next project after the first live-action Tintin film which goes into production this September.

  • MMC joins H20 as co-producer of Stephen Frears' feature

    10-May-2008

    Cologne-based MMC Independent has become a co-producer with Andras Hamori's H20 Motion Pictures on Stephen Frears' latest feature project Cheri which is currently shooting in France and will be moving to Germany at the end of May.

  • Kinowelt CEO Bertil le Claire to leave at end of month

    9-May-2008

    The Kinowelt Group's CEO Bertil le Claire has announced his plans to leave the company at the end of May. His duties will be overseen by Romain Bessi, Directeur General of the group's new owner StudioCanal, until a successor has been appointed.Le Claire joined Kinowelt in 1998 as the managing director for the world sales arm Kinowelt International and then took over the management of the whole group in 2003. Over the past five years, he served as ...

  • Bavaria picks up international for Daniel Burman's Argentine hit

    8-May-2008

    Bavaria Film International has taken on international distribution for Argentinean director Daniel Burman's current box-office hit Empty Nest (El Nido Vacio).

  • Fred Kogel to step down as Constantin CEO, Burgener will succeed

    8-May-2008

    Leading German producer-distributor Constantin Film has announced that its current CEO Fred Kogel has extended his contract until the end of the year, but will then be succeeded in this position by the group's present supervisory board chairman Bernhard Burgener.

  • Caruso, Conte plan $60m epic feature on life of William Tell

    8-May-2008

    Veteran US producers Fred Caruso (Blue Velvet) and D. Constantine Conte (48 Hours) have unveiled plans to produce the $60m medieval epic feature The Adventures Of William Tell, based on the life of the legendary national hero of Switzerland.

  • Pre-Cannes, Waltz With Bashir sold to France, UK and Germany

    8-May-2008

    A week ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir has been sold by The Match Factory to France (Le Pacte), the UK (Curzon Artificial Eye) and Germany (Pandora Filmverleih).

  • Locarno to honour US indie icon Christine Vachon

    7-May-2008

    US producer and Killer Films co-founder Christine Vachon (Boys Don't Cry, I'm Not There) will be this year's recipient of Locarno's Raimondo Rezzonico Prize to highlight the work of major independent film producers.

  • Bavaria takes on sales for Critics Week title Moscow, Belgium

    7-May-2008

    Bavaria Film International is handling international distribution on Christophe van Rompaey's feature debut Moscow, Belgium (Aanrijding In Moscou) which has been selected for this year's Critics' Week sidebar in Cannes.Produced by A Private View, the Flemish romantic comedy about a woman (played by actress-director Barbara Sarafian) whose life is full of dents and bruises is in the best tradition of British working-class ...

  • Ninja Assassin gets extra $2.7m from DFFF

    6-May-2008

    James McTeigue's martial arts action film Ninja Assassin has become the first project this year to be awarded support from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) over and above the prescribed 'cap' of Euros 4m.

  • Thierry Potok takes over management of Germany's VIP

    6-May-2008

    Former Studio Babelsberg boss Thierry Potok has taken over the management of the German private media fund VIP Medienfonds from Peter H. Riedel 'with immediate effect.'Riedel had come to VIP last September as a successor to Dirk Specht, but his contract had from the outset been only temporary in nature and was linked to the attaining of 'certain strategic milestones'.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, Potok explained that Riedel will continue working on ...

  • Weber reteams with Julia Roberts, Dennis Lee for Birds

    6-May-2008

    After working together on Fireflies In The Garden, Senator Entertainment's Marco Weber, actress Julia Roberts and writer-director Dennis Lee are set to be reunited for an adaptation of Brad Kessler's novel Birds In Fall.

  • Media Luna picks up Family Rules, three market debuts for Cannes

    1-May-2008

    Cologne-based sales company Media Luna Entertainment has picked up international distribution for Marc Meyer's ironic comedy Family Rules (Wir Sagen Du! Schatz) and is lining up another three market premieres for Cannes.

  • Senator's slate includes new features from Bornhak, Gansel

    1-May-2008

    Senator Film has unveiled plans for two in-house productions and two co-productions this year, including new feature films by Achim Bornhak and Dennis Gansel, and an adaptation of Nick Greger's true story about his metamorphosis from one of Germany's leading right-wing extremists to an anti-Fascist.

  • Senator to bring horror video game Clock Tower to big screen

    30-Apr-2008

    Senator Entertainment will bring the Capcom survival horror video game Clock Tower to the big screen under the direction of Martin Weisz (The Hills Have Eyes 2) from a screenplay by Eric Poppen (Borderland).

  • Kinowelt International unveils 'long-lost' Lubitsch

    30-Apr-2008

    Kinowelt International will be unveiling a 'long-lost' film by Ernst Lubitsch and the 'Director's Cut' of Percy Adlon's 1987 international hit Bagdad Cafe as market premieres at the forthcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.

  • Babelsberg posts most successful financial year since privatisation

    29-Apr-2008

    Studio Babelsberg has posted its most successful financial year since the privatisation of the production complex in 1992 thanks, in particular, to such international co-productions as the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer, Bryan Singer's Valkyrie and Tom Tykwer's The International.On the publication of its annual report for 2007 on Tuesday morning in Frankfurt, ...

  • Babelsberg looking to expand to Tempelhof

    28-Apr-2008

    Studio Babelsberg has reaffirmed its interest in locating film production facilities at Berlin's historical Tempelhof Airport after a public referendum at the weekend failed to attract enough support to prevent the airport's planned closure this autumn.Speaking to the local newspaper Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten on Monday, Studio Babelsberg president and CEO Carl Woebcken said his company still had the 'serious desire' to develop part of the Tempelhof site as a third production ...

  • Match Factory adds Liverpool to its Cannes slate

    27-Apr-2008

    The Match Factory has added Argentinian film-maker Lisandro Alonso's Liverpool as the fifth title in its sales lineup for next month's Cannes Film Festival.

  • The Edge Of Heaven claims four Lolas

    27-Apr-2008

    Fatih Akin's The Edge Of Heaven (Auf Der Anderen Seite) picked up four Golden Lolas, including for Best Film, at the German Film Awards at the weekend in Berlin.

  • Cannes quartet taken on by The Match Factory

    25-Apr-2008

    Martin Blaney in Berlin

  • M-Appeal adds five titles to line-up for Cannes market

    25-Apr-2008

    Fledgling Berlin-based company M-Appeal has added another five titles to its sales line-up, which will have their market premieres at the forthcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.

  • Beta Cinema lining up two market premieres for Cannes

    23-Apr-2008

    German sales company Beta Cinema will have two market premiere screenings at next month's Marche du Film during the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Telepool takes on sales for German box-office hit Summer

    22-Apr-2008

    Telepool will handle world sales for Mike Marzuk's Summer (Sommer) which has gone straight to the top of the German box-office chart on its first four days of release with over 230,000 admissions from 407 screens.

  • Morales steps down as Miromar CEO, Heizmann to take over

    22-Apr-2008

    Michel Morales has stepped down from his post as CEO of the Ludwigsburg-based production house Miromar Entertainment to concentrate on the creative aspects of filmmaking and will be succeeded by Peter Heizmann.

  • The Match Factory to handle Petzold's new feature Jerichow

    21-Apr-2008

    The Match Factory will handle international sales on Christian Petzold's new feature Jerichow which begins shooting in the east German town of Wittenberge, the Prignitz region and along the Elbe from today.

  • Citizen Havel, Everything Is Relativein firstDoc Alliance showcase

    21-Apr-2008

    Pavel Koutecky and Miroslav Janek's Citizen Havel and Danish filmmaker Mikala Krogh's Everything Is Relative are among five creative theatrical documentaries to be showcased by a new venture called Doc Alliance created by five leading European documentary film festivals.

  • Ufa Cinema debuts with Mein Kampf

    20-Apr-2008

    New producer-distributor Ufa Cinema, launched at the end of last year by the RTL Group and Freemantle Media through its German subsidiary UFA, has boarded its first project: Urs Odermatt's Mein Kampf.

  • Swiss Film Prize to move in 2009

    20-Apr-2008

    Nextyear'sSwiss Film Prize is to move from January's Solothurn Film Days to a new venue at Lucerne's Culture and Conference Centre (KKL) on March 7 in a gala ceremony.

  • Germany - Rom-com lights up Q1

    18-Apr-2008

    Box-office takings and cinema admissions in Germany are up 30% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2008, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.

  • Films du Losange takes on Schneider's Es Kommt Der Tag

    17-Apr-2008

    Les Films du Losange will handle international sales on screenwriter Susanne Schneider's directorial debut Es Kommt Der Tag which began shooting at locations in Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Alsace region this week. The German-French co-production between Wueste Film Ost, Strasbourg-based Unlimited, Stuttgart's Filmtank, Wueste Film West, and broadcasters SWR, WDR and ARTE, received backing from MFG Baden-Wurttemberg, Filmstiftung NRW, the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), the ...

  • Kousaar's Magnus takes two top prizes at goEast

    15-Apr-2008

    Estonian director Kadri Kousaar's feature film debut Magnus picked up the Golden Lily for Best Film and the FIPRESCI Prize at this year's goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film which closed with an awards ceremony in Wiesbaden tonight.

  • Hungary's Inforg to co-produce The Photograph, Womb

    14-Apr-2008

    Hungarian production house Inforg Studio is to co-produce Polish filmmaker Maciej Adamek's feature debut The Photograph and Benedek Fliegauf's next project Womb, which will be his first feature to be shot in the English language.

  • EFP selects 22 producers for Cannes Producers on the Move

    14-Apr-2008

    The Hamburg-based, pan-European promotional organisation European Film Promotion (EFP) has selected 22 aspiring European producers for its Producers On The Move networking initiative to take place during the Cannes Film Festival next month.

  • Once, The Secret of Grain and [Rec] to open Linz's Crossing Europe

    13-Apr-2008

    John Carney's Oscar-winning Once and Abdellatif Kechiche's Cesar winner The Secret Of Grain will be the opening films at this year's fifth anniversary edition of the Crossing Europe Film Festival being held in Linz from April 22 - 27.The first evening will also see Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's Spanish horror film [Rec] kicking off a new sidebar called ...

  • TrustNordisk to handle Schmid's Hague dramaStorm

    11-Apr-2008

    TrustNordisk will handle international sales for German filmmaker Hans-Christian Schmid's first major international project Storm (Sturm) which sees him reunited with Requiem screenwriter Bernd Lange, this time as co-writers.

  • mdc takes on world sales for Kozole'sSlovenian Girl

    11-Apr-2008

    Berlin-based sales agent mdc international will handle world sales for Damjan Kozole's latest feature film Slovenian Girl (Slovenka) which is currently shooting in Slovenia.

  • Poland's Tricks secures deals with UK, Germany, France

    11-Apr-2008

    The UK, Germany, France, Israel and Taiwan are among 12 territories who have picked up the rights to Polish filmmaker Andrzej Jakimowski's second feature Tricks which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia last year and a Special Award at the Sao Paulo Film Festival, among others honours

  • Haneke, Gorris backed by German incentive scheme

    9-Apr-2008

    New features by Michael Haneke, Marleen Gorris and Jaco van Dormael are among seven international co-productions awarded over $8.5m (Euros 5.4m) by the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive scheme in the first quarter of 2008.Another $3.6m (Euros 2.3m) in incentives was paid out to nine German films, including Anno Saul's mystery thriller Die Tuer with Mads Mikkelsen and Jessica Schwarz, Christian Petzold's new drama

  • goEast 2008 launches project market and DVD label

    9-Apr-2008

    An East-West project market is being held at Wiesbaden's goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (April 9-15), which will open Wednesday evening with Nikita Mikhalkov's Oscar-nominated film 12.The one-day event this coming weekend is being hosted by goEast in cooperation with the Robert Bosch Foundation and will be an opportunity for young filmmakers from Germany, Eastern and South-eastern Europe to present their story ...

  • Amos Gitai to receive this year's Locarno Leopard of Honour

    8-Apr-2008

    The Leopard of Honour at this year's Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16) will be awarded to Amos Gitai whose latest film One Day, You Will Understand was shown at this year's Berlinale.

  • German VOD market grows with ProSiebenSat.1-Disney deal

    7-Apr-2008

    Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Group and Disney-ABC International Television have closed their first deal for Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVoD) feature films for ProSiebenSat.1's video online store maxdome, licensing such library titles as Toy Story 2, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, the first dealof its kind in Germany.

  • Tele München launches international sales arm with Sea Wolf

    7-Apr-2008

    Herbert Kloiber's Tele Muenchen Group (TMG) has launched its own as-yet-unnamed international sales arm with the TV two-parter The Sea Wolf based on the classic Jack London novel as its first title.

  • Revanche takes grand prix at Austria's Diagonale

    7-Apr-2008

    Goetz Spielmann's rural drama of guilt and revenge Revanche was awarded the Diagonale Grand Prix for Best Austrian Feature Film 2007/2008 at this year's showcase of Austrian filmmaking in Graz at the weekend.

  • Meurer, Curling to produce Stephen Fry's Handel biopic

    7-Apr-2008

    Egoli Tossell Film Halle, the joint venture production company established by Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film and the UK's Zepyhr Films initially to produce Michael Hoffman's $20.5m (Euros 13m) The Last Station, has other projects in the pipeline to be shot in Central Germany and particularly in the Land of Saxony-Anhalt. Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, producers Jens Meurer (Germany) and Chris Curling (UK) explained that their new joint company would be the German ...

  • Warner Bros takes on pirate comedy, Berlin Wall romance

    4-Apr-2008

    Warner Bros. Pictures Germany has added Sven Taddicken's pirate comedy Zwoelf Meter Ohne Kopf, Peter Timm's tragicomic romance transcending the Berlin Wall Liebe Mauer, and Kai Wessel's Hildegard Knef biopic Hilde to its 2009 distribution lineup.

  • Wim Wenders heads down new Road with company name change

    4-Apr-2008

    Wim Wenders has changed the name of his Berlin-based production company Wenders Images to Neue Road Movies whose first project will be The Palermo Shooting which is currently in post-production and be tipped for a premiere in Cannes.

  • Arri Media Worldsales picks up music drama Hanna's Words

    3-Apr-2008

    Arri Media Worldsales will handle international distribution for Andreas Struck's third feature Hanna's Words which began principal photography in Cologne this week.

  • Telepool takes on Mikkelsen mystery The Door

    2-Apr-2008

    Telepool will handle world sales for Anno Saul's mystery thriller The Door (Die Tuer) based on Akif Pirincci's 2001 novel Die Damalstuer.The film began shooting in Berlin last week. The co-production between Wueste Film and Senator Film Produktion stars the internationally known Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen - who worked with Wueste Film last year on Ole Christian Madsen's thriller ...

  • Senator picks up Splice, Superhero Movie, Young@Heart

    1-Apr-2008

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment has added the science fiction thriller Splice, blockbuster parody Superhero Movie and the documentary Young@Heart to its 2008-2009 distribution lineup.

  • Constantinextends Eichinger's contract until 2014

    1-Apr-2008

    Constantin Film and producer Bernd Eichinger have agreed a year in advance to extend their exclusive production contract by another five years until March 31, 2014.

  • Warner Bros Germany checks into The Last Station

    31-Mar-2008

    Warner Bros. Pictures Germany will distribute Michael Hoffman's The Last Station which begins shooting from April 7 at locations in Brandenburg as a production of Egoli Tossell Halle, a production-specific outfit set up by Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film and the UK-based Zephyr Films run by Chris Curling.The drama of Count Leo Tolstoy caught between the love of his life Sofya and a deceptive disciple Vladimir Chertkov ...

  • Strong documentary presence at Diagonale showcase of Austrian cinema

    31-Mar-2008

    Documentaries are once again out in force at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film (April 1-6) which opens in Graz on Tuesday evening with the world premiere of Othmar Schmiderer's Back To Africa.

  • Rebranded Instinctive boards 13 Semesters, The Disposables

    28-Mar-2008

    The Berlin-based international film production and finance company Instinctive Film - previously known as Invicta Entertainment - is boarding its first local German-language film, Frieder Wittich's coming-of-age student comedy 13 Semesters. The film begins shooting in Darmstadt next Monday (March 31).

  • Doerrie's Cherry Blossoms leads German Lola nominations

    28-Mar-2008

    Doris Doerrie's Berlinale competition film Cherry Blossoms - Hanami has attracted six nominations for this year's German Film Awards - the Golden and Silver Lolas - which will be presented in a gala ceremony in Berlin on April 25.

  • German box office makes strong start to 2008

    27-Mar-2008

    Box-office takings and cinema admissions in Germany are up 30% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2008, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.

  • Ascot Elite adds to slate with Swiss sci-fi thriller Cargo

    26-Mar-2008

    Zurich-based Ascot Elite Entertainment has unveiled a raft of new acquisitions, including the first ever Swiss science-fiction thriller Cargo by feature debutants Ralph Etter and Ivan Engler.

  • Fliegauf, Puiu and Carrito serve onLocarno juries

    25-Mar-2008

    Film directors Benedek Fliegauf (Hungary), Cristi Puiu (Romania) and Albertina Carri (Argentina) are have been recruited as members of two official juries at this year's Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).

  • Transsiberian co-producer Universum boards Lippel's Dream

    25-Mar-2008

    Universum Film, co-producer/distrubutor of Brad Anderson's thriller Transsiberian, has boarded its first German-language project, Lars Buechel's Lippel's Dream (Lippels Traum) which begins shooting in Morocco's Ouarzazate today.

  • Nu Boyana expands with new city streets sets

    19-Mar-2008

    Outside sets re-creating streets of London, Paris and Berlin are being planned next year to join the 2.5 kilometres of New York streets currently in construction at Sofia's Nu Boyana Film Studios.

  • Melikyan's Mermaid wins Grand Prix at Sofia

    17-Mar-2008

    Anna Melikyan's quirky coming of age tale Mermaid (Rusalka), which was the opening film of the Berlinale's Panorama last month, was the winner of this year's Grand Prix at the Sofia International Film Festival, the second time in three years that the top prize went to a Russian filmmaker (Alexei German Jr.'s Garpastum won in 2006).

  • Sundance winner Durakovo opens Nyon's doc festival Visions du Reel

    14-Mar-2008

    Nino Kirtadze's Durakovo: Village Of Fools, winner of the World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, will open the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival 'Visions du Reel' held from April 17-23.

  • Progress takes on sales for German kids film Morphus

    12-Mar-2008

    Progress Film-Verleih will handle world sales on Karola Hattop's new children's film Morphus which is shooting in Berlin until Easter after completing location work near Berchtesgaden and Wernigerode.

  • Bac takes on sales, French rights to Pablo - The Little Red Fox

    11-Mar-2008

    Bac Films is set to handle international sales and French theatrical distribution for the animation feature Pablo - The Little Red Fox based on the popular TV series of the same name. Pitching the $ 11.9m (Euros 7.8m) project in development at last week's Cartoon Movie co-production forum, Toons 'n' Tales Filmproduktion's Sunita Struck added that the collaboration with France's Millimages planned to use the same co-production structure ...

  • Malaysia's Flower In The Pocketwins Fribourg Grand Prix

    10-Mar-2008

    Malaysian director Liew Seng Tat's feature debut Flower In The Pocket was awarded the Grand Prix - the Regard d'Or - at this year's Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF), the first edition under the new artistic director Eduoard Waintrop.

  • Cartoon Tributes go to French projects including Persepolis

    7-Mar-2008

    France was the big winner of this year's Cartoon Movie Tributes awarded to 'companies or personalities that have had a positive or dynamic influence on the European animation feature film industry' which were presented at the Cartoon Movie market in Babelsberg this afternoon.

  • Trust, Bac Films to handle international sales on Cartoon Movie projects

    7-Mar-2008

    Trust Film Sales and Bac Films are to handle international sales on two projects pitched at this week's Cartoon Movie co-production market in Babelsberg.Trust will be handling international distribution for Valeria Edwina Saunders' Prima Ballerina which is being produced by her company Rambling Rose Animation Studio with Denmark's Zentropa, Hungarian Andras Erkel's Studio Baestarts and Germany's Lunaris Film- und Fernsehproduktion.

  • Pan-European digital cinema pilot project to launch in autumn

    6-Mar-2008

    France's MK2, Hungary's Szimpla Film, Denmark's Nordisk Film and Belgium's Kinepolis Group are supporting a European 'Cinema on demand' film digitisation project entitled Europe's Finest which is being launched this autumn by Cologne-based reelport to digitise and distribute 30-40 European films.

  • Fifth Sofia Meetingsselects 22 second features for fifth edition

    6-Mar-2008

    New feature films by Serbia's Dusan Milic, Estonia's Ilmar Raag and Germany's Marc Meyer are among 22 projects being presented at the fifth edition of the Sofia Meetings pitching forum for second feature films from March 13-16.

  • Managing director Stephan Schesch takes over Animation X

    5-Mar-2008

    Managing director Stephan Schesch has taken over control of the Berlin-based production house Animation X Gesellschaft zur Produktion von Animationsfilmen following the exit of the shareholders X-Filme creative pool and David Groenewold's Promedium from the joint venture.

  • Dragon Hunters opens 10th Cartoon Movie market in Babelsberg

    4-Mar-2008

    This year's Cartoon Movie co-production forum for European animation feature films will open in Potsdam on Wednesday evening March 5 with an avant-premiere screening of Dragon Hunters.

  • Revolver Germany on board for Czech co-production Normal

    3-Mar-2008

    Revolver Film Germany, the German outpost of Raymond van der Kaaij's Dutch production outfit Revolver Film, has boarded its first co-production Normal by Julius Sevcik with Czech producer Karla Stojakova's Axman Production.

  • Tiberius' EFM pick-ups include Girl In The Park, Arn

    29-Feb-2008

    QED International's Sigourney Weaver/Kate Bosworth thriller The Girl In The Park by David Auburn is among eight titles acquired by the Munich-based distributor Tiberius Film at the recent European Film Market in Berlin.

  • IM Internationalmedia appoints Prestel to management board

    29-Feb-2008

    Sascha R. Prestel is joining IM Internationalmedia's CEO Konstantin Thoeren as a new member of the management board as of March 1, 2008.

  • Arsenal takes on German rights to CSNY Deja Vu

    28-Feb-2008

    Stefan Paul and Egon Nieser of German distributor Arsenal Film has picked up the music documentary CSNY Deja Vu by Bernard Shakey a.k.a. Neil Young from Fortissimo Films.

  • Bavarian regional fund announces $10.6m in funding

    26-Feb-2008

    New productions by actor-director Til Schweiger, Christian Ditter and Mike Barker are among 35 film and TV projects allocated over $10.6m (Euros 7.2m) by the Bavarian regional fund FFF Bayern at its latest sitting.The largest amount - $1.25m (Euros 850,000) - went to Schweiger's next feature project, the medieval slapstick comedy Zwei Ritter Geben Vollgas, which he will direct for Lionheart Entertainment, his own company Barefoot Films ...

  • Greenaway co-producer backs Istvan Szabo project

    20-Feb-2008

    Veteran Hungarian director Istvan Szabo is to bring Magda Szabo's international bestseller The Door to the screen for Sandor Söth's Berlin/Leipzig-based Intuit Pictures and Jenö Habermann's Filmart in Budapest.Described by Söth to Screendaily.com as 'a morally complex story about age, loyalty and betrayal' between two strong women, a famous writer and her ageless housekeeper, Szabo's novel won the Prix Femina Etranger ...

  • Beta Cinema announces deals on Heart Of Fire, presales

    20-Feb-2008

    Beta Cinema has concluded deals for Luigi Falorni's Berlinale competition film Heart Of Fire for France (Ocean Film), Italy (BIM Distribuzione) and Greece (Seven Films) and is currently 'in final negotiations' with distributors on the title for North America, the UK and Japan.According to Andreas Rothbauer, Beta Cinema's head of theatrical sales and international theatrical acquisitions, Veit Helmer's Sundance World Cinema competition ...

  • Bavaria Film International unveils more Berlin sales

    20-Feb-2008

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has announced additional deals on competition film and other titles at this year's Berlinale.All rights to Doris Doerrie's Cherry Blossoms have been picked up by Jour 2 Fete for France, Wanda Vision for Spain, Fidalgo for Norway, and Alfa Films for Argentina. These are in addition to previously reported sales to Benelux (Cinemien), South Korea (JinJin Pictures), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Colombia (Cine ...

  • With Berlinale 2008 closed, Kosslick eyes later start for EFM

    18-Feb-2008

    Now in his seventh year as festival director, the Berlinale's Dieter Kosslick is considering a later start for the European Film Market (EFM) during the festival.

  • Padilha's The Elite Squad takes Golden Bear in Berlin

    16-Feb-2008

    Click on film title to see review

  • Bavaria closes further deals on Cherry Blossoms and Black Ice

    14-Feb-2008

    BavariaFilm International (BFI) has reported a raft of sales on two of itstitles in Berlinale Competition. DorisDoerrie's Cherry Blossoms - Hanami has now been sold to South Korea(JinJin Pictures), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Colombia (Cine Colombia),Mexico (Cine Video y TV) and Greece (PCV) ...

  • Heart of Fire producers stack up new projects

    14-Feb-2008

    Producers Sven Burgemeister of TV-60Film and Goldkind Film and Andreas Bareiss of BurkertBareiss Development have unveiled their slate of new projects ahead of the world premiere of Luigi Falorni's Heart Of Fire in competition at Berlin today.Bareiss and partner Gloria Burkert are producing newcomer Su Turhan's feature debut Ayla about honour killings and has a new project with Alain Gsponer (Life Actually) ...

  • Yvonne Catterfeld named to play Romy Schneider in German biopic

    13-Feb-2008

    Yvonne Catterfeld is to play the legendary Austrian-born icon Romy Schneider in Josef Rusnak's biopic Eine Frau Wie Romy (literally A Woman Like Romy) which will begin shooting at locations in France and Germany from July 23.According to German press reports, actresses such as Jodie Foster and Eva Green had been interested in the role. However, director Rusnak pointed out that the project's French ...

  • Miromar lays out slate of films in English and German

    12-Feb-2008

    Michel Morales's German company Miromar Entertainment, co-producer on the Heather Graham romantic comedy Buy Borrow Steal and the Viggo Mortensen drama Good, has unveiled a slate of English and German-language feature projects in development.The English language genre projects - with budgets up to Euros 7m - include the action film Car Pirates, based on ...

  • Petzold's Yella named best feature film by German critics

    12-Feb-2008

    Christian Petzold's Berlinale 2007 competition film Yella picked up two prizes for Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography at the German Film Critics Awards presented in Berlin on Monday evening. Other prizewinners included Pia Marais' The Unpolished (Best Feature Debut), Ulrich Noethen (Bst Actor for Mein Fuehrer), Maren Kroymann (Best Actress for

  • Rezo takes on sales for Mikhail Khodorovsky documentary

    12-Feb-2008

    Rezo Films is handling international sales on Cyril Tuschi's feature documentary Rise And Fall of Mikhail B Khodorovsky which begins shooting in Moscow today (Feb 11).The film will feature interviews being conducted with members of the former oil magnate's family and schoolfriends. The co-production between Tuschi's LaLa Films and Leipzig-based L.E. Vision received backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German ...

  • Schmid explores industry options in break from legal woes

    12-Feb-2008

    Andreas Schmid, former CEO of VIP Medienfonds, who was sentenced by a Munich court to six years in prison for tax evasion last November, was in characteristically fighting mood on a visit to Berlin this week.At the festival to refresh old and forge new contacts, Schmid said that he had several enquiries from people interested in using his knowhow in the field of financing and packaging. 'Up to now the reaction has been very positive,' he observed. 'I hope everything ...

  • Transylvanian Film Festival to launch development fund for local writers

    12-Feb-2008

    Cluj's Transylvanian International Film Festival (TIFF) is to launch a development fund dedicated to local screenwriters at this year's edition from May 30 to June 8. 'We are looking for new stories and new people in Romania in the first year', TIFF's honorary director Tudor Giurgiu told Screendaily.com. 'Euros 20,000 will be shared among five projects and we may extend the fund to projects from other East European countries in the future.'Giurgiu revealed that ...

  • Senator buys 25.1% stake in Berlin rights trader A Company

    11-Feb-2008

    Senator Entertainment has taken a 25.1% stake in the Berlin-based rights trading company A Company Consulting & Licensing as part of a strategy to expand its own position in the international licensing business and invest in the burgeoning Central and East European market.Over the past five years, A Company has acquired over 200 films through its subsidiary EEAP Eastern European Acquisition Pool and exploited them in Central and Eastern Europe itself or through partners such ...

  • Nanni Moretti to be the subject of Locarno retrospective

    11-Feb-2008

    Italian director-actor-producer Nanni Moretti will be the subject of this year's retrospective at the Locarno Interational Film Festival (August 6-16).'I am total fan of his work and am very happy that he will be in Locarno,' says the festival's artistic director Frederic Maire exclusively to Screen Daily.com. 'We will be showing the feature-length films, shorts and documentaries he directed as well as all of the works from his production company Sacher Film.''In ...

  • European lawyers launch film network in Berlin

    11-Feb-2008

    Four leading continental European media and entertainment law firms - German law firm Unverzagt von Have, Spain's ECIJA, France's DDG Deprex Dian Guignot and Italy's ASSUMMA Studio Legale - are launching of the European Lawyers Audovisual Network (ELAN) here on Monday.According to Harro von Have, a partner at Unverzagt von Have, the goal of the network is 'to refer possibilities for co-production and financing of motion picture projects to interested clients.'

  • Taskovski Films launches Banja Luka International Film Festival

    11-Feb-2008

    The UK-Czech production/sales company Taskovski Films is behind the launch of the Banja Luka International Film Festival (BLIFF) from May 2-9 in the city in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina.Apart from a competitive programme for latest international features, documentaries and student films, this first edition will include sidebars dedicated to 100 Years of Russian Film, Peace and Tolerance, Film & Laughter, and Women Directors. Festival director Irene Taskovski ...

  • MEDIA plans to set up new programme for third countries

    11-Feb-2008

    Closer cooperation between the audiovisual industries of the European Union and third countries could become part of a new and separate programme set up by the European Commission.At the MEDIA Day event in Berlin on Monday, Aviva Silver, head of the MEDIA Programme in Brussels, will be unveiling details of the preparatory action for third countries, which was awarded Euros 2m by the European Parliament.'It is something we have been trying to do under MEDIA 2007 ...

  • Kross, Herzsprung to star in Habermann's Mill for Juraj Herz

    11-Feb-2008

    The Reader star David Kross and Germany's 'Shooting Star' Hannah Herzsprung are being lined up to appear in Juraj Herz's Habermann's Mill which is set to go into production later this year for Art Oko and KN Filmcompany. The Second World War drama set in the Sudetenland, which will be handled internationally by Atlas International Film, also has Ben Becker and Karl Roden pencilled in for lead ...

  • Munich's EVA to co-produce family adventure Raising Phoenix

    10-Feb-2008

    Munich-based film and TV group Entertainment Value Associates (EVA) is to co-produce Marc Weigert's $15m family adventure project Raising Phoenix which is being produced by Weigert and Volker Engel's LA-based independent outfit Uncharted Territory.Raising Phoenix is due to go into production from April 2008, with location shooting likely to also be done in Berlin and ...

  • X Filme International boards films from Meyjes, Fox

    10-Feb-2008

    New features by Menno Meyjes and Eytan Fox are being lined up by X Filme International in addition to its production of Julie Delpy's The Countess which begins shooting from Feb 18 in Berlin, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt.The X Filme Creative Pool subsidiary will serve as German co-producer for the UK's Future Films on Menno Meyjes' Last Battle Dreamer, starring Ryan Philippe and Abbie Cornish. The ...

  • Belgrade Industry Meetings unveils lineup of 12 projects for 2008 event

    9-Feb-2008

    New feature projects by Albania's Gjergi Xhuvani, Croatia's Rajko Grlic and Israel's Yaky Yosha are among 12 projects selected for this year's B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings which will be held for the third time between February 29 and March 2.The complete lineup of projects are:Euro-Asian section:Frenzy, Emin AlperBulut Film, TurkeyInfiltration, Dover ...

  • War of words escalates between Brass Hat and VIP

    9-Feb-2008

    A war of words is escalating between the British financier Brass Hat Media Avice (BHMA) and the beleaguered German media fund VIP Medienfonds 4 following the refusal of VIP's managing director Peter Riedel to honour a strategic co-investment partnership negotiated with BHMA by his predecessor Dirk Specht last September to manage VIP's funds. This has led BHMA to sue VIP for a court declaration in Munich's Regional Court and VIP in turn applying to have the action dismissed.

  • The Match Factory takes a spin with Waltz With Bashir

    8-Feb-2008

    The Match Factory (TMF) has taken on international sales for Israeli director Ari Folman's first-ever animated documentary feature Waltz With Bashir, which is currently in postproduction and hotly tipped to premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival.The co-production between Israel's Bridgit Folman Films Gang Ltd., France's Les Films d'Ici and Germany's Razor Film Produktion charts the filmmaker's personal journey toward discovering ...

  • German production outfit SKF lays out English-language slate

    8-Feb-2008

    German production outfit Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv (SKF), which co-produced Berlin competition title Black Ice, has unveiled a new slate of English language projects budgeted between Euros 5m-10m, including a historical drama based on the life of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing.'We are wanting to have more in-house development of projects working with writers from the outset and moving away from a minority to majority ...

  • Napola's Schilling plays young Hitler in Mein Kampf

    8-Feb-2008

    Young German actor Tom Schilling, who appeared opposite Max Riemelt in Dennis Gansel's Napola and turns 26 on Sunday (Feb 10), has been cast as the young Hitler in Urs Odermatt's Mein Kampf, based on the 1987 stage play farce of the same name by the late George Tabori.The story of Mein Kampf sees Hitler down on his luck after being turned down for a place ...

  • Studio Babelsberg announces intentions to back US studio slate

    8-Feb-2008

    Studio Babelsberg has revealed plans to invest '$500m or more' in a slate of features by an as-yet-unnamed US major studio to secure more Hollywood productions coming to shoot at the studios.Last year the production centre had hosted such big budget productions as Speed Racer, Valkyrie and The International and is currently serving as a co-producer on Stephen Daldry's

  • Senator hands back 56.2% stake in X Filme

    7-Feb-2008

    Senator Entertainment and X Filme Creative Pool have decided to go their separate ways.An agreement was reached between X Filme managing director Manuela Stehr and Senator board member Christopher Borgmann for X Filme to take over the 56.2% stake Senator had been holding in X Filme since 2002.As Senator Entertainment board member Helge Sasse ponted out, 'it is time for both companies to go their own ways in production again as previously because Senator has been ...

  • Wolfgang Petersen, Senator team up for English-language TV series

    6-Feb-2008

    Internationally renowned German director Wolfgang Petersen is returning to his TV roots by forging a joint venture with Germany's Senator Entertaiment to produce English-language TV series.The partnership, which will operate out of Senator's Cologne-based subsidiary Pro Programme und Produktionen fuer Buehne und Fernsehen, is to concentrate on the production of quality programming for the international market. This includes a documentary series about the Cold War, which is ...

  • Mr Nobody among films supported by German Federal Film Fund

    6-Feb-2008

    Germany's German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive scheme has awarded over $3.97m (Euros 2.7m) in funding in the first four weeks of 2008.Jaco van Dormael's $51.4m (Euros 35m) Mr Nobody, which was shooting at the Babelsberg Studios for 45 days last autumn, is one of three international co-productions supported with a total of $2.9m (Euro 1.98m) by the DFFF.The scifi drama starring Jared Leto and Berlinale competition jury ...

  • Match Factory strikes two pictures with Nimbus Film

    6-Feb-2008

    The Match Factory (TMF) has picked up international rights for Danish filmmaker Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's political thriller What No One Knows which will have its world premiere in the Panorama Special section on February 11.The Nimbus Film production, which stars Anders W. Berthelsen, Maria Bonnevie and Ghita Norby, is the first collaboration with the Cologne/Munich sales agent. 'I must say, we are more than happy about this,' ...

  • First Hand shakes on Corridor #8, Brides Of Allah

    5-Feb-2008

    Zurich/Berlin-based sales agent First Hand Films has picked up international rights for two documentaries which will be having their world premieres in the International Forum of this year's Berlinale.Esther van Messel's company will be handling sales for Bulgarian filmmaker Boris Despodov's directorial debut Corridor #8 about the European Union-backed project to construct a highway between Sofia and the Albanian capital Tirana. Despodov ...

  • Construction starts on $60m studio complex near Cape Town

    4-Feb-2008

    Construction on the long-gestating Dreamworld Film City studio complex near Cape Town is set to begin this week.

  • Willson tapped to head Universal's new Berlin-based arm

    4-Feb-2008

    Andrea Willson has been recruited by Universal Pictures to head its new Berlin-based local production arm to invest in the development and production of German language feature films.

  • Beta's EFM slate includes 32A, Absurdistan and Heart Of Fire

    31-Jan-2008

    Beta Cinema will be having five market premieres at next week's European Film Market in Berlin, including Luigi Falorni's Competition film Heart of Fire (Feuerherz) which Senator will release in Germany this summer.

  • Match Factory takes on Chiko, Revanche, LoveAnd Other Crimes

    31-Jan-2008

    Cologne/Munich-based sales agent The Match Factory will be handling international sales for three world premieres in the Berlinale's Panorama Special section next week.

  • Berlin-based M-Appeal launches with Rotterdam trio

    29-Jan-2008

    A new Berlin-based sales company M-Appeal launched this week with a slate comprising threefilms in the Rotterdam line-up and another five titles to be presented at the forthcoming European Film Market (EFM).

  • Berlinale unveils sevenothermembers of competition jury

    29-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale has unveiled the seven members of the International Jury who will join jury president Costa-Gavras in deliberating on the prizes for this year's competition. They are:

  • Sony Pictures Television extends deal with ProSieben

    29-Jan-2008

    Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has extended its relationship with Germany's ProSiebenSat 1 Group through a multi-year volume deal.

  • Bavaria Film to unveil four market premieres at EFM

    28-Jan-2008

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) will have four market premieres at the forthcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next week.

  • Invicta Entertainment sets up shop Berlin

    28-Jan-2008

    Production and financing outfit Invicta Entertainment has set up its headquarters in Berlin to produce films in the $1m-$10m range for the international market.

  • Grbavica director on Berlinale Best First Feature Jury

    25-Jan-2008

    Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic, whose feature debut Grbavica won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2006, is one of the three members of this year's international jury for the Best First Feature Award.

  • Locarno's Open Doors turns attention to Latin America

    25-Jan-2008

    Latin American cinema will be the focus of this year's Open Doors project platform at the Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).

  • Production - Germany - Deutsche courage

    25-Jan-2008

    The German film industry may never have looked so good. Last year, Germany hosted a record number of international and US productions and boasted a stunning array of local talent, including Oscar-winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives Of Others), Fatih Akin (The Edge Of Heaven) and Marc Rothemund (Sophie Scholl - The Final Days). Add to that an enticing film fund launched in January 2007 by the German government, and you have an amazing success story.

  • Micha Lewinsky's Der Freund is tops at Swiss Film Awards

    24-Jan-2008

    Micha Lewinsky's Der Freund was named Best Film at this year's Swiss Film Awards which were presented for the 11th timelast night at the Solothurn Film Days.

  • World premiere of Golzow finale selected for Berlinale Forum

    24-Jan-2008

    The 19th and final part of Winfried and Barbara Junge's monumental Children Of Golzow chronicle, ...they're living happily ever after. The Children of Golzow, is one of four world premieres being shown as Special Screenings in this year's Forum programme of the Berlinale.

  • Telepool unveiling four market premieres for Berlin's EFM

    23-Jan-2008

    Munich-based sales company Telepool is lining up four market premieres at the forthcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin next month.

  • Panorama adds documentaries including Isaac Julien's Derek

    23-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale's Panorama section has completed its 2008 lineup by announcing the 18 new films selected for the documentary strand Panorama Dokumente. This last slew of films includes Isaac Julien's portrait of the late film-makerDerek Jarman in Derek; director-producer Dror Moreh's documentary Sharon on the former Israeli prime-minister Ariel Sharon, which will be handled internationally by Telepool; and Samson Vicent's portrait of one of the Berlinale's ...

  • Ascot Elite takes Swiss rights to The Interrogation Of Harry Wind

    22-Jan-2008

    Ascot Elite Entertainment Group has picked up Swiss theatrical and DVD rights to Pascal Verdosci's political thriller The Interrogation Of Harry Wind which began shooting in Basle last week.

  • EFM German showcase includes market premiere of Love Life

    21-Jan-2008

    Fatih Akin's The Edge Of Heaven and Hans Weingartner's Reclaim Your Brain are among 17 titles selected by programmer Heinz Badewitz to screen in the European Film Market's German Cinema showcase.The 2008 lineup, which is targeted primarily at accredited distributors, buyers, journalists, and programmers from festivals and cultural institutions, also includes market premieres of films by German actresses Maria Schrader (Love Life) and Nicolette ...

  • Berlinale Special adds films by Gitai, Staho and Grube

    18-Jan-2008

    New films by Amos Gitai, Simon Staho and Thomas Grube are among the 12 projects seelcted for the Berlinale Special sidebar, which is part of the festival's official programme alongside the Competition.

  • Berlinaleadds world premieres including The Other Boleyn Girl

    18-Jan-2008

    World premieres of Justin Chadwick's The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Dennis Lee's Fireflies In The Garden, with Julia Roberts and Willem Dafoe, and Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's The Song Of Sparrows are among the last eight Competition titles to be confirmed.

  • Films by Doillon and Emigholz now confirmed for Berlinale Forum

    17-Jan-2008

    New films by Jacques Doillon, Heinz Emigholz, and Benjamin Gilmour are among the Berlinale's Forum main programme of 36 films.

  • Berlinale Panorama adds titles from Arsenijevic, Kragh-Jacobsen

    16-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale's Panorama programme has confirmed world premieres of new features by Denmark's Soren Kragh-Jacobsen (What No One Knows), Austria's Goetz Spielmann (Revanche), South Africa's Ralph Ziman (Jerusalema), and Serbia's Stefan Arsenijevic (Love And Other Crimes) among its latest raft of announced titles.

  • Leigh, Szabo, and Daldry lined up for Berlinale Talent Campus

    16-Jan-2008

    Directors Mike Leigh, Istvan Szabo, and Stephen Daldry, actress Martina Gedeck and producer Bernd Eichinger are among 120 international experts speaking at the sixth Berlinale Talent Campus which be held between Feb 9-14. This year, the Talent Campus will be cooperating with the Federal Foreign Office and the World Cinema Fund to launch a new initiative Focus Africa to take an in-depth look at contemporary filmmaking in Africa with such guests as Nigerian actress ...

  • Berlin selects 29 shorts, including 11 in competition

    15-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale has selected 29 films for its Shorts section, including a special presentation of Serbian director Zelimir Zilnik's 1975 nine-minute film Inventory about housing speculation and foreigners living in Munich.

  • Berlin's Perspektive Deutsches Kino to include Randl's debut

    15-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar has now finalised its 2008 programme with five feature films, four documentaries and four short films.

  • Berlinale's Generation to open with Winky, Black Balloon

    14-Jan-2008

    The Berlinale's Generation section for children and young people has finalised its 2008 lineup with 24 feature and 31 short films from 20 countries, including eight world and seven international feature film premieres.

  • Bavaria picks up Kollek's Berlinale competitorRestless

    14-Jan-2008

    Bavaria Film International has take on the world sales for Israeli independent filmmaker Amos Kollek's latest feature Restless which has been selected by the Berlinale for one of the places in the 2008 Competition lineup.

  • Local market share for German and Swiss films drops in 2007

    14-Jan-2008

    The German and Swiss cinemas saw their local market shares shrink dramatically in 2007, according to provisional year-end figures. After the euphoria of 2006 when German films had posted a market share of 23% thanks to such films as Perfume - Story Of A Murderer and football documentary Deutschland. Ein Sommermaerchen, the local industry was now brought down to the ground by the news that the ...

  • Berlinale expecting record numbers for market

    13-Jan-2008

    Less than four weeks before the beginning of this year's Berlinale, the European Film Market (EFM) is is expecting to host more than 400 exhibitors from 50 countries at its market venues in the Martin Gropius Bau and the EFM Exhibitor Offices.

  • Berlinale Co-production Market selects 35 film projects

    11-Jan-2008

    New projects by Agnieszka Holland, Bernard Rose, Deepa Mehta and Eran Riklis are among 35 film projects from 25 countries that have been selected for the fifth edition of the Berlinale's Co-Production Market.

  • Berlinale's Forum selects strong Asian titles

    11-Jan-2008

    Asian cinema is well represented in the first batch of films confirmed by the Berlinale's International Forum section including titles by Singapore's Tan Pin Pin, Japan's Takahashi Izumi and Korea's Mun Jeong-hyun.

  • Berlin Panorama selects four docs including Heavy Metal In Baghdad

    11-Jan-2008

    Documentaries on rock icon Patti Smith, gay Muslims, the South African political satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys and an Iraqi heavy metal band have been selected to screen in the Berlinale's Panorama programme.

  • Berlinale adds competitors including Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky

    9-Jan-2008

    New films by Mike Leigh, Isabel Coixet and Amos Kollek are among another nine titles confirmed for this year's Berlinale Competition section in addition to the eight previously announced last month.

  • Berlin-Brandenburg and Hamburg funds receive more cash

    2-Jan-2008

    Father Christmas did not forget the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) and Filmfoerderung Hamburg Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH) as local politicians have decided to increase their financial commitment to their respective funds.

  • New German fund to back Dunaway in Master Class

    21-Dec-2007

    A new German private media fund Shalimah German Film Management is to be launched to attract investment for participation in a slate of Stateside projects and an in-house family production for the international market.

  • German box office fails to match 2006boom

    20-Dec-2007

    After Germany's exhibitors' fortunes revived in 2006 following a catastrophic 2005, box-office takings and admissions have fallen back again this year by 8-9%, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.

  • Seven films announcedforBerlin Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar

    20-Dec-2007

    The Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar has announced half of the section's programme for the seventh edition.

  • Berlin's EFM to welcome 25 new exhibitors including IM Global

    19-Dec-2007

    Companies from the US, the UK, Spain, Ukraine, and Brazil are among 25 first-timers confirmed so far as exhibitors at the Berlinale's forthcoming European Film Market (EFM).

  • Berlinale's Generation unveils titles including Buddha Collapsed

    18-Dec-2007

    The first 15 titles unveiled by the Berlinale's Generation section include 19-year-old Hana Makhmalbaf's debut feature shot in Afghanistan Buddha Collapsed Out Of Shame, Danish masters Jannik Hastrup and Flemming Quist Moeller's action-packed animated love story A Tale Of Two Mozzies and Elissa Downs' The Black Balloon, a sensitive portrayal of a mother's relationship with her autistic son.

  • Berlin Talent Campus expands short film competition

    18-Dec-2007

    The Berlin Today Award (BTA), the Berlinale Talent Campus's short film competition, is being expanded for its next edition which will see the films focusing on the theme of 'My Wall' to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2009.

  • Berlin Reverse Angle to include films by Fassbinder, Herzog, Wenders

    17-Dec-2007

    Films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog andWim Wenders are to be featured in a special Berlinale programmeentitled 'Rebellion of the Filmmakers', organised to accompany theworld premiere of the documentary Reverse Angle - Rebellion of theFilmmakers about the history of the legendary Germanproducer-distributor Filmverlag der Autoren. Founded in 1971 on a co-operative basis by 13 partners includingRainer Werner ...

  • Boll takes over world sales for 15+ titles from Allied Entertainment

    17-Dec-2007

    Boll AG has taken over he world sales for 15+ titles from the LA-based genre specialist Allied Entertainment.The lineup includes Rafael Zielinski's classic teen sex comedy Screwballs and brings the total number of films handled internationally by Boll AG to 60. Other films in the deal include Fallen Angels starring Michael Ironside; Pups, with ...

  • FremantleMedia and RTL launch German producer-distributor Ufa

    17-Dec-2007

    Together with the RTL Group, FremantleMedia has launched a new producer-distributor Ufa Cinema through its German subsidiary UFA to deliver feature films for the local market and possibly be the first step towards the creation of a European major studio. The new initiative already has 40 projects in the pipeline that will result in an annual slate of eight films per year from 2010 with its first projects being made known early next year. Plans are also afoot to ...

  • New German funding model generates spend of almost $588m

    13-Dec-2007

    The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) has generated a 'German spend' of almost $588m (Euros 400m) in its first year of operations after backing 99 feature film and documentary projects with over $87.3m (Euros 59.4m). Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com, DFFF project manager Christine Berg explained that the 99 films with an overall production volume of $823.3m (Euros 560m) had German production costs of over $570.4m (Euros 388m).

  • Thomas Peter Friedl to leave Constantin Film after January

    11-Dec-2007

    After over 18 years working in the field of distribution and for Constantin Film, Thomas Peter Friedl has announced that he will not be extending his contract as Distribution, Marketing & Central Services Director at Constantin Film after January 31, 2008.The management of the distribution arm Constantin Filmverleih will be taken over from February by Fred Kogel, Constantin Film's CEO and board member responsible for licence trading.While ...

  • Guy Maddin and Isabella Rossellini open 2008 Berlinale Forum

    11-Dec-2007

    For the third year in a row, Guy Maddin and Isabella Rossellini will have films shown at the forthcoming Berlinale.My Winnipeg, Maddin's autobiographical fairytale about his Canadian native city, and Rossellini's three one-minute Green Porno shorts made for mobile phones and mobile video players will have their international premieres as the opening presentation of the Berlinale's Forum on February 8.Maddin's silent movie Brand ...

  • Beta Cinema to handle Helmer's third feature Absurdistan

    11-Dec-2007

    Beta Cinema will handle world sales for German film-maker Veit Helmer's third feature Absurdistan which will have its world premiere in January in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

  • New jury selects nine actors for Shooting Stars at 2008 Berlinale

    11-Dec-2007

    Romania's Anamaria Marinca, Germany's Hannah Herzsprung and the UK's Andrew Garfield are among nine of the best young actors in Europe who have been named by European Film Promotion (EFP) as the Shooting Stars of 2008 to be showcased at the forthcoming Berlinale.

  • The Weinstein Company picks up rights to Telepool 3D animation

    10-Dec-2007

    The Weinstein Company has acquired rights from Munich-based Telepool for all English-language and Latin-American territories for the European 3D animated film Niko & The Way To The Stars by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen.Described as 'a modern-day fairytale for the whole family', the CGI-animated film about the adventures of the little reindeer Niko will have its European premiere on October 10, 2008 in Scandinavia where it is being released by Nordisk Film.

  • Berlinale announces five world premieres

    10-Dec-2007

    World premieres of new films by Damian Harris, Doris Doerrie, Wang Xiaoshuai and Errol Morris are among the first eight titles confirmed so far for the Competition programme of next February's Berlinale (February 7-17).

  • Berlinale expects 5,000+ submissions for 2008 festival

    6-Dec-2007

    Organisers are expecting that the 2008 edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will again be a record-breaking one when it opens its doors on Feb 7, 2008. Speaking to ScreenDaily.com during this week's Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia's Tallinn, Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick said that he expects more than 5,000 films to be submitted for consideration for selection to one of the festival's sections. A total of 4,921 titles were entered ...

  • Daldry's The Reader gets funding boost from Filmstiftung NRW

    5-Dec-2007

    International co-productions by Dito Tsintsadze, Ben Verbong, Joergen Bergmark, and Stephen Daldry are among 14 projects awarded over $8m (Euros 5.5m) by the Duesseldorf-based regional fund Filmstiftung NRW this week.

  • Unknown starRappoport takes lead in new Serebrennikov feature

    4-Dec-2007

    Russian-born actress Ksenia Rappoport, who was nominated for European Actress 2007 at last weekend's European Film Awards for her performance in Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown, has taken the lead in Kirill Serebrennikov's new feature Yuriev Den which has now begun shooting on location in the Russian town of Yuriev near Suzdal.

  • Romanian triumph at European Film Awards

    2-Dec-2007

    Romanian cinema was the big winner at this year's 20th edition of the European Film Award when director Cristian Mungiu picked up the honours for European Film 2007 and European Director 2007 for his Palme D'Or-winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

  • CNC/FFA joint commission backs new Gaspar Noe film

    29-Nov-2007

    Three projects were supported by the CNC/FFA's German-French Funding Commission this week from its 'mini-traite' co-production fund.Funding of $737,925 (Euros 500,000) went to Gaspar Noe's Japan-set Enter The Void which is being produced as a majority French co-production by Fidelite Films with Berlin-based Essential Filmproduktion and Italy's BIM Distribuzione. Currently being shot in Japanese and English in Tokyo, the director's third ...

  • Francesco Rosi to receive Berlinale tribute and Golden Bear

    27-Nov-2007

    Veteran Italian director Francesco Rosi is to be honoured with an Homage and an Honorary Golden Bear at February 2008's Berlin International Film Festival.

  • Costa-Gavras to serve as Berlinale jury president

    26-Nov-2007

    The Greek-French director Costa-Gavras has been named as president of the International Jury for February's Berlin International Film Festival.Costa-Gavras has often seen his films shown at the Berlinale in past years: Music Box, with Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jessica Lange, received the Golden Bear at the 1990 festival, while La Petite Apocalypse, with director-actor Jiri Menzel in the lead role, ...

  • Baltic Event selects 12 projects for Tallinn co-production market

    22-Nov-2007

    Films from Croatia, Romania, Estonia and Armenia are among a dozen projects selected from a record 37 submissions for the Baltic Event's third co-production market which will be held in the Estonian capital of Tallinn from Dec 3-4.

  • Berlin's WCF backs films from Armenia, Indonesia, Iran and Israel

    21-Nov-2007

    Four film projects from Armenia, Indonesia, Iran and Israel have been backed by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF) with a total of $325,680 (Euros 220,000) at its latest funding session chaired by festival director Dieter Kosslick. The four were selected from 108 submissions from 40 countries.

  • After record 2007, Babelsberg eyes more European projects in 2008

    16-Nov-2007

    The looming threat of Hollywood actors and directors going on strike from mid-2008 has prompted Germany's Babelsberg Studios to concentrate more on enticing European and German feature film projects to shoot on its sound stages next year.

  • Schuermann steps down as CEO of Intermedia USA

    15-Nov-2007

    Martin Schuermann has now stepped from his post as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Los Angeles-based Intermedia Film Equities USA to return to 'hands-on' production. In July, Schuermann had cited 'personal reasons' for leaving his other post as CEO of the IM Internationalmedia Group which he had held since succeeding Moritz Borman in May 2005. In an official statement on Schuermann's latest move, Intermedia stressed that it wanted 'to set the record straight that ...

  • VIP fund's former CEO sentenced to six years in prison

    14-Nov-2007

    Andreas Schmid, the former CEO of the German private media fund VIP Medienfonds, was sentenced to six years imprisonment for tax evasion by a Munich court on Tuesday morning (Nov 13).

  • Final approval set for Brazil-Germany co-production agreement

    14-Nov-2007

    After more than two years of legislative limbo, the new Brazil-Germany Co-Production Agreement has finally been approved by both houses in Brazil's National Congress and has now come into force.

  • Bavaria to handle omnibus projectMoving The Arts

    13-Nov-2007

    Bavaria Film International is to handle international sales for the omnibus film project Moving The Arts which will bring together shorts from Atom Egoyan, Hal Hartley, Christian Petzold, Julio Medem, Laetitia Masson, and Jia Zhang-ke. Each will make a short film inspired by a work of post-modern art exhibited in the Dusseldorf museum K 21.

  • Russian cinema triumphs at Cottbus Festival

    11-Nov-2007

    Russian cinema was the big winner at this year's FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema (Nov 6-11) with Vera Storosheva's Travelling With Pets taking home five of the total 13 prizes.

  • Shadows and Tracey Fragments lead Bavaria's AFM deals

    7-Nov-2007

    Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski's mystery love story Shadows and maverick Canadian director Bruce McDonald's The Tracey Fragments lead a raft of deals signed by Bavaria Film International at the AFM.The Tracey Fragments was sold to Atlantik in an all-rights deal for Scandinavia, following a deal with the UK's Soda Pictures that was struck during ...

  • Connecting Cottbus market to present 13 new features

    7-Nov-2007

    New films from Romania, Georgia, Serbia and Sweden are among 13 projects which will be pitched to potential production partners at this year's Connecting Cottbus East-West co-production market which begins on Thursday.According to Connecting Cottbus's artistic director Gabriele Brunnenmeyer, the 2007 lineup was selected from over 50 entries from 23 countries and, as an innovation this year, the projects will all be in the running for the Coco Best Pitch Award, sponsored by ...

  • Akin's The Edge Of Heaven wins Europe's first LUX Prize

    25-Oct-2007

    Fatih Akin's The Edge Of Heaven, Germany's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, is the first winner of the European Parliament's new LUX Prize.

  • Ascot picks up three: Boarding Gate, Fido and Opium

    24-Oct-2007

    Ahead of this year's American Film Market, Switzerland's Ascot Elite Entertainment Group has picked up all German language rights on three titles.

  • Wajda's Katyn to have international premiere at 2008 Berlinale

    19-Oct-2007

    Veteran Polish director Andrzej Wajda' Katyn (aka Post Mortem) is set to have its international premiere at next February's Berlinale, Screen Daily.com learnt during this week's Warsaw Filmfest.

  • Theoren named CEO at IM Internationalmedia, replacing Schuermann

    18-Oct-2007

    Veteran producer Konstantin Thoeren is to be appointed as CEO of IM Internationalmedia to join CFO Sascha Konzack who had been managing the company alone since the resignation of Martin Schuermann from the post of CEO in July.

  • Mannheim selects 54 projects including Holland's Christine

    12-Oct-2007

    New film projects from Poland's Agnieszka Holland, Belgium's Geoffrey Enthoven, and the UK's Chris Forster are among 54 projects being pitched to potential partners at the Mannheim Meetings which begin on Sunday (Oct 14).

  • Wild Bunch picks up German animation The Three Robbers

    12-Oct-2007

    Wild Bunch has picked up international distribution for Hayo Freitag's The Three Robbers (Die Drei Raeuber), the first animation feature by Animation X, the animation arm of the Berlin production house X-Filme creative pool and David Groenewold's Promedium.

  • Eight new Polish films to be screened at Warsaw's third CentEast

    12-Oct-2007

    Veteran Polish film director Andrzej Wajda's Katyn, actor-director Jerzy Stuhr's Twist Of Fate and Dariusz Jablonski's feature debut Strawberry Wine are among eight new Polish films being shown as part of the Warsaw's International Film Festival's third CentEast Market (Oct 17-21) showcasing the best of Central and Eastern European cinema of the past six months with a special eye to the growing market possibilities in Eastern Europe itself.

  • John Cale to star in Aguero's Salamandra

    11-Oct-2007

    Music legend John Cale is appearing opposite Argentinean actress Dolores Fonzi (El Aura) in Pablo Aguero's feature debut Salamandra which begins principal photography in a remote community in Patagonia from today (Oct 11).

  • Match Factory seals raft of deals for Wang'sThousand Years

    10-Oct-2007

    The Match Factory has sealed a number of deals for Wayne Wang's San Sebastian Golden Shell winner A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and the companion piece The Princess Of Nebraska with rights going to France (Diaphana), Spain (Karma Films), Switzerland (Cineworx), and Argentina (Primer Plano).

  • Golden Lola winner and Perfume actress join Daldry's The Reader

    9-Oct-2007

    Golden Lola winner Hannah Herzsprung and Perfume's Karoline Herfurth have joined the cast of Stephen Daldry's The Reader, which has been shooting in Berlin and Goerlitz since the end of September.

  • Telepool adds seven new titles to line-up ahead of AFM

    8-Oct-2007

    Telepool has added seven new titles to its line-up ahead of this year's American Film Market.

  • Ascot Elite picks up three new titles including The Reader

    3-Oct-2007

    Swiss independent distributor Ascot Elite has picked up three new titles including Stephen Daldry's Bernhard Schlink adaptation The Reader, which began shooting in Berlin and Goerlitz this week with Nicole Kidman, David Kross and Ralph Fiennes.

  • The Last Station gets $1.9m boost from DFFF

    2-Oct-2007

    Michael Hoffman's Tolstoy drama The Last Station, starring Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep and Laura Linney, has received the fourth largest amount awarded by the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) to an international production this year.

  • The Reader denied permission to film atconcentration camp

    28-Sep-2007

    Stephen Daldry's The Reader has been denied permission to shoot a scene with lead actor David Kross at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin.

  • MD departs troubled German media fund

    26-Sep-2007

    Beleaguered German private media fund VIP Medienfonds has been dealt another blow with the sudden departure of managing director Dirk Specht from the company. Specht had been brought to VIP in March 2006 to take over responsibility for the finances and controlling of the VIP funds and he was the sole manager of VIP's operations from June last year after Andreas Grosch was forced to step down. Specht's contract with VIP was terminated on Tuesday 'with immediate effect' ...

  • Berlin Senate agrees to $85m of state guarantees to 2013

    26-Sep-2007

    With Berlin currently experiencing a boom in national and international production thanks to such films as the Speed Racer, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Valkyrie and The International shooting in town, the Berlin Senate has announced plans to make $85m (Euros 60m) available until 2013 for state-backed guarantees to boost region's attractiveness for film productions.

  • Switzerland chooses Late Bloomers as Oscar contender

    26-Sep-2007

    Swiss Films has entered Bettina Oberli's comedy Late Bloomers (Die Herbstzeitlosen) for Switzerland to the Academy Award race for a nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

  • Wolfgang Braun to leave post at Disney Germany

    25-Sep-2007

    Wolfgang Braun, general manager and senior vice president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany (previously known as Buena Vista International [Germany]), is stepping down from his post after 15 years as of Oct 1.

  • Wolfgang Braun to leave post at Disney Germany

    25-Sep-2007

    Wolfgang Braun, general manager and senior vice president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany (previously known as Buena Vista International [Germany]), is stepping down from his post after 15 years as of Oct 1.

  • Beta Film picks up Wehling's desert-set drama Kronos

    25-Sep-2007

    Beta Film has picked up the international distribution rights for Olav F. Wehling's Kronos which began shooting Monday on location in the Moroccan desert near Ouarzazate and Merzouga.

  • Ulrich Thomsen and Jack McGee join cast of Tykwer's The International

    24-Sep-2007

    Festen's Ulrich Thomsen, Crash's Jack McGee and Million Dollar Baby's Brian F. O'Byrne have joined the multi-national cast for Tom Tykwer's action thriller The International, headlined by Clive Owen and Naomi Watts.

  • Berlin's EFM tightens access and starts premium first weekend rates

    24-Sep-2007

    Berlin's European Film Market (EFM) is introducing new access restrictions to its venue in the Martin Gropius Bau for the first weekend (Feb 9-10), which may lead some accredited professionals looking to go elsewhere to do business at the festival.

  • Biblob and Antoniou join foreign-language film competitors

    23-Sep-2007

    Bangladesh has selected Golam Rabbany Biblob's directorial debut On The Wings Of Dreams, while Greece has picked Angeliki Antoniou's Eduart for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the forthcoming 80th Academy Awards. Both films are being handled internationally by the Berlin-based sales agent MDC International who is also representing another Oscar national entry, Aleksi Salemnpera's box-office ...

  • Huayi Brothers to co-produce Gallenberger's John Rabe

    21-Sep-2007

    Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Pictures is to co-produce and handle distribution in China for Florian Gallenberger's second feature film John Rabe, which will begin principal photography in Shanghai and at original locations in Nanking from Oct 18 to February 2008.

  • Dennis Hopper, Lou Reed, Patti Smith sign up for Wenders film

    20-Sep-2007

    Dennis Hopper, Lou Reed and Patti Smith have joined the cast of Wim Wenders' new feature The Palermo Shooting which began shooting in his home town of Duesseldorf yesterday.

  • Internationalmedia plans 'new beginning' with strategic investor

    19-Sep-2007

    Following the debacle of the cancellation of shooting on Jan de Bont's action thriller Stopping Power last month, the IM Internationalmedia Group has signed a deal memo with the strategic investor R Media Acquisition LLC for a reorganisation of the group's activities - including the divestment of its interest in the sales company IM Global - 'as a first necessary step' which may help it to convince existing business partners of a 'new beginning'.

  • The Edge Of Heavenis German Oscar entry

    19-Sep-2007

    Fatih Akin's The Edge Of Heaven (Auf Der Anderen Seite), which had its world premiere in this year's official competition in Cannes, has been selected as Germany's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 80th Academy Awards. Akin's film had its North American premiere last week in Toronto and has been sold by sales agent The Match Factory to over 30 territories so far, including France, Italy, Spain, Russia, the UK, Japan, Korea, Australia, Brazil and ...

  • Daldry and Moodysson among recipients of $6.4m German fund

    18-Sep-2007

    New feature films from Stephen Daldry, Lukas Moodysson, Srdjan Koljevic and Wolfgang Murnberger are among the projects receiving backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) and Filmstiftung NRW in their latest rounds of production funding totalling $6.4m (Euros 4.6m.)

  • Hamburg's Douglas Sirk Award goes to David Cronenberg

    12-Sep-2007

    Canadian director David Cronenberg will receive the Douglas Sirk Award at this year's Filmfest Hamburg, running Sept 27 to Oct 4. Festival opens with best-selling author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's directorial debut Odette Toulemonde.

  • Beta Film coproducing and selling animation projects

    12-Sep-2007

    Beta Film is serving as a sales agent and co-producer on two animation feature films - Moonbeam Bear and Princess Lillifee - which are currently in production.

  • Pan-Europe participants selected for first pitch forum

    12-Sep-2007

    Thirteen screenwriters from all over Europe, including the UK, Poland, Hungary, Macedonia and Italy have been selected to present their screenplays to a panel of international producers at the first Central European Pitch Forum to be held during the Pecs International Film Festival on October 3.The Pitch Forum's organisershad 60 applications from 19 countries; the final selection ...

  • Senator Entertainment gets $28m loan

    11-Sep-2007

    Senator Entertainment's reinvigorated return to the German production and distribution scene has been given an additional boost after the group secured a $28m (Euros 20m) loan agreement with the Berlin branch of the Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank to finance future acquisitions of film rights and film production.

  • Britfilms showcases UK cinema for German schools

    11-Sep-2007

    Film Education UK has joined forces with Germany's educational body Vision Kino and the arthouse cinemas' association AG Kino-Gilde to launch Britfilms, a touring showcase of British cinema aimed at German schoolchildren, with accompanying teacher study guides and teaching materials.

  • Venice winner opens Warsaw International Film Festival

    11-Sep-2007

    Andrzej Jakimowski's Venice Days title Tricks, which received the Europa Cinemas label and Laterna Magica Award in Venice last weekend, will open this year's Warsaw International Film Festival on October 12. The 'touching and intimate look at everyday working class life in the Polish countryside' will be released theatrically in Poland by Kino Swiat on October 26.

  • Telepool works on new comedy from Lives Of Others producer

    8-Sep-2007

    Munich-based Telepool has boarded U-900, the third feature by The Lives Of Others producer Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion, as a sales agent and co-financier.The comedy about a submarine on the run in 1944 Germany is being directed by Sven Unterwaldt (7 Zwerge) and features Atze Schroeder, Oliver K. Wnuk, Yvonne Catterfeld, Goetz Otto and Maxim Mehmet.

  • In Focus - German production - Keen on the kino

    8-Sep-2007

    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.

  • Lives Of Others producer finds funds and sales agent for comedy

    7-Sep-2007

    Munich-based Telepool has boarded U-900, the third feature film by The Lives Of Others producer Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion, as a sales agent and co-financier.

  • UK and US films open world and international premieres in Oldenburg

    7-Sep-2007

    UK director Julian Richards' coming of age drama Summer Scars and Stephan Geene's Berlin-set drama After Effect are among the world premieres at this year's Oldenburg International Film Festival which will open with Maggie Peren's comedy Stellungswechsel about a male escort agency on September 12.The festival, which has built up an international reputation ...

  • Film Fund fires up German industry

    7-Sep-2007

    In the battle to lure high-budget footloose productions to international production hubs, two of the most prized of this year's scalps have gone to Germany. Both Bryan Singer's Valkyrie for United Artists and the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer for Warner Bros have shot in the territory, seduced in no small part by the fiscal attractions of the new German Federal Film Fund (Dfff). Both were reportedly heading to Prague in the Czech Republic until Germany unveiled its new fund.

  • Four Minutes and The Edge of Heaven among Germany's Oscar offers

    6-Sep-2007

    This year's Golden Lola winner Four Minutes by Chris Kraus and Fatih Akin's Cannes competition title The Edge Of Heaven are among seven films submitted for consideration as Germany's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Academy Awards.

  • Beta Cinema reps Stoehr's Berlin Calling

    6-Sep-2007

    Germany's Hannes Stoehr's third feature Berlin Calling which shoots in Berlin this week, is to be sold internationally by Beta Cinema. Stoehr's third feature pivots on DJ Ickarus, aka Martin Karow who tours clubs around the globe with his manager and girlfriend. On the eve of their largest album release, Ickarus is admitted to a psychiatric clinic after overdosing at a gig. DJ Ickarus is played by real-life techno DJ Paul ...

  • The International breaks DFFF $5m cap

    5-Sep-2007

    Tom Tykwer's action thriller The International, which begins principal photography in Germany from September 15, has become the third project to be awarded more than the $5m (Euros 4m) 'cap' from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).Originally, the German-UK co-production between Siebente Babelsberg Film and Columbia Pictures' Rose Line Productions had received $5m (Euros 4m) production support at the beginning of August.

  • Movies from 26 countries compete for European Film Awards

    4-Sep-2007

    Cristian Mungiu's Palme D'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Chris Kraus Golden Lola-winner Four Minutes, Shane Meadows' This Is England and Tom Tykwer's Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer are among 42 films competing for this year's European Film Awards.Unlike previous years, no major film nation has more than ...

  • Sony Pictures returns to German-language production

    4-Sep-2007

    Sony Pictures is making a comeback to the production of German-language feature films after acquiring the film rights to Tommy Jaud's bestselling second novel Resturlaub.The comedy about a German brewery manager's dream of beginning a new life at the other end of the world in Argentina has already sold more than 600,000 copies, with the hardcover edition in the top 20 for 50 weeks in the Der Spiegel bestseller list and the paperback ...

  • Crisis at Internationalmedia deepens as Schuermann suspended

    3-Sep-2007

    The crisis at IM Internationalmedia has deepened with the announcement this morning that Martin Schuermann, CEO of the Group's US subsidiary Intermedia Film Equities USA, has been suspended with immediate effect from his 'executive employment status'.

  • France and Italy acquire Mongol ahead of Toronto world premiere

    3-Sep-2007

    Beta Cinema has closed deals with France's Metropolitan Filmexport and Italy's BIM Distribution for the distribution rights to Sergei Bodrov's Genghis Khan epic Mongol ahead of its world premiere as a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 8.

  • Stopping Power forced to stop $40m shoot over financing issues

    2-Sep-2007

    Principal photography on Jan de Bont's $40m action thriller Stopping Power has had to be suspended after the default of a key equity investor in the film made it impossible for the Internationalmedia Group to close the required financing. The investor's breach has led to the IM Internationalmedia wholly-ownd subsidiary IM Stopping Power GmbH having to file for insolvency. In a press communique, IM Internationalmedia stated ...

  • Match Factory adds second Wayne Wang film to sales lineup

    30-Aug-2007

    Cologne-based sales company The Match Factory has added a second Wayne Wang film - The Princess Of Nebraska - to its sales lineup to join Wang's A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers which will have its international premiere in Toronto's Masters section and screen in competition at San Sebastian.

  • Austrians enter The Counterfeiters for Oscar consideration

    30-Aug-2007

    Stefan Ruzowitzky's Second World War drama The Counterfeiters (Die Faelscher), which was first shown in competition at February's Berlinale, has been selected as the Austrian entry for the 80th Academy Awards.

  • Ruzowitzky drama is Austrian entry for Academy Awards

    30-Aug-2007

    Stefan Ruzowitzky's Second World War drama The Counterfeiters (Die Faelscher), which was first shown in competition at last February's Berlinale, has been selected as the Austrian entry for the 80th Academy Awards.This is the second time that a film by Ruzowitzky has been submitted by Austria for the Best Foreign Language Film category after his historical drama Die Siebtelbauern in 1998. The Counterfeiters - which is being handled ...

  • Soenke Wortmann comes to the rescue of Constantin's Pope Joan

    29-Aug-2007

    German director Soenke Wortmann has come to the rescue of Constantin Film's planned adaptation of the Donna Cross bestseller Pope Joan after the previously attached director Volker Schloendorff was fired amidst much controversy last month.Franka Potente is still expected to take the title lead role in the international project which is set to begin principal photography in the first half of 2008.This project would mark a return for Wortmann ...

  • Kinowelt takes on sales, distribution and co-production of animated title

    29-Aug-2007

    Kinowelt International has picked up international rights (except for France and Italy) on Tony Loeser and Jesper Moeller's animated feature film A Case For Friends...How It All Began which has now begun production at Loeser's MotionWorks' studio in Halle.

  • EastWest picks up San Sebastian title The Bird Can't Fly

    28-Aug-2007

    Vienna/London-based sales agent EastWest Filmdistribution has picked up world rights to Dutch film-maker Threes Anna's The Bird Can't Fly, which will have its world premiere in the Zabaltegi - New Directors competition section at next month's San Sebastian International Film Festival.

  • EVA picks up international sales on Antonio Vivaldi, Un Prince A Venise

    28-Aug-2007

    Germany's Entertainment Value Associates (EVA) has secured international distribution rights to Jean-Louis Guillermou's biopic Antonio Vivaldi, Un Prince A Venise which will have its gala world premiere tonight in Paris ' in the presence of a VIP audience including French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

  • Bavaria picks up Argentinian title

    27-Aug-2007

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up international rights for Argentinian filmmaker Anahi Berneri's latest film Encarnacion which will be having its world premiere in the Visions sidebar of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.The co-production between Argentina's BD Cine and Spain's Wanda Filmes about an ageing actress trying to cope with her role and her life is described as 'a strong and touching statement about ...

  • Bavaria acquires international rights to Toronto title Encarnacion

    24-Aug-2007

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up international rights for Argentinean filmmaker Anahi Berneri's latest film Encarnacion which will be having its world premiere in the Visions sidebar of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

  • Bavaria picks up international rights to $20m Mann adaptation

    22-Aug-2007

    Bavaria Film International has picked up international distribution rights for Heinrich Breloer's lavish adaptation of Thomas Mann's Nobel Prize-winning novel Buddenbrooks which is currently shooting on location in the historical Hanseatic city of Luebeck. The $20m (Euros 15m) production by Bavaria Film and Colonia Media Filmproduktion of Die Buddenbrooks - Ein Geschaeft Von Einiger Groesse is ...

  • Dotzert to oversee Senator's German-language projects

    21-Aug-2007

    Senator Entertainment has appointed Dirk Dotzert tooversee the coordination of German language projects being offered tothe group's theatrical distribution and production arms.Dotzert, who had previously worked as a freelance consultant, will workclosely with Anatol Nitschke of Senator Film Verleih and ChristophMueller of Senator Film Produktion on the initial assessment andmonitoring of projects submitted to the Berlin-basedproducer-distributor.So ...

  • German fund managment group buys sales company Atlas

    21-Aug-2007

    Further changes are afoot in the German world sales scene after the decision by the film financing and fund management group Entertainment Value Associates (EVA) to acquire a majority interest in the Munich-based family-run sales company Atlas International Film through its subsidiary EVA Finance.

  • Der Baader Meinhof Komplexawarded $3.6m from German fund

    17-Aug-2007

    Producer-distributor Constantin Film has been allocated $3.6m(Euros 2.7m) - the fourth largest amount so far this year - from the German (Federal Film Fund (DFFF) for its production of Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex which began shooting in Berlin last week.

  • Tykwer action thriller gets $5.3m from German fund

    16-Aug-2007

    Tom Tykwer's action thriller The International has been awarded Euros 4m by the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).

  • The Match Factory picks up German tragicomedy

    14-Aug-2007

    The Match Factory has picked up international distribution for Neele Leana Vollmar's second feature Friedliche Zeiten (literal translation: Peaceful Times) which has begun shooting in Munich and surroundings.

  • German Minister calls for DFFF to be extended beyond 2009

    13-Aug-2007

    German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has called for the term of the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) to be extended beyond its initial three-year period of 2007-2009 after seeing its effectiveness in creating employment and income.

  • Locarno's Maire sees attendance at main venue up 10%

    12-Aug-2007

    Attendances at Locarno's main screening venue for the International Competition and Filmmakers of the Present Competition are up 9%-10% on last year, according to artistic director Frederic Maire in a review of his second edition heading up the festival.Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com, Maire observed that the 2007 lineup for the international competition 'is stronger than last year and I think that this is a result of how the ...

  • The Rebirth becomes Locarno's first Japanese winner since 1970

    12-Aug-2007

    Masahiro Kobayashi's The Rebirth (Ai No Yokan) became the first Japanese film to receive the Golden Leopard since Akio Jissoji's The Transient Life (Mujo) was an ex aequo winner at the festival in 1970.Described by artistic director Frederic Maire as 'a very strong and edgy film', The Rebirth also received special mentions ...

  • Eichinger's Baader-Meinhof Komplex begins shooting in Berlin

    10-Aug-2007

    Bernd Eichinger's ambitious production of Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex has begun principal photography in Berlin and will continue shooting later at locations in Munich and Morocco before wrapping at the end of November.This weekend, the adaptation of Stefan Aust's standard work on the Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorism group in Germany from 1967 to 1977 will be shooting a re-enactment of the student demonstration against the ...

  • Open Doors awards go to projects from Syria, Israel and Egypt

    8-Aug-2007

    Projects from Israel, Syria and Egypt received development and production awards today at the Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors co-production forum, which was dedicated to the Near and Middle Eastern cinema.

  • Kinowelt International picks up Venice Days film Head Under Water

    7-Aug-2007

    Kinowelt International has taken on international sales for Andreas Kleinert's thriller Head Under Water (Freischwimmer) which has been selected for its world premiere at this year's Venice Days sidebar at the end of the month.

  • Waintrop named new head of Fribourg festival

    6-Aug-2007

    Switzerland 's Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) has found a programmer for the 2008 edition, while Austria's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema will be looking for a new director from 2009.

  • Ahead of Locarno premiere, Sejong takes on Nothing But Ghosts

    5-Aug-2007

    South Korea's Sejong has picked up German director Martin Gypken's second feature Nothing But Ghosts (Nichts Als Gespenster) ahead of its world premiere screening on Locarno's Piazza Grande on Monday evening.Beta Cinema's head of sales Andreas Rothbauer confirmed to ScreenDaily.com in Locarno at the weekend that Sejong had acquired theatrical, TV and home video rights to the film adapted from the novel of the same name by Judith Herrmann ...

  • Locarno gets 10% funding increase from Swiss government

    3-Aug-2007

    Switzerland's Federal Office of Culture (BAK) will increase its annual support for the Locarno Film Festival by more than 10% from the current $1m (CHF 1.2m) to $1.13m (CHF 1.35m) for the next three years (2008-2010).

  • Financial challenges for future of Locarno festival

    31-Jul-2007

    On the eve of the 60th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival, the future of the event's financial standing is in the headlines.

  • Boll World Sales picks up English-language horror film Fear

    29-Jul-2007

    Boll World Sales has picked up international distribution rights for Munich-based filmmaker Gerhard Hross' English-language horror film Fear which wraps principal photography in Berlin on July 30.Producer-director Uwe Boll is also serving as a co-financier for the low-budget production by Udo Bomnueter and Helmar Baum's Berlin-based Valerian Fear. Co-producers are Gruenberg Film with backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Post-production ...

  • Stephen Daldry's The Reader gears up for Berlin shoot

    27-Jul-2007

    Nicole Kidman is set to be the latest of the Hollywood A-listers coming to work in Berlin later this summer, following a long line of colleagues such as ex-husband Tom Cruise, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Richard Roundtree shooting in the German capital, according to German press reports.It has been revealed that Kidman will be reunited with UK director Stephen Daldry after his 2002 Oscar-winning film The Hours for the female lead in ...

  • Media Luna and Wide pick up Locarno competition films

    26-Jul-2007

    Cologne-based sales company Media Luna Entertainment has picked up the world sales for Lugano-born Fulvio Bernasconi's feature debut Off The Ropes (Fuori Dalle Corde), which will have its world premiere in official competition at the Locarno International Film Festival next week.The story of a young Italian boxer from Trieste with Michele Venitucci and Maya Sansa was produced by Switzerland's Ventura Film with Italy's ITC Movie and Bianca ...

  • Bavaria takes on Free To Leave ahead of Locarno premiere

    25-Jul-2007

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up Austrian director Peter Payer's fourth feature Free To Leave (Freigesprochen) ahead of its world premiere in official competition at next month's Locarno International Film Festival. A co-production between Austria's Lotus-Film and Luxembourg's Iris Productions, Payer's universal tale of guilt, lies and obsession was inspired by Odon von Horvath's play Judgment ...

  • Martin Schuermann steps down as CEO of IM Internationalmedia

    25-Jul-2007

    IM's CFO Sascha Konzack will now run the company on his own, Schuermann will continue as managing director of Intermedia Film Equities USA

  • Ulrich Muehe, star of Oscar-winning The Lives Of Others, dies aged 54

    25-Jul-2007

    The German film industry is in mourning after the death at 54 of actor Ulrich Muehe, the star of Oscar-winning international success The Lives Of Others.

  • Constantin Film parts company with Schloendorff on Pope Joan

    23-Jul-2007

    Leading German producer-distributor Constantin Film has fired the Oscar-winning director Volker Schloendorff from the adaptation of the Donna Cross bestseller Pope Joan.In a letter to Schloendorff, Martin Moszkowicz, member of the Constantin board, wrote that 'it is unfortunately no longer possible for us to make the film together. I have discussed the situation and we unfortunately see ourselves forced to end the collaboration on this ...

  • Senator Film to release next Wenders' Palermo Shooting

    19-Jul-2007

    Senator Film will release Wim Wenders' next feature film The Palermo Shooting, which begins shooting in Dusseldorf from September 17 before moving to Sicily.

  • Tykwer eyes Babelsberg Studios for thriller The International

    18-Jul-2007

    A day before shooting begins on the Tom Cruise World War II drama Valkyrie, local press reports have revealed that Babelsberg Studios is set to host its third Hollywood production this year with the shooting of Tom Tykwer's action thriller The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, from September.

  • Ascot Elite picks up five titles including Love In The Time Of Cholera

    18-Jul-2007

    Leading Swiss independent film distributor Ascot Elite Entertainment has announced the acquisition of the rights to five new titles for its 2007/08 slate.

  • Yerevan gives awards to War And Peace and Import/Export

    17-Jul-2007

    Armenian documentary filmmaker Vardan Hovhannisyan was the big winner at this year's Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan, picking up four of the prizes for his film A Story Of People In War And Peace at the awards ceremony preceding the closing film The Banishment by Russia's Andrei Zviagintsev.

  • Maire promises diversity and premieres at Locarno 2007

    11-Jul-2007

    A 'diversity in the range of possibilities of filmmaking' is how Locarno Film Festival's Frederic Maire describes the line-up for his second festival as artistic director.

  • German Films Previews offers 17 projects to international buyers

    9-Jul-2007

    The European representatives of such US distributors as The Weinstein Company, Paramount Vantage, and Miramax are among over 50 international film buyers attending the German Films Previews showcase which are being held for the first time in Cologne from July 12 until the weekend.

  • Telepool picks up Ruzowitzky's new feature Lilly The Witch

    9-Jul-2007

    Telepool will handle the international sales for Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky's new feature Lilly The Witch (Hexe Lilli) which is shooting for six weeks at the Babelsberg Studios before moving on to locations in Austria.

  • World Cinema Fund gives largest award to Guerra's Wind Journeys

    8-Jul-2007

    Five projects from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa have been selected by the World Cinema Fund (WCF) from a total of 81 submissions from 28 countries for funding of $313,387 (Euros 230,000).The largest single amount of funding - $81,753 (Euros 60,000) - went to Colombian director Ciro Guerra's The Wind Journeys, to be produced by Bogota-based Ciudad Lunar Produciones with Germany's Razor Films, which previously worked on

  • Brandenburg gives second state guarantee to Mr Nobody

    6-Jul-2007

    Jaco van Dormael's latest feature Mr Nobody, based on his own original screenplay, is the second film after Kevin Spacey's Beyond The Sea to be awarded a state guarantee by the Land of Brandenburg.

  • Robert Thalheim: Auschwitz story

    6-Jul-2007

    A young German director draws on his memories of Auschwitz for a contemporary film about life in the shadow of evil. Martin Blaney reports.

  • German Fund exceeds cap again for Bryan Singer's Valkyrie

    5-Jul-2007

    The United Artists' production of Bryan Singer's WWII drama Valkyrie - which begins shooting in Berlin and Babelsberg from July 18 - is the second international film after Speed Racer to be granted support from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) greater thaan the cap of $5.4m (Euros 4m).

  • Yereven to host 12 projects at first regional co-production forum

    5-Jul-2007

    Nine features and three documentary projects from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Serbia, Russia and Turkey are to be pitched to potential co-producers and financiers at the Directors Across Borders' (DAB) first Regional Co-Production Forum (July 10-12) during next week's Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan.

  • Buena Vista partner on fifth outing of Wild Soccer Bunch

    3-Jul-2007

    The German outpost of Buena Vista International will also distribute the fifth film of The Wild Soccer Bunch franchise which begins shooting today at locations in Saarland and Munich.

  • German sales company Cine-International to close its doors

    3-Jul-2007

    Munich-based world sales company Cine-International Filmvertrieb has announced that it will be shutting down operations as of tomorrow (Wednesday).

  • The Band's Visit wins top honour at Munich

    1-Jul-2007

    Admissions were up almost 10% to around 62,000 for the 25th anniversary of the Munich Film Festival, which closed with the world premiere of Rainer Kaufmann's Runaway Horse (Ein Fliehendes Pferd) based on the novel of the same name by Martin Walser.This year's opening film - Eran Kolirin's feature debut The Band's Visit - was the title on everyone's lips during the festival's nine days winning ...

  • Bavaria Film International picks up The Anarchist's Wives

    29-Jun-2007

    Bavaria Film International has picked up international distribution rights to Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr's new feature The Anarchist's Wives which begins its German shoot at the MMC Studios in Cologne today (Friday).

  • International projects take the lead with new German fund

    28-Jun-2007

    International co-productions shooting in Germany have received more than half of the $28m (Euros 20.9m) allocated by the new German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) in its first six months of operation.

  • Lichtmeer moves into production with Angelopoulos project

    28-Jun-2007

    Munich-based distributor Lichtmeer Filmverleih has relaunched itself as the Cologne/Berlin production company Lichtmeer Film, which will have Theo Angelopoulos's next feature Dust Of Time as its first project.

  • Warner Bros Germany to distribute Breloer's Buddenbrooks

    26-Jun-2007

    Warner Bros. Pictures Germany will distribute writer-director Heinrich Breloer's feature film debut Buddenbrooks - Ein Geschaeft Von Einiger Groesse which begins shooting from Aug 1.

  • MDC takes on sales for Meletzky's Shanghai winner Plan

    25-Jun-2007

    Berlin-based sales company MDC has picked up international distribution rights for Franziska Meletzky's According To The Plan (Frei Nach Plan) which won best film honours at the Jin Jue Awards in the competition section of the Shanghai International Film Festival this weekend.

  • Fatih Akin: stairway to heaven

    22-Jun-2007

    Expectations were high for German director Fatih Akin's follow-up to arthouse hit Head-On. So were they met' Martin Blaney reports.

  • German exhibition: uneasy riders

    22-Jun-2007

    Germany's rocky ride continues as the 2007 box office looks set to stall, writes Martin Blaney.

  • Cologne's MMC Studios to launch in-house strand

    20-Jun-2007

    MMC Independent, the production arm of Cologne's MMC Studios, will start developing feature films in-house in addition to serving as a co-producer on third-party projects.

  • ARRI picks up world sales for Sanders-Brahms' new feature Clara

    18-Jun-2007

    ARRI Media Worldsales has picked up international distribution rights for Helma Sanders-Brahms' drama Clara which begins the German part of its shoot in North Rhine-Westphalia from tomorrow.

  • Eastern European Acquisition Pool signs deals with Barefoot, Boje Buck

    17-Jun-2007

    Berlin-based Eastern European Acquisition Pool (EEAP) has acquired rights to new productions by Germany's Boje Buck Produktion and Barefoot Films for Central and Eastern Europe as well as for the CIS territories.All rights were secured for these territories to Detlev Buck's first children's film Hands Off Mississippi after EEAP had already handled Buck's previous film Tough Enough, which was released ...

  • Munich honours Kline and Friedkin

    17-Jun-2007

    US actor Kevin Kline and veteran Hollywood film-maker William Friedkin are to receive the Munich Film Festival's CineMerit Award for services to cinema this year. Previous recipients of the CineMerit Award included such leading international film industry figures as Barry Levinson, Sir Alan Parker, Milos Forman, and Susan Sarandon. Together with director Marco Kreuzpaitner, Kline will also be presented with the sixth Bernhard Wicki Film Prize - The Bridge which ...

  • Bodrov's follow-up to Mongol won't be ready until 2010

    14-Jun-2007

    Ahead of the opening of Sergei Bodrov's historical epic Mongol in Russian cinemas on Sept 21, producer Sergei Selyanov of STV has indicated that the director's second outing into the life of Genghis Khan will be ready in around three years time ('not any earlier') and stressed that both films will stand on their own independently.

  • Simple Things takes award as Kinotavr ramps up business

    12-Jun-2007

    Alexei Popogrebsky's second feature film Simple Things was the big winner at this year's Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival in Sochi, picking up the Grand Prix for Best Film as well as prizes for Best Direction and Best Actor.

  • German regional fund MFG makes pacts with France, Spain

    11-Jun-2007

    Baden-Wurttemberg's regional film fund MFG has signed an agreement with the Catalan Institute of Cultural Industries (ICIC) and Rhone-Alpes Cinema to improve cross-border cooperation for film production with the French and Catalan regions.

  • Singer's Valkyrie set for Babelsberg shoot

    10-Jun-2007

    Bryan Singer's Second World War drama Valkyrie is on track to becomethe second large-scale US production this year after the Wachowskibrothers' Speed Racer to shoot at Germany's Babelsberg Studios.Principal photographyon the United Artists production about the 1944 plot to assassinateHitler is expected to commence at the studios outside Berlin on July19. Tom Cruise is being lined up ...

  • Beta Cinema takes on world sales for three new German productions

    7-Jun-2007

    Beta Cinema has taken on world sales for new films featuring the award-winning German actresses Hannah Herzsprung, Nina Hoss and Julia Jentsch.Herzsprung, who came to wider recognition through her performance in another Beta title Four Minutes and received a Silver Lola for her role in Alain Gsponer's Life Actually last month, is currently appearing opposite Marie Baumer, Sebastian Blomberg, Anna ...

  • Amour Fou partners split to form two production outfits

    5-Jun-2007

    Six years after founding Vienna-based Amour Fou Filmproduktion, partners Gabriele Kranzelbinder and Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu have decided amicably to part and set up two separate production companies.

  • Telepool sells A Crude Awakening to UK's Dogwoof

    4-Jun-2007

    Telepool has closed an all-rights deal for the UK with Dogwoof Pictures for the feature documentary A Crude Awakening by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack of Swiss-based Lava Productions.

  • Locarno juries to include Diego Lerman and Jia Zhangke

    4-Jun-2007

    The Locarno International Film Festival will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year by dedicating its Retrospective, entitled Back In Locarno, to those filmmakers whose careers were significantly advanced by the initial exposure at the Swiss festival.

  • Germany 's Odeon expands with genre production label

    1-Jun-2007

    The publicly listed German film and TV group Odeon Film is expanding its feature film activities by setting up the Hanover-based Waterfall Productions (WFP) with producers Peter Rommel and Thomas Haberle to specialise in the production of quality genre feature films with budgets between $3.4m-$4.7m (Euros 2.5m-3.5m) for the international market.

  • Joel Silver keen to bring future projects to Babelsberg

    31-May-2007

    Producer Joel Silver is already looking at ways of bringing future projects to Germany's Babelsberg Studios even before the first scenes are shot for Larry and Andy Wachowski's action film Speed Racer

  • Germany's Constantin Film to co-produce Faubourg 36

    30-May-2007

    Leading German producer-distributor Constantin Film has joined forces with France's Galatee Films and Pathe Renn production to produce Faubourg 36 (working title), the next feature from The Chorus director Christophe Barratier.

  • EEAP kicks off Paramount Vantage deal with Marc Pease

    30-May-2007

    Berlin-based East European Acquisition Pool (EEAP) has begun a long-term cooperation with Paramount's independent division Paramount Vantage by acquiring all Central and East European rights to the new Ben Stiller comedy The Marc Pease Experience.

  • German and UK producers to bring Catweazle to the big screen

    30-May-2007

    The Red Baron producers Dan Maag and Thomas Reisser of Niama Filmproduktion are teaming up the UK's Paul Knight and Richard Carpenter of Catweazle Ltd. for a feature film based on the 1970s cult international hit TV series Catweazle.

  • Senator continues Weinstein relationship with four more titles

    29-May-2007

    German producer-distributor Senator Film has consolidated its close working relationship with The Weinstein Company (TWC) by acquiring another four titles from the US independent during last week's Cannes festival.

  • Concorde picks up 4 Months and Band's Visit for Germany

    29-May-2007

    Germany's Concorde Film has picked up Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's Golden Palm winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days from Wild Bunch and will release the film theatrically in German cinemas later this year.

  • Palme d'Or winner: Wim Wenders

    17-May-2007

    German director Wim Wenders has had eight films in the Cannes Competition, including 1993's Faraway, So Close, which won the Grand Jury prize, and Wings Of Desire, for which he picked up best director. Wenders won the Palme d'Or in 1984 for Paris, Texas.

  • Palme d'Or winner: Volker Schlondorff

    17-May-2007

    The Tin Drum was the first German film to win the top award in Cannes when it shared the Palme d'Or with Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now in 1979. The following year, The Tin Drum became the first ever from Germany to garner the Oscar for best foreign-language film.

  • Kinowelt International to handle sales of Bioskop Film library

    14-May-2007

    On the eve of this year's Cannes Film Festival, Leipzig-based Kinowelt International has concluded an agreement with the Munich production house Bioskop Film to handle the marketing of its film library, including such German cinema classics as Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe von Trotta's The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum, Reinhard Hauff's Stammheim and von Trotta's The ...

  • The Lives Of Others star Gedeck to play Clara Schumann

    10-May-2007

    Martina Gedeck, the female lead in the Oscar-winning German film The Lives Of Others, has been cast as the pianist and composer Clara Schumann in Helma Sanders-Brahms long-gestating biopic Clara which will commence principal photography in Hungary at the end of May.

  • Constantin signs first-look deal with Little Shark

    9-May-2007

    Germany's leading producer-distributor Constantin Film, who took six Lolas home last weekend for Tom Tykwer's Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer, has concluded a three-year first-look deal with the Cologne-based production outfit of Sonke Wortmann and Tom Spiess. The aim of the collaboration is the development, production and exploitation of co-productions between Constantin and Little Shark whose production credits have ...

  • Bavaria Film International picks up Certain Regard title from Uruguay

    8-May-2007

    Bavaria Film International has picked up the international rights for the tragicomedy The Pope's Toilet (El Bano Del Papa) which will be screening in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes.

  • Chris Kraus's Four Minutes takes best film Lola

    5-May-2007

    Chris Kraus's prison drama Four Minutes (Vier Minuten) was awarded the Golden Lola for Best Film at this year's German Film Awards at the weekend in Berlin.Produced by sisters Meike and Alexandra Kordes of the Berlin-based production outfit Kordes & Kordes Film, the film also picked up the Lola for Best Lead Actress for Monika Bleibtreu, who turned 63 on the day of the ceremony. Sold to 40 territories by Beta Cinema,

  • Wide Management picks up Quinzaine title Counterparts

    4-May-2007

    Paris-based sales company Wide Management has picked up international rights for German filmmaker Jan Bonny's feature debut Counterparts (Gegenuber) which has been selected for this year's Directors' Fortnight sidebar in Cannes. The drama about domestic violence between a primary school teacher and her policeman husband features Viktoria Trauttmannsdorff (whose credits include Christian Petzold's Ghosts ...

  • Upbeat Babelsberg steps up production plans

    2-May-2007

    Germany's Babelsberg Studios aims to intensify its involvement as a co-producer on national, European and international productions.

  • New German sales agent to launch in Cannes with So Long, My Heart

    1-May-2007

    New German sales agent to launch in Cannes with So Long, My Heart!The Munich-based Avalon Entertainment Group has launched a sales arm that will be attending the Cannes Market with its first acquisition, So Long, My Heart! (Wir Werden Uns Wiederseh'n), the second feature by the directorial duo of Stefan Hillebrand and Oliver Paulus.The tragicomedy follows a love triangle between careworkers (played by Isolde Fischer, Pola Kinski ...

  • German regional fund backs 18 projects with $6.8m

    1-May-2007

    The fifth outing of The Wild Soccer Bunch franchise, an adaptation of Thomas Mann's novel Buddenbrooks and a TV remake of the classic The Bridge are among 18 projects awarded a total of $6.8m (Euros 5m) by the Munich-based regional fund FFF Bayern in its latest round of funding. The largest single sum - $1.4m (Euros 980,000) - was allocated to SamFilm's ...

  • DFFF-backed Flame & Citron moves to Babelsberg Studios

    30-Apr-2007

    Shooting begins today on the lot of the Babelsberg Studios for Ole Christian Madsen's thriller Flame & Citron (Flammen und Citronen), which has become the first international co-production to receive support from the newly established German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).The story about two gangsters who became the most wanted men in Denmark under Nazi occupation in 1944 stars Mads Mikkelsen, Thure Lindhardt, Stine Stengade, Christian Berkel ...

  • Koepp's Sons wins top prize at Nyon

    27-Apr-2007

    Veteran German documentarist Volker Koepp was awarded the 'Visions du Reel' Grand Prix for his latest film Sons (Söhne) at the festival in Nyon. In addition, the International Jury, which included the Canadian actress Arsinee Khanjian and last year's Grand Prix winner Andres Veiel, gave the 'Prix SRG SSR idee suisse' to Claudio Pazienza's Scenes De Chasse Aux Sanglier. The Audience ...

  • EFP selects 21 producers for Cannes Producers on the Move

    26-Apr-2007

    The Hamburg-based, pan-European promotional organisation European Film Promotion (EFP) has selected 21 aspiring European producers for its Producers On The Move networking initiative to take place during the Cannes Film Festival next month. Since being launched in 2000, Producers On The Move has enabled over 120 up-and-coming European producers to meet opposite numbers from all over Europe to discuss current projects and lay the foundation for future collaborations at roundtable ...

  • Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg puts $9.3m into 26 projects

    24-Apr-2007

    New feature films by Jaco van Dormael, Dennis Gansel, Chris Kraus and Stefan Ruzowitzky are among 26 projects backed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg with over $9.3m Euros 6.8m at its last sitting. The largest single amount - $1.2m (Euros 900,000) - went to Gavin Millar's biopic of Albert Schweitzer.Jaco van Dormael was allocated $0.7m (Euros 500,000) for his drama Mr Nobody, which is to star Sarah Polley and Jared Leto ...

  • William Baldwin joins Jentsch and Jacob for in Bob's Not Gay

    20-Apr-2007

    William Baldwin has joined German star Julia Jentsch (Sophie Scholl) and French actress Irene Jacob to headline Jane Spencer's low budget romantic comedy Bob's Not Gay which will begin shooting in the Romanian capital of Bucharest from the second half of May.

  • German archives: know your rights

    20-Apr-2007

    The positive experiences of such institutions as France's INA in providing access to their archives via the internet has prompted German film archives in turn to consider the creation of their own virtual mediatheques.

  • Restructured Central takes on MGM, Weinstein releases

    19-Apr-2007

    Films from MGM and The Weinstein Company will be released in Germany by the new Senator Entertainment distribution subsidiary Central Film Verleih GmbH.

  • Debuts dominate Crossing Europe Linz's European Competition

    12-Apr-2007

    Debut features dominate the lineup for the European Competition at the fourth edition of Linz's Crossing Europe Film Festival (24-29 April) which will open on April 24 with the world premiere of the music documentary Attwenger Adventure by Markus Kaiser-Muhlecker and the Austrian premieres of Marcus J. Carney's The End of the Neubacher Project and Marc Recha's August Days.

  • Euphoria wins best film at goEast with The Trap taking best director

    3-Apr-2007

    Russian dramatist Ivan Vyrypaev's feature film debut Euphoria picked up the Golden Lily for Best Film at this year's goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, which closed with an awards ceremony in Wiesbaden tonight.

  • Marc Klocker moves to Senator Film from X Verleih

    3-Apr-2007

    Marc Klocker has moved from X Verleih back to former employer Senator Film to take over the post of head of marketing since the beginning of this week.

  • Locarno to launch new sidebar for 60th anniversary

    3-Apr-2007

    Ahead of its 60th anniversary, the Locarno International Film Festival is planning to introduce a new sidebar, 'Here and Elsewhere,' presenting a selection of documentaries and fictional features 'sharing an original vision of contemporary life, which touch on politics and history as much as they do society and the arts.'

  • Constantin, SamFilm and Zipfelmutzen lead German producers in 2006

    30-Mar-2007

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film has double cause for celebration after being named the most successful German producer and distributor of 2006 by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and posting the 'most successful fiscal year of its history' in 2006.

  • Germany: inward production

    30-Mar-2007

    Germany has it all: a wide diversity of locations and the sophisticated production facilities and infrastructure found in the three major film-making hubs of Munich, Cologne and Berlin-Brandenburg. Having recently hosted the likes of The Bourne Ultimatum and Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer, Germany got more attractive with the introduction of the German Federal Film Fund.

  • Ascot Elite Home Entertainment partners with MFA+

    29-Mar-2007

    Stuttgart-based independent Ascot Elite Home Entertainment has entered a long-term partnership with German theatrical distributor MFA + FilmDistribution to handle the home entertainment rental and sell-through distribution and marketing of selected MFA + titles in all German-speaking territories.

  • UK actor cast in male lead for next Oskar Roehler project

    29-Mar-2007

    UK actor Ray Fearon, who appeared in the soap opera Coronation Street and Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, has been cast as the male lead for German director Oskar Roehler's next feature Lulu And Jimi, to follow his 2006 Berlinale competition film Elementary Particles (Elementarteilchen).

  • Warner Bros to co-produce release new Til Schweiger project

    29-Mar-2007

    Warner Bros' German office is serving as co-producer and distributor on actor-director-producer Til Schweiger's new feature film Keinohrhasen which begins principal photography on location in Berlin today.

  • Odeon takes over Munich production company Hofmann & Voges

    28-Mar-2007

    The restructured film and TV group Odeon Film has taken over Munich-based production company Hofmann & Voges Entertainment, which will continue to operate as a separate entity under the new owner's roof.

  • Trap, Victim and Ragtime among competitors at goEast festival

    28-Mar-2007

    Srdan Golubovic's thriller The Trap, Kirill Serebrennikov's black comedy Playing The Victim and the world premiere of Pulat Ahmatov's Ragtime..., a depiction of everday life for two young Russian women in a small frontier town, are among 10 feature films and six documentaries selected for the main competition of the goEast Festival of Central and Eastern European Film which begins tonight in Wiesbaden.

  • Franco-German co-productions backed with $974,850 by FFA/CNC

    27-Mar-2007

    New feature films by Jaco van Dormael and Martin Provost have received a total of $974,850 (Euros 730,000) backing by the German-French Funding Commission which is administered by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and France's CNC to promote co-production between the two countries.

  • Von Trotta plans biopic of medieval visionary Hildegard von Bingen

    27-Mar-2007

    Hildegard von Bingen, one of the most important women of the medieval age, will be the subject of veteran German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta's next feature film. The project will go into production at locations in Hessen and Bavaria from late summer after many years of research and preparation.

  • Brazilian winner of Fribourg top prize

    25-Mar-2007

    The last Fribourg International Film Festival(FIFF) under the tutelage of artistic director Martial Knaebel ended with the presentation of the Grand Prix toBrazilian Chico Teixeira's feature debut Alice's House The film was praised for its'intimacy, complexity, superb acting and precise point of view on auniversal story'. Teixeira's film also garnered the Youth Jury'sE-CHANGER Award.

  • heile welt named best Austrian film

    25-Mar-2007

    Jakob M. Erwa's feature debut heile welt received the Diagonale Grand Prix for Best Austrian Feature Film at this year's showcase of Austrian film-making which was rounded off with an awards ceremony at Graz's Dom im Berg on Saturday evening. Produced by Novotny & Novotny Filmproduktion, heile welt follows a group of adolescents in semi-documentary style as they try to cope with their emotions and ...

  • Ruzowitzky, Link and Gansel projects backed by FFA with $3.2m

    23-Mar-2007

    New feature films by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Caroline Link and Dennis Gansel are among seven projects with a total of $3.2 million (Euros 2.4m) production support by the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Foreign distributors receive $80,000 for releasing Swiss films

    23-Mar-2007

    Distributors from Germany, Brazil and ex-Yugoslavia are the first beneficiaries of Switzerland's new promotional fund to support the distribution of Swiss films abroad with $80,000 (Euros 60,000) towards the release of four feature films and one documentary.

  • Bruno Ganz cast in adaptation of Swiss bestseller

    22-Mar-2007

    Veteran Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, who delighted international audiences with his performance as the grandfather in Fredi M Murer's Vitus, has been cast for the lead role in an adaptation of Thomas Huerlimann's 1998 bestselling novel Der Grosse Kater.

  • Talent Campus Abroad could be extended to Sarajevo and Marrakech

    21-Mar-2007

    The Berlinale Talent Campus's Talent Campus Abroad initiative could possibly be extended to film festivals in Sarajevo and Marrakech.

  • EFP unveils Picture Europe! Programme

    21-Mar-2007

    London's Curzon Cinemas has been selected as one of the venues along with Berlin's CineStar Original complex and Madrid's Princesa Cinemas for European Film Promotion's new promotional venture Picture Europe!, which will present national box-office hits from all over Europe in three week-long film programmes.

  • Swiss to begin talks to join MEDIA 2007

    20-Mar-2007

    Switzerland's Federal Council has given its Office for Culture (BAK) the mandate to begin negotiations with the European Commission (EC) in Brussels on official Swiss participation in the European Union's new MEDIA 2007 programme, which was launched during last month's Berlinale.

  • Swiss Television launches Audience Award for national films

    20-Mar-2007

    Swiss box-office hits Grounding - The Last Days Of Swissair, Mein Name Ist Eugen and Vitus are among 14 films nominated for a new Audience Award launched by Swiss Television SF and the internet portal Bluewin to coincide with their free-TV premieres during 2007.

  • Regional fund MDM backs new features with over $6.1m

    19-Mar-2007

    New feature films by John Irvin, Michael Hoffman, Aktan Arym Kubat and Oskar Roehler are among projects backed with over $6.1 million (Euros 4.6m) by the Leipzig-based regional public fund Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung (MDM).

  • Grant scheme to strengthen Romania's audiovisual sector

    16-Mar-2007

    Former Eurimages executive secretary Renate Roginas is heading up a $1.2 million (Euros 900,000) PHARE Grant Scheme to strengthen the Romanian audiovisual sector 'with the aim to promote European cultural diversity and to develop a viable national audiovisual industry'.

  • Lola nominees announced

    16-Mar-2007

    Tom Tykwer's lavish adaptation of Patrick Suskind's Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer and Chris Kraus's prison drama Four Minutes are running neck and neck with eight nominations apiece for the German Film Awards - the Golden and Silver Lolas - which will be presented in a gala ceremony in Berlin on May 4.

  • Director Kwietniowski joins jury for the Central European Pitch Forum

    15-Mar-2007

    UK writer-director Richard Kwietniowski, the Polish Film Institute's deputy director Maciej Karpinski, Italian writer-director Giovanni Robbiano and Christina Kallas, president of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE), have been named as members of an international jury for the first Central European Pitch Forum (CEPF).

  • Eurimages to support digitisation of its funded films

    14-Mar-2007

    The Council of Europe's Eurimages fund is planning to provide support for the digitisation of its funded films from the middle of this year to boost their circulation throughout Europe.

  • Heather Graham romantic comedy starts shooting in Belfast

    13-Mar-2007

    Principal photography has begun in Belfast on the Heather Graham-starring romantic comedy Buy Borrow Steal, which is being directed by UK director Eric Styles (Relative Values) for Doris Kirch's Blue Angel Films Ltd.

  • Bavaria Film International takes on Doris Doerrie's new film

    13-Mar-2007

    Bavaria Film International will handle international sales for Doris Doerrie's new feature film Kirschblueten (literally Cherry Blossoms) which began shooting on location in Tokyo today (March 13).

  • Universal Pictures Germany to distribute Egoli Tossell quartet

    13-Mar-2007

    Universal Pictures International (UPI) Germany is to handle distribution in all German-speaking territories for another three Egoli Tossell Film projects in addition to Michael Hoffman's $17m Tolstoy drama The Last Station, starring Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep.

  • Diagonale continues strong documentary tradition

    12-Mar-2007

    Documentaries are once again out in force at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film which will open in Graz on March 19 with Sabine Derflinger's 42 plus.

  • Serbian triumph at Sofia festival

    11-Mar-2007

    Serbian filmmaker Srdan Golubovic's family drama-thriller The Trap (Klopka) won the Grand Prix at this year's Sofia International Film Festival.

  • 13 European projects to be pitched at 4th Sofia Meetings

    7-Mar-2007

    New second feature films by Srdjan Koljevic and Ruxandra Zenide are among 13 European film projects being pitched at the 4th Sofia Meetings from March 8-10 during this week's Sofia International Film Festival (March 1-11).

  • Fribourg artistic director to step down, Arab Focus in Augsburg

    7-Mar-2007

    Less than two weeks before this year's Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) (March 18-25), the artistic director Martial Knaebel has announced that he will step down in June from the post he has held for the past 15 years.

  • New projects backed by Austrian Film Institute for $3.15m

    6-Mar-2007

    New feature films by Michael Glawogger, Benjamin Heisenberg, Simon Aeby and Goetz Spielmann are among a raft of projects backed with over $3.15m (Euros 2.4m) by the Austrian Film Institute (OFI).

  • Oscar winners among those backed by Bavarian fund

    5-Mar-2007

    New feature films by Oscar-winning filmmakers Florian Gallenberger and Caroline Link are among 29 projects awarded a total of $11 million (Euros 8.4m) by the Munich-based regional public fund FFF Bayern in its first sitting of 2007.

  • Ascot Elite picks up four horror titles for Germany

    2-Mar-2007

    The Ascot Elite Entertainment Group has announced the acquisition of all rights to four horror titles for German speaking territories.

  • European animation - Territory Overview: Germany - It's a family affair

    2-Mar-2007

    German animations were traditionally targeted at children, but all that changed in the early 1990s when producers hit on 'adult' animation features with successful comic-book adaptations Werner - Volles Rooaaa! (2.7 million admissions) and The Little Bastard (three million). However, animation studios now tend to focus on fare for the whole family.

  • Germany - Rebel Yella

    2-Mar-2007

    Christian Petzold's feature Yella is his sixth collaboration with the Berlin-based production outfit Schramm Film Koerner + Weber, after successes including the German Film Award-winning The State I Am In (Die Innere Sicherheit), which premiered in Venice in 2000, and the Berlinale 2005 Competition film Ghosts (Gespenster).

  • Oscar winner Caroline Link to shoot new feature in Munich

    1-Mar-2007

    Germany Oscar-winning director Caroline Link, who received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003 for Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo In Afrika), is to begin shooting her next feature Im Winter Ein Jahr (working title) this summer at locations in Munich and surroundings.

  • Beta Cinema handling world sales for Ironman

    28-Feb-2007

    Beta Cinema is to handle world sales for Adnan G. Koese's feature debut Ironman, which is currently shooting in the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Dinslaken.

  • Martin Koechendoerfer to succeed Anatol Nitschke at X Verleih

    27-Feb-2007

    Concorde Filmverleih's Martin Kochendoerfer is to succeed Anatol Nitschke as board member of the Berlin-based distributor X Verleih from April 1.

  • Germany breaks 100m barrier for DVD sales

    27-Feb-2007

    Annual DVD unit sales in Germanypassed the 100 million mark for the first time last year, according to statistics prepared by the GfK market research institute for the home entertainment industry body BVV.

  • The Match Factoryannounces deals on Berlin competitor Yella

    26-Feb-2007

    Christian Petzold's Berlin Competition film Yella, which won a Silver Bear for lead actress Nina Hoss, has been sold by The Match Factory to six territories, with further deals in the offing with distributors in the US and Scandinavia, among others.Sales on the Schramm Film production were completed in Berlin with Artificial Eye (UK), Independenta Film (Romania), cinemax (Greece), Frenetic Films (Switzerland), Stadtkino (Austria) and Atalanta Filmes (Portugal). ...

  • 42 Plus to open Austrian Diagonale festival

    24-Feb-2007

    Sabine Derflinger's latest feature 42 Plus will be the opening film atthis year's Austrian national film festival Diagonale (March 19-25)which is being held in the Styrian capital for the tenth time this year.The DOR Film production, starring Claudia Michelsen, Ulrich Tukur,and Tobias Moretti, centres on a 42-year-old woman whose eye is caughtby a young hitchhiker as she arrives with her husband and teenagedaughter at their summer home. ...

  • Austria/Germany - Seeing double

    23-Feb-2007

    Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky must have been the right man for The Counterfeiters, a drama about a Nazi-organised forgery scam in a German concentration camp - he was independently approached by two production companies for the same project within the space of three weeks.

  • ProSiebenSat.1 Group signs free-TV rights deal with Warner

    22-Feb-2007

    Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Media has signed a long-running agreement with Warner Bros International Television Distribution (WBITD) for future productions from the Warner Bros studio.

  • World premiere of The Princess Of The Sun at Babelsberg Cartoon Movie market

    20-Feb-2007

    This year's Cartoon Movie co-production forum for European animation feature films will be open in Potsdam on March 7 with the world premiere of Philippe Leclerc's The Princess Of The Sun (La Reine Soleil).

  • Sofia festival plans focus on German cinema

    20-Feb-2007

    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar-nominated The Lives Of Others and the 2006 Berlinale competition films The Free Will by Matthias Glasner and Requiem by Hans-Christian Schmid are part of focus of German cinema at this year's Sofia International Film Festival (March 1-11).

  • Locarno's communications and press officers exit festival

    19-Feb-2007

    Less than six months before its 60th anniversary, the Locarno International Film Festival has seen two of its communications department staff exit due to 'differences of opinion' with the festival's artistic director Frederic Maire.

  • 'Berlinale of the actors' breaks attendance records

    18-Feb-2007

    Now in his sixth year as festival director, Dieter Kosslick has pronounced the 2007 'a Berlinale of the actors: we had never had so many actors' films, big stars and cinema legends in the Berlinale's history as was the case this year'. Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, Kosslick said that 'technically speaking, it was the biggest Berlinale of all time, everything has gotten bigger, including the size of the festival audience.'

  • Chinese film takes Golden Bear

    17-Feb-2007

    Chinese director Wang Quan'an had an ideal start for the Chinese New Year by winning this year's Golden Bear for his third feature Tuya's Marriage (Tu ya de hun shi) on the eve of the Year of the Pig.The tale of a practical woman searching for a reliable man in a remote part of China was described by Screen's David D'Arcy as 'funny, tender and vividly shot, this delightful comedy is more satisfying ...

  • Berlinale to show Lost In Beijing in uncensored version

    16-Feb-2007

    China's Li Yu's Lost In Beijing will have its world premiere tonight (Friday) in the Berlinale's official competition at the Berlinale Palast in the uncensored version after all.

  • Bavaria seals deals on Competition films and market titles

    16-Feb-2007

    Bavaria Film International has closed a slew of deals on Jiri Menzel's I Served The King Of England ahead of its international premiere in the Berlinale competition this afternoon.

  • German-Indian film agreement signed in Berlin

    16-Feb-2007

    Germany's Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, India's Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, and Germany's Minister of State for Culture and the Media Bernd Nuemann signed a German-Indian film agreement in Berlin on Friday afternoon providing a legal framework for cooperation between producers from Germany and India.

  • World Cinema Fund casts its net wider

    16-Feb-2007

    As of this summer, the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF) will be open to projects by film-makers from South East Asia and the Caucasus in addition to the existing focus regions of Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Central Asia. 'After the positive development of the WCF in the last two years, the new focus regions are an important step for the future success of the initiative,' commented Hortensia Voelckers, artisitic director of the German Federal Cultural Foundation ...

  • European stars: Germany

    16-Feb-2007

    Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick highlights the increasing global appeal of Germany's talent base when he points out that more than 10 German actors and actresses had roles in international productions at this year's festival. These range from Julia Jentsch in Jiri Menzel's I Served The King Of England through Moritz Bleibtreu's appearances in Paul Schrader's The Walker and the Taviani brothers' The Lark Farm to Peter Ketnath's lead role in Brazilian film-maker ...

  • Lives Of Others wins four German Film Critics Awards

    14-Feb-2007

    FlorianHenckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar-nominated The Lives Of Others hasadded to its impressive list of distinctions by picking up four of thisyear's German Film Critics Awards: for Best Feature Film Debut, BestActor (Ulrich Muehe), Best Editing (Patricia Rommel) and BestCinematography (Hagen Bogdanski).Lastyear's Berlinale Competition ...

  • Locarno opens doors to Middle East

    13-Feb-2007

    The Middle East will be the regional focus for the Open Doors platform at this year's Locarno International Film Festival (August 1-11).Filmmakers will be invited from Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Israel, Iraq and Jordan to present projects to potential co-producers.Meanwhile, an innovation at the festival's 60th anniversary edition will be the introduction of a new international competition for fiction films by young directors who have not yet made ...

  • Mannheim-Heidelberg moves to October

    13-Feb-2007

    The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg is being brought forward from November to new dates in October - 9th to 21st - for the 2007 edition, which will bring it up against other international festivals with industry components.

  • Senator boards Falorni's Heart

    13-Feb-2007

    Germany 's Senator Film has boarded Luigi Falorni's fiction feature debut Heart Of Fire as co-producer and acquired German distribution rights.

  • Lilly The Witch prepares to fly with Ruzowitzky

    12-Feb-2007

    Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, whose latest feature The Counterfeiter had its world premiere in the Berlinale's Competition this weekend, is changing genres again with his next project, the children's film Lilly The Witch (Hexe Lilli).The $11.7m (Euros 9m) co-production between Munich-based blue eyes fiction, animation and VFX specialist Trixter, Studio Babelsberg and Austria's DOR-Film, ...

  • The Match Factory to handle new Hamer feature

    12-Feb-2007

    Michael Weber's The Match Factory has picked up worldwide rights, excluding Scandinavia and German-speaking territories, to Bent Hamer's latest project O'Horten which began shooting in Norway on January 29. The film, which follows locomotive driver Odd Horten on a fatefully absurd odyssey on his first days of retirement, has actor Bard Owe, internationally known from Lars von Trier's Europa (1991) ...

  • B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings names 12 pitch projects

    11-Feb-2007

    New feature films from Eastern Europe and Central Asia are among 12 projects to be pitched at this year's B2B Belgrade Industry Meetings from March 2-4.They include Branko Schmidt's Metastases (Croatia), Kirill Serebrennikov's Diva(Russia) and Rusudan Chkonia's Keep Smiling! (Georgia).In addition to the public pitchings and one-to-one meetings ...

  • Friend and Barr cast for Russian gangster movie

    11-Feb-2007

    UK actor Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice) and Jean-Marc Barr (Dancer In The Dark) are attached as cast for US writer-director Tony Pemberton's $ 4.5m gangster movie Buddha's Little Finger based on the novel of the same name by Victor Pelewin.The film's Berlin-based producer Rohfilm has brought Mikhail Kalatozov's Kalatozov Fund onboard as Russian partner ...

  • ETF lines up Holland and Nettelback projects

    10-Feb-2007

    Germany's Egoli Tossell Films (ETF) is moving forward fast with new films from Agnieszka Holland and Sandra Nettelback in addition toMichael Hoffman's $20m Tolstoy drama The Last Station to star AnthonyHopkins and Meryl Streep.Holland is directing Peter & Catherine which ETF will co-produce withChris Curling's Zephyr Film. Chloe Sevigny is attached to play thePolish battlefield whore who falls in love ...

  • Germany's Culture Minister bangs local drum at Berlinale opening

    9-Feb-2007

    Germany's State Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann was in a bullish mood at the gala opening ceremony for this year's Berlinale, which opened with La Vie En Rose on Thursday evening.

  • Germany - Majestic bow for a former Senator

    9-Feb-2007

    When former Senator executive Benjamin Herrmann decided to join forces with film financing expert David Groenewold to launch a new producer-distributor Majestic Film into the German marketplace, he was not worried about an overcrowded landscape.

  • Constantin extends pay TV rights deal with Premiere

    8-Feb-2007

    Constantin Film has extended its output deal with German pay TV channel Premiere for rights to its in-house and co-productions by another two years from January 1, 2007 to the end of 2008.

  • Mdc int adds Iszka's Journey, La Antena to Berlinale line-up

    8-Feb-2007

    Berlin-based sales company Mdc int has made two last-minute additions to its line-up for this year's market in Berlin.

  • Nitschke returns to Senator Film

    8-Feb-2007

    Anatol Nitschke, head of distribution at Berlin's X Verleih since 2000, is returning to Senator Film on April 1 to serve as co-managing director of Senator Film Verleih and Senator Home Entertainment along with Peter Heinzemann.Nitschke, who headed Senator Film Verleih between 1999 and 2000, will be responsible for marketing, PR and strategy for the two companies.

  • Warner Bros to release The Red Baron in Germany

    6-Feb-2007

    The German arm of US major Warner Bros has picked up Niki Muellerschoen's $23.3m (Euros 18m) English-language production The Red Baron for release in Germany this autumn.

  • Berlin to host first conference of Mediterranean Euromed Programme

    5-Feb-2007

    Producers, directors and institutions from the Mediterranean countries will be meeting with representatives from Eurimages, CNC, the World Cinema Fund and Europa Cinemas, among others, at the first regional conference of the Euromed Audiovisual II Programme being staged during the Berlinale from Feb 10-11.

  • Walter Salles and John Waters lined up for Berlinale Talent Campus

    2-Feb-2007

    Last year's Golden Bear winner Jasmila Zbanic, directors Walter Salles and John Waters, producer Kees Kasander, and actors Sarah Polley and Gael Garcia Bernal are among 120 international experts speaking at the Berlinale Talent Campus which celebrates its fifth anniversary between Feb 10-15.

  • Filmstiftung NRW backs international co-productions with $14.6m

    1-Feb-2007

    International co-productions by Israel's Amos Gitai, New Zealand's Armagan Ballantyne and Germany's Max Faerberboeck are among 25 projects supported with a total of $14.6m (Euros 11.2m) by Filmstiftung NRW this week.

  • Medienboard backs 11 projects for over $5m

    31-Jan-2007

    The next feature film by actor-producer-director Til Schweiger and a German version of the Emmy-winning BBC film The Girl In The Cafe are among eleven projects awarded over $5m (Euros 4.6m) production funding by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg at its first sitting for 2007.

  • Berlinale Cameras to be awarded to Mina, Meszaros and KINO publishers

    30-Jan-2007

    The Berlinale Camera awards will be presented at this year's festival as part of the Berlinale Special section to Hungary's Marta Meszaros, the Italian documentary filmmaker Gianni Mina, and Dorothea Moritz and Ron Holloway, publishers of KINO German Film.

  • Bavaria Film International to handle Israel's Beaufort

    30-Jan-2007

    Bavaria Film International has taken on international sales for Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar's powerful anti-war statement Beaufort which will have its world premiere in the forthcoming Berlinale's Competition.

  • Berlinale boasts 10% more German titles in programme

    29-Jan-2007

    This year's Berlinale will again serve as platform for films 'made in Germany', with the number of German films (including German majority co-productions) screening in the festival's various sections increasing by 10% over 2005 to 60 films.

  • Swiss launch fund to boost film exports

    28-Jan-2007

    Switzerland's Federal Office of Culture (BAK) has launched a $200,000 (Swiss Francs 250,000) fund to boost the distribution of Swiss films abroad. Speaking at the Solothurn Film Days at the weekend, BAK director Jean-Frederic Jauslin and his film division chief Nicolas Bideau announced that foreign distributors of Swiss films would be able to receive distribution aid of up to Euros 25,000 per film towards the release costs from the new fund.The Swiss ...

  • Berlin completes Panorama line-up of 50 titles

    26-Jan-2007

    The Berlinale's Panorama section has now finalised its line-up, with more than half of its 50 titles being world premieres. Seven are debut features.

  • Bruce McDonald, Jiri Menzel, Paulo Caldas films picked up pre-Berlin

    25-Jan-2007

    International distribution rights to films by Bruce McDonald, Jiri Menzel and Paulo Caldas are among the latest titles picked up by German sales agents ahead of this year's Berlinale and European Film Market (EFM).

  • Five world premieres confirmed forBerlinale Special section

    25-Jan-2007

    New films by the Taviani brothers, Doris Doerrie, Fernando Perez and Timur Bekmambetov are among nine titles now confirmed for the Berlinale Special section of the festival's official programme.

  • Vitus takes Best Film at 10th Swiss Film Awards

    25-Jan-2007

    Vitus was named Best Film at this year's Swiss Film Awards which were presented for the tenth time on Wednesday evening in a gala ceremony at the Solothurn Film Days.

  • Berlinale's new short film programme names 16 competitors

    24-Jan-2007

    The Berlinale's new Short Film Competition has selected 16 films from 12 countries for this year's line-up. The new shorts programme intends to focus more attention on the short format following the merging of the Competition and Panorama short film programmes.

  • Bruce McDonald's new film opens Berlinale's Panorama main programme

    23-Jan-2007

    Bruce McDonald's The Tracey Fragments, which explores a 15-year-old girl's fragmented emotional world, will be the opening film of the Berlinale Panorama's main programme, while the Panorama Special sub-section will open with Japanese master director Yoji Yamada's Love And Honor, the third and final instalment of his samurai trilogy.

  • Berlinale completes Competition with additions including Ozon's Angel

    22-Jan-2007

    The line-up for the Berlinale's Competition has now been finalised with a total of 26 titles, including 19 world premieres, six international premieres and one European Premiere.

  • Grave Decisions and Four Minutes top Bavarian awards

    21-Jan-2007

    Marcus H. Rosenmueller's Bavariancomedy Grave Decisions and Chris Kraus' prison drama Four Minutes werethe big winners at the weekend's Bavarian Film Awards in Munich.

  • Berlinale Forum announces complete programme

    17-Jan-2007

    New films by veteran documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, Germany's Maria Speth and Angela Schanelec, Croatia's Ognen Svilicic, and the UK's Kevin Aduaka are among 25 world premieres being shown in the now finalised Berlinale Forum programme.

  • Telepool boosts sales lineup ahead of Berlinale

    17-Jan-2007

    Munich-based world sales company Telepool has added four new titles to its sales catalogue ahead of Berlin's European Film Market (EFM), including Swiss director Mike Eschmann's youth drama Breakout which is being released by Buena Vista International in Switzerland on January 18.

  • Berlin's market boasts record number of companies and buyers

    17-Jan-2007

    Beki Probst looks set to be able to celebrate her 20th year in the post of market director of the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) by breaking last year's records when the festival launched its new market venue in the Martin Gropius Bau (MGB).

  • Lives Of Others leads German critics award nominations

    16-Jan-2007

    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's European Film Award-winning The Lives Of Others has picked up nominations in seven of the nine categories for the 2006 German Film Critics' Award.

  • Berlinale unveils more world premieres in Competition section

    15-Jan-2007

    Berlinale programmers have now confirmed another eight titles in the official Competition section, including new works by International Jury President Paul Schrader, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Nava and Stefan Ruzowitzky.

  • Berlin announces International Forum films

    13-Jan-2007

    New features by Serbian filmmaker Srdan Golubovic, Malaysia's Amir Muhammad and Germany's Ann-Kristin Reyels will have their world premieres at this year's International Forum of Young Cinema in Berlin. Golubovic's thriller The Trap, his second feature after the outstanding 2001 debut Absolute Hundred, was produced by Belgrade-based Bas Celik with Germany's Mediopolis Film and Hungary's New Budapest ...

  • Berlinale's Generation Kplus to open with The Last Mimzy

    12-Jan-2007

    Generation, the Berlinale's programme for children and young people's films, has set its line-up of 25 feature films, including three world premieres and 10 international premieres, from 22 countries.

  • Groenewold to launch new media fund in Germany

    12-Jan-2007

    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.

  • Paul Schrader to serve as jury president for Berlinale Competition

    11-Jan-2007

    US writer-director Paul Schrader (American Gigolo, Mishima) will head up the seven-person International Jury deciding on the Golden Bear and Silver Bears at next month's Berlinale (Feb 8-18).

  • First Berlinale Panorama titles unveiled

    11-Jan-2007

    New films by Hal Hartley (Fay Grim), Eytan Fox (The Bubble), Korea's Hong Sangsoo (Woman On The Beach), actress Julie Delpy (Two Days in Paris) and actor Antonio Banderas (Summer Rain) are among the titles so far confirmed for more than half of the programme for this year's Panorama at the Berlinale next month.

  • 37 projects selected for Berlinale Co-Production Market

    10-Jan-2007

    New feature film projects by Joe Dante, Reza Bagher, Wang Chao, Srdjan Koljevic, Sarah Polley and Luigi Falorni are among a total of 37 projects selected from 25 countries to be presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market (Feb 11-13) which is now in its fourth year.

  • Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose to open Berlinale

    10-Jan-2007

    The world premiere of Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose will open this year's Berlinale on Feb 8 as part of the Competition section of films vying for the Golden Bear and Silver Bears.

  • Beta Cinema picks up controversial Hitler comedy

    10-Jan-2007

    Beta Cinema has picked up the international sales rights to Dani Levy's hotly debated new comedy Mein Fuehrer - The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler which X Verleih is opening with 250 prints in German cinemas on Jan 11.

  • Big-spending Dubai and Rome festivals under fire from Berlinale

    10-Jan-2007

    New kids on the film festival block such as those in Rome and Dubai have been criticised by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick for 'buying stars with big money' and 'running through Hollywood with a cheque book.'

  • German box-office revived in 2006, led by Fox

    9-Jan-2007

    Germany's box-office fortunes were revived in 2006 after a devastating 2005 with a year-on-year increase in takings of 9.6% and admissions rising by 7.9%, according to figures from Nielsen EDI.

  • Slovenian producers face government funding problems

    29-Dec-2006

    Slovenian producers arefacing a bleak future at home following radical changes in the film supportpolicies at the country's Ministry of Culture.

  • Berlinale selects first six titles for Perspektive Deutsches Kino

    29-Dec-2006

    New films by BastianGuenther, Ben von Grafenstein, and Julia von Heinz are among six titlesconfirmed so far for the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar whichshowcases young and up-and-coming German filmmakers with fresh ideas,approaches and talent.

  • German tax credit approved by Europe

    28-Dec-2006

    Germany'sState Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann has received the green light from theEuropean Commission in Brussels for the new film production incentive scheme tocome into effect as planned on January 1, 2007.Commentingon the Commission's swift processing of the German proposal, Neumann said:'This is a great negotiated success. The path is thereby also prepared nowin Germany for internationally competitive production conditions which arecomparable ...

  • German home entertainment company takes over media fund

    28-Dec-2006

    One of Germany's leading home entertainment companies VCL Film + Medien has taken over the Munich-based media fund Equity Pictures Medienfonds.Throughthe acquisition by its recently established subsidiary, Allied Film Management,VCL will be expanding its activities from the core operations ...

  • Rise in Competition entries gives Berlinale welcome problem

    21-Dec-2006

    The Berlinale's selectors are spoilt for choice for the line-up of the 2007 Competition thanks to the festival's increasing popularity with film-makers from around the globe.

  • Berlin World Cinema Fund receives extra funding

    19-Dec-2006

    The German Federal Culture Foundation has agreed to extend funding for the Berlin-based World Cinema Fund (WCF) for another two years.

  • Senator acquires Weinstein films for Germany

    19-Dec-2006

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment has acquired a package of six films from The Weinstein Company, including the latest films by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.

  • Austria close to double-digit box office bounce back

    17-Dec-2006

    Austriancinemas are set to post an increase of 10-11% in admissions and gross boxoffice this year, according to Kurt Kaufmann of the exhibitors association FLA.

  • German box office heading for 5-10% box-office recovery

    17-Dec-2006

    Germandistributors trade association Verband der Filmverleiher (VdF) is forecastingan increase of between 5-10% for admissions and gross box office in Germancinemas for 2006.

  • Arthur Penn to receive Berlin lifetime honour

    15-Dec-2006

    Veteran American director Arthur Penn will receive a Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at the forthcoming Berlinale (February 8-18, 2007) as part of a 10-film homage being held in his honour during the festival.

  • German funds back new films by Khrzhanovsky, Madsen

    13-Dec-2006

  • Vitus, Grounding and Fraulein up for Swiss awards

    12-Dec-2006

  • German film fund invests $9.3m in co-productions

    11-Dec-2006

    New feature films by Michael Glawogger, Ludi Boeken, Benoit Jacquot, Samuel Maoz and Tom Schreiber are among a raft of international co-productions supported in the latest round of funding by the German regional public fund Filmstiftung NRW, which distributed over $9.3m (Euros 7m) to 29 projects.

  • Estonian films boost local market share

    7-Dec-2006

  • Swiss films local market share hits record 10%

    4-Dec-2006

    2006 isset to be the most successful year ever for Swiss cinema with local films'market share of the box office reaching an all-time high of 10%. This isalmost double last year's figure of 5.85% which had largely been the result ofonly one release - Michael Steiner's family adventure ...

  • Austrian board backs biopic of popstar Falco

    1-Dec-2006

  • Baltic Event to host 12 pitches in Estonia

    29-Nov-2006

    Filmmakers from the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia are to pitch 12 new film projects to potentialpartners at the Baltic Event's second co-production market which will be heldin Tallinn, Estonia, next week (Dec 4-5) during the Black Nights Film Festival.

  • The One And Only takes Mannheim Grand Prix

    27-Nov-2006

  • Sony strikes North American deal for Vitus

    27-Nov-2006

  • German films set new market share record

    23-Nov-2006

    German films have been sosuccessful with domestic cinemagoers this year that the 2006 market share forlocal production has already broken the record 24.5% posted two years ago. According to figurescollated by Nielsen EDI from Jan 2 to Nov 19, German films now have a marketshare ...

  • Apple comes on with Hob for Lukasiak feature

    22-Nov-2006

  • Hitler farce among new projects backed by Germany

    22-Nov-2006

  • German-French funders back projects including new Denis film

    20-Nov-2006

  • Transilvania festival will expand to two cities in 2007

    17-Nov-2006

    Nextyear's Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) will be held in twoRomanian cities - Cluj Napoca and Sibiu - in recognition of the latter's statusas a European Capital of Culture in 2007 along with Luxembourg.Speakingexclusively with ScreenDaily during the Connecting Cottbus market ...

  • Five films share World Cinema Fund awards

    16-Nov-2006

    The Berlin-based World Cinema Fund (WCF) has awarded a total of $288,000 (Euros 225,000) to five film projects from Peru, Chile and Jordan, chosen from 82 projects submitted from 27 countries.

  • Russian feature backed by German regional fund

    16-Nov-2006

    Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky's second feature Dau, which was pitched at last year's Connecting Cottbus market forum, is one of the new feature films to be backed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg in its latest round of funding.

  • Majestic Filmverleih adds two new films to release slate

    14-Nov-2006

    Benjamin Herrmann and David Groenewold's new distribution company Majestic Filmverleih has added Doris Doerrie's Hanami and Alexander Adolph's documentary debut Con Man Confidential (Die Hochstapler) to its release line-up.

  • Croatian film-makers funding set for big boost

    14-Nov-2006

    Financial support for the film industry in Croatia could almost treble from the current amount with the planned creation of a Croatian Centre for Audiovisual Services next year.

  • Cottbus forum to consider 13 film pitches

    13-Nov-2006

    Thirteen projects will be pitched to potential production partners during this week's two-day Connecting Cottbus industry forum (November 16-17) at the FilmFestival Cottbus.

  • Constantin and ProSieben Sat 1 continue output deal

    8-Nov-2006

    Leading German independentdistributor Constantin Film Verleihhas extended its output deal with the ProSiebenSat.1 Group for a further twoyears.

  • Senator ends dispute over X-Filme

    8-Nov-2006

    Producer-distributor Senator Entertainment is to retain its 56.1% interest in the Berlin production house X-Filme Creative Pool after an out-of-court settlement.

  • Odeon gets rights to Fitzek's Die Therapie

    26-Oct-2006

  • Honor De Cavalleria takes Viennale Fipresci prize

    26-Oct-2006

  • EFP plans new film showcase in three cities

    25-Oct-2006

  • Kinowelt acquires producer/distributor Pegasos

    24-Oct-2006

  • Wenders and Tykwer to celebrate 40th Hof Film Days

    24-Oct-2006

    WimWenders, Tom Tykwer and Aki Kaurismaki will be among the film-makerscelebrating the 40th anniversary of the Hof Film Days, which opens today with MarcusH. Rosenmueller's comedy Schwere Jungs.WhileWenders and Tykwer will be coming to Hof for screenings of their films Paris, ...

  • Germany's FFA backs next Glawogger film

    23-Oct-2006

  • Berlinale gets cooking with new culinary cinema sidebar

    23-Oct-2006

    Berlinale festivaldirector Dieter Kosslick is introducing a new film programme of features,documentaries and shorts entitled Look & Cook - Culinary Cinema at the 2007festival. Held at the Wintergartenvariete theatre ten minutes away from Potsdamer Platz, the programme will includescreenings ...

  • New fees and passes planned for Berlin market

    20-Oct-2006

    The organisers of nextyear's European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin (Feb 8-18, 2007) will now be offering film professionals three waysof attending the market.

  • Novkovic wins hat-trick of awards at Cottbus festival

    19-Oct-2006

    Serbiandirector Oleg Novkovic scored a hat-trick at this year's FilmFestival Cottbus(Nov 14-18) when his latest feature Tomorrow Morning (Sutra Ujutru) won the Main Prize for Best Film, the FIPRESCI Prize and thenewly-created From Cottbus to Cinema Distribution Support Prize.

  • Polish Insitute backs new films from Loach and Zelenka

    16-Oct-2006

    Newfeature projects by Ken Loach, Petr Zelenka and Oliver Parker are among sixinternational co-productions supported with a total of $4.1m (Zlotys 12.8m) bythe Polish Film Institute in its latest round of funding. Loach's These Times, which hasproducer-distributor SPIInternational as its Polish ...

  • Warsaw jury goes euphoric for Vyrypaev's debut

    15-Oct-2006

    Russian dramatist Ivan Vyrypaev's feature film debut Euphoria was the winner of the Grand Prix inthe New Films, New Directors competition at this year's Warsaw InternationalFilmFest. Announcing the winner at the awards ceremony on Saturdayevening, jury president ...

  • Wortmann's football doc sets new record in Germany

    13-Oct-2006

    SoenkeWortmann's "fly on the wall" football documentary Deutschland. Ein Sommermaerchen hasbroken Germany's record for the most successful documentary release, which hadbeen held previously by another Kinowelt title, The March Of The Penguins, which hadposted 1.45m admissions. Accordingto ...

  • Wajda starts shoot for Katyn massacre film

    13-Oct-2006

    Veteran Polish director Andrzej Wajda has begunshooting of his long-cherished project PostMortem about the Katyn massacre of 1940 at locations near Krakow.The $5.2m (Zloty 16m) Polish-French co-production byAkson Studio with Margaret Menegoz's Les Films du Losange as minority partnerhas received $1.9m (Zloty ...

  • Margaret von Schiller departs Berlinale Panorama

    10-Oct-2006

    TheBerlinale's Panorama section has announced personnel changes as part of the restructuringof the past few months that has seen the Panorama Short Film programme mergedwith that of the Official Competition.In apersonal communique, Panorama's director Wieland Speck revealed that Margaretvon Schiller, who had become his ...

  • Yacoubian Building wins best debut in Zurich

    9-Oct-2006

  • Yacoubian Building takes Golden Eye at Zurich

    8-Oct-2006

    Egyptian filmmaker Marwan Hamed's The Yacoubian Building (Omaret Yacoubian) won the Golden Eye Award in the best debut category at this year's Zurich Film Festival.

  • Pecs unveils Central European Pitch Forum

    6-Oct-2006

    Screenwriters from Centraland Eastern Europe could have better

  • First sales for Golden Shell winner Half Moon

    5-Oct-2006

    The Match Factory hasconcluded its first deals for Bahman Ghobadi's Golden Shell winner Half Moon, with sales to GolemDistribution (Spain), Providence Filmes (Brazil) and Cinemien (Netherlands,Belgium), while negotiations are underway for the UK, Scandinavian and LatinAmerican territories.In addition to winning theGolden Shell ex ...

  • Franka Potente to play Pope Joan

    5-Oct-2006

    Germany's FrankaPotente is to play the lead in Volker Schloendorff's long-gestating adaptationof Donna Cross' novel Pope Joan.Cross'bestseller tells the story of Johanna von Ingelheim, who succeeded in enteringthe highest ranks of the Roman clergy ...

  • Macedonia set to become Film City

    3-Oct-2006

    Macedonia is to be established as a"one-stop shop" for the digital entertainment industry, according toplans by Collaborative Media Group (CMG) to create the Film City Macedonia with support from theMayor of Skopje, the Government of the Republic ...

  • Bavaria takes on rights to Miguel & William

    29-Sep-2006

    BavariaFilm International has picked up world sales rights outside ofSpain for Spanish director Ines Paris' Miguel & William, about a fictitiousencounter between Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare and their rivalryin love of a beautiful woman.

  • Macedonia submits Kontakt for Oscar race

    26-Sep-2006

  • Switzerland selects Murer's Vitus as Oscar pick

    22-Sep-2006

    Switzerland has chosen its foreign-language Oscar candidate,Fredi M. Murer's Vitus.

  • Filmstiftung NRW backs Loach and Spottiswoode

    21-Sep-2006

    International co-productionslead the line-up of new feature film projects backed in the latest $3.8m (Euros3m) funding round from Duesseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW International.

  • Austria submits You Bet Your Life for Oscar consideration

    21-Sep-2006

    Antonin Svoboda'sdirectorial debut You Bet Your Life(Spiele Leben) has been submittedas Austria's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2007Oscars.Starring Georg Friedrichand Brigitte Minichmayr, You Bet Your Life is the story of a gambler ...

  • Tykwer's Perfume scores more than 1m admissions in Germany

    18-Sep-2006

  • Lives Of Others chosen as German Oscar entry

    18-Sep-2006

    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Stasi thriller TheLives Of Others (Das Leben DerAnderen) has selected by Germany as itssubmission for the Foreign Language Film Oscar next year.Commenting on its decision, the independent expert jurywho made the selection said that von Donnersmarck's ...

  • Berlinale plans shorts, childrens changes in 2007

    11-Sep-2006

    The Berlinale has announced two structural innovations for itsnext edition which will be held from Feb 8-18, 2007.Thefestival's Kinderfilmfest/14plus section will held in future under the name ofGeneration, with the two competitions renamed as Generation Kplusand Generation ...

  • Strand shines on Lights

    8-Sep-2006

    US distributor Strand Releasing has acquired Aki Kaurismaki's latest feature Lights In The Dusk, which premiered at Cannes and screens in Toronto as part of the festival's Masters section.

  • Beta takes on sales for German hit Hui Buh

    6-Sep-2006

    BetaCinema has taken on the international sales for Sebastian Niemann'sfamily entertainment film Hui Buh, which has been seen by 1.8m cinema-goers since Constantin Film released it in Germany in earlyJuly.The story about the lovable, bumbling ...

  • Berlin to launch $3.8m fund for regional films

    31-Aug-2006

  • Berlin to launch $3.8m fund for regional films

    31-Aug-2006

  • German box office up 8.9% over first half of 2005

    31-Aug-2006

  • Bosnia puts forward Grbavica for foreign-language Oscar

    30-Aug-2006

  • Match Factory takes on Half Moon and Takva

    30-Aug-2006

  • Germany's Schlingensief starts feature about Princess Di

    29-Aug-2006

    German"enfant terrible" Christoph Schlingensief has grabbed the headlinesonce again, this time with the announcement that he plans to make a featurefilm about the last hour in the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.

  • Promising Romanian director killed in road crash

    28-Aug-2006

    The Romanian film industry was in shock this weekend on hearing the news that director Cristian Nemescu, one of its most promising young filmmakers, had been killed in a traffic accident in Bucharest early on Friday morning.

  • Tanovic lines up first feature set in his Bosnian homeland

    25-Aug-2006

  • Tanovic lines up first feature shot in his Bosnian homeland

    25-Aug-2006

    Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanovic (No Man's Land) is planning his firstBosnian-shot film.

  • Onoma takes on sales for Ferenc Torok's Overnight

    24-Aug-2006

    French sales company Onoma International has taken on the world sales forHungarian filmmaker Ferenc Torok'snew film Overnight.The project has been shooting in Budapest since July 14 and will be moving to Germany on Aug 30 before a final stage of shooting in Bombay.

  • Beta Cinema on board for Quinn's 32A

    24-Aug-2006

    Germany's BetaCinema has taken on world sales for Marian Quinn's bittersweet comedy 32A which is now in principalphotography in Ireland. The film, about 13-year-old girls in 1979 Dublin, starsthe director's brother Aidan Quinn along with Ailish McCarthy, Orla Brady,Jared Harris, Sophie Jo Wasson, Orla Long and Riona Smith.The$1.9m ...

  • Constantin sales up 25% in first half of 2006

    22-Aug-2006

  • Intertainment settles legal battle with Samaha, Franchise

    22-Aug-2006

    Germanlicence trader Intertainment has settled its longstanding legal battle withElie Samaha, former chief executive of Franchise Pictures, and productioncompany Sidonian Holdings (formerly Glickson Investments International).

  • Match Factory takes on Venice competitor Euphoria

    21-Aug-2006

    Cologne-basedThe Match Factory has picked up world sales rights for the Venice competitiontitle Euphoria by Russian writer-directorIvan Vyrypaev.

  • Deckert gets Swiss documentary Zeit Des Abschieds

    17-Aug-2006

    Deckert Distribution has picked up world rights for Mehdi Sahebi's documentary Zeit Des Abschieds, which had its world premiere in Locarno's Critics Week sidebar last week and won the SRG SSR idee suisse Prize.

  • Locarno gives Golden Leopard to Das Fraeulein

    13-Aug-2006

    AndreaStaka's fiction feature debut Das Fraeulein has become the first Swiss film to win Locarno'sGolden Leopard in more than 20 years, since the top honour went to Fredi M.Murer's Hoehenfeuer in 1985.

  • Frederic Maire already looking forward to 60th Locarno

    11-Aug-2006

    With his firstedition as artistic director coming to a close on Saturday (Aug 12), Locarno's Frederic Maire isalready looking ahead to the festival's 60th anniversary in 2007.

  • La Consultation lands French and Swiss deals at Locarno

    10-Aug-2006

  • Albert drops out of Locarno jury over Fraeulein involvement

    10-Aug-2006

    Austrian filmmaker-producerBarbara Albert has stepped down from Locarno FilmFestival's International Jury "to prevent any discussion about theindependence of the jury" after a local newspaper suspected a cover-up bythe festival about Albert's involvement in the screenplay for Andrea Staka's Das Fraeulein, the only Swiss film in this year's OfficialCompetition.

  • Swiss grants go to projects from Indonesia and Malaysia

    9-Aug-2006

  • Swiss cinema market share grows to 18%

    8-Aug-2006

    A current wave of local box-office successes provided a welcome stimulantfor Locarno Film Festival's first Day of SwissCinema, which is being held today. Accompanied by Jean-Frederic Jauslin,the head of the Federal Office for Culture (BAK), and the Film Section chiefNicolas Bideau,Switzerland's Interior ...

  • European partners start new initiative for minority film-makers

    7-Aug-2006

    The Locarno Film Festival has joined France's CNC, theUK's British Council, bfm International Film Festival, Screen East andGermany's Goethe Institut among the initial partners for a new European film developmentinitiative, Babylon. Fiona Howe and Gareth Jones of the UK production houseScenario Films and Thierry Lenouvel of France's Cine-Sud Promotion unveiled theinitative in Locarno this weekend. ...

  • Carla's List has buying buzz ahead of Locarno premiere

    7-Aug-2006

    Swissdirector Marcel Schuepbach's documentary Carla's List about the work of Carla Del Ponte, the prosecutor ofthe International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), wascreating a buzz among international buyers ahead of its world premiere at theweekend ...

  • Locarno pays tribute to late Daniel Schmid

    7-Aug-2006

    TheSwiss filmmaking community is in mourning after the news at the weekend of thedeath of one of its internationally best-known filmmakers Daniel Schmid at theage of 64 from cancer.

  • Mike Eschmann stars shooting $4.9m Tell

    7-Aug-2006

    Swissdirector Mike Eschmann, whose last comedy Achtung, Fertig, Charlie! is the most successfullocal film of the past 25 years, begins shooting his next feature Tell, a parody of the Swissnational hero Wilhelm Tell, in the Bernese Alps from today (Aug 7).

  • Bavaria boards new films by Randau and Thalheim

    4-Aug-2006

    Secondfeature films by award-winning filmmakers Felix Randauand Robert Thalheim have been picked up at productionstage for world sales by Bavaria Film International.

  • Swiss study finds more funding but lack of box-office success

    3-Aug-2006

  • Schloendorff plans Kazakhstan shoot for Ulzhan

    2-Aug-2006

  • X Filme launches unit for international co-productions

    1-Aug-2006

    Berlinproduction powerhouse X Filme creative pool, whoserecent international production credits include Maria Schrader's Love Life and BilleAugust's Goodbye Bafana,has launched a subsidiary company X FilmeInternational to concentrate on the production of one to two internationalco-productions per year for the global market.

  • Locarno president talks of 'budgetary worries'

    30-Jul-2006

    On the eve of this year'sLocarno International Film Festival, which will open on Wednesday (August 2)with Michael Mann's Miami Vice,the festival's president Marco Solari has spoken out about the financialchallenges facing Locarno for this year and for the future.

  • Lionsgate takes US and UK rights to Blood Trails

    27-Jul-2006

    Lionsgate Films has picked up the German horror film Blood Trails by Robert Krause for distribution in the US and UK in the first quarter of 2007.

  • Sarajevo's CineLink partners with The Netherlands

    25-Jul-2006

    TheNetherlands will be the countrypartner of Sarajevo's CineLink(August 23-27) after the co-production market's previous collaborations with Austria in 2004 and Germany in 2005.

  • Locarno drops Israeli sponsor in bombings protest

    23-Jul-2006

    As aresponse to Israel's bombing of Lebanon, the Locarno International Film Festivalhas decided to drop the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as one of thesponsors of this year's Leopards of Tomorrow sidebar.

  • Gravehopping takes best film at European Film Festival

    21-Jul-2006

    Slovenian director JanCvitkovic's Gravehopping (Odgrobadogroba) took home the Golden TowerAward for best film in the main programme of the 13th European Film Festival inPalic (July 15-21).

  • Locarno buyers grow to 150 from 28 countries

    20-Jul-2006

    Distributors from the UK, US, Russia, Spain and Romania are among theincreased numbers of internationalbuyers attending this year's Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).

  • Hermann and Groenewold launch new producer-distributor

    18-Jul-2006

  • Locarno plans collaboration with Buenos Aires Lab

    18-Jul-2006

    Next month's Locarno International Film Festival hasforged a new collaboration with the Buenos Aires Lab (BAL), theLatin American co-production market for independent cinema within the frameworkof the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival and TyPA (Teoria y Practica delas Artes), to allow selected filmmakers and producers from Latin America ...

  • Heimat Fragments expected to premiere in Venice

    17-Jul-2006

    Veteran Germandirector Edgar Reitz's fourth Heimat film, Heimat Fragments (Heimat Fragmente), isexpected to have its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival.This willcontinue a tradition which saw Reitz's ground-breaking first Heimat premierein Venice in 1984, ...

  • German co-producer required for tax scheme, says fund chief

    17-Jul-2006

    Non-German producers are likely to need a local partner if they want to benefit from the tax rebate to be introduced in Germany next year.

  • German co-producer required for tax scheme, says fund chief

    17-Jul-2006

    Non-German producers are likely to need a local partner if they want to benefit from the tax rebate to be introduced in Germany next year.

  • German co-producer required for tax scheme, says fund chief

    16-Jul-2006

    Non-German producers are likely to need a local partner if they want to benefit from the tax rebate to be introduced in Germany next year.

  • Ascot Elite acquires six new films

    14-Jul-2006

  • German funds back new initiatives for Eastern Europe

    11-Jul-2006

  • Germany's Senator to diversify business

    7-Jul-2006

    Therevamped German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment will be developedinto integrated media company, new CEO Helge Sasse said.

  • Five shorts up for Europe's Cartoon d'Or

    7-Jul-2006

    UK animator Joanna Quinn's short Dreams & Desires - Family Ties,which won prizes at the Annecy and Zagreb animation festivalslast month, is among five European shorts nominated for the Cartoon d'Or. The awards recognise the work of new talents in theEuropean animation industry.

  • German regional funds back new films from Ben Hopkins and Marc Rothemund

    6-Jul-2006

  • German government agrees tax break

    5-Jul-2006

    The German government has agreed a tax rebate model for the film industry following on the lines of the new UK scheme to come into effect from January 1, 2007.

  • Grosch leaves beleaguered German fund VIP

    30-Jun-2006

    The beleaguered German private media fund VIP Medienfondshas been dealt another blow with the news of the sudden exit of managingdirector Andy Grosch. VIP's operations will now be managed solely by Dirk Spechtwho had been brought in this March to take over responsibility ...

  • Munich Previews to draw 50 international buyers

    30-Jun-2006

  • Mueller tapped to head production at Senator

    28-Jun-2006

  • Justus von Dohnanyi makes directorial debut with Hartz 4.2

    28-Jun-2006

  • German-French funders back films by Jacquot and de Chalonge

    27-Jun-2006

    Newfeature films by Benoit Jacquot and Christian de Chalonge are among four projects backed with a total of $1.4m(Euros 1.1m) by the German-French Funding Commission which is administered bythe German Federal Film Board (FFA) and France's CNC to promoteco-production between the two countries.

  • Germany's Splendid Film revives theatrical business

    27-Jun-2006

  • Berlin's World Cinema Fund backs five new projects

    26-Jun-2006

  • Private investors fund new $22.6m The Red Baron

    26-Jun-2006

    Germany's most expensive new production in 2006, Niki Muellerschoen's $22.6m (Euros 18m) English-language production The Red Baron (Der Rote Baron), begins principal photography on July 3 in Prague as a 100% privately financed project.

  • Locarno to show Veronica Chen's Aguas Argentinas

    26-Jun-2006

    Withless than six weeks to go before the launch of his first Locarno as artistic director onAugust 2, Frederic Maire has spoken toScreenDaily.com about the preparations for the 59th edition of the festival ashis programme shapes up.

  • Uwe Boll's Boll AG starts trading on Frankfurt Exchange

    22-Jun-2006

  • Locarno opens doors to 11 projects from Southeast Asia

    22-Jun-2006

  • German federal states support new tax rebate model

    21-Jun-2006

  • Egoli Tossell gears up for bigger English-language films

    20-Jun-2006

  • Steinbichler's Winter Journey to open Munich Filmfest

    19-Jun-2006

  • EFP adds four more European films to New York screenings

    19-Jun-2006

    Another four new European films will be shown to select US buyers, festival scouts and important cinema programmers in European Film Promotion's (EFP) third Industry Screenings in New York.

  • Turkish distributor embarks on Winter Journey

    19-Jun-2006

    Turkish producer-distributor Limon Program Yapim Tanitim has picked up Hans Steinbichler's second feature film (Winter Journey (Winterreise) which will have its world premiere in the International Competition of the forthcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

  • Belgrade plans three regional pitching prizes

    15-Jun-2006

    TheBelgrade International Film Festival (also known as FEST) will award threeprizes for the best pitches made at the second "B2B" IndustryMeetings to be held from March 2-4 next year.

  • Locarno taps jury for Filmmakers of the Present

    14-Jun-2006

  • Kinotavr honours Serebrennikov's Playing The Victim

    13-Jun-2006

  • Christmas comes early for mdc

    9-Jun-2006

    mdc Internationalhas taken on the international distribution for the Bulgarian-Germanco-production Christmas Tree Upside Down,which will have its world premiere in official competition at the forthcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

  • Inaugural St Petersburg Film Festival cancelled

    8-Jun-2006

    The St Petersburg International Film Festival -- which was due to beheld for the first time from July 18-31 in the historical Russian city -- willnot now go ahead after all.

  • Kinowelt books strong sales at Cannes

    5-Jun-2006

  • Beta does brisk sales for The Lives Of Others

    31-May-2006

  • EEAP's Cannes buys include Saw III and My Blueberry Nights

    30-May-2006

    Berlin-based EasternEuropean Acquisition Pool (EEAP) went on a shopping spree at last week's CannesFilm Market, picking up titles from Lionsgate, 2929Entertainment, Studio Canaland Darclight for East European territories.

  • Cannes selections top BFI festival sales

    29-May-2006

    BavariaFilm International (BFI) finished this year's Cannes by announcing numeroussales for Stefan Krohmer's Directors' Fortnight film Summer '04and Norwegian Jens Lien's International Critics' Week title The BothersomeMan.

  • Maria Koepf to leave X-Filme to set up own company

    18-May-2006

  • Germany's FFA awards $4m to new projects

    16-May-2006

    Sequels of this year's local box-office hits Wild Soccer Bunch 3 and WildChicks are among eight projects backed with more than $3.97m (Euros 3.1m)production funding by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) at its latestsitting.

  • Alonso and Musaluppi recruited for Locarno juries

    15-May-2006

    Leadingfigures from the New Argentine Cinema have been invited to serve on new jurieswhich are being established at this year's LocarnoFilm Festival under the new artistic director Frederic Maire.

  • Stasi thriller takes seven Lolas at German Film Awards

    14-May-2006

    FlorianHenckel von Donnersmarck's The Lives Of Others (Das Leben Der Anderen)was the big winner at this year's German Film Awards in Berlin.The ...

  • Germany's Beta and Telepool add to Cannes lineups

    11-May-2006

    Germansales companies are busy adding new titles to their sales lineupsa week before the beginning of this year's Cannes Market.

  • German director Uwe Boll plans to take Boll AG public

    9-May-2006

    Onthe eve of this year's Cannes Film Market, German film director/media fundmanager Uwe Boll has unveiled plans for his group ofcompanies under the mantle of Boll AG to be listed in the Frankfurt StockExchange's Entry Standard before the summer.

  • Sokurov to receive Locarno's Leopard of Honour

    8-May-2006

    Locarno Film Festival's Leopard of Honour will be awarded inthe first edition under the new artistic director Frederic Maireto the Russian master Alexander Sokurov.

  • Munich to honour Makhmalbafs, Figgis and Levinson

    5-May-2006

    Thisyear's Munich Film Festival will be dedicating its retrospective to the Makhmalbaf family and a tribute to UK filmmaker Mike Figgis, while the 2006 CineMeritAward for his services to cinema will be presented to veteran US director BarryLevinson.

  • Bavaria takes on sales for Norwegian Critics' Week feature The Bothersome Man

    4-May-2006

  • German cinema admisions up 18% over last year

    4-May-2006

    Germanexhibitors are on the rebound as cinemas reported a 17.89% year-on-yearincrease in admissions and 18.08% rise in box-office takings for the first fourmonths of 2006.

  • Ascot Elite picks up German-language rights to thriller Unknown

    4-May-2006

  • Beta Cinema to handle sales on Falorni feature debut

    3-May-2006

    Beta Cinema hastaken on international sales on Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Luigi Falorni's fiction feature debut Heart Of Fire based on SenaitMehari's international bestseller of the same name.

  • Klooss joins Constantin Film's production team

    2-May-2006

    Reinhard Klooss has joined Constantin Film's production team with a brief to developprojects in the area of family entertainment with a focus on CGI animated feature films.

  • Germans dominate at Austrian and Swiss festivals

    1-May-2006

    Germanfilms were the major winners at the Crossing Europe Film Festival, and the Visionsdu Reel Documentary Film Festival at the weekend.IsabelleStever's ...

  • Media Luna adds six new films to Cannes sales slate

    28-Apr-2006

    TheCritics' Week title pingpong,director Matthias Luthardt's feature film debut, isone of six new titles acquired by Cologne-based Media Luna Entertainment forits Cannes sales line-up this year.

  • Bavaria sells Into Great Silence to four more territories

    27-Apr-2006

  • German media funds lobby for access to private capital

    27-Apr-2006

    The German mediafund lobby group Bundesverband PrivatkapitalFilm & Medien (BPFM) has entered the debate onthe future of film financing in Germany as the Angela Merkel administrationprepares to unveil a new financial instrument by July 1.

  • Innsbruck festival honours Tunisian director

    26-Apr-2006

    TheInnsbruck International Film Festival (May 23-28) will be celebrating its 15thyear with a retrospective and exhibition dedicated to the Tunisian directorNacer Khemir, whose latest film Bab' Azizwill open the festival on May 23.

  • MD Herrmann leaves Senator in management shake-up

    26-Apr-2006

    BenjaminHerrmann, managing director of Senator Entertainment's production anddistribution divisions, is leaving the company "by mutual agreement"on April 30 as part of the group's ongoing management restructuring.

  • Swiss hand out $3.6m reward for local film successes

    25-Apr-2006

    Zurich-basedproduction house Dschoint Ventschr and distributor Frenetic Films were theleading beneficiaries when Switzerland's Federal Office for Culture (BAK) paidout $3.6m (4.6m Swiss Francs) "reference" funding to producers,distributors and exhibitors of successful Swiss films in 2005.

  • SquareOne adds five genre films to theatrical slate

    23-Apr-2006

    German independent distributor SquareOne Entertainment hasacquired five new high-profile films to boost its theatrical slate:

  • Ten new directors to compete at Crossing Europe festival

    20-Apr-2006

    GoEast'smain prize-winner Tbilisi Tbilisi by Georgian filmmaker Levan Zakareishvili isamong 10 debuts or second films by promising new directors selected for thisyear's European Competition at the Crossing Europe Film Festival in Austria'sLinz (April 25-30).

  • German media fund acquires Odeon Film

    17-Apr-2006

    German private media fund GFP Medienfonds has taken a majority stake in the Munich-based TV/film producer Odeon Film.Aninvestment division of the GFP II and GFP III funds acquired the 53.66%shareholding held in Odeon Film until now by the Bavaria Film Group "afterseveral months and long negotiations", ...

  • Karlovy Vary creates CenEast Film Event

    13-Apr-2006

    The latest films fromCentral and Eastern Europe are set to have a new promotional platform at thisyear's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 30 - July 8) with thecreation of the CenEast Film Event.

  • Germany gets first download-to-own service

    12-Apr-2006

    Warner Bros Entertainment and arvatomobile have joined forces to launch in2movies, the first German-languagedownload-to-own platform, for TV series and feature films, simultaneously withtheir release on DVD.The user canchoose from such blockbusters as Harry Potter ...

  • Tbilisi-Tbilisi takes top prize at GoEast Festival

    11-Apr-2006

    Georgian filmmaker Levan Zakareishvili's Tbilisi-Tbilisi, a portrait of harsheveryday life in his nation's capital, was the surprise winner of the GoldenLily award for best film at this year's goEastFestival of Central and East European Cinema, which came to a close on Tuesdayevening in Wiesbaden.The ...

  • Bosnia plans more support for regional films

    11-Apr-2006

    Bosnia and Herzegovina'snational Fund for Cinematography has reserved $242,250 (Euros 200,000) of its $908,437(Euros 750,000) annual budget to support regional co-productions.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com at this week's goEastFestival, Sarajevo Film Festival director Mirsad Purivatra described ...

  • Board shifts at Germany's Senator Entertainment

    11-Apr-2006

  • Vanessa Redgrave to head Sarajevo's new documentary jury

    10-Apr-2006

  • MDM backs projects from Kirghizia and Georgia

    10-Apr-2006

    Newfeature films from Georgia and Kirghizia are among 16 projectsbacked with a total of more than $3.15m (Euros 2.6m) by the Leipzig-basedregional film fund MDM in its latest round offunding.

  • Fox Germany signs five-film deal with Claussen & Woebke

    6-Apr-2006

    TwentiethCentury Fox of Germany has signed a multi-picture deal with Munich-basedproduction house Claussen & Woebke Filmproduktion covering all film rightsfor five feature films in the next three years as well as further projects thatare yet to be developed.

  • Hamburg Film Fund gives $3.1m to seven new projects

    6-Apr-2006

    The Hamburg Film Fund has awarded$3.1m (Euros 2.5m) in production support to seven projects including newfeature films by Fatih Akin, Peter Timm, Detlev Buck and Nicolette Krebitz.

  • Nyon documentary festival adds pitching forum

    5-Apr-2006

    The Visions du Reel International Documentary Festival (April 24-29) inNyon, Switzerland, has joined forces with theEuropean Documentary Network to stage its first pitching forum aimed atcreative documentaries focusing on an artistic visual approach.

  • Filmstiftung NRW puts $3.64m into six new films

    4-Apr-2006

    New projects by Rolf Schuebel, Fatih Akin, Ulla Wagner, and Tony Loeser are among six feature films awarded more than $3.64m (Euros 3m) by North Rhine-Westphalia's regional film fund Filmstiftung NRW at its latest funding session.

  • Fewer sections and films planned for Locarno 2006

    4-Apr-2006

    This year's edition of the Locarno International Film Festival (August 2-12, 2006) will jettison two sections and show fewer films, the festival's annual meeting was told in Locarno on Monday evening.

  • Senator upbeat after end of insolvency crisis

    3-Apr-2006

    SenatorEntertainment's CEO Christopher Borgmann has struck an upbeat note on the Berlin-based producer-distributor's future afterthe company was officially withdrawn from insolvency proceedings.

  • Theatrical drives big leap in Kinowelt profits

    3-Apr-2006

    Theresurrected Kinowelt Group trebled its year-on-year annual profits to $4.3m (Euros3.6m) on revenues of $95.1m (Euros 78.5m), up 41%TheLeipzig-based ...

  • Constantin receives $4.2m from German Federal Film Board

    31-Mar-2006

    Constantin Film has been named the most successful Germanproducer and distributor of 2005 after picking up a total of $4.2m (Euros 3.5m)retroactive "reference funding" from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) to invest in new filmprojects and distribution campaigns.

  • Constantin Film sets itself a sales target of $302m for 2006

    30-Mar-2006

    Germanproducer-distributor Constantin Film has set itself asales target of $302m (Euros 250m) for 2006, which would top the $298m (Euros 246.9m)posted in the record yearof 2004 when Constantin released Dreamship Surprise - Period 1 and Downfall.

  • VIP investors file for damages estimated at $30m

    30-Mar-2006

    More than 200investors in the beleaguered VIP 3 and 4 private media funds have become the first to file fordamages.

  • Russian and Polish films are the focus of goEast festival

    29-Mar-2006

    Filmmakingfrom Russia and Poland will be the focus of this year's goEast- Festival of Central and East European Cinema in Wiesbaden (April 5-11).

  • First Danish-Austrian co-productions unveiled

    28-Mar-2006

    ZentropaEntertainments and DOR-Film are to be partners on the first ever Danish-Austrianco-production with Jacob Thuesen's Erik Nietzsche - The Early Years. Thisalso marks the first collaboration between national public funds the DanishFilm Institute (DFI) and the Austrian Film Institute who are backing theproject that previously had Lone Scherfig attached asdirector.

  • German Federal Film Board backs 11 projects with over $5.7m

    28-Mar-2006

    Newfeature films by Marco Kreuzpaintner, Fatih Akin, Peter Timm and Ben Verbong are among 11 projects backed with over $5.7m (Euros4.8m) by the German Federal Film Board in its latest funding session.

  • Haneke adds Austrian prize to list of honours

    27-Mar-2006

    Michael Haneke's drama Hidden(Cache) took the Diagonale GrandPrix for best Austrian feature film 2005/2006at this year's annual celebration of Austrian cinema in Graz.

  • Crossing Europe Film Festival launches Austrian Screenings

    24-Mar-2006

    This year's CrossingEurope Film Festival in Linz (April 25 - 30) is launching the AustrianScreenings to give international film festival programmers and buyers theopportunity to view new Austrian films.The Screenings programme,which has been compiled in collaboration with the Austrian Film Commission, ...

  • Nominations announced for German Film Awards

    23-Mar-2006

    Florian Henckelvon Donnersmarck's feature debut Das Leben Der Anderenand Hans-Christian Schmid's Berlinalecompetition film Requiem dominatedthe nominations for this year's"Lola" German Film Awards which will be presented in Berlinon May 12.

  • Haneke slams Austrian producer's body funding plans

    23-Mar-2006

    Austria's leadinginternational filmmaker Michael Haneke (Hidden)has spoken out against proposals by the Austrian Producers Association toconcentrate public film funding on the makers of commercially successful films.Speaking at the first offour roundtables on the state of Austrian film production ...

  • German producers look to the Balkans for success

    22-Mar-2006

    Champagnecorks may have popped in Sarajevo after Jasmila Zbanic's debut feature Grbavicawon the Golden Bear at last month's Berlinale - but celebrationswere not confined to Bosnia and Herzegovina.Therewas also cause for jubilation in Germany: Didi Danquart's Karlsruhe-based noirfilm was one of the co-producers, along with Austria'scoop99, Zbanic's own company Deblokadaand Croatia's Jadran ...

  • Garpastum picks up best film at Sofia Film Festival

    20-Mar-2006

    AlekseiGerman Jr.'s story of four friends on the eve of theFirst World War Garpastumwon the Stella Artois Grand Prix for Best Film at theSofia International Film Festival 10th anniversary edition which ended on March18.

  • Strong documentary presence at Diagonale

    19-Mar-2006

    The documentary genre willbe particularly strong at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinemawhich is being opened in Graz on March 21 with FlorianFlicker's No Name City about a WildWest town theme park south of Vienna.Among the 22 newdocumentaries selected to screen are Elisabeth ...

  • Sofia Meetings co-production forum unveils line-up

    14-Mar-2006

    Tensecond feature film projects have been selected for this year's third editionof the Sofia Meetings co-production forum (March 17-18).

  • Aardman's double triumph at European animation awards

    13-Mar-2006

    TheUK's Aardman Animations scored a double triumph by taking home two of theCartoon Movie Tributes voted on by representatives of the European animationindustry attending this year's co-production forum at the Babelsberg Studiosfrom March 9-11.

  • Eurimages puts more than $4.2m into nine projects

    13-Mar-2006

    Strasbourg-based pan-European co-production fund Eurimages has backed nineprojects with more than $4.2m (Euros 3.6m).

  • Vienna Film Fund puts $1.6m into 10 projects

    10-Mar-2006

    New featurefilms by Antonin Svoboda, Michael Glawogger,and Rupert Henning are among 10 projects awarded over $1.6m (Euros 1.4m) bythe Vienna Film Fund.

  • Brisk sales continue for Golden Bear winner Grbavica

    8-Mar-2006

    Michael Weber's salesoutfit The Match Factory has closed a raft of deals for Jasmila Zbanic's GoldenBear winning Bosnian drama Grbavica in addition to previous sales to Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

  • Dardenne brothers' The Child to open Sofia Film Festival

    8-Mar-2006

    The Dardenne brothers' Golden Palm winner The Child will open the 10th anniversary edition of the SofiaInternational Film Festival (SIFF) on March 9.

  • Intertainment founder resigns from supervisory board

    7-Mar-2006

    Ruediger "Barry" Baeres,the founder of beleaguered German licence trader/producer Intertainment,has stepped down from his position as chairman of the company's supervisoryboard "for personal reasons" "with immediate effect."

  • Constantin subsidiary acquires rights to children's book

    3-Mar-2006

    Just aweek after acquiring the film rights to Michael Ende'sJim Button children's classic for anEnglish language screen adaptation German producer Christian Becker has nowbought the rights to the late Max von der Gruen's 1976 children's book, The Suburban Crocodiles (Die Vorstadtkrokodile).

  • Senator Films looks set to pull cannibal film

    3-Mar-2006

    German distributor Senator Film looks set to pull its March 9 release of Butterfly -A Grimm Love Story (Rohtenburg), after a court in Kassel granted Armin Meiwes a temporary injunction on Friday preventing the film being shown on German screens.

  • Stefan Ruzowitzky's new feature to shoot at Babelsberg

    3-Mar-2006

    Another film about eventsfrom the Second World War will use sound stages at Studio Babelsbergonly three months after shooting wrapped on Paul Verhoevens Black Book just before Christmas.

  • Bavarian fund backs family entertainment and Wixxer sequel

    28-Feb-2006

    Three familyfilms and a sequel to the 2004 box office hit Der Wixxer are among seven feature projects awarded over $4.8m (Euros4.1m) by Bavaria's regional film fund FFF Bayernat its latest sitting.

  • Aardman director duo nominated for Cartoon Movie Tributes

    27-Feb-2006

    Directorialduo Nick Park and Steve Box, the UK's Aardmananimation studios behind their Wallace& Gromit: The Curse Of TheWere-Rabbit, and Italian distributor Mikado Film are among the nominees forthis year's Cartoon Movie Tributes which will be announced at the eighthedition of the Cartoon Movie co-production market at the BabelsbergStudios in Potsdam from March 9-11.

  • Rat Pack plans English-language family film based on bestseller

    23-Feb-2006

    ConstantinFilm subsidiary Rat Pack Filmproduktion has secured the film rights to thefamily bestseller Jim Button And Luke TheEngine Driver for an English language adaptation aimed at the internationalmarket.

  • Golden Bear winner finds more buyers

    22-Feb-2006

    Jasmila Zbanic's Golden Bear winner Grbavica has been picked up byVentura Film for theatrical release in Germany later this year, while Switzerland's Trigon-Filmplans to release the mother-daughter drama in the aftermath of the Bosnian warthis autumn.

  • Germans join forces for $47.7m English-language slate

    21-Feb-2006

    Production outfit Schmidtz KatzeFilmkollektiv and the Berlin-based developmentcompany mediacontentfactory (mcf)have joined forces to initiate a $47.7m (Euros 40m) slate of English-languagegenre films for the international market.

  • Kosslick delight at record-breaking Berlinale

    20-Feb-2006

    "Spectacularlyunspectacular" is Dieter Kosslick's personal verdict on the fifthBerlinale under his direction which came to end this weekend with the awardingof the Golden Bear to Bosnian film-maker Jasmila Zbanic for Grbavica.

  • Mockert steps down as head of German media fund MBP

    20-Feb-2006

    Rainer Mockert has stepped down from the German private media fund MBP which he founded in 1999 and has handed over management of the MBP KG I and MBP KG II funds to financing expert Kai Grueneke.

  • Bosnian war drama takes Golden Bear at Berlin

    18-Feb-2006

    Sarajevofilmmaker Jasmila Zbanic's won year's Golden Bear for her moving feature debut Grbavicaabout the traumas of war as a mother and daughter try to come to terms with thelegacy of the Bosnian conflict.

  • Bosnian war drama takes Golden Bear at Berlin

    18-Feb-2006

    Sarajevofilmmaker Jasmila Zbanic's won year's Golden Bear for her moving feature debut Grbavicaabout the traumas of war as a mother and daughter try to come to terms with thelegacy of the Bosnian conflict.

  • Berlinale 2006 prize-winners

    18-Feb-2006

    BERLINALE2006 PRIZE-WINNERS

  • Auret and Thoke launch Roughdiamond

    15-Feb-2006

    Former Sithengi Film & TVMarket CEO Michael Auret and German producer Christoph Thoke have launched Roughdiamond films as a South African-based internationalfinancing and production outfit.

  • Jansen's Recipe wins Talent Highlight Pitch Award

    15-Feb-2006

    The Netherlands'Rinkel Film & TV will be joining forces withHamburg-based Neue Impulsto produce writer-director Melinda Jansen's ARecipe For Hendrik Hadders, which won the Talent Highlight Pitch Award2006 at Berlinale's Talent Project Market.

  • Polaris Production & Finance to produce two Delpy films

    15-Feb-2006

    Julie Delpy's production companyStar 69 has joined forces with the new Paris-based outfit Polaris Production& Finance to produce two feature projects this year.

  • Producer Alan Greenspan forms alliance with SHIP

    14-Feb-2006

    In an attempt to kick-start its English-language ambitions,Studio Hamburg International Production (SHIP) has entered an alliance withLA-based producer Alan Greenspan.

  • Roginas to head St Petersburg Film Festival

    14-Feb-2006

    Ex-Eurimages executive secretary RenateRoginas has been named Artistic Director for the first St. Petersburg InternationalFilm Festival in July.

  • VCL and 3Rosen on a Promise with Warner Bros

    12-Feb-2006

    ChenKaige's The Promise, which screened at the Berlinale last week, will be one of the firsttitles to be released theatrically in Germany as part of a new venture betweenDatty Ruth's VCL Film + Medien and the 3Rosen Filmverleih.

  • Germany's ProSieben signs US cable carrying deal with Comcast

    11-Feb-2006

    The international German-language pay channel ProSiebenSat.1 Welt hassigned a deal with the Comcast Corporation's International Networks to bedistributed to subscribers via cable and DSL in the US.The channel, whose schedules include the programming highlights from thenetworks ...

  • Kinowelt resurrects Arthaus theatrical distribution label

    9-Feb-2006

    Germany's KinoweltFilmverleih has resurrected its Arthaus label for the theatrical release of arthousetitles.

  • Constantin announces five pick-ups on eve of Berlin

    8-Feb-2006

    Mel Gibson's new historical epic Apocalypto and the thirdpart in the Asterix franchise, Asterix At The Olympic Games, are among fivepotential blockbusters acquired by German distributor Constantin Film on theeve of this year's Berlinale.Constantin, which previously handled Gibson's The ...

  • Peckinpah's Pat Garrett to close Berlin

    30-Jan-2006

    Thedirector's cut of Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy TheKid willclose this year's Berlinale on February 18.

  • Berlinale announces final sidebar entries

    25-Jan-2006

    Newfilms by Lukas Moodysson, Christian Vincent, AnnetteK. Olesen, and Romuald Karmakar are among the final titles to be confirmed for theline-up of the Berlinale's Panorama whose mainprogramme will be opened by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe'sBrothers Of TheHead about young Siamese twins who appeared on the punk rock scene in the1970s.

  • Luxembourg and Austria sign co-production treaty

    24-Jan-2006

    Collaborationbetween the Austrian and Luxembourg film and televisionindustries has been given amajor boost with the signing of aco-production treaty between the two countries.

  • Berlinale Forum list is finalised

    20-Jan-2006

    Originalityand innovative strength are the keywords at this year's edition of the Berlinale's Forum programme which will focus on directorialdebuts by young filmmakers.

  • Berlinale Forum list is finalised

    20-Jan-2006

  • Bavaria Film International adds to sales slate

    20-Jan-2006

    Bavaria Film International has added five new Germanlanguage titles to its sales slate, all of which will be having their worldpremieres at the Berlin filmfestival next month.

  • Eugen wins Best Film at Swiss Film Awards

    19-Jan-2006

    Last year's local blockbuster, Michael Steiner's My Name Is Eugen(Mein Name IstEugen) was named Best Film at the 2006 Swiss FilmAwards ceremony in Solothurn on Wednesday evening.

  • Berlin's Co-Production Market line-up confirmed

    16-Jan-2006

    This year's Berlinale Co-ProductionMarket will feature 44 projects from 24 countries, including three projects from the forthcoming CineMart in Rotterdam.

  • Debut director is feted at the Bavarian Film Awards

    13-Jan-2006

    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's feature debut Das Leben Der Anderen was the big winner at the weekend's BavarianFilm Awards taking home prizes in four categories.

  • German box office takings fall by 18.1%

    9-Jan-2006

    Germancinemas saw takings fall year-on-year by 18.1% and admissions by 20.4% in 2005,according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI for January 3 2005 to January 1 2006.Box-officerevenues amounted to ...

  • Berlinale Co-Production Market entries leap 25%

    2-Jan-2006

    Thenumber of entries for this year's Berlinale Co-Production Market (BCM) is up 25%on 2005.Morethan ...

  • Cattaneo film will open Berlinale Kinderfilmfest

    1-Jan-2006

    The Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest will be opened with the international premiere of Peter Cattaneo's new film Opal Dream about a girl whose lively imaginary friends become a real threat to her family in the Australian outback.

  • Intermedia signs video deal with Warner Home Video

    29-Dec-2005

    Internationalmedia's subsidiary Intermedia Film Distribution has signed a 10-year exclusive distribution deal with Warner Home Video (WHV) for titles from its film library.

  • Berlin reveals first Competition titles

    20-Dec-2005

    New films by Terrence Malick, Chen Kaige and Oskar Roehler are among the first nine titles confirmed for the Berlin Film Festival next February.

  • European Film Market to open second 'spillover' site

    20-Dec-2005

    The European Film Market's move to a new venue - The Martin-Gropius-Bau - in February has been over-subscribed, resulting in a market 50 percent bigger than 2005 and prompting EFM organisers to open a 'spillover' venue for 40 companies.

  • EFM 2006 will be 50% larger than 2005

    20-Dec-2005

    EFM director Beki Probst revealed that due to the large demand from

  • Film bodies fear EU budget plans could damage MEDIA Programme

    20-Dec-2005

    Film industry bodies claim the European Union MEDIA Programme's work could be damaged by reductions in spending on culture after 2006.

  • Solothurn Film Days to show Maximilian Schell retrospective

    19-Dec-2005

    Stina Werenfels' feature debut Nachbeben willopen the Solothurn Film Days (January 16-22, 2006), the Swiss film community's annualget-together to showcase production by its filmmakers working at home andabroad.

  • 3 Degrees Colder producer launches distribution arm

    19-Dec-2005

    blue eyes Fiction, the producer of FlorianHoffmeister's 3Degrees Colder (3 Grad Kaelter), has launched anin-house theatrical arm blue eyes Pictures to release the Silver Leopard-winnerin German cinemas on March 16.

  • New head of European MEDIA Programme appointed

    16-Dec-2005

    Aviva Silver was today appointed as the successor to Domenico Raneri as the head of the European Commission's MEDIA Programme.

  • New projects by Miller and Golubovic backed by Eurimages

    9-Dec-2005

    Newfeature films by Claude Miller, Alain Resnais, Lone Scherfig, and Srdan Golubovic are among 14 projects awarded over $5.2m (Euros4.4m) by the Council of Europe's pan-European co-production fund Eurimages.

  • Bavaria Film International Picks Up Schmid's Portovero

    8-Dec-2005

    Bavaria FilmInternational (BFI) has picked up international distribution rights to Swissdirector Daniel Schmid's latest feature Portoverowhich has just begun shooting on location in Switzerland.

  • Kinowelt Forecasts 30% Increase in Group Turnover

    8-Dec-2005

    Kinowelt is forecasting a 30% year-on-year increase inturnover to over $82.4m (Euros 70m) by the end of 2005. This financial forecastwill see the company return to its position as one of the key German players.

  • Lemming Director Chosen As Jury President

    8-Dec-2005

    TheGerman-French director Dominik Moll has been named asthe jury president for the Dialogue en perspective Prize at next year's BerlinInternational Film Festival.

  • Midsummer Madness to begin shooting in March 2006

    8-Dec-2005

    Vienna/London-basedsales agent EastWest Filmdistributionhas picked up world sales rights on Riga-born Alexander Hahn's comedy Midsummer Madness which was presented atlast week's Baltic Event Co-Production Market in Estonia's Tallinn and set to beginshooting next March.

  • Germans may hear new finance ideas by Christmas

    5-Dec-2005

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel's new administration may give an indication of their plans to attract private capital to the local film industry before the Christmasbreak.

  • Yves Marmion named chairman of the European Film Academy

    5-Dec-2005

  • Marmion elected chair of European Film Academy

    4-Dec-2005

    Frenchproducer Yves Marmion was elected as the new Chairman of the European FilmAcademy (EFA) on the eve of the weekend's European Film Awards ceremony.

  • Baltic Event launches its first co-production market

    30-Nov-2005

    New filmsby Latvia's Alexander Hahn, Lithuania's Algimantas Puipa, Norway's MariusHolst, and Romania's Cristian Mungiu are among 12 projects being presented atthe first Baltic Event Co-Production Market to be held in Tallinn from December1-2.

  • Charlotte Rampling to be jury president at Berlinale 2006

    30-Nov-2005

    Britishactress Charlotte Rampling will head up the main juryat next year's Berlinale (February 9-19, 2006).

  • Lago weighs in on Lynch's Surveillance

    30-Nov-2005

    Jennifer Lynch's long-gestating project Surveillance will go into production with Germany's Lago Film backing the $10m production.

  • New Locarno director announces changes

    30-Nov-2005

    Locarno's new artistic directorFrederic Maire has announced a series oforganisational and programme changes two months after taking up his post onOctober 1.

  • Nicaragua ready for first production in 16 years

    29-Nov-2005

    Germany's Shotgun Pictures will co-produce producer-directorFlorence Jaugey's feature debut La Yuma whichwill be the first feature film to be produced in Nicaragua for 16 years. French-born Jaugey, who took upresidence in Nicaragua set up her production ...

  • German-French co-production finds favour with Filmstiftung NRW

    29-Nov-2005

    TwoGerman-French co-productions attracted the bulk of the $7m (6m Euros)production support allocated by Filmstiftung NRW atits last funding session.

  • Tele Muenchen AFM Pickups

    28-Nov-2005

    New films by Roberto Benigni and Woody Allen are among a collection of new titles acquired by Germany's Tele Muenchen Group (TMG) at the recent American Film Market (AFM).

  • Sterk's Turning hits the right notes in Mannheim

    28-Nov-2005

    The mainaward of this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival went to Tuningby Slovenia's Igor Sterk.Theinternational ...

  • New German culture minister offers first-day handouts

    25-Nov-2005

    New films by Christian Petzold, Stanislaw Mucha, AndreasKleinert and Thomas Grube are among 17 projects and screenplays backed to thetune of $1.9m (Euros 1.64m) byGermany's new State Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann on his first day inoffice.

  • Germans confirm media funds demise

    24-Nov-2005

    The old-style media funds have at last come to the end of the road after the first cabinet under Germany's new Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.

  • Kinowelt snaps up Epsilon from insolvency

    24-Nov-2005

    DistributorKinowelt has taken over the Munich-based film financier and licence traderEpsilon Motion Pictures GmbH and its Zurich subsidiary Epsilon Motion PicturesAG from Kirch Media's insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe.

  • Macedonia plans to establish national film fund

    24-Nov-2005

    Macedonia is to set up a national film fund by the end of next year to support film-making from screenplay development through production to distribution and promotion.Speakingexclusively to Screendaily.com in Mannheim, Branko Petrovski, head of the Filmand Theatre Department at Macedonia's ...

  • Production milestone for Nigerian film industry

    24-Nov-2005

    Productionis being planned next year for the first Nigerian film to be shot on 35mm for20 years with an adaptation of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa's novel Lemona's Tale.Johannesburg-basedCapitol International Productions' project Lemona, to be directed by Kinshasha-born Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, ...

  • New German culture minister raises hopes for film finance

    23-Nov-2005

    Hopesfor a swift resolution of the German film funding crisis following thescrapping of media funds have been raised with the appointment of Germany's newState Minister For Culture, Bernd Neumann.The63-year-old has taken a strong interest in film finance issues. Earlier thisyear argued that ...

  • Franco-German call for extension to film fund

    22-Nov-2005

    Frenchand German producers and distributors want the $3.5m (Euros 3m)"mini-traite" co-production fund to be extended to include thesupport of the theatrical distribution in the two countries.

  • Schloendorff under fire from Solidarity heroine

    22-Nov-2005

    Oscar-winning director Volker Schloendorff has comeunder fire from the mother of Poland's Solidarity movement Anna Walentynowiczfor his latest film Die Vergessene Heldin which began shooting atoriginal locations in the Baltic port of Gdansk at the end of October.

  • Darwin's Nightmare proves to be an Austrian dream

    22-Nov-2005

    When the InternationalDocumentary Film Festival Amsterdam opens in the Dutch capital on Thursday (Nov24) it will feature two documentaries from the same country on the same topic.The overlap is not due tosome error by the selection committee: the films in question - each Austrianand dealing with food politics - are very different. Erwin ...

  • Constantin raises sales forecast but theatrical still down

    18-Nov-2005

    German producer-distributor ConstantinFilm has raised its forecast for the current financial year to a sales targetof around $235m (Euros 200m) for 2005.

  • Record numbers apply for Berlinale Talent Campus

    18-Nov-2005

    The Berlinale Talent Campus (BTC) has received a record3,516 applications from 121 countries for its fourth edition to be held fromFebruary 11-16.

  • Vandierendonck set to take leading role at Eurimages

    18-Nov-2005

    Belgium'sJan Vandierendonck is set to take over from Renate Roginas as ExecutiveSecretary for the Council of Europe's pan-European co-production fund Eurimagesfrom the beginning of January.

  • Fifteen films compete for Swiss Film Prize

    17-Nov-2005

    Michael Steiner's comedy Mein Name Ist Eugen, which with 500,000 admissions has become the third most successful Swiss film in the last 30 years, is among the nominated films for the 2006 Swiss Film Prize.

  • Film-makers to pitch 55 projects at Mannheim Meetings

    17-Nov-2005

    New feature projects by Ireland's Johnny Gogan, Georgia's Nana Djordjadze, Poland's Robert Glinski and Nigeria's Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda are among 55 films from Europe, Canada, Latin America and Africa with a total production volume of Euros 84m being pitched at this year's Mannheim Meetings co-production market.

  • European industry event hopes to build East-West links

    16-Nov-2005

    The Belgrade International Film Festival FEST is to launch a forum to boost links between film professionals from Western and Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries with a strong European influence and heritage.

  • Final hopes for German media funds are dashed

    15-Nov-2005

    German media funds are now all but dead, with the incoming government announcing it will backdate reforms to last week.

  • German-Polish alliance creates pioneering film fund

    14-Nov-2005

    Thenewly-created Polish Film Institute and the two German regional funds haveestablished a Polish-German Co-Development Fund.The ...

  • BFI crosses more bridges with Akin music doc

    14-Nov-2005

    Afterconcluding an all-rights US deal with Strand Releasing for FatihAkin's music documentary Crossing The Bridge - The Sound Of Istanbul at the recent AFMmarket, Bavaria Film International (BFI) has now also sold the film to Brazil'sImovision, Bulgaria's Art Fest Ltd, and Japan's Alcine Terran.

  • Gravehopping on top at record-breaking Cottbus

    13-Nov-2005

    JanCvitkovic's Gravehopping was named best film at this year's Cottbus Festival of East European Cinema.

  • Screen heroines focus for Berlinale anniversary

    12-Nov-2005

    The30th anniversary edition of the Berlinale Retrospective next February will bededicated to the screen heroines of the 1950s.EntitledDream ...

  • Media fund reprieve is just stay of execution

    11-Nov-2005

    German media funds in their current form have little chance of survival, despite a change of government and yet another late reprieve.

  • Lucky thirteen pitch to producers at Cottbus

    8-Nov-2005

    Thirteenprojects will be pitched to potential production partners during this year'stwo-day Connecting Cottbus co-development forum between November 10-11.

  • European quartet head for New York Industry Screenings

    8-Nov-2005

    A re-edited version of Florian Hoffmeister's Silver Leopard winner Three Degrees Colder is one of four European films being presented at European Film Promotion's (EFP) first New York Industry Screenings programme at the Tribeca Cinemas from November 14 - 15.

  • German Media Funds under imminent threat, say reports

    8-Nov-2005

    German Federal Finance Minister Hans Eichel is reported to be submitting a motion forcabinet approval which would spell the end of the media funds by the end ofthis week.Accordingto German press reports, the Federal Cabinet will be asked to vote on changesto the Income Tax Code by Thursday ...

  • Four films picked for WCF funding

    3-Nov-2005

    Inits third round of funding, the Berlin-based World Cinema Fund (WCF) hasselected four projects for production support and one project to back forGerman theatrical distribution.

  • Celluloid Dreams handles international sales on Atomised

    2-Nov-2005

    CelluloidDreams is to handle international sales for Oskar Roehler's adaptation ofcontroversial French author Michel Houellebecq's best-selling novel Atomised(Elementarteilchen) which is currently in post-productionand may premiere at next year's Berlinale.Theco-production between ...

  • Media Luna adds dance doc to AFM slate

    1-Nov-2005

    Onthe eve of the AFM, Cologne-based sales company Media Luna has added ArneBirkenstock's documentary 12 Tangos -Adios Buenos Aires to its market line-up.

  • Hof hits new heights

    31-Oct-2005

    This year's International Hof Film Days attracted a record 28,000 admissions in five days.

  • Hof hits new heights

    31-Oct-2005

    TheInternational Hof Film Days posted record attendancewith 28,000 admissions in five days.

  • Bavaria adds Heaven, Offside to AFM slate

    28-Oct-2005

    Bavaria Film International has added two new titles - Ed Herzog's Almost Heaven and BuketAlakus' Offside(Eine Andere Liga) - to its market slate for the upcoming AFM nextmonth.

  • Ex-Egoli Tossell exec Damian unveils 27 Films' debut slate

    27-Oct-2005

  • Austrian film-makers sign up for Mozart project

    26-Oct-2005

  • Haneke's Hidden rejected as Oscar entry

    25-Oct-2005

  • Question mark hangs over German media funds

    25-Oct-2005

    Germany's mediafunds have been thrown into disarray by speculation that the new governmentunder Chancellor Angela Merkel is intending to revive the previousadministration's tax reform plans in mid-November to put an end to theold-style media funds.

  • Berlin boosts film funding coffers

    20-Oct-2005

    The BerlinSenate has increased its backing for Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) this year by Euros 1.5m to bringthe regional fund's overall budget for film funding and location marketing toEuros 17.9m.

  • Kinowelt takes German rights to Hood's Tsotsi

    20-Oct-2005

    Kinowelthas acquired all German rights for Gavin Hood's gangster drama Tsotsi which wonthe People's Choice Award at last month's Toronto International Film festivaland the Michael Powell Award and the Audience Award in Edinburgh in August.

  • Balkan films emerge as big winners at Warsaw festival

    16-Oct-2005

  • German-US investors take over Senator Entertainment

    13-Oct-2005

    A German-US group of investors, headed byCologne-based media lawyer Helge Sasseand German-born, Los Angeles-based independent producer Marco Weber (Igby Goes Down, The 13th Floor), has acquired amajority 50.1% interest in insolvent distributor-producer Senator Entertainment.

  • Hof Film Days unveils festival programme

    13-Oct-2005

    German documentariesare particularly strong at this year's International HofFilm Days (October 26-30) including world premieres of new films about musicianJohn Cale, a 'behind the scenes' look atthe casting couch in Hollywood, and thelegendary 1940s screenwriter 'Buzz' Bezzerides.Joerg ...

  • German box office woes continue in third quarter

    11-Oct-2005

    Cinemaadmissions in Germany were down 27% and box office takings 25.5% less in thethird quarter between July and September compared to the same period last year,according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.Thestatisticians noted that releases like Madagascar(Euros ...

  • Schloendorff, Kaurismaki projects win German funding

    6-Oct-2005

    New films by Volker Schloendorff, Mika Kaurismaki,Angelina Maccarone, Ute Wieland and Djamshed Usmonov are among projectsreceiving production support from Filmstiftung NRW and MedienboardBerlin-Brandenburg (MBB) at their latest funding sessions.

  • Polish Film Centre chief named

    5-Oct-2005

    Poland's Deputy Culture Minister AgnieszkaOdorowicz has been appointed by Culture Minister Waldemar Dabrowski as thedirector of the new Polish Film Centre (PISF).The new body, whichwill bring the activities of the Film Production Agency, Script Support Agencyand Polish Film Promotion together under one roof with an annual budget ofEuros 25m, is due to start operations from January ...

  • VIP Medienfonds chief arrested as part of tax probe

    5-Oct-2005

    The troubles of the privateGerman media fund VIP Medienfonds took a dramatic turn on Wednesday (October 5)with news that its CEO Andreas Schmid has been arrested.

  • Film, publishing industries to link up at Frankfurt Book Fair

    30-Sep-2005

    Relationsbetween the publishing and film industries are to be intensified with a yetcloser collaboration between the Berlin International Film Festival and theFrankfurt Book Fair with the staging of joint industry events during thisyear's event between October 19-23.

  • Austria, Poland, Sweden, Norway name Oscar films

    29-Sep-2005

    Austria, Poland and Swedenhave announced their contenders for the foreign language Oscar category.

  • Germany's TV-Loonland launches distribution arm

    29-Sep-2005

    Family programmingspecialist TV-Loonland has launched its own theatrical and home entertainmentdistribution arm Loonland Pictures to market in-house and third partyproductions in Germany.

  • Raneri takes over as interim head of Media Programme

    29-Sep-2005

    Domenico Raneri, until now responsible foroverseeing the development action line of the European Union's MEDIA Programme,has taken over from Costas Daskalakis as the interim head of the MEDIA unit inBrussels.Although there hasn'tbeen an official unit head for MEDIA since Delmoly's exit last year, this postis now expected to be filled in the coming months.

  • Top German fund VIP hit by tax evasion probe

    29-Sep-2005

    BeleagueredGerman private film financier VIP Media Group has withdrawn its current fundsVIP 5 and 6 from the market after theoffice of Munich's public prosecutor began investigations this week intoalleged professional fraud and tax evasion.The authoritiesraided the Munich office and ...

  • UK animator wins Cartoon D'or with Jo Jo

    25-Sep-2005

    UK animator MarcCraste has won this year's Cartoon D'or for his dark 12-minute short Jo JoIn The Stars at theCartoon Forum co-production market held in Denmark's Kolding from September21-24.

  • Swiss select Hiver as Oscar candidate

    23-Sep-2005

    Greg Zglinski's featuredebut Tout Un Hiver Sans Feu hasbeen selected as Switzerland's entry for the race for the Foreign LanguageOscar.

  • Germany names Sophie Scholl as Oscar choice

    21-Sep-2005

    Marc Rothemund's Silver Bear winner Sophie Scholl - TheFinal Days has been selected as Germany's entry to enter the race for theForeign Language Film Oscar.

  • White Masai takes top spot at German box office

    20-Sep-2005

    The White Masai,directed by Hermine Huntgeburth, has become the second local film this yearafter Til Schweiger's Barefoot to take the number one spot at the Germanbox-office.The love storybetween cultures between a Swiss businesswoman and a black Masai warrior hadbeen primarily targeted by distributor Constantin at female audiences, althoughthe Euros 7m production has ...

  • Falk's Collector gathers Polish Film Fest prizes

    19-Sep-2005

    Veteran filmmaker FeliksFalk was the big winner at this year's 30th Polish Film Festival (Sept 12-17)in the Baltic port of Gdynia with his first film for 10 years, The Collector(Komornik), which picked up five prizes at the weekend's closing galaceremony.

  • UK animated shorts make Cartoon d'Or final

    7-Sep-2005

  • Warsaw festival launches CentEast film market

    31-Aug-2005

    The Warsaw International Film Festival (WFF)(Oct 7-16) is launching the CentEast regional film market for films fromCentral and Eastern Europe for the first time this year over four days fromOctober 12-15.

  • Funny Balloons swoops for Mueller's Face Addict

    29-Aug-2005

    Paris-basedFunny Balloons has taken on international sales for Edo Bertoglio's documentaryFace Addict whichwas produced by Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller's Downtown Picturesand Switzerland's Amka Films in association with Swiss Television and the USA'sMako Productions.

  • MDC to mastermind Trzaskalski's San Sebastian entry

    24-Aug-2005

    MDCInternational is to handle world sales for Polish director Piotr Trzaskalski's TheMaster (Mistrz) which will have its world premiere in San Sebastian'sZabaltegi section next month.

  • Russell shows off Hot Pants at Oldenburg

    23-Aug-2005

    VeteranUK director Ken Russell is to be feted with a retrospective including theworld premiere of his latest film Hot Pants at this year's OldenburgInternational Film Festival (Sept 7-11).

  • Bavaria adds three from Li, Armendariz, Svoboda

    23-Aug-2005

    BavariaFilm International (BFI) has added three new titles to its sales lineup fromChinese filmmaker Li Yu, Spain's Montxo Armendariz and Austria's AntoninSvoboda

  • Workingman's Death starts life with PTD

    22-Aug-2005

    Luxembourg-basedPaul Thiltges Distributions (PTD) will handle international sales on Austrian filmmakerMichael Glawogger's documentary Workingman's Death.

  • Warhol set for major Vienna retrospective

    22-Aug-2005

    Andy Warhol is to be givenone of the most comprehensive presentations of his cinematic ouevre to date atthis year's Vienna International Film Festival, the Viennale (October 14-26).

  • Weber quits Bavaria to launch own sales outfit

    17-Aug-2005

    Michael Weber, managingdirector of Bavaria Media and Bavaria Film International (BFI), is leaving thecompany to set up his own as-yet-unnamed world sales outfit.

  • Austrian box office plunges in first half of 2005

    16-Aug-2005

    Mirroring the general internationaltrend, Austrian exhibitors have reported year-on-year falls in box-officerevenues and admissions for the first half of 2005, but are bullish aboutprospects for the next six months.According to figures collated by theAustrian exhibitors' association FLA, 7.35m tickets ...

  • New Locarno chief outlines festival strategy

    16-Aug-2005

    Locarno Film Festival's incoming artisticdirector Frederic Maire has set himself of the goal of making the event"the festival of the future."

  • Pair of film channels to launch in Germany

    16-Aug-2005

    Germany's free-TV channels Tele 5 and NBC Giga are beingrelaunched as film channels from this autumn.

  • Garcia's Nine Lives takes top Locarno prize

    14-Aug-2005

    RodrigoGarcia's Nine Lives has becomethe first US film to win Locarno's top award, the Golden Leopard for Best Film,for 14 years.

  • Nine Lives takes top Locarno prize

    14-Aug-2005

  • Bignardi plans life after Locarno

    12-Aug-2005

    Locarno's outgoing artistic director Irene Bignardi says she hopes hersuccessor will build on the work of the last five years to give the festivalits own unique place in the international festival landscape.Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com, she diplomatically skirtedthe issue of confirming ...

  • Switzerland to rejoin Media Programme

    11-Aug-2005

    Swiss filmmakers will be able to participate fully in the EuropeanUnion's MEDIA Programme from January 1, 2006 after being excluded for the lastthirteen years. Swiss media professionals had been barred from MEDIA after the Swisspopulation voted in December 1992 against membership of the European EconomicArea ...

  • Maire to replace Bignardi as Locarno artistic director

    11-Aug-2005

    Frederic Maire is to succeed Irene Bignardi as artistic director for the Locarno FilmFestival from the 2006 edition.Originally, the festival hadintended to announce the successful candidate on August 14, a day after thisyear's event wraps. But an apparent leak has led to news of the appointmentbeing widely reported on Swiss television and press. Thefestival is refusing to confirm ...

  • North African countries launch Maghreb promotional body

    10-Aug-2005

    Filmmakers from Tunisia, Algeria and Moroccohave joined forces to launch Maghreb Cinemas, an international promotional bodyfor the three countries' film industries.

  • Higuchi named head of licensing at Constantin

    9-Aug-2005

    Yoko Higuchi has been promoted to the post ofhead of licensing at Munich-based Constantin Film.

  • Shortlist narrows in search for new Locarno director

    9-Aug-2005

    With less than a week to go beforeLocarno's board makes a decision on the successor to Irene Bignardi as thefestival's artistic director, the news on the festival grapevine is that thechoice will be between two names: Jean Perret, director of the Nyon DocumentaryFilm Festival "Visions du Reel", and Frederic Maire, organiser of thecinema education initiative Laterna Magica.

  • Swiss film chief calls for end to 'watering can' funding

    8-Aug-2005

    Nicolas Bideau,the incoming head of the film section at Switzerland's Federal Office ofCulture (BAK) from October 1, has called for concentration of funds into fewerprojects and an improvement of Swiss cinema's image at home and abroad.

  • AUTLOOK Filmsales racks up Crash Test Dummies sales

    7-Aug-2005

  • Axel Springer takes over ProSiebenSat.1 Media

    7-Aug-2005

    Germanpublishing empire Axel Springer has acquired a majority stake in theProSiebenSat.1 Media to create the only listed media group in Germany withactivities both in the print media and television sectors.

  • Intramovies takes on Locarno competitor Keller

    2-Aug-2005

  • Kinowelt offers new rental terms to exhibitors

    2-Aug-2005

    Distributor Kinowelt has entered the debate on the lengthof theatrical "windows" by offering exhibitors a new arrangement forthe calculation of rental charges.

  • Locarno hit by hotel room shortage

    2-Aug-2005

    As the Locarno Film Festival begins its 58thedition this week, the event's organisers are having to address the deepeningcrisis in the Swiss lakeside town's hotels.

  • Locarno lands BAK support for the next three years

    1-Aug-2005

    Switzerland's Federal Office of Culture (BAK) hasannounced that it will extend its annual $935,000 (CHF 1.2m) support to the Locarno International Film Festival for another threeyears.

  • Green light for Germany's $110m venture capital fund

    1-Aug-2005

    German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has greenlit a $110m(Euros 90m) venture capital fund for the German film industry and will reservethe necessary financing in his planned national budget for 2006.

  • German politicians eye UK sale and leaseback model

    29-Jul-2005

    The UK sale and leasebackmodel has been identified as an incentive to emulate by Germany's FreeDemocrats (FDP) who could become the junior partner in a new administrationunder the CDU/CSU's Angela Merkel after September's general election.

  • MDC falls in love with Max Hansen Story

    29-Jul-2005

    MDC International has picked upinternational distribution rights for Douglas Wolfsperger'shistorical documentary The Max HansenStory - Did You Ever Fall In Love With Me' (War'n Sie SchonMal In Mich Verliebt')which will have its world premiere in the Critics Week sidebar at next week's Locarno International Film Festival (August 3-13, 2005).

  • Locarno adds two features to official competition

    27-Jul-2005

    Irene Bignardiis pulling out all stops for her last outing as Locarno's artistic director byselecting another two films for the official competition and bestowing aLocarno Excellence Award on the US actress Susan Sarandon.

  • Media Luna takes on sales for Three Degrees

    26-Jul-2005

    Media Luna Entertainment has picked up international distributionrights for Florian Hoffmeister's Three Degrees Colder (3° Kaelter) whichwill have its world premiere in the forthcoming International Competition atthe Locarno Film Festival.

  • Emmerich, VIP project wins FFF Bayern backing

    25-Jul-2005

    MarcoKreuzpaintner's first English language feature Welcome To America is one of 34 projects to receive atotal of Euros 5m in the latest round of funding by the Bavarian Film &Television Fund (FFF Bayern).

  • Kinowelt picks up Palme d'Or winning Child

    20-Jul-2005

    This year's CannesGolden Palm winner, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Child, has beenpicked up by Kinowelt for theatrical release in Germany.

  • Locarno boasts 12 premieres in competition line-up

    13-Jul-2005

    LocarnoInternational Film Festival's Irene Bignardiis promising a journey into "uncharted territories"forher final year as artistic director with 12 world premieres in its 15-titlecompetition line-up of films.

  • Locarno boasts premieres from 'uncharted territories

    13-Jul-2005

  • Locarno boasts 12 world premieres in main competition

    13-Jul-2005

    Locarno International FilmFestival's Irene Bignardi is promising a journey into "unchartedterritories"for her final year as artistic director with 12 worldpremieres in its 15-title competition line-up of films.

  • Online piracy is widespread and threatens all films, says study

    12-Jul-2005

    Online piracyis more widespread and damaging to a wider range of films than generallybelieved, according to an independent study undertaken by the University ofAachen with the Partners 4 Management consultancy.

  • Online piracy is widespread and threatens all films, says study

    12-Jul-2005

    Online piracyis more widespread and damaging to a wider range of films than generallybelieved, according to an independent study undertaken by the University ofAachen with the Partners 4 Management consultancy.

  • Online piracy is widespread and threatens all films, says study

    12-Jul-2005

    Online piracyis more widespread and damaging to a wider range of films than generallybelieved, according to an independent study undertaken by the University ofAachen with the Partners 4 Management consultancy.

  • Tykwer and Chabrol among commission fund winners

    12-Jul-2005

    Newfeature films by Tom Tykwer and Claude Chabrol are among five projects backedwith a total of $1.35m (Euros 1.1m) by the German-French Funding Commission.

  • German opposition pledges film support but no hope for Media Funds

    12-Jul-2005

    Germany'smedia funds in their present form will no longer be possible after the end of2005, according to election manifesto of the CDU/CSU opposition parties, widelytipped to form the next government.

  • Online piracy is rife and hits all films, says study

    12-Jul-2005

    Online piracyis more widespread and damaging to a wider range of films than generallybelieved, according to an independent study undertaken by the University ofAachen with the Partners 4 Management consultancy.

  • German opposition boosts hopes of tax breaks for film

    11-Jul-2005

    Callsfor new tax incentives to benefit the German film industry received a welcomeboost from the CDU opposition party which is widely predicted to win powerfollowing September's general election.

  • Perfume scents success as shooting begins

    11-Jul-2005

    TomTykwer's Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer has begun shooting at theBavaria Film studios near Munich.

  • Jewish comedy sweeps German Film Awards

    9-Jul-2005

    Dani Levy's Jewish comedy Go For Zucker! (Alles AufZucker) was the big winner at this year'sGerman Film Awards in Berlin's Philharmonie, held on Friday night (July 8) infront of 2,200 guests.

  • Cineworx launches production arm with Madonnas

    8-Jul-2005

    Swiss distribution outfit cineworx has launcheda production arm cineworx filmproduktion and has boarded Maria Speth's secondfeature Madonnas (Madonnen) as its first project.

  • German funding agency wins cash injection

    8-Jul-2005

    Local public broadcaster RundfunkBerlin-Brandenburg (RBB) is to provide German funding agency MedienboardBerlin-Brandenburg (MBB) with an annual Euros 1m for the backing of cinema andTV co-productions.Decisions on theallocation of the Euros 1m will be taken jointly by RBB and MBB and benefitproductions that have a special connection to the capital and Brandenburg. Thefocus will be ...

  • German industry intensifies call for 'local spend'

    6-Jul-2005

    Leadingfigures in the German film industry have called for the introduction of a"German spend" as a key element in any future legislation regulating taxincentives. The move, they say, will put Germany on a equal footing with itscompetitors in such countries as Hungary, Ireland and Luxembourg.At lastweek's media funds conference held by ...

  • Media Luna picks up Brother To Brother, Dead Long Enough

    5-Jul-2005

    Cologne-based internationalsales company Media Luna Entertainment has picked up Rodney Evans' BrotherTo Brother and Tom Collins' Dead Long Enough.Produced by Evans' owncompany Miasma Films with Intrinsic Value Films and C-Hundred Films, BrotherTo Brother is the story of gay African-American lives that won severalawards ...

  • European Film Academy launches new prize categories

    5-Jul-2005

    Achievements in film editingand production design will be recognised at the next European Film Awards to beheld in Berlin on December 3, 2005.The European Film Academy(EFA) has introduced two new prize categories for European Editor 2005 andEuropean Production Designer 2005 to add to the existing 15 award categories. The two new categories willeach have three nominations chosen by the Academy members from a shortlist ofaround 40 films.

  • German fund told to boost local production

    4-Jul-2005

    Leading German film fund Filmstiftung NRW in North Rhine-Westphalia must be used to bolster local productionrather than attract "funding tourism," according to the state's new primeminister Juergen Ruettgers.Speaking at the opening ofthis year's Medienforum NRW, Ruettgers praised the economic contribution ofFilmstiftung NRW.

  • Regional film body must reject 'funding tourism.' says PM

    4-Jul-2005

    Germany's media funds areback in business - at least, for the time being.

  • European Film Promotion makes a date with New York

    4-Jul-2005

    The pan-European promotionnetwork European Film Promotion (EFP) is to launch a new sales initiative"European Days" in New York commencing this November.

  • Yellow Dog snaps up Munich audience prize

    4-Jul-2005

    Afterbeing named Best Director at this year's German Film Promotion Awards (ScreenDaily, July 1 2005), Byambasuren Davaa has now seen her latest feature TheCave Of The Yellow Dog chosen by festival goers at the Munich Film Festivalfor the Bayern 3 Audience Award.AlthoughMunich is not a competitive festival, the nine-day event provided ...

  • Tom Tykwer leads Eurimages Euros 3.9m grant share out

    1-Jul-2005

    New feature films by TomTykwer (Perfume), Roy Andersson (Du Levande) and Alain Berliner (GeneAstaire) are among 12 projects awarded a total of Euros 3.9m by the Councilof Europe's pan-European co-production fund Eurimages.

  • Picturehouse boards Genghis Khan epic

    30-Jun-2005

    Munich-based sales agent Beta Cinema has announced that Picturehouse - HBO and New Line Cinema's newly-formeddistribution venture - has picked up the North American rights for Sergei Bodrov's forthcomingfeature film Mongol - TheEarly Years Of Genghis Khan. This follows sales to the Benelux, Brazil and Australia & New Zealand.

  • Latin American productions boosted by Berlinale fund

    29-Jun-2005

  • Lighthouse shines on Zwick, Joffe projects

    28-Jun-2005

    New feature projects by MyBig Fat Greek Wedding director Joel Zwick and veteran UK film-maker RolandJoffe are set to be backed by the new Lighthouse Films media fund, which hasbeen launched by the Munich-based Lighthouse Structured Finance GmbH.

  • Munich Previews notch sales to Spain, Australia

    28-Jun-2005

    The Munich Previews, amarket taster for the Munich Film Festival, have seen some early business, with Beta Cinema, and Kinowelt International allconcluding deals.

  • Bavaria takes aim with African football doc

    28-Jun-2005

    Bavaria Film Internationalhas taken international sales for Africa United, ahead of its worldpremiere in Karlovy Vary's Documentary Competition on July 6.

  • German box office takes another tumble

    27-Jun-2005

    The German cinema industry learned that box-office takings forthe second quarter of 2005 were even worse than in the first three months(Screen Daily, April 2005).

  • German media funds win reprieve

    24-Jun-2005

    Germany'smedia funds areback in business - at least, for the time being.

  • Kosslick extends Berlinale contract by another five years

    24-Jun-2005

    Dieter Kosslick willcontinue to serve as festival director at the Berlin International FilmFestival for at least another five years.

  • Wenders and Kiarostami to be honoured at Locarno

    22-Jun-2005

  • Wenders and Kiarostami to be honoured at Locarno

    22-Jun-2005

    Inan "exceptional step" this year the Locarno Film Festival (August3-13) has decided to award two Leopards of Honour to filmmakers Wim Wenders andAbbas Kiarostami.

  • Intermedia pushes into TV and lower-budget genre film

    21-Jun-2005

    Terminator 3 and Alexander producer Intermedia Films hasconcluded three separate international production deals as part of the group's streamlining of itsdevelopment and production activities and its expansion into televisionproduction.

  • Distributors flock to German Films' previews

    20-Jun-2005

    Morethan 40 international film distributors and TV film buyers will attend German Films' Munich Previews starting on Wednesday.

  • Distributors flock to German Films' preview event

    20-Jun-2005

    Morethan 40 international film distributors and TV film buyers will attend the German Films' Munich Previews starting on Wednesday.

  • Bignardi to step down as Locarno artistic director

    17-Jun-2005

    This year's edition of the Locarno International FilmFestival (August 3-13) will be the last one under the mantle of artisticdirector Irene Bignardi.

  • Kinowelt snares Drum, Prokino gets Hidden

    17-Jun-2005

    Kinowelt has acquired all rights for German speakingterritories (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) to Zola Maseko's SouthAfrica-set drama Drum which will be theopening film at this year's Munich Film Festival on June 24.

  • Eichinger extends contract at Constantin

    15-Jun-2005

  • Top Russian festival digs Lungin's Roots

    13-Jun-2005

    PavelLungin's latest feature film Roots swept the board at the"Kinotavr" Open Russian Film Festival in the Black Sea resort ofSochi, winning four awards and one special mention.Thetragicomedy, which was produced as a Russian-French co-production, received theKrasnodar Territory Government's Prize, the Jury's Grand Prix and the BestScreenplay ...

  • Hoffman confirmed to star in Tykwer's Perfume

    1-Jun-2005

    Ending weeks of speculation, Germany'sConstantin Film Produktion has now officially confirmed that US star DustinHoffman will play one of the leads in Tom Tykwer's forthcoming adaptation ofPatrick Sueskind's international bestseller Perfume.

  • Buena Vista Germany picks up Three Investigators

    30-May-2005

    Buena Vista International Germany (BVIG) has picked up thechildren's adventure film The Three Investigators: The Mystery Of SkeletonIsland which will begin shooting in SouthAfrica this August.

  • Constantin readies slate of international projects

    30-May-2005

    While thesteady flow of German private equity into Stateside projects may now be a thingof the past, the German film industry's growing presence as a serious player onthe international stage will nevertheless be given a boost this summer byConstantin Film's busy production schedule.

  • German DVD market soars to new record

    30-May-2005

    Turnover from sell-through and rental videos and DVDsreached a new record high in the first three months of this year, according tofigures compiled by GfK Panel Services Consumer Research for the video tradeassociation BVV.

  • Beta Cinema unveils raft of Cannes deals

    25-May-2005

    Beta Cinema has announced a raft of dealsconcluded at last week's market in Cannes and expects the first sale for SergeiBodrov's Mongol to be finalised this week.

  • Ray of hope for German media funds

    24-May-2005

    Germany's beleagueredmedia fund managers were afforded a slight ray of hope that they could soon beback in business after the Social Democrats' (SPD) regional election debacle inNorth Rhine-Westphalia at the hands of the Christian Democrats at the weekend.

  • Bavaria scores sales on Fatih Akin's Crossing The Bridge

    19-May-2005

    Fatih Akin'smusic documentary Crossing The Bridge has beensold to A-Film in Benelux, Golem's Spain,Discovery Film in the former Yugoslavia and Israel's Orlando with "stronginterest" coming from Italy and the USA, according to Bavaria FilmInternational.

  • German producers welcome launch of Euros 90m fund

    15-May-2005

    German film producers havewelcomed the Gerhard Schroeder administration's financing of a Euros 90mventure capital fund as a useful bargaining chip for negotiations oninternational co-production projects at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

  • German gov't to launch Euros 90m film fund

    11-May-2005

    The German government is tocreate a venture capital fund with a total volume of Euros 90m to support theGerman film industry over the next three years.

  • X goes for Zucker punch

    11-May-2005

    X World Sales has landeddistribution deals for North America and Central and Eastern Europe for DaniLevy's Go For Zucker! - An Unorthodox Comedy (Alles Auf Zucker!) which received 10German Film Award nominations this week.

  • Downfall snubbed in German Film Awards

    10-May-2005

    Oscar-nominated German hit Downfall has been controversiallyomitted from best film shortlist for this year's German Film Awards.The Bernd Eichinger produced box office smash only mustered three actingnominations for this year's awards including best actor for Bruno Ganz as AdolfHitler. Dani Levy's Jewish family comedy Go For Zucker! - An Unorthodox Comedy has emerged as theawards front-runner, with ten nominations followed by Volker Schloendorff'sWorld War II drama ...

  • Bavaria strikes US and UK deals ahead of Cannes

    10-May-2005

    Munich-based sales agentBavaria Film has concluded a number of US and UK deals ahead of this year'sCannes market.First ...

  • Last Train delayed after director injured on set

    9-May-2005

    Filming on the Holocaust drama The Last Train (Der LetzteZug) has been stopped in Prague after onlyone day of shooting following an accident on set involving the director JosephVilsmaier (Comedian Harmonists, Stalingrad).

  • Diagonale directors step down from Austrian festival

    6-May-2005

    Changes are afootagain at Graz's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema little more than sixweeks after the successful 2005 edition in March.

  • Cannes launch for European production initiative

    4-May-2005

    A new Europeaninitiative - Capital Regions for Cinema (CRC) - is to be launched at nextweek's Cannes Film Festival to promote and support closer cooperation andco-production between European producers.

  • Eurimages doles out Euros 3.8m in funding

    4-May-2005

    New feature projects by Otar Iosseliani (Jardins enAutomne) and Gianni Amelio (La Stella Che Non C'e) are among 12European co-productions supported with Euros 3.8m by the Council of Europe'sEurimages at its latest funding session.

  • German media funds reel as cabinet agrees tax overhaul

    4-May-2005

    German Minister of FinanceHans Eichel held out an olive branch to the German film industry on Wednesday(May 4) after the Federal Cabinet agreed on proposed tax legislation which willclose the door to the old-style German media funds (ScreenDaily.com, May 2).

  • Death knell tolls for German media funds

    2-May-2005

    German media funds look set to be put out of business thisweek because of a proposed tightening up of tax fund legislation by FinanceMinister Hans Eichel.

  • Studio Babelsberg shares start trading

    29-Apr-2005

  • 3L Filmverleih drafts in senior management team

    28-Apr-2005

  • MDC takes on sales for Puipa's Forest Of The Gods

    27-Apr-2005

  • European 'Producers on the Move' named

    26-Apr-2005

    Nineteen Europeanproducers have been selected to be presented at the forthcoming Cannes FilmFestival as "Producers on the Move" by the member organisations ofthe pan-European promotional body European Film Promotion (EFP).

  • Pipeline wins top prize at Nyon documentary fest

    25-Apr-2005

    Nino Kirtadze's The Pipeline Next Doorwas the winner of this year's Grand Prix Visions du Reel at this year'sinternational documentary festival in Switzerland's Nyon (April 18-24).Kirtadze's drama of asmall Georgian village facing the dragon of globalisation in a BP oil pipelinepassing over the villagers' land also received the John Templeton FoundationAward and has been picked ...

  • German DVD distributor e-m-s launches production arm

    24-Apr-2005

  • Swiss launch film fund to support world cinema

    24-Apr-2005

    Films from Asia, Africa,Latin America and Eastern Europe are set to receive support for theirproduction and international promotion through the creation of the newSwiss-based Visions Sud Est (VSE) fund.The ...

  • German funder doles out Euros 4.5m to int'l projects

    15-Apr-2005

    New feature films by Lone Scherfig, Hans Weingartner andOskar Roehler are among 21 projects backed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgwith over Euros 4.5m in its latest funding session.

  • Russian, Polish directors take top Wiesbaden prizes

    13-Apr-2005

    Women filmmakers were the main winners at this year'sgoEast Festival of Central and East European Film in Wiesbaden when the awardswere presented on Tuesday evening (April 12).

  • Hot newcomers, veterans share Filmstiftung NRW cash

    8-Apr-2005

    Award winning Britishshort film director Steve Hudson has received Euros 850,000 in funding for hisdebut feature Dragnet from Dusseldorf-based subsidy body FilmstiftungNRW.

  • German box office plunges in first quarter of 2005

    5-Apr-2005

    German box office and admissions plunged by 11% in thefirst three months of 2005 compared to the same period last year.

  • Germany's FFA doles out Euros 25m of funding

    4-Apr-2005

    The German Federal Film Board (FFA) has paid out a total ofEuros 24.9m in retroactive "reference" funding to local producersand distributors.

  • Studio Babelsberg plans initial stock market float

    4-Apr-2005

  • De Palma's Black Dahlia starts Bulgarian shoot

    1-Apr-2005

    Brian de Palma's long gestating adaptation of James Ellroy'snovel The Black Dahlia, starring JoshHartnett and Scarlet Johannsen, has begun shooting at studios in Sofia for AviLerner's Millenium Film with the German media fund Equity Pictures KG III.

  • Hotel checks out with Diagonale top prize

    21-Mar-2005

    Jessica Hausner's psychological thriller Hotelwas the big winner at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinemapicking up the Euros 25,000 Diagonale Grand Prix and the Euros 11,000 ThomasPluch Screenplay Prize.

  • German distributor Solo files for insolvency

    18-Mar-2005

    Munichbased distributor Solo-Film has become the latest casualty in the Germandistribution scene's seemingly never ending round of insolvencies.

  • GERMANY 16 March

    16-Mar-2005

    Sony Pictures' release of the Will Smith comedy Hitch held on topole position for its second week with a total gross of $ 17.5m and admissionsnow topping the 2 million mark.Further down the chart, there was considerable movement with no lessthan six new entries to the Top ...

  • GERMANY 9 March

    9-Mar-2005

    Sony Pictures Releasing's (SPR) Hitchentered the charts at the top of the pile with an impressive $11,145 screenaverage from its 796 screens and became the first release so far this year tohave attracted more than 1m cinema-goers in its first weekend. SPR also proudlyreported that the Will Smith comedy garnered a market share of 45% of all theattendances during that four-day period.

  • Eurimages injects Euros3.4m into Euro co-prods

    7-Mar-2005

    New features by Portugal's Teresa Villaverde (Transe),Germany's Maria Speth (Madonnen) and Bulgaria's Georgi Stoev-Djaky (FlyBy Rossinant) are among ten projects which have been awarded a total ofEuros 3.4m by the Council of Europe's Eurimages co-production fund in itslatest funding session.

  • Kinowelt acquires KirchMedia's 5,500-title library

    4-Mar-2005

    Germany's Kinowelt has become the operator of the one ofEurope's largest film libraries with its acquisition of all of the theatricaland DVD rights to KirchMedia's 5,500-title back catalogue for the period untiland including 2012.

  • Media Luna announces EFM sales

    3-Mar-2005

    Cologne-based Media Luna Entertainment has announced anotherraft of deals signed at the recent European Film Market in Berlin.

  • German public funds back Cinelink co-production market

    2-Mar-2005

    German public regional funds Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung(MDM) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg are to serve as partners at thisyear's CineLink co-production market during the Sarajevo Film Festival (August19-27).

  • GERMANY 2 March

    2-Mar-2005

  • German media funds still tilt heavily to Hollywood

    1-Mar-2005

    German media funds raised Euros 1.5bn from private investorslast year, 15% less than 2003's total of Euros 1.76bn, according to a marketanalysis by fund specialist Stefan Loipfinger's Fondstelegramm.

  • International network of casting directors launched

    1-Mar-2005

    Fifteen feature film casting directors from seven countrieshave founded the International Network of Casting Directors (INCD).

  • Perfume, Klimt awarded German funds

    1-Mar-2005

    New features by Tom Tykwer, Raoul Ruiz and Tomy Wigand areamong five projects awarded over Euros 4.6m by Bavaria's Film & TelevisionFund FFF Bayern in its latest round of funding.

  • Berlinale trio seal German distribution deals

    25-Feb-2005

    HerbertKloiber's theatrical arm Concorde Filmverleih has acquired the French film TheBeat That My Heart Skipped, which screened in Official Competition at last week's Berlinale.

  • German-Turkish culture clash comedy makes Connection

    25-Feb-2005

    Hamburg-basedproduction house Wueste Film has signed the first deals with distributors fromAustria, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Turkey for Anno Saul's KebabConnection

  • German home entertainment market doubles over five years

    23-Feb-2005

    Turnover in the German home entertainment market has more than doubled since 1999, when DVDs firstregistered significant business in Germany, according to figures compiled byGfK Panel Services Consumer Research for the video trade association BVV.

  • Eastern European Acquisition Pool adds Slovenian partner.

    22-Feb-2005

    Berlin-based Eastern European Acquisition Pool (EEAP) has expandedits influence in the Central and East European market with the Slovenian mediacompany Cinemania Group coming onboard as a new shareholder with a 26% stake.

  • Germany, Brazil sign co-production treaty

    22-Feb-2005

    Germany and Brazil have signed a treaty to formalise theco-production of films between the two countries.

  • GERMANY 22 February

    22-Feb-2005

  • Berlinale Golden Bear winner takes everyone but the jury by surprise

    21-Feb-2005

    Mark Dornford-May's U-Carmen eKhayelitsha has become the first African film in the history of the Berlinale to be awarded the top honours of the Golden Bear by the International Jury led by German director Roland Emmerich.

  • Bavaria Film closes deals on Sophie Scholl

    18-Feb-2005

  • Germany's Priamos kicks off with Zanzibar project

    18-Feb-2005

    WithBerlin awash with projects involving football, the island of Zanzibar hasjoined the team: Berlin-based production company Priamos Film is to launch withThe Dream Of Zanzibar set on the African island.

  • Reelmachine sets slate with Emmerich

    18-Feb-2005

    Germany'spowerful VIP media fund and Berlin Jury president Roland Emmerich have set thefirst four films to go in to production from their newly-formed Reelmachineoutfit.

  • Germany moves forward with sale and leaseback plans

    17-Feb-2005

    Germany's adoption of a UK-style sale and leaseback (S&L) fundingmodel has come one big step closer after a meeting between German filmproducers and Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday morning. According to one of the producers attending, a working group will becreated to draft a concept for a sale and leaseback structure by April 2005. This could come into the statute books before the Bundestag's summerrecess.

  • Locarno to honour Jeremy Thomas

    16-Feb-2005

    Britishproducer Jeremy Thomas will be presented with the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize forindependent producers at this year's Locarno International Film Festival (August 3-13).

  • Meirelles to produce Brazilian football documentary

    15-Feb-2005

    City Of God director Fernando Meirelles is producinga feature length documentary called Ginga, about the relationshipbetween Brazilians and football.

  • X-Filme, Promedia toon up with Robbers

    15-Feb-2005

    Berlin-based X-Filmecreative pool and private media fund manager Promedia have launched a newanimation company, Animation-X, with a full-length traditional animation calledThe Three Robbers (Die Drei Rauber), to go into production in July ofthis year.

  • Instant replay for German version of Finnish football film

    14-Feb-2005

  • Kinowelt acquires Warner titles from Epsilon

    14-Feb-2005

  • X-Filme launches in-house world sales division

    11-Feb-2005

    Berlinproduction house X-Filme creative pool has set up an in-house world salesdivision to handle the international distribution of Dani Levy's box office hitGo For Zucker - An Unorthodox Comedy (Alles auf Zucker!).

  • Eichinger voted 'most important player' in German film

    7-Feb-2005

    Producer-distributor Bernd Eichinger has been voted as themost important player in the German film business in an industry surveypublished on Sunday.

  • Franka Potente readies directorial debut

    7-Feb-2005

    Run Lola Run starFranka Potente, who is a member of the International Jury at this year'sBerlinale, is to make her directorial debut this spring with a 25-30-minuteshort film.

  • Studio Babelsberg prepares for flotation

    7-Feb-2005

    Studio Babelsberg is planning to go public in the first halfof this year, according to managing director and co-owner Carl Woebcken.

  • GERMANY 2 February

    2-Feb-2005

  • Demand heats up for Berlin market

    1-Feb-2005

    The number of films submitted to Berlin's European Film Market (EFM) hasrisen by a third, underlining its growing importance as the first market of theyear following the AFM's move to autumn dates.

  • Tout Un Hiver Sans Feu wins top Swiss Film Prize

    27-Jan-2005

    Greg Zglinski's Tout UnHiver Sans Feu picked up the $51,000 (CHF 60,000) Swiss Film Prize 2005 forBest Feature Film at this week's Solothurn Film Days.

  • Zglinski's Hiver wins Swiss Film Prize

    27-Jan-2005

  • GERMANY 26 January

    26-Jan-2005

  • Diagonale names Dummies as festival opener

    20-Jan-2005

    Joerg Kalt's Crash TestDummies will be the opening film at the first Diagonale - Festival ofAustrian Cinema (March 14-20) under new director Birgit Flos.

  • GERMANY 18 January

    18-Jan-2005

  • Africa, sexuality to be dominant themes during Berlinale 2005.

    17-Jan-2005

    Bill Condon's Kinsey was selected as the closing film for the 55th Berlinale - to screen on Saturday February 19 after the awards ceremony .

  • German film critics applaud Edukators

    17-Jan-2005

    Hans Weingartner's Cannes2003 competition entry The Edukators (Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei) isthe big winner at this year's German Film Critics Awards, winning in thecategories of Best Feature Film and Best Actress.

  • Hayat, Innocent Voices to launch Berlinale youth sidebars.

    17-Jan-2005

    The Iranian film Hayatby Gholamreza Ramezani will open this year's Berlinale Kinderfilmfest onFebruary 11, with the 14plus youth film competition launched a day later by InnocentVoices (Voces Inocentes) by Mexico's Luis Mandoki.

  • Berlinale Co-Production Market shortlists 30 projects

    17-Jan-2005

    New feature films by David Mackenzie and SergeiBodrov are among 30 projects chosen from 230 entries to be presented at theBerlinale's second Co-Production Market over two days from February 13-14.

  • Snowland world premiere opens Max Ophuels festival

    17-Jan-2005

  • Downfall dominates Bavarian Film Awards

    14-Jan-2005

    Oliver Hirschbiegel's Hitlerdrama Downfall was the big winner at the weekend's Bavarian Film Awardstaking home prizes in three categories.

  • ProSiebenSat.1 signs Spyglass output deal

    13-Jan-2005

    Germany's ProSiebenSat.1Group has signed a license agreement with US production outfit SpyglassEntertainment covering all German-language free-TV rights for titles going intoproduction from this year onwards.

  • German box office climbs in 2004

    11-Jan-2005

    German box office takings rose 7.4% to Euros879.1m in 2004, boosted by a string of successful German films such as (T)raumschiffSurprise - Periode 1.

  • MDC takes on sales for prize winning pair

    11-Jan-2005

    MDC International is to handle internationalsales on two prize-winning feature debuts: French director David Lanzmann's DooWop and Serbian writer-director Srdjan Koljevic's comedy Red ColouredGrey Truck (Sivi Kamion Crvene Boje).

  • GERMANY 11 January

    11-Jan-2005

  • 2004: German film blasts off in Dreamship year

    24-Dec-2004

    Local comedies Dreamship Surprise - Period 1, DerWixxer and 7 Dwarfs drove soaring admissions in 2004. German audiencesalso responded well to the more idiosyncratic titles including OliverHirschbiegel's The Downfall,Fatih Akin's Golden Bear winner Head-On, and the family film Lauras Stern.

  • Germany's X-Verleih earns exhibitor wrath

    23-Dec-2004

    Germany's exhibitorassociations HDF and AG Kino have criticised distributor X Verleih for planningto release Dani Levy's comedy Alles Auf Zucker! on free-TV station WDRjust three months after its Jan 6 theatrical premiere.

  • New Line pair win German funding

    22-Dec-2004

    Two New Line Cinema films - Craig Gillespie'scomedy-drama Mr. Woodcock and Liam Lynch's Tenacious D in The Pick OfDestiny - have won backing from a film fund run by Germany's ALCAS/KGAL.

  • Wargnier's Man To Man to open Berlinale

    21-Dec-2004

    The world premiere of French director RegisWargnier's anthropological epic Man To Man will be the opening film ofthe Berlin International Film Festival(Feb 10-20).

  • Kinderfilmfest reveals first competition titles

    20-Dec-2004

    The Berlinale'sKinderfilmfest has announced the first titles selected for its competition forthe Crystal Bear prize and for the 14plus section introduced at the festivallast February.

  • ZDF steps into Berlinale sponsorship breach

    20-Dec-2004

    German public broadcaster ZDF has stepped into the breachleft by SAT.1 as the new media partner for the 2005 edition of the Berlinale.

  • Kloiber buys back control of Tele Muenchen Group

    17-Dec-2004

  • VIP backs three more Hollywood projects

    16-Dec-2004

    Leading German private mediafund VIP Medienfonds is to invest in new features by Steven Zaillian, BruceBeresford and Paul McGuigan - in addition to its joint venture with RolandEmmerich.

  • Film Commissions to launch European network in Berlin

    15-Dec-2004

    Plans for a new"European Film Commissions Network" (EFCN) are to be unveiled at aone-day symposium of film commissions from all over Europe on the eve of theforthcoming Berlinale on February 9.

  • Head-On star boards Holocaust Train drama

    14-Dec-2004

    Head-On star Sibel Kekilli is to play the female lead of ayoung Jewish woman in veteran producer Artur "Atze" Brauner'sHolocaust drama The Last Train (Der Letzte Zug) about Jews being sent tothe concentration camp in Auschwitz in early 1943.

  • GERMANY 14 December

    14-Dec-2004

  • German fund to bankroll Mann's Miami Vice

    9-Dec-2004

    Three high profile big budget feature projects fromMichael Mann, Sam Mendes and Gary Ross have been shortlisted for considerationby the investors of Hannover Leasing's (HL) second Montranus media fund at ameeting in Munich next week (December 17).After consulting with film industry experts, theMunich-based fund has put forward three projects with total provisional budgetsof over $320m: Michael Mann's $120m big-screen version of the cult TV ...

  • GERMANY 8 December

    8-Dec-2004

  • Flightplan takes off in Berlin

    6-Dec-2004

    German director Robert Schwentke begins shooting thethriller Flightplan in Berlin today (Dec6) with a cast including Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean and KateBeaham.

  • Swiss Film Prize embraces animation

    6-Dec-2004

  • Senator picks up German rights to Rings parody

    2-Dec-2004

  • Six-way co-production for Austrian Headsman

    2-Dec-2004

    As so often in the Austrianfilm scene, the idea for the medieval adventure story Henker(provisionally known in English as The Headsman) was born in a Viennacoffee house when screenwriter Susanne Freund pitched the story idea toproducer Helmut Grasser of Allegro Film 4-5 years ago.

  • German funder calls for change in French co-prod rules

    1-Dec-2004

    At a time when co-productionregulations across Europe are coming under close scrutiny, it was suggestedthis weekend that France should loosen its requirements on shooting in theFrench language,

  • Slovenian filmmakers receive CineLink awards

    1-Dec-2004

    Slovenian filmmakers HannaSlak and Damjan Kozole have each been awarded one of the Euros 25,000 CineLinkAwards donated by the Sarajevo Film Festival, Kodak and Austrian film labSynchro.

  • GERMANY 1 December

    1-Dec-2004

  • Mannheim fetes Norwegian comedy Chlorox

    29-Nov-2004

    Norwegian filmmaker Mona J. Hoel's comedy Chlorox,Ammonia And Coffee (Salto, Salmiakk Og Kaffe!) won the Main Award ofMannheim-Heidelberg at this year's International Film FestivalMannheim-Heidelberg (18-27 November).

  • Cannes winning director celebrates End Of World

    26-Nov-2004

    Germany's Reverse Angle is to co-produce young Romanian filmmakerCatalin Mitulescu's The Way I Spent The End Of The World which waspitched at last year's Mannheim Meetings.

  • Germany, South Africa sign co-production treaty

    25-Nov-2004

    Collaboration between the German and South African film and televisionindustries has been given a major boost with the signing of a co-productiontreaty between the two countries.

  • German coproduction market looks East

    24-Nov-2004

    The organisers of theMannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival's annual 'CoproductionMeetings' are considering expanding the gathering to include projects from Asiain the future.

  • Summer Storm to get North American outing

    24-Nov-2004

    US distributor here! Films & Television has picked upMarco Kreuzpaintner's gay coming of age tale Summer Storm (Sommersturm) which won the audience award at thisyear's Filmfest Muenchen.

  • Berlinale film selection committee shapes up

    23-Nov-2004

    German producer Gloria Burkert (A Map Of The Heart) and Rajendra Roy, programme director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, and Berlin-based freelance journalist Ralf Schenk are three new members of this year's advisory film selection committee for the Berlinale's Official Competition.

  • GERMANY 23 November

    23-Nov-2004

  • Media Luna unveils Bear Cub, Nomi deals

    22-Nov-2004

    German sales house Media Luna has unveiled a string ofdeals concluded during this month's AFM.

  • Blow for Berlinale as title sponsor pulls out

    19-Nov-2004

    The Berlin-based station has been a main sponsor for the last seven years and shared the official partner status in 2004 with L’Oreal and Volkswagen, who have retained their deals.

  • Germany breaks Euros 1bn home entertainment barrier

    18-Nov-2004

    Thanks tothe continuing DVD boom, turnover in Germany's home entertainment market hasbroken the Euro 1bn barrier after just nine months for the first time.Accordingto the GfK market research institute, the sector posted a total turnover ofEuros 1.079bn on the sale and rental of DVDs and videos in the first ninemonths of 2004, up 10% on ...

  • Festival invitations to determine German film funding

    16-Nov-2004

    The participation ofGerman films at 17 international festivals from Annecy to Zlin will now berecognised as an additional criterion for accessing "reference"production funding from the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • GERMANY 16 November

    16-Nov-2004

  • Berlinale Talent Campus receives 2,500 applications

    15-Nov-2004

    The third edition of the Berlinale's Talent Campus hasreceived 2,500 applications for the 500 places available at the event (Feb12-17) during next year's film festival.

  • Box office success helps Constantin raises targets

    15-Nov-2004

    German producer-distributorConstantin Film has raised its sales forecast and EBIT target for a second timethis year after the strong performance of Michael "Bully" Herbig's DreamshipSurprise - Period 1 and OliverHirschbiegel's Downfall in thecinemas in the third quarter of 2004.At the end of June, Constantin had raised its salesforecast for 2004 to Euros 200m and the EBIT target to Euros 8m.But an adhoc communique released ...

  • Fremaux names new Cannes scout for Germany

    15-Nov-2004

    Munich-based film journalist and author Thilo Wydra has beenappointed by Cannes' artistic director Thierry Fremaux as successor toChristiane Peitz as the festival's correspondent for Germany.

  • Local films fuel German box office boom

    12-Nov-2004

    Over 115m admissions have been registered atGermany's cinemas in the first nine months of 2004, up 12.7m on 2003's 102.5mfor the same period, according to figures collated by the German Federal FilmBoard (FFA).The FFA noted thatadmissions increased year-on-year by almost 89% in July, 21% in August and 12%in September.

  • Sci-fi spoof set for Turkey blast off

    12-Nov-2004

    One million tickets have been sold in advancefor the first ever Turkish sci-fi comedy G.O.R.A. which is released byWarner Bros. in 460 cinemas - almost half of the available screens - throughoutTurkey on November 12 (Friday).

  • Media Luna picks up The Great Water

    11-Nov-2004

    Ivo Trajkov's labour camp drama The GreatWater, Macedonia's entry for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award, isone of five new titles Cologne-based Media Luna Entertainment has added to thesales line-up.

  • Mouawad's Tideline to open Mannheim festival

    11-Nov-2004

    Canadian filmmaker Wajdi Mouawad's feature debut Tideline(Littoral) will open this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International FilmFestival on November 19.Mouawad's political parable about war, exile andintegration will be competing with another 21 films in the InternationalCompetition which includes Sarajevo Film Festival winner Mila From Marsby Bulgaria's Zornitsa Sophia, Crossing Europe's winner How I Killed A Saintby ...

  • Berlinale World Cinema Fund jury named

    10-Nov-2004

    French independent distributor Isabelle Dubar of IDDistribution and Zimbabwe-born festival programme consultant and curator KeithM. Shiri will sit on the four-member international jury which will choose theprojects to be supported by the World Cinema Fund (WCF).

  • Swiss producers welcome new Film Foundation

    10-Nov-2004

    Swissproducers have received a welcome boost with the creation of a Film Foundationin Zurich which aims to have an annual funding budget of at least $7.4m(CHF8.8m).The launchmakes the Foundation one of the leading Swiss film funding institutions afterthe Federal Office for Culture and broadcaster SRG SSR idee suisse.The city ...

  • Kosslick 'confident' Berlinale will meet sellers demands

    9-Nov-2004

    The Berlinale is"absolutely confident" that it will be able to cater for theincreased demand from sales companies at the European Film Market (EFM) nextFebruary in its "transition year" before moving into its new venue atthe Martin Gropius Building from 2006.

  • GERMANY 9 November

    9-Nov-2004

    UIP's release of 7 Dwarves attracted another 1.2m cinemagoers in its second weekendto bring the admissions tally up to 3.5m so far and a box office gross of$26m-plus.The comedy, which is already now moresuccessful than Otto's previous film outings - Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm and Otto- Der Liebesfilm ...

  • Illusive Tracks takes double top at Nordic Film Days

    9-Nov-2004

    The Swedish film IllusiveTracks (Skenbart) by Peter Dalle proved a big hit with both the jury andaudience at this year's Nordic Film Days in Luebeck.

  • Schizo takes top prize at Cottbus festival

    7-Nov-2004

    Guka Omarova's feature debut Schizo(Schiza) picked up the Main Prize for Best Film at this year's FilmFestivalCottbus - Festival of East European Cinema (November 2-6).TheRussian-Kazakh-French-German co-production, ...

  • German exhibitors angered by window wavering

    5-Nov-2004

    The German exhibitors association HDF has calledon distributors to honour the six-month window for theatrical releases afterseveral cases of films appearing on DVD/video before six months had elapsed.

  • GERMANY 3 November

    3-Nov-2004

  • European regional funding network swells its ranks

    27-Oct-2004

    The UK's Screen South, Sweden's Film I Vast and Spain's IVACLa Filmoteca are among eight regional film funders who have swelled the ranksof the Cine-Regio network of European funding agencies to bring the membershipup to 13.

  • Bavaria closes further Bombon sales

    26-Oct-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has closed further sales onArgentine director Carlos Sorin's Bombon - El Perro following its market screening at MIFED.Deals for all of the Germanspeaking territories were concluded with Alamode Film (Germany), Poly Film(Austria) and Trigon Film (Switzerland), while all rights were also sold toMikado Film (Italy), Arthaus (Norway), Discovery (ex-Yugoslavia), Barbar(Turkey) and to Best Hollywood (Hungary, Czech Republic ...

  • Czech features dominate Cottbus market

    26-Oct-2004

    New Czech feature projects dominate this year's ConnectingCottbus East-West co-development market which will be held during theFilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema (Nov 2-6) from November4-5.

  • Emmerich strikes first look deal with German fund

    26-Oct-2004

    Director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow) has signed a "first look" agreement withthe German private media fund VIP for his own in-house developed film projectsas opposed to those offered to him by Hollywood studios.

  • Bavaria wraps Surprise sales

    25-Oct-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has concluded a number ofsales for the German 2004 blockbuster Dreamship Surprise - Period 1 after its market premiere at MIFED.

  • Hof Film Days unveils festival line-up

    21-Oct-2004

  • Africa added to German coproduction market

    20-Oct-2004

    Feature film projects from South Africa looking forfinancing will be presented for the first time at this year's MannheimCoproduction Meetings during the Mannheim-Heidelberg International FilmFestival (November 18-27).

  • Fahrenheit to hit TV screens in Germany, Spain

    19-Oct-2004

    Michael Moore's Fahrenheit9/11 is to play on television in Germany and Spain in the next ten days,just before the US presidential elections.

  • Germany mulls sale and leaseback scheme

    19-Oct-2004

    Germany's State Minister for Culture and MediaChristina Weiss has called for the introduction of a tax incentive system onthe lines of the British sale and leaseback model.

  • GERMANY 19 October

    19-Oct-2004

  • Jaoui's Image to open Vienna festival

    14-Oct-2004

    Agnes Jaoui's Comme Une Image will open this year'sVienna International Film Festival (Oct 15-27) which has programmed 298 filmsfrom 44 countries.

  • New Line, Internationalmedia to tap new German equity

    13-Oct-2004

    New productions by New Line and Internationalmedia are setto benefit from financing provided by two German private media funds.

  • Verhoeven, Tanovic win Eurimages funding

    12-Oct-2004

    New feature projects by Danis Tanovic, Paul Verhoeven andPierre Paul Renders are among 13 European co-productions backed with over Euros4.4m by the Strasbourg-based co-production fund Eurimages in its latest roundof funding.

  • GERMANY 12 October

    12-Oct-2004

  • Euros 50m German fund lines up US indie projects

    8-Oct-2004

    US independent producers Inferno Distribution, Bob YariProductions and Internationalmedia are being lined up as possible sources ofprojects for a new Academy Film Fund launched by ABN Amro's private bankDelbrueck Bethmann Maffei (DBM).The Academy Film Fund aims to have a volume of at leastEuros 50m and would finance the production of three features for theinternational market.

  • Berlinale launches World Cinema Fund

    5-Oct-2004

    After three years ofpreparation, the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF) has been launched with anannual budget of Euros 500,000. The funds are to be provided over the nextthree years by the German Federal Cultural Foundation to support the productionand distribution of films from Latin America, Africa, and the MiddleEast/Central Asia.

  • GERMANY 5 October

    5-Oct-2004

  • Molfenter named as Babelsberg managing director

    4-Oct-2004

    Babelsberg's new owners have appointed Henning Molfenter asmanaging director of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP).

  • Bier's Brothers wins again

    1-Oct-2004

    Susanne Bier's Brothershas won the Hamburg Film Critics' Prize, which was awarded at theFilmfest Hamburg for the first time this year. The win comes just days after Brothers won two best acting Golden Shells at the SanSebastian film festival.

  • Bavaria takes on (T)Raumschiff Surprise sales

    30-Sep-2004

    Bavaria Film International will handle theinternational sales for Michael "Bully" Herbig's local blockbuster (T)RaumschiffSurprise - Period 1 which has been seen by over nine million cinema-goersin Germany this year. It is currently the territory's most successful releasewith a box-office gross of over Euros 50m.

  • US studios return to tap German funds

    29-Sep-2004

    20th Century Fox, New Line and Universal Studiosare looking to benefit once more from three new placements by German privatemedia funds this autumn.

  • GERMANY 28 September

    28-Sep-2004

  • Solo takes German rights to Bier's Brothers

    27-Sep-2004

  • Germany names Downfall as Oscar contender

    26-Sep-2004

    Oliver Hirschbiegel's World War II drama The Downfall(Der Untergang) has been selected as theGerman entry to compete in the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Filmcategory.

  • German funder dishes out Euros 4.2m to co-productions

    24-Sep-2004

    A film about aclassical music love triangle and a feature about World War 1 nurses are among13 international co-productions awarded over Euros 4.2m in support byDuesseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW in its latest round of funding.

  • GERMANY 22 SEPTEMBER

    22-Sep-2004

  • ProSiebenSat.1 launches inhouse sales outfit

    21-Sep-2004

    Germany'sProSiebenSat.1 group has launched an in-house sales outfit SevenOneInternational which will have its market premiere at the forthcoming MIPCOM(October 4-8).

  • Senator unveils details of post insolvency plans

    17-Sep-2004

    Senator Entertainment plans to focus its futureoperations on the core business of its three 100% subsidiaries Senator FilmProduktion, Senator Film Verleih and Central Film Vertriebs once it has beendischarged from insolvency proceedings.However, it will selloff its interest in LA-based international sales outfit Senator Internationalas part of the insolvency plan drawn up by court-appointed ...

  • Senator saved as creditors agree restructuring plan

    15-Sep-2004

    The future of SenatorEntertainment has become much brighter after the producer-distributor's100-plus creditors agreed unanimously at a meeting in Berlin today (Wednesday)to accept the insolvency restructuring plan drawn up by the court-appointedreceiver Rolf Rattunde.

  • GERMANY 14 September

    14-Sep-2004

  • Record summer for German box office

    7-Sep-2004

    Germany has witnessed a box office boom over the summermonths, with new figures showing admissions and takings to be at an all timehigh for the key May-August period.

  • Revamp for Export-Union of German Cinema

    2-Sep-2004

    The international representation of German filmsreceived a boost this week with the Export-Union of German Cinema opening itsdoors to six new shareholders in a revamped agency called German Films Service+ Marketing.

  • Swiss films target international audiences

    2-Sep-2004

    At the beginning of thisyear, Andrea Willson, the head of former Deutsche Columbia PicturesFilmproduktion, was recruited by the Swiss rights trader/distributor FalcomMedia Group to manage the company's expansion into German language production.

  • Mila From Mars delights Sarajevo

    1-Sep-2004

    Bulgarian first-time filmmaker Sophia Zornitsa's Mila From Mars (Mila Ot Mars) was thesurprise winner of the Euros 25,000 Best Film Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival's Regional Competition, beating offopposition from the festival audience favourites of Albanian Gjergi Xhuvani's Dear Enemy (I Dashur Armik) and CroatianArsen Anton Ostojic's A Wonderful NightIn Split (Ta Divna Splitska Noc).

  • GERMANY 31 August

    31-Aug-2004

  • Bavaria takes on Midwinter sales

    27-Aug-2004

    Bavaria FilmInternational (BFI) is to handle world sales on Serbian director GoranPaskaljevic's latest feature MidwinterNight's Dream which will be in competition at the forthcoming San SebastianFilm Festival.

  • Lord Of The Rings parody starts Swiss shoot

    23-Aug-2004

    Shooting has begun this week in Switzerland on The Ring Thing, a Swiss parody of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, which will bereleased theatrically at Christmas in Switzerland by the local outpost of BuenaVista International (BVI).

  • New film sales company opens in Germany

    23-Aug-2004

    Germany's film sales community has a new player with thelaunch of Sola Media.

  • German DVD distributor moves into theatrical

    19-Aug-2004

    Leading German DVD distributor e-m-s new media is to take amajority 52.38% stake in theatrical distributor 3L Filmverleih which was set upat the beginning of this year by e-m-s new media's Chairman and CEO WernerWirsing and his wife

  • Cassel to head Oldenburg jury

    18-Aug-2004

    Veteran American indie actor Seymour Cassel will serve asthe president of the International Jury for the German Independence Award -Best German Film to be presented for the first time at the forthcoming FilmfestOldenburg (Sept 8-12).

  • German cinema admissions leap in 2004

    18-Aug-2004

    Germany's distributors and exhibitors have cause forcelebration as 1 million more cinema tickets were sold in the first half of2004 compared to the same period last year, according to official figuresunveiled by the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Switzerland's national film fund to be reviewed

    18-Aug-2004

    Pascal Couchepin, head of Switzerland's Federal Departmentof Home Affairs (EDI) has commissioned an independent report on the running ofSwitzerland's national film funding programme at the Federal Office for Culture(BAK).

  • Reding re-selected for EU media job

    17-Aug-2004

    Viviane Reding is to keep the audiovisual policyand MEDIA Programme portfolio in the new team of commissioners unveiled by JoseManuel Barroso, President-designate of the European Commission.

  • Upbeat Constantin raises targets for 2004

    17-Aug-2004

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film hasraised its sales forecast for 2004 to at least Euros 200m.

  • Locarno director responds to criticism

    13-Aug-2004

    Locarno Film Festivalartistic director Irene Bignardi has declared herself "very happy" with herfourth event and has defended herself against criticism from former Locarnodirector Moritz de Hadeln.

  • Euro cinema foundation suspends operations

    12-Aug-2004

    The MonteCinemaVeritaFoundation, which was one of the backers of this year's Locarno competitionfilm The Hunter (Okhotnik) byKazakhstan's Serik Aprymov, has suspended operations and laid off coordinatorLaurence Hoffmann in order to restructure its organisation.

  • German home entertainment market hits new high

    12-Aug-2004

    Turnover in the German homeentertainment market continues to boom with revenues from sell-through andrental videos and DVDs increasing by 14% to Euros 720m in the first half of2004, according to the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • New Swiss arthouse distributor launches

    11-Aug-2004

    A new player has appeared on the Swiss distribution scene with thelaunch of Lucerne-based Cinepix Distribution in collaboration with the KiwiGroup arthouse cinema chain.

  • Splendid Film ordered to pay $2.1m to Gold Circle

    11-Aug-2004

    The future liquidity ofSplendid Film is in jeopardy following a decision ordering it to pay $2.1m toLos Angeles-based Gold Circle Films.

  • Swiss locations receive promotion boost

    10-Aug-2004

    Switzerland's profile as alocation for international film productions is set to receive a major boostafter the decision by Film Location Switzerland (FLS) to become a member of thepromotion agency Swiss Films.

  • GERMANY 10 August

    10-Aug-2004

  • Schwarzenegger doc selling well at Locarno

    10-Aug-2004

  • First Locarno deals concluded

    9-Aug-2004

    After only two days, Locarno had already seen its firstdeals concluded by Friday (August 6) before the festival's first weekend.

  • Talent Campus heads to Far East, Latin America

    9-Aug-2004

    Following the successful staging of Talent Campuses in Kievand New Dehli, the Berlinale Talent Campus plans to further export its conceptto the film festivals in Pusan and Buenos Aires in 2005.

  • Hong Kong, Chinese Locarno titles picked up

    9-Aug-2004

    Hong Kong's Golden Network has picked up world sales rightsfor Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's second feature Black Friday which screens in Locarno's International Competitionsection this year.

  • Generation to open new Hungarian festival

    6-Aug-2004

    Generation, theomnibus film currently in production by six Central and Eastern Europeanfilmmakers (ScreenDaily.com, April2004), will be the opening film at the new Alba Regia International FilmFestival (ARIFF) which is going to be launched in the Hungarian spa town ofSzekesfehervar from June 6-12 2005.

  • German cinema admissions set to rise

    5-Aug-2004

    Cinema attendancein Germany is set to increase between 5%-10%this year, over 2003's 149m, according to Johannes Klingsporn, managingdirector of the German distributors' association Verband der Filmverleiher (VdF).

  • Bavaria Film picks up Bombon

    5-Aug-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up internationalrights for Argentinian director Carlos Sorin's latest film Bombon - El Perro (aka LeChien).

  • 'Bully' tactics prevent film piracy

    4-Aug-2004

    Constantin Film andHerbX, distributor andproducer of Michael"Bully" Herbig's currentbox-office hit (T)Raumschiff Surprise- Periode 1,have struck ablow against filmpiracy.

  • French-German co-productions receive funding

    4-Aug-2004

    New features by Cedric Kahn, Bourlem Guerdjou, Pan Nalin andEmmanuelle Bercot have been awarded over Euros 1m by the Franco-German FundingCommittee as part of the "mini-treaty" co-production fund.

  • Matsutani launches UK-based production outfit

    3-Aug-2004

    German writer-director Rainer Matsutani has set up a newUK-based production house Red Sun Films.

  • GERMANY 3 August

    3-Aug-2004

  • Locarno announces first Excellence Award

    2-Aug-2004

    Russian actor Oleg Menchikov (pictured) is to be the first recipient of the Locarno Excellence Award, created by the festival to celebrate the work of an actor or actress.

  • Berlin funding agency dishes out Euros 3m

    30-Jul-2004

    New films by Andreas Dresen, Eoin Moore, Hans-Christian Schmid,John Stephenson and Sven Unterwaldt are among 12 projects backed with overEuros 3m by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg in its latest round of funding.

  • Sales agents pick up Locarno features

    29-Jul-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) is to serve asthe world sales agent for Ayse Polat's En Garde which will screen incompetition at next week's Locarno International Film Festival (August 4-14) onAugust 6.

  • Euro producers lobby German finance minister

    28-Jul-2004

    The European Motion Picture Producers' Association (EMPA) iscalling for Germany's Minister of Finance Hans Eichel to change the MediaDecree's regulations governing international co-productions as a matter ofurgency.

  • Sarajevo festival confirms first competition contenders

    27-Jul-2004

    The world premiere of Zornitza Sophia's MilaFrom Mars (Bulgaria) and international premieres of Arsen Ostojic's AWonderful Night In Split (Croatia) and Ljubisa Samardzic's Goose Feather(Serbia & Montenegro) are among the first titles confirmed for the SarajevoFilm Festival's Regional Programme competition

  • Spelling sells ahead of Locarno world premiere

    27-Jul-2004

    Paris-based sales agent Funny Balloons hasclosed its first deals on Jean-Jacques Zilbermann's Bad Spelling (LesFautes D'Orthographe) ahead of its world premiere as Locarno InternationalFilm Festival's opening film on the Piazza Grande on August 4.

  • GERMANY 27 July

    27-Jul-2004

  • Star Trek spoof smashes German records

    23-Jul-2004

    (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1, Michael "Bully" Herbig's sequel to his2002 blockbuster Manitou's Shoe,has posted the best ever opening in Germany with over 625,000 admissions in thefirst 24 hours of release.

  • Michael Koelmel avoids jail sentence

    22-Jul-2004

    The court case against Michael Koelmel concluded thismorning (July 22), with the Kinowelt co-founder receiving a suspended sentenceof one year and ten months from Munich's District Court.

  • New Babelsberg chiefs outline studio strategy

    22-Jul-2004

    International feature film production is toremain a top priority at the Babelsberg studios, the new owners Carl Woebckenand Christoph Fisser said yesterday.

  • Cinepool strikes first Schloendorff sales

    21-Jul-2004

    Cinepool has concluded its first sales for Volker Schloendorff's TheNinth Day (Der Neunte Tag) ahead of its world premiere screening inLocarno's Piazza Grande open-air programme on August 5.

  • German fund to raise Euros 230m for Universal

    21-Jul-2004

    Germany's Hannover Leasing(HL) is to partner again with Universal Studios on its second Montranus mediafund, which is to be launched this September to raise at least Euros 230m forinvesting in several feature films by the US studio.

  • Michael Koelmel faces up to nine years in jail

    21-Jul-2004

    Kinowelt co-founder Michael Koelmel faces apossible nine-year prison sentence for claims of embezzlement, fraud anddelaying the filing of insolvency.

  • GERMANY 21 July

    21-Jul-2004

    Germany was at last blessed withsummer-like temperatures, but this had a negative effect on cinema attendancesas shown by the 50%-plus slip in admissions for Spider-Man 2 and Shrek2. UIP's 252-print release of The Stepford Wives was the only othertitle apart from the Top 2 to pass the 100,000 admissions barrier, while 20thCentury Fox's Walking Tall remake only mustered ...

  • ProSieben strikes DreamWorks package deal

    20-Jul-2004

    The ProSiebenSat.1 Group has secured the Germanfree-TV, first-run rights to all DreamWorks feature films and selected TVseries from 2006 to 2010 from Telepool.

  • EC proposes Euros 1bn for MEDIA budget

    19-Jul-2004

    The European Commission (EC) has adopted the plan for a newMEDIA Programme - entitled MEDIA 2007 - to run from January 1 2007 to 31December 2013 with a proposed budget of Euros 1.055bn, up from the currentProgramme's Euro 493m.

  • Babelsberg workforce protest at takeover

    16-Jul-2004

    Studio Babelsberg's workforce has appealed toFederal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to intervene following this week'sdecision by Vivendi Universal to sell the production centre to a German groupof investors.

  • Dungeons & Dragons II rolls into Lithuania

    16-Jul-2004

    Principal photography on thethird production from the Studio Hamburg WorldWide Pictures (WWP) fund, Dungeons& Dragons II: The Elemental Might, is scheduled to begin in Vilnius,Lithuania, on July 26.

  • Locarno names Swiss showcase titles

    14-Jul-2004

    Filmsby veteran director Alain Tanner, documentary filmmaker Ulrike Koch andanimator Georges Schwizgebel are among the line-up for this year's"Appellations Suisse" showcase of new Swiss cinema to be presented atthe forthcoming Locarno International Film Festival (August 4-14).

  • Locarno goes on 'journey of exploration'

    14-Jul-2004

  • Locarno goes on 'journey of exploration'

    14-Jul-2004

    Locarno's festival directorIrene Bignardi promises "a journey of exploration" for this year'sInternational Competition (Aug 4-14)line-up with films from France to Vietnam, fromKazakhstan to Belgium and from South Africa to India.

  • Vivendi Universal sells Babelberg studios

    14-Jul-2004

    VivendiUniversal (VU) has sold the historic Babelsberg Studios to a group of Germaninvestors led by Carl Woebcken, managing director of Berlin Animation Film, andChristoph Fisser, managing director of the Munich studio facility StudioAtelierbetriebe Schwabing (SAS).

  • Oh Happy Day to open Hamburg Festival

    13-Jul-2004

    Hella Joof's Danish gospel comedy Oh Happy Day willbe the opening film of this year's Filmfest Hamburg (Sept 23-30).Oh Happy Day is beinghandled internationally by Nordisk Film International and will be released inGermany on December 30 by MFA.

  • Leigh to nominate Katrin Cartlidge bursary recipient

    12-Jul-2004

    UKdirector Mike Leigh will nominate the recipient of a bursary from the recentlyfounded Katrin Cartlidge Foundation at the forthcoming Sarajevo Film Festival.

  • Babelsberg management tipped to takeover studios

    9-Jul-2004

    Studio Hamburg has dropped out of the bidding for the Babelsberg film studios, leaving the management buy-out team led by Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures boss Thierry Potok as the most likely winner.

  • German media funds look to local production

    9-Jul-2004

    Germany's private media funds are showing increasinginterest in backing local feature production and dispelling the belief that theprivate equity they raise flows only as 'stupid German money' intoHollywood productions.

  • Docs join Sarajevo's Human Rights Award competition

    7-Jul-2004

    Fernando Perez's melancholy portrait Suite Habana which is the talk of town in Cuba this summer, AndreiNekrasov's investigation into a 1999 apartment bombing in Moscow in Disbelief, and Jehane Noujaim'schronicle of Al Jazeera in Control Roomare among ten documentaries selected for the Panorama Documentary sidebar ofthis year's Sarajevo Film Festival.

  • Filmstiftung NRW bankrolls Euro co-productions

    7-Jul-2004

    New feature projects byRaoul Ruiz, Michael Caton-Jones and Cedric Kahn are among several Europeanco-productions receiving production support from Filmstiftung NRW in its latestround of funding.

  • GERMANY 7 July

    7-Jul-2004

  • Hamburg gives into protests against funding cuts

    7-Jul-2004

    Themonth-long wave of protests against the proposals by Hamburg's Culture SenatorKarin von Welck to cut funding for FilmFoerderung Hamburg (FFHH) by 50% has hadthe desired effect.Accordingto German press reports on Wednesday afternoon (July 7), the Senate forEconomics & Labour is to provide at least Euros 2m from its economicfunding budget ...

  • Eurimages bankrolls Kahn, Chereau features

    6-Jul-2004

    New feature projects by Cedric Kahn, Jan Svankmajer andPatrice Chereau are among 12 European co-productions which have been awarded atotal Euros 4.64m by the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages.

  • Sommersturm, Napola spark Munich buzz

    5-Jul-2004

    Marco Kreuzpaintner's coming out tale Sommersturm and Dennis Gansel's World War II drama Napola, which received its world premiere in competition atKarlovy Vary on July 4 (Sunday), created a buzz among international buyersattending the Munich Previews during this year's Munich Film Festival.

  • Edukators wins Support at Munich festival

    2-Jul-2004

    Hans Weingartner's Cannes competition film The Edukators(Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei) was the big winner at this year's GermanCinema Support Prize which was presented at this week's Munich Film Festival.

  • Karlovy Vary withdraws Slovenian film from competition

    2-Jul-2004

    Slovenian director Metod Pevec's Beneath Her Window isbeing withdrawn from Karlovy Vary International Film Festival's (July 2 -10)official competition because it was shown at last November's film festival inLjubljana.

  • Germany sees box office revival

    30-Jun-2004

    Germany's box office has made a welcome recovery since Mayafter a year-on-year decline in admissions and revenues for the first quarterof 2004, according to EDI Nielsen.

  • Niehuus named executive director at German funding body

    30-Jun-2004

    Berlin-Brandenburg production community has welcomed thenaming of Kirsten Niehuus as the executive director with responsibility forfilm funding at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (the public fund which supportedKevin Spacey's Beyond The Sea andHans Weingartner's The Edukators.last year) from November 1, 2004.

  • GERMANY 29 June

    29-Jun-2004

  • Babelsberg Film looks to board Macdonald's Last King

    28-Jun-2004

    Germany's BabelsbergFilm is in negotiations to become a co-producer on Oscar-winning documentaryfilmmaker Kevin Macdonald's fiction feature film debut The Last King OfScotland.

  • New blow for Hamburg film fund

    28-Jun-2004

    FilmFoerderung Hamburg (FFHH) has suffered another blow withthe news that public broadcaster ZDF will terminate its cooperation agreementand annual contribution of Euro 1m at the end of this year.

  • Thirty buyers lined up to attend Munich Previews

    28-Jun-2004

    FineLine, Miramax, France's MK2, Sweden's Nonstop Entertainment, Hungary's BudapestFilm and Australia's SBS are among over 30 international film distributors andTV film buyers attending the Export-Union of German Cinema's Munich Previews,which are being held for the first time during the Munich Film Festival fromJune 27-30.

  • Edukators star signs for World War II feature

    24-Jun-2004

    Julia Jentsch, lead actress in HansWeingartner's Cannes competition film The Edukators, has been cast asthe German resistance figure Sophie Scholl in Marc Rothemund's World War IIdrama Sophie Scholl - Die Letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl - The Last Days)which began shooting in Munich on June 12.

  • GERMANY 24 June

    24-Jun-2004

  • Studio Hamburg threatens to move to Berlin

    23-Jun-2004

    In a reaction to the Hamburg Senate's planned cut to itsfilm funding budget, Studio Hamburg - which is currently negotiating a takeoverof the Babelsberg studios - has threatened to move its production apparatus toBerlin.

  • Leigh named as Sarajevo jury president

    21-Jun-2004

    UK director Mike Leigh is to serve as the president of theInternational Jury at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) (August 20-28).

  • Akin's Head-On dominates German Film Awards

    20-Jun-2004

    Fatih Akin's Golden Bear-winning Head-On (Gegen DieWand) was the big victor at this year's German Film Awardsin Berlin on Friday evening (June 18).The film bagged five Golden Lolas in total - for bestfilm, best direction, best lead actress (Sibel Kekilli), best lead actor (BirolUenel) and best ...

  • Cinerenta boss quits to launch own production outfit

    18-Jun-2004

    Marco Mehlitz is leaving his job as CEO andmanaging director of Munich-based production fund Cinerenta to set up his ownproduction outfit.

  • Senator shareholders agree restructuring plan

    18-Jun-2004

    The restructuring plan for the insolvent SenatorEntertainment negotiated its first hurdle at an extraordinary AGM convened bythe court-appointed receiver Rolf Rattunde in Berlin on Thursday (June 17).

  • Berlin launches film fund for developing countries

    17-Jun-2004

    The Berlinale has been awarded Euro 1.5m initially for the next three years to set up a World Cinema Fund for the support of filmmakers from developing countries and to increase the profile of their films in German cinemas.

  • Hamburg film fund rocked by budget cut plans

    17-Jun-2004

    Hamburg's film scene has been rocked by plans unveiled bynewly appointed Culture Senator Karin von Welck to slash the city's support ofFilmFoerderung Hamburg (FFH) from Euros 7m to Euros 3.5m for 2005/6.

  • GERMANY 16 June

    16-Jun-2004

  • Berlinale mourns passing of Werner Gondolf

    11-Jun-2004

    The Berlinale is mourning the passing of Werner Gondolf, thefestival's chief programmer for over 30 years, at the age of 61 after a longillness.

  • Intertainment, Franchise judgement expected next week

    10-Jun-2004

    The final judgement in the damages lawsuitbetween Germany's Intertainment and Franchise Pictures is now expected to bemade sometime next week at the earliest.

  • Senator unveils details of bankruptcy rescue plan

    10-Jun-2004

    The restructuring of German producer/distributorSenator Entertainment could be completed by the end of September, according toplans which will be presented at an extraordinary shareholders assembly nextweek by the court-appointed receiver Rolf Rattunde.

  • Schloendorff in favour of MBO option for Babelsberg

    9-Jun-2004

    Former Babelsberg studio boss Volker Schloendorff has spokenout in favour of the bid by the current management under Thierry Potok for thehistorical production centre as talks continue with Vivendi Universal on thestudio's future.

  • GERMANY 9 June

    9-Jun-2004

  • Berlinale calls on film-makers to shoot football films

    8-Jun-2004

    The Berlinale Talent Campus has launched a shortfilm competition - Shoot Goals! Shoot Movies! - for film-makers toillustrate their passion for the game of football as well as the fans and theculture it generates in their respective countries.

  • Munich fest to open with Pearl Earring

    7-Jun-2004

  • Raggy Boy wins top Emden festival prize

    7-Jun-2004

    Aisling Walsh's Song For A Raggy Boy was presented with theEuros 10,000 Bernhard Wicki Prize at this year's Emden-Aurich-Norderney FilmFestival in the north-western corner of Germany.

  • German distributors take Les Choristes, Kontroll

    4-Jun-2004

  • GERMANY 3 June

    3-Jun-2004

  • German producer urges local cinema to get global

    28-May-2004

    Just three weeks before the German Film Awards on June 18,X-Filme creative pool's Stefan Arndt has called for German film producers toshow more self-confidence and a greater global approach.

  • German home entertainment market hits new heights

    27-May-2004

    The German home entertainment market has postedrecord turnover in the first three months of 2004 thanks to the ever increasingpopularity of DVDs.

  • Germany's Script House devises new East-West info exchange

    26-May-2004

    The exchange of information between East and Western Europe on trends in film development, producing and marketing in their respective markets is to receive a boost through a new venture entitled Crossings, which has been devised by Berlin-based Script House and will be launched at next week's Transilvanian Film Festival in Cluj (Romania) from June 2-6.

  • Bavaria ships Whisky at Cannes

    25-May-2004

    Bavaria FilmInternational (BFI) has concluded a raft of deals at the market in Cannes on Uruguayancomedy Whisky and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's latest feature Niceland.

  • Berlin's European Film Market switches to new venue

    25-May-2004

    It's official: Berlin's European Film Market (EFM) will have a newvenue for 2006 at the Renaissance-style Martin Gropius Building, just fiveminutes from Potsdamer Platz. The market will be held inside the cramped Debis building forthe last time in 2005.

  • Palm takes US and UK rights to Nomi Song

    25-May-2004

    Palm Pictures has picked up US and UK rights to AndrewHorn's music documentary The Nomi Song at the end of what sales agentMedia Luna Entertainment described as "a very busy Cannes market."

  • GERMANY 25 May

    25-May-2004

  • Edukators picked by Delphi Filmverleih for Germany

    24-May-2004

  • German cinema admissions plunge

    13-May-2004

    2.4m fewer tickets were soldat German cinemas in the first three months of 2004 compared to the previousyear, according to statistics collated by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • GERMANY 12 May

    12-May-2004

  • Macedonia's Mitevska wins Crossing Europe Award

    11-May-2004

  • Kinowelt eyes up insolvent Senator

    10-May-2004

    Despite having to answer claims of embezzlement, delayingthe filing of insolvency, and bankruptcy in Munich's District Court sincemid-April, Kinowelt's Michael Koelmel is apparently still in a buying mood.

  • GERMANY 7 May

    7-May-2004

  • Germany's Advanced buys leading inflight entertainment service

    7-May-2004

    German distributor-licencetrader Advanced Medien has acquired the former Kinowelt subsidiary Atlas AirFilm+Media Service and its wholly-owned US subsidiary Atlas Air EntertainmentConcepts, Inc., based in Los Angeles.The Atlas Air Group, which posted turnover of approximatelyEuro 20m in 2003 , is one of the world's leading providers of inflightentertainment services and currently serves 24 airlines.

  • Constantin fortunes rise as free-TV sales improve

    6-May-2004

    German producer-distributorConstantin Film's fortunes are on the up again after first quarter revenuesincreased 154% over the previous year thanks largely to the full consolidationof Constantin Entertainment and free-TV sales for Resident Evil.The Group posted revenues of Euros60.6m for the first three months of 2004, compared to Euros 23.9m for the sameperiod last year.

  • GERMANY 6 May

    6-May-2004

  • GERMANY 6 May

    6-May-2004

  • New Diagonale team named

    3-May-2004

    German-born film academic and journalist Birgit Flos(pictured) has been appointed as the new director of the Diagonale for threeyears from 2005.

  • German animation industry reaches new heights

    30-Apr-2004

    At the recent Cartoon Moviefinancing market in Babelsberg, German animation producers were feelingparticularly bullish. Of the 14 countries present with projects, Germany wasrepresented with eight of the 40 projects - after France and Spain - and was alsoa co-production partner on the Danish studio A.Film's The Ugly Duckling& Me.

  • Bavaria Film takes Int'l sales on new omnibus film

    29-Apr-2004

    Bavaria Film International will handle international sales on theomnibus film Generation by six Central and Eastern European filmmakers,which goes into production next month.The film, which was initiated by the 'relation' EastEuropean cultural programme of Germany's Kulturstiftung des Bundes, will seesix 12-18-minute shorts being made by Stefan Arsenijevic (Serbia &Montenegro), Nadejda Koseva (Bulgaria), Mait Laas (Estonia), Kornel Mundruczo(Hungary), ...

  • MEDIA programme extended, budget increased

    29-Apr-2004

  • Roads To Koktebel wins Best Film Award at goEast Festival

    29-Apr-2004

    Russian directing duo Boris Chlebnikov and AlexeiPopogrebsky's Roads To Koktebel picked up the Euros 10,000 Best FilmAward at this year's goEast Festival of Central and East European Film whichclosed with an awards ceremony in Wiesbaden on Tuesday night (April 28).

  • Sarajevo film festival announces opening film

    29-Apr-2004

    Kod Amidze Idriza, the new feature by award-winningBosnian director Pjer Zalica (Fuse), is set to be the opening film atthe 10th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival (August 20-28).

  • Internationalmedia negotiates $18m credit line

    27-Apr-2004

    Internationalmediahas negotiated a credit line of up to $18m over a 12 month period with aprivate US investor group to reduce its bank liabilities and finance pre-production for upcoming film projects,among other things.

  • GERMANY 27 April

    27-Apr-2004

  • Constantin financial chief to leave after five years

    26-Apr-2004

    Constantin Film's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dr DanielWiest is to leave the German producer-distributor at the end of next monthafter five years with the company.

  • Costa-Gavras, Haneke features win Eurimages funding

    26-Apr-2004

    New feature film projects by Michael Haneke, ConstantinCosta-Gavras, Robert Glinski and Pal Sletaune are among nine Europeanco-productions which were awarded Euro 3.3m by the pan-European co-productionfund Eurimages in its latest round of funding.

  • Head-On favourite for German Film Awards

    20-Apr-2004

    Fatih Akin's Golden Bear-winner Head-On is the favourite for this year's German Film Awards after it received four nominations in the categories for best film, direction, actor and leading actress.

  • GERMANY 20 April

    20-Apr-2004

    While BVI's Brother Bear held on to the top spot for the fifth week in a row based on admissions, it was a different matter as far as box-office takings were concerned. The animation feature was pushed down to second position by the new entry of UIP's The Dawn Of The Dead which posted over $1m from 347 screens in its first four days of release.

  • Fragile's Click taps into German funding

    19-Apr-2004

    UK-Germanco-production Click,set to star Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Thandie Newton, Dominic West and JuliaStiles, is one of four international co-productions to share Euros 3m fundingfrom Dusseldorf-based Filmstiftung NRW.The romantic comedy about a bride falling in love withanother woman is the directorial debut of Ol Parker and is a co-production withthe UK's Fragile Films and the Cologne office of X-Filme creative pool.It was awarded Euros 500,000 in ...

  • Intertainment shares surge following lawsuit settlement

    19-Apr-2004

    Shares in beleaguered German media concern Intertainment soared by up to 14% yesterday (April 19) after it reached a settlement with Franchise Pictures' former president and COO Andrew Stevens on the eve of its lawsuit against Franchise and other parties.

  • Berlinale winners embark on host of projects

    15-Apr-2004

    Director Fatih Akin and actor Birol Uenel have had a busy March. After winning the Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale for Head-On (Gegen Die Wand) the film's opening dates and the respective promotional tours in Germany and Turkey were brought forward to mid-March. But both of them have still found time for making films.

  • Munich festival to honour Kaurismaki brothers

    15-Apr-2004

    Filmmaker brothers Aki and Mika Kaurismäki are to be the subjects of this year's Retrospective at the Munich Film Festival (June 26 - July 3).

  • Eight projects vie for co-production market

    14-Apr-2004

    Projects by eight South-East European filmmakers are in the running to be pitched at the second CineLink co-production market to be held during the Sarajevo Film Festival in August in collaboration with Rotterdam's CineMart.

  • Kinowelt's Koelmel faces possible jail term

    14-Apr-2004

    Kinowelt's Michael Koelmel will appear before Munich's District Court from today (Wednesday) to answer claims of embezzlement, delaying the filing of insolvency and bankruptcy.

  • German box office down in first quarter 2004

    13-Apr-2004

    Germany's box office saw a fall in admissions and revenuesfor the first quarter of 2004, according to figures collated by EDI Nielsen.

  • Intertainment/Franchise trial is set to begin on April 20

    12-Apr-2004

    After more than three years of delays, the claim for damages bythe German media company Intertainment against Franchise Pictures is set to goto trial on April 20 in Los Angeles.

  • Senator in 'takeover talks' with mystery investor

    8-Apr-2004

    Troubled German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment is reportedly "negotiating with a strategic investor" to invest in the company.

  • Germany's Senator files for insolvency

    8-Apr-2004

    Beleaguered German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment filed for insolvency today (April 8) after failing to agree a rescue plan with its creditor banks and potential investors.

  • Sales agents win cash backing to market European films

    7-Apr-2004

    With the aim of opening up new markets outside the European Union, the European Film Promotion (EFP) is to launch its new Film Sales Support (FSS) initiative at this month's Buenos Aires Film Festival (April 14-25).

  • Chancellor Schroeder to open Oberhausen short film fest

    7-Apr-2004

    Germany's Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is to be one of the opening speakers at the 50th edition of the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (April 29 - May 4)

  • Faithless Games wins Plzen Czech film fest

    6-Apr-2004

    Michaela Pavlatova's Faithless Games was the winner of the GoldenKingfisher Award for Best Feature Film at this year's Finale Festival of Czech Films in Plzen (29 March - 4 April)

  • GERMANY

    6-Apr-2004

    A ridge of high pressure over Central Europe brought a spate of unexpected warm spring weather over the weekend. Consequently, cinemagoers disappeared into the beergardens rather than the cinemas and the result was seen in the lower overall attendance.

  • Call to cancel Stuttgart film festival

    2-Apr-2004

    The future of next year's Filmfest Stuttgart-Ludwigsburg looks uncertain after comments by Gabriele Roethemeyer, chief executive of the MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg fund and managing director of the festival's organising body.

  • German network cuts acquisition spend, ups film support

    2-Apr-2004

    ARD, Germany's public broadcasting network plans to cut its spending on film production and acquisition by Euros 100m over the next four years from 2005.

  • German p&a fund comes unstuck

    1-Apr-2004

    The p&a fund model launched last year by Ideenkapital to raise investment for the marketing costs of three 20th Century Fox releases appears to have come unstuck.

  • Record year for Swiss video industry

    1-Apr-2004

    The Swiss video industry posted record turnover in 2003 thanks to the rise in popularity of the DVD format and would have been even higher if it had not been for the problems of piracy and illegal parallel imports.

  • Filmfest Dresden suffers unexpected funding cut

    31-Mar-2004

    This year's Filmfest Dresden has been dealt a financial blow by the city hall just three weeks before the opening of the international festival of animation and short films on April 13.

  • Germany's X-Filme scores double top

    30-Mar-2004

    Berlin production powerhouse X-Filme creative pool and its distribution arm X Verleih have been named Germany's most successful production company and distributor of 2003 when the German Federal Film Board (FFA) handed out Euros 15.9m retroactive "reference" funding.

  • Nowhere In Africa producer goes it alone

    30-Mar-2004

    Peter Herrmann, producer of Caroline Link's Oscar-winning Nowhere In Africa has left MTM Medien & Television Muenchen to set up his own production outfit.

  • Santiago cleans up at Fribourg

    30-Mar-2004

    Peruvian director Josue Mendez was the big winner at this year's Fribourg International Film Festival, picking up four awards including the International Jury's Regard D'Or for his Dias De Santiago.

  • Beta Film library sold to EOS Distribution

    30-Mar-2004

    The insolvency administrator of KirchMedia, Michael Jaffe, has sold subsidiary Beta Film with its 15,000 hours of international film and television programmes to former Kirch Group manager Jan Mojto's rights trading operation EOS Distribution.

  • Bavaria looks to cook up sales for Dresen's Willenbrock

    29-Mar-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) is to handle internationalsales on Andreas Dresen's latest feature film Willenbrock, which finished shooting on location in Magdeburglast week.

  • Return star signs for Polish Master

    29-Mar-2004

    Russian actor Konstantin Lavronenko, who played the fatherin Andrei Zvyagintsev's award-winning The Return, has been cast to play the lead in Polish filmmakerPiotr Trzaskalski's next feature The Master.

  • Constantin bullish about future despite 2003 losses

    26-Mar-2004

    Despite posting earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of Euros -11.8m in the 2003 financial year, German producer-distributor Constantin Film is upbeat about its future performance and predicts sales growth of 55% for 2004.In its annual financial statement for 2003, Constantin reported a 13% decrease in consolidated sales from 2002's Euro 131.2m to Euro 114.3m.

  • German DVD outfit wins backing to increase acquisitions

    25-Mar-2004

    Leading German DVD company e-m-s new media has been granted a Euros 5m extension of its credit line by principal banker Dortmunder Volksbank. The money will help finance the acquisition of new film rights to add to its 400-title library.

  • De Posch is new CEO at ProSiebenSat1

    24-Mar-2004

    Following last winter's management reshuffle ProSiebenSat.1 Media's CEO Urs Rohner is leaving the company on April 30 to take up "a new professional challenge" at a multinational corporation in his native Switzerland. He was appointed CEO of ProSieben Media in 2000 and then became the CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media after the merger of ProSieben and Sat.1 the same year.

  • Daskalakis named as acting head of MEDIA Programme

    23-Mar-2004

    Costas Daskalakis, the MEDIA Programme's head of Administration, Finance and Pilot Projects, is to become acting head of the unit when Jacques Delmoly leaves the post at the end of the month.Originally, Dr. Alain Dumort, head of the communication and youth department at the European Commission's Education and Culture Directorate General, was going to take over from Delmoly on April 1 (ScreenDaily.com, 11 February 2004).In one of his last of his last public engagements ...

  • GERMANY

    23-Mar-2004

  • Berlin winner Head-On hits Turkish box office jackpot

    22-Mar-2004

  • German police swoop in massive anti-piracy raid

    19-Mar-2004

    Germany's Federation Against Copyright Theft (GVU) has carried out the world's biggest ever anti-piracy operation.

  • Senator admits it has no remaining share capital

    19-Mar-2004

  • Germany's Senator holds crisis talks with banks

    18-Mar-2004

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment is to hold talks with its financing banks in a bid to save the company from collapse.

  • Germany, UK step up anti-piracy operations

    16-Mar-2004

    Anti-piracy operations in both Germany and the UK say they are making increasing inroads against DVD and video pirates.

  • GERMANY

    16-Mar-2004

  • Nine German films get free TV ads

    10-Mar-2004

    Golden Bear winner Head-On is one of nine German films awarded a total Euros 1.8m worth of advertising airtime on public and private channels.

  • 'Courageous' doc wins top Diagonale prize

    9-Mar-2004

    Martin Bruch's documentary handbikemovie was the surprise winner of this year's Euros 19,000 Diagonale Grand Prix in Austria, which was sponsored by the Land of Styria and Kodak.Bruch, who has multiple sclerosis and uses an adapted wheelchair, filmed handbikemovie with a camera attached to his bicycle helmet. It shows the spectator the streets of Vienna, New York, Paris, London and Istanbul from a quite unique perspective.

  • GERMANY

    9-Mar-2004

    Although the Ben Stiller/Jennifer Anniston romantic comedy Along Came Polly opened with the Top 15's best screen average ($6,384) and sold almost 400,000 tickets in its four days, this was not enough to unseat Scary Movie 3 from the top spot.

  • Austrian region launches Euros 1.5m fund

    7-Mar-2004

  • Malkovich boards Ruiz's Klimt picture

    5-Mar-2004

    John Malkovich is to take the title role in Raul Ruiz's Klimt, an homage to the famous Austrian artist Gustav Klimt.

  • GERMANY

    2-Mar-2004

    BVI's release of Scary Movie 3 was the strongest opener of 2004 to date, grossing $7.3m from 630 screens with a screen average of $ 11,565.

  • Eurimages bankrolls eleven features with Euros 3.3m

    1-Mar-2004

    New features by Pan Nalin (Valley Of Flowers), Radu Mihaileanu (Va, Vis Et Deviens) , Diane Bertrand (Der Ringfinger) and Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) are among 11 European co-productions which received over Euros 3.3m support from the Strasbourg-based Eurimages in its latest round of funding.The largest amount - Euro 600,000 - was awarded by the pan-European production fund to Angel de la Cruz and Manolo Gomez's Spanish-Portuguese co-production ...

  • Head-On release impacts German distributors

    26-Feb-2004

    Fledgling distributor Timebandits Films has been lambasted by fellow German arthouse distributors for bringing forward the release date of Fatih Akin's Golden Bear-winner Head-On (Gegen Die Wand) from April 22 to March 11.In an open letter from 12 distributors including Arsenal Film, Kinowelt, Kool Film, Senator Film, Solo Film and Ventura Film, Timebandits was criticised for "an unprecedented" move which would damage "not only the films of your competitors, but also ...

  • GERMANY

    24-Feb-2004

    Despite an 18% drop in box office over the previous weekend, Warner's Something's Gotta Give held on to the top spot against two new entries and also posted the Top 15's highest screen average with $5,364 from its 622 screens.

  • Diagonale festival unveils Austrian premeries

    23-Feb-2004

    Pjer Zalica's Silver Leopard-winner Fuse (Gori Vatra), the documentaries Virtual Borders by Manu Luksch, Accordion Tribe by Stefan Schwietert, Fucking Freedom by Chris Krikellis and the avantgarde film WAR by Thomas Steiner are among 66 Austrian premieres at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema in Graz which will be opened on March 3 by Goetz Spielmann's new feature Antares.In addition to being a showcase of national production, ...

  • Kinowelt revives broadcasting ambitions

    19-Feb-2004

    Germany's Kinowelt has revived its ambitions to become a player in the German broadcasting arena with plans for a free-TV niche film channel for nationwide distribution.Kinowelt Television has been granted a broadcasting licence by the Kassel-based media watchdog LPR Hessen subject to a final green light from the assembly of regional media watchdogs DLM and the KEK watchdog. Frankfurt-based Kinowelt Television is a 50-50 joint venture between Michael Koelmel's investment company ...

  • France, Spain lead the field at CARTOON 2004

    18-Feb-2004

    France and Spain have the largest number of animation projects and finished works being presented at this year's CARTOON MOVIE forum to be held at the Babelsberg Studios from March 11-13.

  • Bavaria enjoys Berlin business

    17-Feb-2004

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) reported "good business" at this year's Berlinale and European Film Market despite the fact that its films were scheduled quite late into the festival programme.

  • Kosslick mulls market future, festival dates

    17-Feb-2004

    Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick declared himself "very pleased" with the running of this year's edition which had "conceptually achieved everything we wanted to."

  • Premiere, Constantin conclude extensive deal

    17-Feb-2004

    Germany's digital pay TV platform Premiere and producer-distributor Constantin Film have concluded an extensive multi-year programming deal.

  • GERMANY

    17-Feb-2004

    The smile was wiped off Mona Lisa's face last weekend when Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton arrived in town with Something's Gotta Give to take pole position away from the Columbia TriStar release. The romantic comedy which had been shown in the Berlinale's official section with Nicholson and Keaton in attendance, clocked up an impressive $7,683 average from 536 screens to take $ 4.1m.

  • Borries' Thoughts excite buyers

    16-Feb-2004

    Achim von Borries' Love In Thoughts (Was Nuetzt Die Liebe In Gedanken) has been sold by Beta Cinema to Japan's New Select Co. and Brazil's Next Entertainment

  • DVD sell-through market surges in Germany and France

    13-Feb-2004

    Confirming the inexorable growth in the global DVD market, latest figures from Germany and France show DVD sell-through growth towering over both the rental and video sectors.

  • Festival kickstarts Timebandits journey

    13-Feb-2004

    The Berlinale has served as the ideal showcase for the new German distributor Timebandits films, which has four films showing in the festival's different sections.

  • Intertainment and Kopelson go separate ways

    13-Feb-2004

    German rights trader Intertainment and US production company Kopelson Entertainment have mutually agreed to terminate their deal to finance a slate of big budget pictures.

  • Germany's Ottfilm goes under

    12-Feb-2004

    After months of speculation about its future, German independent distributor Ottfilm has filed for insolvency, with the German press quoting managing director Christoph Ott as saying that the insolvency had been triggered by a "breach of contract on the part of investors". Business at the Berlin-based outfit will nevertheless continue for the time being while an insolvency administrator is appointed.

  • Wim Wenders moves into theatrical distribution

    12-Feb-2004

    Peter Schwartzkopff and Wim Wenders' new company Reverse Angle Production is to enter the German theatrical distribution arena later this year.

  • Germany's Movienet buys James Joyce adaptation

    11-Feb-2004

    Germany's Movienet has acquired all German speaking rights for James Joyce adaptation Bloom, starring Stephen Rea and directed by Sean Walsh.'I was very successful with Siddhartha and The Dead and want to continue with high-class literary films in my programme,' commented Movienet's Lothar Seelandt who negotiated the deal with Matt McCombs of the Paragon Film Group.

  • MEDIA Programme chief moves on

    11-Feb-2004

    Jacques Delmoly, who has headed the European Union's MEDIA Programme unit since 1995, is to leave his post at the end of March.

  • 25 directors sign for Euro vision project

    10-Feb-2004

    25 European film directors - from Germany's Fatih Akin through to Portugal's Teresa Villaverde and Latvia's Laila Pakalnina to Sweden's Jan Troell and Hungary's Bela Tarr - are to each contribute five-minute shorts giving their personal visions of Europe.

  • Europe's indies cash in on DVD gold rush

    10-Feb-2004

    DVDs are more than just a welcome new revenue stream for Europe's distributors and producers - they are rapidly becoming their primary source of income.

  • Berlinale co-production market opens for business

    9-Feb-2004

    The first edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market opened for business with around 200 participants at the Talent Campus venue of the House of World Cultures.

  • German media fund strikes radical US deal

    9-Feb-2004

    Producers Eberhard Junkersdorf and Dietmar Guntsche's private German media fund Neue Bioskop Germany (NBG) has teamed up with US producer @radical.media.

  • SHIP shapes up with detective trilogy

    9-Feb-2004

    Studio Hamburg International Production (SHIP), the English-language division of Studio Hamburg Produktion (SHP), has unveiled a slate of five feature projects for production in 2004/2005.

  • Kinowelt sales slate swelled by Playa, Verhoeven doc

    8-Feb-2004

    Kinowelt International has picked up Felix Moeller's documentary The Verhoevens and Peter Lichtefeld's new feature Playa Del Futuro for international distribution.

  • Germany's 'ambivalent' cinema year

    5-Feb-2004

    "An ambivalent cinema year" was how Rolf Baehr, the outgoing board member of the German Federal Film Board (FFA), described 2003 on presenting Germany's official annual box office figures yesterday.

  • Solo takes Your Next Life

    5-Feb-2004

    German distributor Solo-Film has picked up veteran Spanish director Manuel Gutierrez Aragon's latest feature Your Next Life which will have its world premiere in the Berlinale's Official Competition on Feb 9.

  • New German media fund backs its first feature

    4-Feb-2004

    US director Aaron Allred's thriller/love story Not A Lovestory is the first feature film project to be backed by the Babelsberg-based MPF Beteiligungs GmbH & Co Zweite KG (MPF) media fund.

  • German media funds raise Euros 1.7bn

    3-Feb-2004

    German media funds raised Euros 1.76 bn equity from private individuals in 2003, according to a survey of 40 initiators by fund specialist Stefan Loipfinger.

  • GERMANY

    3-Feb-2004

    The Julia Roberts-starrer Mona Lisa Smile held on to the top spot for a second week grossing over $6m by Feb 1, but there was considerable shuffling of positions in the Top 10 with no less than four new entries.

  • Japanese 2003 box office lifted by Shakedown effect

    2-Feb-2004

  • Muxmauschenstill wins Max Ophuls Prize

    2-Feb-2004

    Marcus Mittermeier's feature debut Muxmauschenstill, which will be screening in the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino, was the big winner at this year's 25th jubilee edition of the Max Ophuls Prize Film Festival (26 January - 1 February, 2004) for newcomer German-language cinema in Saarbrücken.

  • Monster launch for new German theatrical player

    30-Jan-2004

    Leading German DVD distributor e-m-s new media is to launch its own in-house theatrical distribution arm 3L Filmverleih to release the Oscar-nominated Monster for which it holds the German language rights.The new outfit is expected to handle between five and eight releases each year, with Monster being the first 3L film to go into the cinemas followed by such films as Korea's Muse - The Warrior by Kim Sung-Su and Michel Schonneman's action-comedy Old ...

  • Distant Lights wins German critics prize

    30-Jan-2004

    Hans-Christian Schmid's Berlinale 2003 competition entry Distant Lights (Lichter) was the big winner at this year's German Film Critics Awards, winning the prizes in the categories of Best Feature Film, Best Actor and Best Editing.The Awards were presented during a gala ceremony at the Max Ophuels Prize Film Festival in Saarbruecken on 29 January (Thursday).The complete lineup of prize-winners are:Best Feature Film - Distant Lights by Hans-Christian ...

  • Kinowelt expands local production slate

    29-Jan-2004

    Kinowelt Filmproduktion has added another three local titles - Playa Del Futuro, Antikoerper and Max & Moritz - to its production line-up.

  • Ex-Deutsche Columbia chief joins Falcom Media

    29-Jan-2004

    Producer Andrea Willson has been recruited by the Swiss rights trader/distributor Falcom Media Group to manage the company's expansion into German language production as a "second strategic business unit" alongside the core business of rights trading.Berlin-based Willson, who ceased being the managing director of Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion (DCPF) when it was wound up last year, will concentrate on the development and production of one or two films a year for the ...

  • Solanas doc set to open Fribourg festival

    29-Jan-2004

    Veteran Argentine filmmaker Fernando Solanas, who will receive an Honorary Golden Bear at next month's Berlinale, will be presenting his new documentary La Memoria Del Saqueo as the opening film for this year's Fribourg International Film Festival (March 21-28).According to the festival organisers, Solanas' film will be complemented by a selection of independent Argentine documentaries which also explore the reasons for the crisis in Argentina in December 2001.This ...

  • GERMANY

    28-Jan-2004

    Julia Roberts' lasting appeal in Germany was underscored by its No. 1 position on the opening weekend for Columbia TriStar's Mona Lisa Smile with Euros 2.8m from 600 screens, while the Eddie Murphy-starrer The Haunted Mansion topped the Euros 2m mark at No. 3.

  • Speck speaks up for 'explosive' Panorama programme

    27-Jan-2004

    The Berlinale's Panorama, which opens on Feb 5 with Eytan Fox's Walk On Water, has "a particularly bold, raw and energetic programme this year", according to section head Wieland Speck.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, Speck cited "such explosive films as Abdellatif Kechiche's L'Esquive which really touches one through its unbelievable energy to Joey Curtis' Quattro Noza set in Latino community in Southern California which is reminiscent of West Side Story ...

  • Media Luna picks up Panorama pair

    26-Jan-2004

    Media Luna Entertainment has picked up international sales rights for Hilmar Oddsson's Cold Light and Russian directorial duo Olga Stolpovskaya and Dmitry Troitsky's You I Love (Ya Lyublu Tebya) which are both screening in Berlin's Panorama section.Oddsson's contemporary drama, which was the opening film at Gothenburg Film Festival, will show as a Panorama Special, while the comedy/love story You I Love - which is billed as "the first gay movie from Russia" ...

  • Traechslin launches new Swiss distribution company

    26-Jan-2004

    A new Swiss distribution company - Basle based Cineworx - has been launched by Pascal Traechslin, the head of distribution at Fama Film for the past six years.Traechslin told ScreenDaily.com on the eve of Rotterdam's CineMart at the weekend that he has set up Cineworx with partners Waltraud Wesselmann (finance) and Thomas Schmutz (marketing).

  • Swiss tune in to Jagged Harmonies

    23-Jan-2004

    Dominique de Rivaz's Jagged Harmonies - Bach vs Frederick II (Mein Name Ist Bach) has won the top award at the Swiss Film Prize 2004.

  • Thirty projects set for debut Talent Project Market at Berlin

    23-Jan-2004

    Feature films from 23 countries as far flung as the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Iceland, Ukraine and Hong Kong are among the 30 projects selected for the first Talent Project Market at next month's Berlinale Talent Campus.The Talent Projects were picked from 256 entries by an international jury comprising the Berlinale Co-Production Market's organiser Sonja Moerkens, Ido Abram of CineMart, Michelle Byrd of Independent Feature Project New York German distributor Stephan Holl ...

  • 32 projects head for Berlinale co-production market

    21-Jan-2004

    New projects by Daniel Burman (Raquel Liberman), Alexander Sokurov (The Sun), Robert Glinski (Unkenrufe), Goran Paskaljevic (Lost In The Stars), Susanne Bier (Simon) and Pang Ho Cheung (Waiting For Nike) are among 32 projects chosen from 230 entries to be presented in the Berlinale's first Co-Production Market.

  • Berlinale unveils Forum of New Cinema

    21-Jan-2004

    More than half of the programme of this year's International Forum of New Cinema are world premieres, and particular attention is being paid to little-known filmmaking countries like South Africa and Thailand.

  • GERMANY

    21-Jan-2004

    After four weeks at the top and over $ 80.5m gross to date, The Return Of The King has been toppled by another Warner Bros. release The Last Samurai which has now grossed $ 9.8m in just two weeks.

  • Kosslick mixes it up with wide ranging selection

    21-Jan-2004

    The 26 films in Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick's Competition line-up are, he acknowledges, "quite a different mix".

  • German exhibitors call on court to examine Film Law

    19-Jan-2004

    Germany's exhibitors' association HDF decided at an extraordinary AGM on Jan 15 to call on the Federal Constitutional Court to examine whether the new Film Funding Law (FFG) is in accordance with the German Constitution.The exhibitors are particularly unhappy about the different ways in which the ticket levy was decided with the cinemas and the broadcasters. "While cinemas are forced by law to pay the film levy, the TV stations can freely negotiate their smaller financial contribution. ...

  • Distant Lights takes top Bavarian film honour

    16-Jan-2004

    The producers of last year's Berlinale competition film Distant Lights by Hans-Christian Schmid took home the top honour at this year's Bavarian Film AwardsThe jury presented the Euros 200,000 Producers Award to Jakob Claussen, Thomas Woebke and Uli Putz of Claussen + Woebke Filmproduktion, acknowledging "the independent stand of the producers to take new paths after big mainstream successes like Anatomie or Crazy."Distant Lights also picked ...

  • Vinterberg, Almodovar win Euro i2i backing

    16-Jan-2004

    New features by Thomas Vinterberg, Pedro Almodovar, the Brothers Quay, Jonathan English and Charles Dance are among 59 European film and TV projects supported with over Euros 2.3m by the European Commission's i2i Audiovisual scheme.The new scheme was launched last July to help production companies access external funding from banks. It helps them pay for some of the cost of guarantees demanded by banks and part of the cost of a loan for financing productions.The maximum ...

  • Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest unveils line-ups

    15-Jan-2004

    The Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest sidebar has confirmed the lineups of films for its traditional competition section and 14plus, the new competition for youth films (see ScreenDaily.com, Nov 2003).Twelve feature length films, including Inke Houtmann's Polleke, Richard Berry's Moi, Cesar 10 Ans 1/2 1M 39 and Paul Morrison's Wondrous Oblivion, have been selected for the Kinderfilmfest competition which will also have an "out of competition" screening of ...

  • Spacey's Sea wins Babelsberg backing

    15-Jan-2004

    Kevin Spacey's Bobby Darin biopic Beyond The Sea has become the first film production to benefit from the State of Brandenburg's guarantee scheme.With the state-backed guarantee as a security, Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP) will put up Euros 4.8m towards the film's $ 20m-plus production costs through a loan from HypoVereinsbank. "The recoupment position for SBMP and Brandenburg is as good as that for the other equity partners", noted Thierry Potok, SBMP managing ...

  • Berlin names Perspectives German Cinema titles

    15-Jan-2004

    Rotterdam's Tiger Award competitor En Route (Unterwegs) by Jan Kruger, the Max Ophuels Prize entry Muxmäuschenstill by Marcus Mittermeier and Patrick Tauss's First Steps Award-winner Der Typ are among the twelve films selected by programmer Alfred Holighaus for the Berlinale's Perspectives German Cinema (Perspektive Deutsches Kino) sidebar.The lineup also includes Nigerian-born Branwen Okpako's TV film Tal Der Ahnungslosen (which was produced ...

  • Berlin reveals 'political' competition selection

    15-Jan-2004

    More than half of the 18 films confirmed so far for the Berlinale's Competition next month (5-15 February) are world premieres.Moreover, the 2004 edition promises to feature a remarkable number of politically committed films, according to the festival's selectors.Bjorn Runge's Daybreak, Cedric Kahn's Red Lights, Patrice Leconte's Intimate Strangers, Romuald Karmakar's Nightsongs, Richard Linklater's Before Sunset and Matteo Garrone's ...

  • First Forum films announced by Berlinale

    15-Jan-2004

    Films by Korea's Kim Jee-woon, Japan's Sabu, Russian directorial duo Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky, and Hong Kong's Johnnie To are among the first batch of titles confirmed for this year's International Forum of New Cinema at the forthcoming Berlinale.The titles announced so far are:A Bride Of The Seventh Heaven (Jumalan Morsian), dirs: Markku Lehmuskallio and Ansatasia Lapsui (Finland)A Tale Of Two Sisters, dir: Kim Jee-woon ...

  • 15 films to compete for Max Ophuels Prize

    14-Jan-2004

    Venice prize-winner Schultze Gets The Blues by Michael Schorr, Ruth Mader's Un Certain Regard entry Struggle and Damir Lukacevic's Heimkehr are among 15 films by the new generation of German-speaking filmmakers selected to compete for this year's Max Ophuels Prize in Saarbruecken (January 26 - February 1).

  • Tykwer sniffs out Perfume possibilities

    13-Jan-2004

    Tom Tykwer (Heaven, Run Lola Run) may direct the long-anticipated screen adaptation of Patrick Sueskind's internationally bestselling novel Perfume (Das Parfuem) for Germany's Constantin Film.Constantin's board member Thomas Peter Friedl confirmed to ScreenDaily.com that the director has been working with screenwriter Andrew Birkin (The Concrete Garden) and producer Bernd Eichinger on a screenplay.

  • GERMANY

    13-Jan-2004

    Warner Bros. was top dog at the German box office last year and has started well in 2004 with the final episode of The Lord Of The Rings continuing to reign supreme for the fourth week running and the Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai entering at No. 2 with $ 4.9m gross from 829 prints.

  • Berlinale names Shooting Stars participants

    12-Jan-2004

    Iceland's Tomas Lemarquis (Noi Albinoi), Maria Simon (Good Bye, Lenin!) , Spain's Elena Ananya (Van Helsing) and the UK's Eva Birthistle (Bloody Sunday) are among 21 young European actors and actresses who will participate in this year's Shooting Stars initiative during the forthcoming Berlinale.

  • Warner emerges as German 2003 distributor champ

    12-Jan-2004

    Warner Bros. reigned supreme at the German box office in 2003 with a 20.4% market share, according to figures from EDI Nielsen.

  • Minghella, Murch named as Berlinale Talent Campus guests

    12-Jan-2004

    Writer-producer-director Eleanor Bergstein, sound designer/film editor Walter Murch and director-producer-screenwriter Anthony Minghella, whose latest film Cold Mountain will open this year's Berlinale, have been announced as the celebrity hosts for the second edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus (7-12 February).Bergstein was responsible for the production and screenplay of the box office smash Dirty Dancing, while Murch's credits include Apocalpyse Now, The ...

  • Tykwer's True to support Love

    9-Jan-2004

    Tom Tykwer's 10-minute short True is to be released in Germany by X Verleih as a supporting film for Achim von Borries' Love In Thoughts which has its world premiere at this month's Sundance Film Festival.True was directed by Tykwer in Paris over four days in August 2002 as a segment of the Paris, Je T'Aime international anthology of films dedicated to the 20 districts of Paris and stars Natalie Portman and Melchior Beslon. It was produced by X Filme ...

  • Danielsen named as Leipzig festival chief

    9-Jan-2004

    Claas Danielsen, head of studies at the Munich-based Discovery Campus training initiative for the international co-production of high quality documentaries, has been named as successor to Fred Gehler as the artistic director of the Leipzig Film Festival for Documentary and Animation.The month-long search for a successor to Gehler, who retired at the end of last year, had had its share of controversy. During the festival in October it turned out that Jean Perret, director of ...

  • Teichmann named Austrian Film Institute chief

    8-Jan-2004

    Roland Teichmann, managing director of the Association of the Audiovisual and Film Industry, has been named the successor to Gerhard Schedl as the director of the Austrian Film Institute (OFI) from May 2004.Teichmann, who organised a two-part international conference with the German lobby group film20 on the challenges of the EU enlargement for the film industry last autumn, was recommended to State Secretary of State Franz Morak by the OFI committee from a final shortlist of ...

  • Warner Bros strikes package deal with ProSiebenSat.1

    8-Jan-2004

    The ProSiebenSat.1 Group has concluded its first direct programming deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITV) for a package of free-TV rights to over 30 theatrical films and six TV series.Film highlights in the package include Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions, the Jet Lee actioner Cradle 2 The Grave, the teen-horror hit Final Destination 2, Matchstick Men, Freddy vs. Jason, the Tom Cruise-starring The ...

  • Minnelli, Ustinov, Lee to host Berlinale Peace event

    8-Jan-2004

    Liza Minnelli, Sir Peter Ustinov and Christopher Lee are to be the hosts for the third edition of the "Cinema for Peace" gala event which will be held in Berlin's Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt during the Berlinale on Feb 9.Around 600 guests from the world of entertainment and high society are expected to attend the evening which will include a charity auction and the presentation of the "Diamond Cinema for Peace Award" to a filmmaker whose life's work has promoted the principles ...

  • German arthouse exhibitors attack cinema levy

    7-Jan-2004

    Germany's arthouse and repertoire exhibitors have criticised the introduction of increases to the cinema levy in the new Film Funding Law (FFG) which came into effect on 1 January.The new cinema levy envisages an average 2.6% of a cinema's annual gross turnover of tickets flowing to the German Federal Film Board (FFA), 0.3% more than under the previous FFG, with cinemas whose turnover did not exceed Euros 75,000 being exempt from paying any levy. Cinemas with turnover up to ...

  • Eurimages names Niehuus as vice-president

    6-Jan-2004

    Kirsten Niehuus, deputy board member at the German Federal Film Board (FFA) in Berlin, has been unanimously elected as Vice-President of Eurimages by all of the 29 national delegates of the pan-European co-production fund."I am very pleased about the decision, particularly in view of the forthcoming EU enlargement and the connected challenges in the audio-visual sphere", she said.

  • GERMANY

    6-Jan-2004

    The final part of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy added another $10.9m to its box office takings as it reigned supreme at the top spot, bringing the total so far to $67.8m and a screen average of $8,193 from each of the 1,341 prints occupying almost a third of all of Germany's cinema screens.

  • German film critics announce award nominations

    1-Jan-2004

  • Keil exits Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg

    30-Dec-2003

    The German film industry has been rocked by the news thatKlaus Keil is to exit his post as chief executive of the regional public filmfunding body Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg (FBB) on 31 March 2004.

  • Berlinale launches new niche competitions

    23-Dec-2003

    Two new competitions - the Volkswagen Score Competition and the "Dialogue en Perspective" Prize - are being launched at the forthcoming Berlinale (5-15 February, 2004).In the Volkswagen Score Competition, a jury will select the most outstanding contribution to the Berlinale Talent Campus' "The Sound and Music" section and the prize-winner will participate in a four day "School Of Sound" symposium in London, with travelling costs and accommodation covered.The sound designers ...

  • Luminaries to spill secrets at Berlinale's Talent Campus

    19-Dec-2003

    Legendary production designer Ken Adam, The Lord Of The Rings cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, Indian film critic Aruna Vasudev and Israeli filmmaker Udi Aloni are among the film industry luminaries lined up for five discussion events open to the general public at the Berlinale Talent Campus (8-12 Feb).The programme will kick off on Sunday, 8 February, with Filmmaking in the Post-Democratic Society, a discussion between Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, French thinker ...

  • Huth steps down from Germany's Senator

    19-Dec-2003

    Hanno Huth is to step down from his board position at Senator Entertainment on Dec 31 and plans to set up his own production outfit in the New Year.

  • Diagonale scrapped for 2004 as festival bosses quit

    18-Dec-2003

    Tillmann Fuchs and Miroljub Vuckovic, the management of the "official" Diagonale appointed by Austria's controversial Secretary of State for Arts Franz Morak, have cancelled the 2004 event and stepped down from their posts.

  • Kinderfilmfest reveals competition five

    18-Dec-2003

    The Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest has confirmed five titles for its new 14plus youth film competition, which will open on Feb 7 with the world premiere of Anders Gustafsson's Bagland (Scratch).

  • Rival Diagonale wins Rotterdam, funding support

    17-Dec-2003

    The International Rotterdam Film Festival has added its voice to the growing international chorus of support for the "original" Diagonale and has donated Euros 1,000 toward the running of the 2004 edition.

  • GERMANY

    16-Dec-2003

    Opening at No. 6 over the weekend was Das Sams In Gefahr - directed by the Dutchman Ben Verbong and produced by Collina Film with support from FFF Bayern and BFB Förderung, and distributed by Costantin Verleih.

  • New Linz Film Festival to focus on Euro film

    16-Dec-2003

    Former Diagonale co-director Christine Dollhofer has been recruited as the director of a new festival entitled "Crossing Europe - Linz Film Festival" which will be held in the Austrian city of Linz from 4-9 May 2004 and dedicated to contemporary, innovative European cinema.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com, Dollhofer explained that the event would "focus on new European films reflecting a continent undergoing change and addressing social and political issues. The festival will ...

  • Warner co-production Thief Lord wins Hamburg funding

    15-Dec-2003

    Richard Claus' adaptation of Cornelia Funke's best-selling children's book The Thief Lord has been awarded Euros 600,000 by German funding body FilmFoerderung Hamburg.

  • Berlinale's Panorama names first German premiere

    15-Dec-2003

    Achim von Borries' Love In Thoughts (Was Nuetzt Die Liebe In Gedanken) will have its European premiere in the Berlinale's Panorama Special sidebar on 10 February. "The stylistic assuredness with which Achim von Boerries tells his story is inspiring", Panorama chief Wieland Speck said. "We are pleased to confirm the first German film for the Panorama programme of the Berlinale 2004." Based on true events that led to the biggest social and legal scandal of 1920s ...

  • Maria Simon named as Germany's Shooting Star

    15-Dec-2003

    Maria Simon, who played Daniel Bruehl's older sister Ariane in Wolfgang Becker's box-office hit Good Bye, Lenin!, has been selected by the Export-Union of German Cinema as the German "Shooting Star" for the 2004 lineup of European acting talent at February's Berlinale.The Shooting Star initiative, which is organised by the Hamburg-based pan-European promotional organisation European Film Promotion (EFP), has presented almost 120 of Europe's most exciting up-and-coming ...

  • Committee appointed for alternative Diagonale

    11-Dec-2003

    The alternative Diagonale (3-7 March, 2004) has taken another major step forward towards realisation with the appointment of a seven-person committee to select the films and programme the festival.

  • Miramax plunges into Deep Blue

    11-Dec-2003

    Miramax Films has acquired North American rights to Alastair Fothergill and Andy Byatt's feature-length documentary Deep Blue, produced by the UK's BBC Worldwide and Germany's Greenlight Media. Inspired by David Attenborough's international hit TV series The Blue Planet, Deep Blue explores life above, below and far beneath the ocean's surface with a score by Oscar-nominated composer George Fenton. The documentary had its world premiere at the San Sebastian ...

  • CineLink to widen net and introduce awards

    10-Dec-2003

    Sarajevo Film Festival's CineMart-style co-production market CineLink is to widen its catchment area to include the entire South-East European region and will award Euros 25,000 each to two of the CineLink projects.

  • Von Trotta, Rothemund get Bavarian cash funding

    10-Dec-2003

    New films by Margarethe von Trotta and Marc Rothemund are among the projects awarded a total of Euros 3m by the Bavarian regional film fund FFF Bayern.

  • Balsan takes over from Powell as EFA chairman

    9-Dec-2003

    After eight years in the post, the UK's Nik Powell is handing over the reins of the chairmanship of the European Film Academy (EFA) to French producer Humbert Balsan.Speaking at the European Film Awards ceremony, Powell quipped that he expected Balsan - who has been one of the EFA deputy chairmen until now - would bring "a real Gallic flavour" to the Academy's operations following a period of German/Anglo-Saxon dominance.EFA director Marion Doering told ScreenDaily.com ...

  • Koltai, Golan ready WWII dramas

    9-Dec-2003

    Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lajos Koltai (Taking Sides, Malena) and veteran Israeli producer-director Menahem Golan have both announced feature projects about the devastating impact of the Nazis on Jews in Europe.

  • Manderlay wins lion's share of Eurimages funding

    9-Dec-2003

    Lars von Trier's Manderlay, Philippe Haim's La Vraie Vie Des Dalton, Lajos Koltai's Fateless and Lieven Debrauwer's Confituur are among 11 European co-productions to share Euros 4.1m production support from Strasbourg-based Eurimages in its latest round of funding.Manderlay received the largest amount - Euros 725,000 - as one of four projects backed in Eurimages' first funding category for larger projects with commercial promise, followed by Fateless ...

  • Belgian exhibitor goes digital

    9-Dec-2003

    Belgian exhibitor Kinepolis is planning to equip another ten of its cinema screens with the Barco DLP digital projector in addition to the existing four screens already converted to digital projection.

  • GERMANY

    9-Dec-2003

    Columbia TriStar's release of the Colin Farrell/Samuel L. Jackson police actioner S.W.A.T. stormed the German box office at No. 2 with an impressive $ 4,125 screen average from its 609 prints to take $2.5m on its first weekend (without previews), but was still eclipsed by Buena Vista's Finding Nemo at pole position with almost three times as many admissions and box office takings.

  • Good Bye, Lenin! sweeps European Film Awards

    8-Dec-2003

    Christmas came early this year for the Good Bye, Lenin! team when they picked up six of 16 awards at the European Film Awards (EFA) held in Berlin's Arena on Saturday evening (6 Dec).

  • Diagonale rebels win Euro festival support

    8-Dec-2003

    The organisers of the "original Diagonale" have been boosted in their resolve to stage an alternative event from March 3-7 by a wave of messages of solidarity from leading European film festivals, including Oberhausen, Karlovy Vary, and Leipzig. Lars Henrik Gass, director of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen wrote that his festival "opposes the completely incomprehensible removal of the successful directors of the Diagonale and the obvious political misuse of ...

  • Movienet takes Russian Return for Germany

    8-Dec-2003

    Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's debut feature The Return (Vozvraschenie), which won the European Discovery 2003 Fassbinder Award in Berlin at the weekend, has been picked up by German theatrical distributor Movienet for release early next year.The story of two brothers whose lives are turned upside down by the sudden reappearance of their father won the Golden Lion for Best Film at this year's Venice Film Festival.

  • German media fund beefs up investment slate

    5-Dec-2003

    German media fund VIP 3, which has raised Euros 170m from private German investors to date this year, is to co-produce new features by Penny Marshall and Gregory Hoblit.The fund will serve as a production partner with Chris Sievernich's Armada Pictures International on Penny Marshall's comedy Family Of The Year which is scheduled to star Danny De Vito, Ray Liotta, Edie Flaco and Famke Janssen. The absurd comedy in the style of John Irving's novels will go into production ...

  • Carl Schenkel dies suddenly in Los Angeles

    5-Dec-2003

    Swiss-born writer-director Carl Schenkel has died suddenly in Los Angeles at the age of 55 from heart failure.He made his feature debut with Cold As Ice (Kalt Wie Eis) set in the new wave music scene in 1981 and then became one of the hottest properties in the German film world with the 1984 thriller Out Of Order (Abwaerts), starring Goetz George, Renee Soutendijk and "new face" Hannes Jaenicke. After the critical and commercial success of Out Of Order ...

  • Powell, Pons join European Pitch Point jury

    5-Dec-2003

    NFTS director Nik Powell and Spanish director Ventura Pons are among the five-person jury appointed for the next European Pitch Point (EPP) to be held during the Berlinale on 6 February, 2004.The other members of the jury are Berlin-based producer Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film (Russian Ark), Swiss producer-director Samir (Forget Baghdad: Jews And Arabs - The Iraqi Connection) and Dutch producer Hetty Naaykeens-Retel Helmrich of Scarabee Films.They ...

  • Cannibalism feature set to challenge German tastes

    4-Dec-2003

    Maverick German filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim has announced plans for a film about cannibalism.

  • Kinowelt sales arm picks up Mondlandung

    3-Dec-2003

    Kinowelt's world sales arm Filmverlag der Autoren has picked up international distribution rights for film school graduate Till Endemann's debut feature Mondlandung, which received its world premiere at the International Hof Film Days at the end of October.Produced by the Baden-Wuerttemberg Film Academy with V-Max Media, Mondlandung (Moon Landing) follows the attempts by two brothers (played by Andrej Dronov and Anton Levit) to find their bearings in Germany after ...

  • GERMANY

    2-Dec-2003

    BVI's Finding Nemo may be available on pirate DVD, but it hasn't stopped cinema-goers rushing to see "the fish film", as some in the German industry have rather disparagingly called the blockbuster. Nemo's 1.3 m-plus admissions in the second weekend must seem like manna from heaven for the beleaguered exhibition sector, although it casts a shadow on the rest of the top 15.

  • Swiss Film Prize unveils nominees, major overhaul

    2-Dec-2003

    In an extensive reorganisation in its seventh year, the 2004 Swiss Film Prize will include new prize categories, distribute Euros 32,000 (CHF 50,000) more in prize-money and award Euros 180,000 (CHF 280,000) in newly created nomination premiums.The existing categories of Best Feature Film, Best Documentary and Best Short Film will all see their prize-money bumped up and will now be joined by Best Lead Role and Best Supporting Role - replacing the previous categories of Best ...

  • FFA backs seven features in latest funding round

    1-Dec-2003

    New features by Helmut Dietl, Marco Kreuzpaintner and Didi Danquart are among seven projects which received Euros 2.9m from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) in its latest round of funding.

  • German industry unites to fight piracy

    1-Dec-2003

    With illegal copying and downloading of feature films becoming ever more prevalent (ScreenDaily.com, 27 November 2003), the German film and video industries have joined forces to launch a campaign entitled "Raubkopierer sind Verbrecher - eine Initiative zum Schutz des Originals" ("Pirates are criminals - an initiative to protect the original").

  • Korean film wins main Mannheim-Heidelberg award

    1-Dec-2003

    Korean filmmaker Eo Il-seon's first full-length feature, the quietly poetic melodrama Plastic Tree won the Main Award of Mannheim-Heidelberg at this year's International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (20-29 November)..

  • Berlinale unveils Competition five

    1-Dec-2003

    Romauld Karmakar, Ron Howard, Annette K. Olesen, Vinko Bresan and Manuel Gutierrez Aragon have seen their latest films chosen by The Berlinale to play in its official Competition - a full two months before the festival starts (5-15 Feb, 2004).

  • First-time directors line up for autumn shoots

    1-Dec-2003

    For full current listings click here

  • France's Vladimir Perisic wins Festival of Film Schools' prize

    1-Dec-2003

    Vladimir Perisic of France's FEMIS won the VFF Young Talent Award for his 31-minute short Dremano Oko at this year's International Festival of the Film Schools in Munich (November 27-30).The other awards included: the Student Camera Award for Dutch DoP Martijn van Broekhuizen's cinematography on Jiska Rickels' Days Under (NFTA); the newly created Luggi Waldleitner Script Award for Israeli students Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun's Sabbath Entertainment (Sam Spiegel ...

  • Rebic's Donau, Duna... secures Sundance berth

    1-Dec-2003

    Goran Rebic's waterborne road movie Donau, Duna, Dunaj, Dunav, Dunarea has been invited to screen in the World Cinema section of next year's Sundance Film Festival (Jan 15-25).Starring Otto Sander and Robert Stadlober, the co-production by Austria's Lotus Film and Wega Film has previously been shown at San Sebastian and the Viennale and was the opening film of this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival on November 20.Filmladen will release the ...

  • German public embraces film piracy

    27-Nov-2003

    The illegal copying of feature films onto CDs and DVDs or by downloading from the Internet is becoming more acute in Germany, according to a new study commissioned by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Von Trier, Haim and Schipper win Filmstiftung NRW funding

    27-Nov-2003

    New features by Lars von Trier (Manderlay), Philippe Haim (The Daltons/La Vraie Vie Des Daltons) and Sebastian Schipper (Ein Freund Von Mir) are among the film projects awarded over Euros 3.8m by Filmstiftung NRW in its latest round of funding.The largest sum - Euros 1,858,970 - was allocated to Haim's new screen adaptation of the adventures of Lucky Luke which will be produced by UGC Images with Germany's Integral Film and Spain's Sogedasa.

  • Wachs joins Germany's Premiere in strategy role

    27-Nov-2003

    Former Senator Entertainment executive Friedrich-Carl Wachs is to head up the newly created division of strategy and planning at Germany's pay TV operator Premiere from Dec 1.

  • New Line plunges back into German funds

    26-Nov-2003

    New Line Cinema has again joined forces with German private fund specialist Hannover Leasing (HL) to raise up to Euros 100m for a raft of international English-language features.

  • Denmark's Ost takes trio from Brussels AVE

    26-Nov-2003

    Danish distributor Ost for Paradis has picked up all rights to three titles handled by Belgian-based Brussels AVE, in a deal struck at this week's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.The films are Mannheim-Heidelberg's International Competition film I Always Wanted To Be A Saint (J'ai Toujours Voulu Etre Une Sainte) by Luxembourg filmmaker Genevieve Mersch; the first digitally produced Belgian film Hop by Dominique Standaert; and the documentary Chomsky ...

  • Diagonale dismisses Austrian film curator

    26-Nov-2003

    With just over three months to go, the beleaguered 'official' Diagonale 04 festival has given its Austrian films curator Wolfgang Ainberger his marching orders after his criticism of the festival's directors was made public in the Austrian media last week (ScreenDaily.com, 24 Nov 2003).In an official statement, the Diagonale's director of business affairs Tillmann Fuchs said that "with his way of acting, Ainberger has contravened the elementary principles of 'loyalty ...

  • Rosenstrasse producer joins Canada's True West

    26-Nov-2003

    Germany's Henrik Meyer, one of the producers of Margarethe von Trotta's Venice prize-winner Rosenstrasse, has joined Elizabeth Yake's British Columbia-based production outfit True West Films as a vice president and partner.Speaking to ScreenDaily.com at this year's Mannheim Co-Production Meetings, Yake explained that they had both been looking for international partners to work with over the past couple of years.

  • Koelmels face charges for bankruptcy delay

    25-Nov-2003

    The spectre of the former Kinowelt's demise is coming back to haunt brothers Michael and Rainer Koelmel with news that Munich's public prosecutor's office may bring charges against the brothers for delaying the declaration of the bankruptcy of Kinowelt Medien.The prosecutor's spokesman Anton Winkler told the news weekly Focus that it was "probable" that charges would be brought against the brothers.

  • Oz group plans Kieft & Kieft takeover

    25-Nov-2003

    Australia's Amalgamated Holdings (AHL) is planning a complete takeover of Germany's largest exhibitor Kieft & Kieft.

  • GERMANY

    25-Nov-2003

  • 'Original' Diagonale squares up against 'official' Diagonale

    24-Nov-2003

    The supporters of Austria's 'original Diagonale' have unveiled their plans for a four-day event in Graz between March 3-7, 2004 while the 'official' Diagonale O4 under the management of Tillmann Fuchs and Miroljub Vuckovic seems to be on the verge of imploding."The 'original Diagonale' will take place because it has the trust and support of the filmmakers, directors and the Diagonale team", . The creative artists and the team, which is prepared to work in an honorary capacity, ...

  • German exhibitors rage at funding proposals

    21-Nov-2003

    German exhibitors are considering taking legal action against the new Film Funding Law (FFG) which is set come into effect on January 1, 2004.

  • Germany funds new projects from award winning directors

    21-Nov-2003

    New projects by Christian Petzold and Iain Dilthey are the among new features awarded a total of Euros 1.48m by State Minister for Culture and Media Christina Weiss in her ministry's latest round of film funding.Petzold, who received the top German Film Award for The State I Am In two years ago, received Euros 200,000 production backing for his next project Gespenster which will also be produced by Schramm Film.

  • Germany rides DVD boom

    21-Nov-2003

    Germany's home entertainment market has posted record results for the first nine months of 2003 thanks to the ever increasing popularity of the DVD.

  • Highlight figures paint mixed picture of Constantin takeover

    21-Nov-2003

    Highlight Communications' takeover of Germany's Constantin Film has had mixed results, according to the Swiss media concern's nine-month figures.On the one hand, profits dropped. Highlight reported a 41% contraction in operating profit to $11.3m (CHF 14.7m) due to the net loss contributed by Constantin.

  • Fresh blow for Graz's Diagonale festival

    20-Nov-2003

    The future of Graz's Diagonale festival under the new management of Miroljub Vuckovic and Tillmann Fuchs has been dealt another blow with the news that Graz's city council has decided to also provide funding for the rival event being planned by the filmmaking community (ScreenDaily.com, 29 Oct).According to the Austrian daily newspaper Kleine Zeitung, an alliance of the Social Democrats, Communists and the Greens, who have a majority in Graz's city council, have ...

  • GERMANY

    18-Nov-2003

  • Rebic's Donau to open Mannheim-Heidelberg

    18-Nov-2003

    Goran Rebic's 'river movie' Donau, Dunaj, Duna, Dunav, Dunarea will open this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (Nov 20-29).

  • 7 Brothers wins Luenen's Kinofest

    17-Nov-2003

    The documentary 7 Brothers (7 Brueder) by first-time filmmaker Sebastian Winkels picked up this year's Luedia at Luenen's Kinofest for German films (November 13-16).In addition to the Euros 7,500 cash prize, Winkels will have his film subtitled in English by the German Federal Film Board and receive a prominent Saturday evening screening slot at the Kinofest's partner festival "Berlin And Beyond" in San Francisco in January. Meanwhile, San Sebastian winner Gun ...

  • German fund commits to two new projects

    14-Nov-2003

    The production fund Studio Hamburg WorldWide Pictures (WWP) has boarded another two projects - the family film Chestnut: Hero Of Central Park and the fantasy adventure Dungeons & Dragons: The Sequel - as part of a slate of up to seven English language features with budgets between $5m-$20m.

  • Local films buck Germany's downward admissions trend

    14-Nov-2003

    Cinema admissions and box office takings continued their downward trend into the third quarter of 2003, according to figures published by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • 75% more entries for 2nd Berlinale Talent Campus

    13-Nov-2003

    The Berlinale Talent Campus has received 75% more applications for next year's event with 3,500 entries coming from 101 countries, compared to 2,000 from 70 countries for the first edition last February.

  • Winterbottom, Chereau, Kaurismaki to speak at EFA conference

    13-Nov-2003

    Directors Michael Winterbottom, Patrice Chereau and Mika Kaurismaki and Isabelle Coixet as well as producer Nik Powell - in his new incarnation as the UK's National Film & Television School chief - are among the speakers recruited by the European Film Academy (EFA) for its conference "Let's Talk About Content!" to be held on the morning of December 6 before the European Film Awards in Berlin.

  • 68 projects chosen for Mannheim co-production meetings

    12-Nov-2003

    New features by Ineke Smits (The Aviatrix Of Kazbek), Nicholas Kendall (The Singing House), Gyorgy Palfi (Taxidermia), Pablo Trapero (Rolling Family), Damjan Kozole (The Dark Side Of Earth) and Joan Chen (The Concubine) are among 68 projects from 27 countries being pitched at the 7th edition of the Mannheim Co-Production Meetings during the forthcoming Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (November 20-29).

  • German blockbuster opens London festival of German cinema

    12-Nov-2003

    Germany's current blockbuster The Miracle Of Bern, which has grossed over $ 14.5m in its first four weeks of release in German cinemas, will open this year's Festival of German Cinema in London on November 27 with director Soenke Wortmann and lead actors Peter Lohmeyer and Louis Klamroth (who are also father and son in real life) in attendance.

  • Constantin to launch home entertainment label

    11-Nov-2003

    As part of a closer working collaboration with Highlight Communications, Constantin Film is to launch its own home entertainment label "Constantin Film" from January 1, 2004, taking over responsibility for Highlight's activities in rights acquisition and theatrical distribution in the future.

  • GERMANY

    11-Nov-2003

    As to be expected, the final part of the Matrix trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions (Warner) wrestled the top spot away from Soenke Wortmann's The Miracle Of Bern which had reigned on high for the last three weeks.

  • Euro producers club to hold co-production forum

    10-Nov-2003

    The European Film Awards weekend will kick off this year with the European Producers Club's (EPC) Berlin Co-Production Forum on December 5 (Friday) which will open with a panel discussion open to the public, focusing on producing in or with Germany and the future Film Funding Law (FFG).

  • Russian films clean up at Cottbus festival

    10-Nov-2003

    Russian cinema is well and truly back on the international scene after becoming the big winner at this year's Festival of East European Cinema in Cottbus (November 4-8) by picking up nine of the festival's 12 awards presented at a gala ceremony on Saturday evening (Nov 8).

  • Increased film funding ahead for Slovenia, Bulgaria

    7-Nov-2003

    Filmmakers in Slovenia and Bulgaria could benefit from increased funding for film and television production in the future according to new audiovisual legislation in preparation.Speaking at this year's Connecting Cottbus co-development market at the Cottbus Film Festival, Tanika Sajatovic, Head of Promotion and Sales at the Slovenian Film Fund, said that a new Audiovisual Law was currently under discussion in Slovenia. This would see the Film Fund also receiving contributions ...

  • MDC takes on Schultze sales

    6-Nov-2003

    Berlin-based sales agent MDC International has picked up international distribution for Michael Schorr's feature debut Schultze Gets The Blues, which won the Special Director's Award at this year's Venice Film Festival.The tragicomedy produced by Filmkombinat Nordost has already secured theatrical distribution in the USA (Paramount Classics), UK (Paramount), Germany and Austria (UIP), Switzerland (Look Now), Italy (Lady Film), Netherlands (Cinemien) and Belgium/Luxembourg ...

  • Camel to open Munich Film School Festival

    5-Nov-2003

    Munich Television & Film School students Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni's critically feted documentary The Story Of The Weeping Camel will open the International Festival of the Film Schools in Munich (Nov 27-30).

  • TV chief quits Germany's ProSiebenSat.1

    5-Nov-2003

    Dr. Ludwig Bauer, ProSiebenSat.1 Media's board member with responsibility for television, has left the company "due to differing views on the future strategic direction of the company".Bauer, who had worked at the ProSiebenSat.1 Group since 1992 in various posts including head of programmes and managing director at Kabel 1, was appointed board member for television of the ProSieben Group in 1999. A year later, he was named board member with responsibility for television ...

  • Austria's Diagonale fest agrees to producer demands

    4-Nov-2003

    The fate of Graz's Diagonale Festival of Austrian Cinema took another turn last week, with the festival's new management agreeing to accept a series of demands made by the Association of Austrian Film Producers (AAFP).

  • Berlinale lines up New Hollywood 1967-1976 retrospective

    4-Nov-2003

    The Berlinale has lined up a Retrospective called "New Hollywood 1967 - 1976. Trouble in Wonderland" for its 2004 edition.

  • GERMANY

    4-Nov-2003

    Soenke Wortmann's Miracle Of Bern - now showing on 634 screens - held on to the top spot for the third week running and is now the second most successful German film this year after Good Bye, Lenin!

  • France, Germany mull closer co-operation

    3-Nov-2003

    Closer co-operation between Germany and France in the fields of film financing, production and distribution will be on the agenda of the first German-French Film Rendezvous to be held in France's Lyons from November 3-4.

  • Paramount renews German fund ties

    3-Nov-2003

    US studio Paramount Pictures is once again set to tap into German private equity to bankroll its films.

  • Beta Cinema takes Mifed sales duties for X-Filme trio

    31-Oct-2003

    Ahead of this year's MIFED film market, Germany's Beta Cinema has picked up the international rights to three films from Berlin production powerhouse X-Filme creative pool.

  • Beta Cinema takes on sales for X-Filme trio

    31-Oct-2003

    Ahead of this year's MIFED film market, Germany's Beta Cinema has picked up the international rights to three films from Berlin production powerhouse X-Filme creative pool.

  • Internationalmedia posts record revenues

    31-Oct-2003

  • Brown Bunny bites back with Vienna victory

    30-Oct-2003

    After attracting widespread disdain from international critics on its world premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny has now picked up the FIPRESCI Prize at this year's Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival in a re-edited version. Festival director Hans Hurch said the FIPRESCI jury's decision had been "completely unexpected" and "a great surprise" for him, but that he regarded it as "a kind of recompense" after the harsh treatment ...

  • Esposito's Coeur wins German distribution backing

    30-Oct-2003

    Arsenal Filmverleih has been awarded the Euros 20,000 MFG/Unifrance Distribution Prize at Tuebingen's French Film Days for Marc Esposito's Le Coeur Des Hommes for release in Germany next March.In addition, a Special Mention went to Lucas Belvaux's film trilogy of Apres La Vie, Cavale and Un Couple Epatant which will be released by Kool Filmverleih in Germany next year. The Distribution Prize was established by the Baden-Wuerttemberg regional film ...

  • German festivals attack NRW spending cuts

    29-Oct-2003

    Over a dozen film festivals and workshops in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have joined forces to attack the NRW regional government for proposed spending cuts which would see its budget for film cultural activities slashed by around 50% by 2005.

  • Rival festival emerges to challenge Austria's Diagonale

    29-Oct-2003

    Austrian filmmakers including Michael Haneke, Ulrich Seidl and Barbara Albert have thrown their weight behind plans to hold a three-day alternative festival event ahead of next year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema (March 13-21, 2004) in Graz.

  • FIPRESCI to award prize at Geneva's Cinema Tout Ecran

    29-Oct-2003

    The international critics federation FIPRESCI will award a prize for the first time this year at Geneva's Cinema Tout Ecran's Festival (November 3-9).

  • Universal taps into Hannover Leasing fund

    28-Oct-2003

    Hannover Leasing, financier of two parts of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, is set to board The Bourne Supremacy, Universal Studios' sequel to its box-office success The Bourne Identity.

  • German film fund changes under fire

    27-Oct-2003

    Germany's Federal Finance Ministry (BMF) has come under fire from fund initiators and media lawyers for the recent additions to its Media Ruling requiring all decisions on a private film fund's activities to be taken exclusively by a board elected from the investors (ScreenDaily.com, August 2003).

  • New theatrical distributor launches in Germany

    27-Oct-2003

    Leading German independent producers Egoli Tossell Film and Wueste Film have joined forces with the Berlin-based exhibitor timebandits Medien to launch a new theatrical distributor - timebandits films.

  • Spacey's Beyond The Sea wins German backing

    27-Oct-2003

    Kevin Spacey's Bobby Darin biopic Beyond The Sea is among the projects which have received a total Euro 3.3m production support from Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg in its latest round of funding.

  • Vollmar's My Parents wins Hof prize

    27-Oct-2003

    Baden-Wuerttemberg Film Academy student Neele Leana Vollmar was awarded this year's Kodak Eastman Support Award for her short My Parents (Meine Eltern) at this year's Hof International Film Festival (October 22-26).Vollmar joins an illustrious list of previous Kodak Eastman prize-winners such as Oscar winner Caroline Link (Nowhere In Africa), Tom Tykwer (Heaven), Soenke Wortmann (The Miracle Of Bern), Hans-Christian Schmid (Distant Lights) ...

  • Top East Euro producers to pitch projects at Cottbus

    24-Oct-2003

    Fourteen projects will be pitched to potential production partners during this year's two-day Connecting Cottbus co-development forum between November 4-5.

  • Berlinale reveals co-production market details

    23-Oct-2003

    Further details of the first Berlinale Co-Production Market (BCM), which will be held during next year's festival from Feb 8-9, emerged this week.Producers have until Dec 12 to submit feature film projects for consideration for the market, which will be held at the Talent Campus venue Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

  • Saban 'bullish' about German market

    23-Oct-2003

    The expectations were high when it was revealed that Haim Saban was to give the keynote speech at the opening of this year's Munich Media Days on Oct 22. Would he spill the beans on the future strategy for ProSiebenSat.1 Media'

  • Germany mulls plans to boost film exports

    21-Oct-2003

    Germany's State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss has proposed increasing the German Export Union's budget from Euros 3.5m to Euros 5.8m and revamping it as central service agency to promote German films abroad.

  • Alan Parker issues statement on European cinema

    20-Oct-2003

    Next week's promotional launch of his new novel has forced the UK Film Council's chairman Sir Alan Parker to decline the invitation to participate in the European Film Summit at the Munich Media Days on October 22, but he has nevertheless taken the time to issue a personal view on the present situation of the European film industry .

  • German private TV offers to double film funding

    20-Oct-2003

    Germany's private broadcasters have offered to more than double their annual voluntary contributions to the German Federal Film Board (FFA) to Euros 12m over the next five years until 2008.

  • New European Market being created for January 2005

    20-Oct-2003

    As if there weren't already enough international film and television markets, yet another new event has been created to entice programme acquisition executives away from their offices with news of the European Programmes Market (EPM) in France's Deauville from January 28-30, 2005.

  • Amenebar, Piccioni, Ruiz win Eurimages backing

    20-Oct-2003

    New features by Alejandro Amenabar, Giuseppe Piccioni and Raoul Ruiz are among the 12 European co-productions supported with over Euros 4.6m by the Council of Europe's pan-European co-production fund Eurimages in its latest round of funding.Three projects - Amenabar's Spanish-French-Italian co-production Mar Adentro, Piccioni's Italian-German co-production La Vita Che Vorrei and Bob Decout's Franco-Belgian-Spanish co-production Les Gens Honnetes Vivent En France ...

  • Berlinale Talent Campus film wins German Shorts nomination

    20-Oct-2003

    UK filmmaker Philip Traill, one of the participants of this year's Berlinale Talent Campus, has seen his short film Dangle selected as one of ten finalists for this year's German Short Film Awards (Nov 10).

  • Ruiz honoured by Mannheim-Heidelberg festival

    20-Oct-2003

    Chilean-born screenwriter, film and theatre director Raoul Ruiz is to receive the Master of Cinema Award at this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (Nov 20-29).The honour comes days after Ruiz was selected as Filmmaker in Focus at next year's Rotterdam International Film Festival (Jan 21 - Feb 1, 2004).The award will be presented to the 62 year-old director at a gala ceremony in Mannheim on November 22.

  • UIP picks up Hof opening film

    17-Oct-2003

    Michael Schorr's Schultze Gets The Blues, the opening film at this year's Hof International Film Days (Oct 23-26), has been picked up for theatrical distribution by the German arm of UIP.

  • Solo Film, EuroVideo sign license deal

    15-Oct-2003

    German theatrical distributor Solo Flim Verleih has concluded a wide-reaching deal with EuroVideo Bildprogramm for the rental and sell-through video/DVD rights to sixteen of its titles.

  • Coppola's Translation to open Vienna

    14-Oct-2003

    A gala screening of Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation with the director in attendance will open this year's Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale) on October 17. The main programme of 100 new feature films and documentaries will be rounded off on October 29 by Julie Bertucelli's Depuis Qu'Otar Est Parti at a closing ceremony when the winners of the FIPRESCI Prize, Vienna Film Prize and Standard Viennale Readers' Prize will be announced.The Main ...

  • Premiere completes studio line-up with Sony deal

    13-Oct-2003

    Germany's digital pay TV service Premiere can now boast output deals with every one of the major Hollywood studios, having agreed a multi-year licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) on Monday (Oct 13).

  • Germany sees summer admissions plunge

    7-Oct-2003

    German cinemas registered 14% fewer admissions and a 15% drop in box-office takings in the third quarter of 2003, compared to the same period 12 months ago, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.Cinemas reported Euros 159.8m in revenues and 28.4m tickets sold between June 30 and September 28, with Pirates Of The Caribbean emerging as the quarter's most successful release (Euros 27m/4.33m admissions) followed by Terminator 3 (Euros 17.5m/2.9m admissions) ...

  • MTM, Key Entertainment partner on Riot rights

    7-Oct-2003

    As part of an ongoing internationalisation of its activities, the Oscar-winning German production outfit MTM Medien & Television München (Nowhere In Africa) has joined forces with the Los Angeles-based Key Entertainment to acquire the film rights to Indian writer Shashi Tharoor 's best-selling novel Riot: A Love Story.The tragic love story between a young American female student and a district magistrate in provincial India was described by Nobel Laureate ...

  • German fund moves into international TV financing

    3-Oct-2003

    Munich-based fund specialist LHI Leasing is set to move into financing international TV series with the placement of LHI Filmproduktionsfonds KALEDO later this month.With a projected volume of over Euros 100m, the leasing-type TV production fund intends to back future episodes of the US series Law & Order, Law & Order Criminal Intent and Law & Order Special Victims Unit.

  • Krueger takes over as Berlinale marketing chief

    3-Oct-2003

    PR specialist Heike Krueger has been appointed successor to Dr. Silke Zimmermann as head of marketing & communications at the Berlinale.Krueger, who took up her post on October 1, had run her own agency PR & Film for the past twelve years handling arthouse film and TV projects for German theatrical distributors and broadcasters. She had also been responsible in the past couple of years for the press work of the American Cinema Foundation's Freedom Film Festival held during the ...

  • Media Plus promotes festival exposure for Euro films

    3-Oct-2003

    Four European institutions have received a total of Euros 800,000 from the European Union's MEDIA Plus Programme as part of its new initiative to promote European films and professionals at film festivals around the world.

  • Relaunched Kinowelt unveils first foray into production

    3-Oct-2003

    For the first time since its relaunch at the beginning of this year, Kinowelt has announced that it will be making its first foray into production by co-producing an adaptation of Wladimir Kaminer's bestselling cult novel Russendisko next year (ScreenDaily.com, April 2003).The film, which will be produced by Christoph Meyer-Wiel of CMW Films with fellow Berlin producer Joachim von Vietinghoff of Von Vietinghoff Filmproduktion, Rainer Koelmel of Kinowelt Filmproduktion ...

  • CP Medien fund falls victim to German fund ruling

    2-Oct-2003

    The recent amendments to Germany's Media Ruling on the running of private media funds (ScreenDaily.com, August 2003) have claimed their first victim with the Ludwigsburg-based CP Medien fund undertaking a corporate restructuring. In a press statement, the fund, which has supported such projects as Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy At The Gates and Robert Altman's The Company in the past, explained that it would be concentrating in future on the management of the ...

  • Spare Parts, Window dominate Slovenian fest

    2-Oct-2003

    Leading Slovenian producer Danijel Hocevar's Emotionfilm has walked away with 13 awards for two of its productions - Spare Parts (Rezervni Deli) and Beneath Her Window (Pod Njenim Oknom )- at this year's Festival of Slovenian Films in CeljeDamjan Kozole's Spare Parts, which has been submitted as Slovenia's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar and is one of the titles pre-selected for the 2003 European Film Awards, picked up four of the festival jury's Vesna ...

  • Advanced set for merger with Fast TV Server

    1-Oct-2003

    After months of negotiations to find a partner, German licence trader Advanced Medien has announced the signing of a draft merger agreement with fellow Munich-based company Fast TV Server.The main purpose of the merged company will be to further develop and market Fast TV Server's products, which include hard disk recorders for real Personal TV, and Advanced's film assets will continue to be marketed in a licence trading division. Advanced's shareholders will be invited ...

  • Germany dismisses calls for tax incentives

    30-Sep-2003

    The Gerhard Schroeder SPD-Green coalition administration has dashed any hopes for the introduction of tax incentives into Germany, similar to those in place in the UK and Canada.

  • Oscar winning outfit lines up Nowhere In Africa sequel

    30-Sep-2003

    MTM Medien & Television Muenchen is planning a sequel to its Oscar-winning production of Caroline Link's Nowhere In Afrika (Nirgendwo In Afrika) and an international children's TV series based on the film.Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com, producer Andreas Bareiss revealed that MTM is developing a feature film based on Nowhere In Africa novelist Stefanie Zweig's second novel Somewhere In Germany (Irgendwo In Deutschland) which follows the experiences ...

  • GERMANY

    30-Sep-2003

    Solo Film's Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel) comfortably exceeded the 100,000 admissions barrier to take $600,187 for 118,687 tickets from 507 prints.

  • Swedish films take top prizes at Hamburg festival

    29-Sep-2003

    Swedish films were the main winners at this year's Filmfest Hamburg, with Josef Fares' comedy Kops being awarded the Hamburger Abendblatt's Audience Prize and Ingela Magner's Emma And Daniel (Emma Och Daniel - Moetet) receiving the Fox Kids and Super RTL-sponsored Children's Audience Prize.Meanwhile, Kinderfilmfest's Euros 2,500 EMIL prize, sponsored by the TV listings magazine TV Spielfilm, went to the Canadian film La Mysterieuse Mademoiselle C. by Richard ...

  • Kieft & Kieft acts to fend off insolvency

    26-Sep-2003

    The shareholders of Germany's leading cinema chain Kieft & Kieft have undertaken a Euros 9m cash injection to keep the company afloat and continue its programme of restructuring measures.A cost cutting programme has seen 49 jobs go and six regional offices close, according to the German daily newspaper Die Welt.

  • Fuse named as Bosnian Oscar contender

    25-Sep-2003

    Pjer Zalica's Silver Leopard-winning Fuse (Gori Vatra) has been selected by the Association of the Film Workers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a secret vote to compete for a nomination to the Academy Award's Best Foreign Language Film category. Screenings of three Bosnian features - Fuse, Dino Mustafic's Remake and Srdan Vuletic's The Summer In The Golden Valley - were organised at the beginning of the week by the Association in cooperation with the ...

  • Cartoon initiative unveils pan-Euro film conference

    25-Sep-2003

    In the run-up to the European Union's enlargement eastwards, the Brussels-based animation initiative CARTOON has been hired by the European Commission to organise a two-day audiovisual conference in Warsaw from March 19-20, 2004.CARTOON managing director Marc Vandenweyer told ScreenDaily.com that the event will aim to foster a greater exchange of information between the East and West European film and television industries as well as looking at the potential for financial ...

  • Animation trio benefit from German funding

    24-Sep-2003

    Three animation productions including the sequel to the animation box office hit Der Kleine Eisbaer (The Little Polar Bear) are among the projects backed by Filmstiftung NRW with over Euros 4.8m in its latest round of funding.

  • Studio Babelsberg looks to local industry

    24-Sep-2003

    Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP) has boarded Torsten Wacker's Superseks, the second German feature the studio has backed this year on top of its high profile international productions.

  • Austrian directors threaten to boycott Diagonale festival

    23-Sep-2003

    Internationally renowned Austrian filmmakers Michael Haneke (Time Of The Wolf), Ulrich Seidl (Dog Days), Barbara Albert (Boese Zellen) and Ruth Beckermann (Homemade) have added their voices to the Austrian film community's growing chorus of disapproval about the planned re-positioning of next year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema in Graz.

  • French animator takes Cartoon D'Or prize

    23-Sep-2003

    French filmmaker Sandra Desmazieres' first animated film Sans Queue Ni Tete won this year's Cartoon D'Or, which includes Euros 15,000 from the European Union's MEDIA Programme in pre-production aid to begin work on a feature film or TV series project.Desmazieres' six-minute painting on paper film about a woman's nonsensical and absurd day, which had been the winner at the Cinanima Festival in Espinho last year, was chosen from five European animated shorts - Suzie Templeton's ...

  • Swiss comedy smashes local records

    23-Sep-2003

    Mike Eschmann's teenage comedy Ready, Steady, Charlie! (Achtung, Fertig, Charlie!) has taken over $731,000 CHF 1m, making it the all-time biggest opener for a Swiss feature film in Switzerland.

  • GERMANY

    23-Sep-2003

    Although its week-on-week admission figures dropped by 42%, BVI's Pirates Of The Caribbean held on to the pole position at the German box office for the third week and has already become the third most successful release so far this year.

  • Regulators probe Intertainment insider trading allegations

    23-Sep-2003

    The beleaguered German license trader/producer Intertainment has come under suspicion of insider trading, according to German business newspaper Handelsblatt.The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman of the stock exchange watchdog BAFin as saying that it would "look at the case as a matter of routine."

  • Bavaria takes on sales for Tradewind pair

    22-Sep-2003

    Cologne-based production house Tradewind Pictures has entered into a "first look" style agreement with world sales agent Bavaria Film International (BFI).

  • Film20 readies second half of Euro Expansion Conference

    22-Sep-2003

    Following the extension of the German film20 producer pressure group's membership to the Association of Austrian Film Producers (aafp), the two bodies have prepared two conferences: in Vienna and Berlin, to focus on the economic potential of the film industry following the European Union's enlargement eastwards.

  • Austria unveils co-production market plans

    18-Sep-2003

    Next year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema (March 13-21, 2004) is to become the latest in a line of international film festivals launching a CineMart-style co-production market and Film Market/Industry Office under the new management of Miroljub Vuckovic and Tillmann Fuchs. Introducing the new concept for the Graz-based festival, Vuckovic said that the Diagonale Bazaar would present 10-15 feature projects - ten from the South East European region and 2-5 from Austria. ...

  • Good Bye, Lenin! named as German Oscar contender

    18-Sep-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye, Lenin! has been selected by Germany's nine-person national jury as its candidate for the Foreign Language Oscar category.

  • Good Bye, Lenin! named as German Oscar contender

    18-Sep-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye, Lenin! has been selected by Germany's nine-person national jury as its candidate for the Foreign Language Oscar category.

  • Swiss join forces to promote national cinema

    12-Sep-2003

    Switzerland's Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Film Centre and the Swiss Short Film Agency have joined forces to launch Swiss Films to give the Alpine nation's cinema a higher profile at home and abroad.The new promotion agency will start work at offices in Zurich and Geneva from January 1, 2004 as part of a planned three-year trial period from 2004-2006 and will be open to other organisations such as Film Location Switzerland becoming members.Swiss Films' annual ...

  • Award-winning Bosnian directors ready new English features

    5-Sep-2003

    Award-winning Bosnian directors Danis Tanovic (No Man's Land) and Pjer Zalica (Fuse) are preparing English-language features as their next projects.

  • Wenders back on the road...

    5-Sep-2003

    Wim Wenders has won back control of Road Movies, the production outfit he sold to the now insolvent German media group Das Werk.

  • German DVD market booms

    4-Sep-2003

    Germany's DVD boom continued unabated during the first six months of 2003, spurred on by the lure of new releases such as Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, James Bond;Die Another Day and The Matrix.

  • Hamburg to give Huppert top award

    4-Sep-2003

    French actress Isabelle Huppert is to become the latest recipient of the Douglas Sirk Prize during this year's Filmfest Hamburg (Sept 19-26).

  • Weiss responds to Germany Film Academy critics

    3-Sep-2003

    Germany's State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss has responded to growing criticism of her support for the setting up of an AMPAS-style German Film Academy by stressing the independence of the annual German Film Awards.

  • GERMANY

    2-Sep-2003

    The latest episode in the Werner comic book franchise, Werner - Gekotzt Wird Spaeter!, slipped out of the top ten this week after just barely making the 1m admissions mark while another Constantin Film release Wrong Turn bowed at No. 6 with almost Euros 500,000.

  • German exhibitors step up UIP boycott

    1-Sep-2003

    A group of German exhibitors are continuing their boycott of UIP releases because of the introduction of a new rentals system by the distributor.

  • Sales slide at Germany's Intertainment

    29-Aug-2003

    Sales revenues at Germany's Intertainment slid by more than 80% in the first six months of 2003 compared to the same period last year, but were "in line with expectations", according to an adhoc statement.The Munich-based company reported sales of Euros 2m for the period to June 30, 2003, compared to Euros 11.5m in the first half of 2002, and blamed the still unresolved lawsuit against Franchise Pictures for the poor business performance. The group's EBIT stood at Euros ...

  • Germany's Splendid posts improved figures

    26-Aug-2003

    German licence trader Splendid Medien has posted sales revenues of Euros 20.5m for the first half of 2003, slightly up on 2002's Euros 19.8m.

  • Fuse ignites Sarajevo

    25-Aug-2003

    Bosnian filmmaker Pjer Zalica's Fuse (Gori Vatra) has continued its winning streak after Locarno's Silver Leopard by picking up six awards at the Sarajevo Film Festival this weekend.

  • Diamant to launch sales company with Lamping

    25-Aug-2003

  • German veterans launch Living Pictures fund

    25-Aug-2003

    Veteran fund initiator Rudolf Wiesmeier and Gerhard Schmidt's Cologne-based production house Gemini Film have joined forces to launch a Euros 150m fund to back a portfolio of internationally marketable English-language feature films.According to Schmidt the fund, called Living Pictures, is in negotiations with Danny de Vito's Jersey Films and Jan de Bont's Blue Tulip on a number of projects as well as with other companies about projects with such stars as Johnny Depp, Reese ...

  • Telepool to conduct sales for musical pair

    22-Aug-2003

    Telepool has picked up international sales on two theatrical music documentaries: Thomas Riedelsheimer's Heartbeat and Gandulf Hennig's Fallen Angel - Gram Parsons.

  • Senator still in red despite Good Bye, Lenin!

    21-Aug-2003

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment has posted an operating loss of Euros 6.9m for the first six months of 2003.

  • German cinema admissions plummet

    20-Aug-2003

    Admissions and box-office takings in German cinemas fell year-on-year by 11.3% and 12.5% respectively in the first half of 2003, according to the latest figures from the country's Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • ProSiebenSat.1 strikes Paramount output deal

    20-Aug-2003

    Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Group has concluded an exclusive output deal with Paramount Pictures for the free TV rights to the US major's films from 2002-2005.The package includes such feature films as Mission: Impossible 3, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Star Trek - Nemesis, The Core, and Changing Lanes as well as series including In-Laws, Navy NCIS and Jake 2.0.Commenting on this latest agreement with a Hollywood studio, ProSiebenSat.1 board ...

  • Locarno winning producers unveil Unlimited slate

    19-Aug-2003

    Unlimited, the pan-European producers network behind Pakistani director Sabiha Sumar's Locarno winning film Silent Waters, has unveiled a new slate

  • Sea Of Silence, Dutch Light to open Benelux Screenings

    18-Aug-2003

    World premieres of Stijn Coninx's Sea Of Silence and Pieter-Rim and Maarten de Kroon's documentary Dutch Light will open the newly established Benelux Screenings of the Holland Film Meeting at the Netherlands Film Festival on September 26.

  • Wind blows to UK and Switzerland

    18-Aug-2003

    Tom Barman's Any Way The Wind Blows, which had its international premiere in Locarno's competition, has been picked up by Axiom Films for the UK and Agora Films for Switzerland.

  • Silent Waters makes a splash at Locarno

    18-Aug-2003

    For a second year running, the winner of Locarno's Golden Leopard took everyone by surprise: Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar's Silent Waters (Khamosh Pani) came away with the top honour after festival-goers had been putting their money on Korea's Kim Ki-Duk going for gold with his latest film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring.

  • Kinowelt and Ottfilm mull collaboration plans

    15-Aug-2003

    A closer working collaboration between German distributors Kinowelt and Ottfilm looks to be on the cards.

  • Bignardi counters 'lack of glamour' criticism

    15-Aug-2003

    "We are not here for promoting films, but to make a festival", festival director Irene Bignardi declared in response to BVI Switzerland Roger Crotti's criticisms early this week of the Piazza Grande open-air programme and of the absence of glamour at the festival.

  • Locarno Piazza programme comes in for criticism

    14-Aug-2003

    Locarno's Piazza Grande open-air programme has come under harsh criticism from Roger Crotti, general manager and vice president of Buena Vista International (Switzerland) - whose world premiere screening of Nigel Cole's Calendar Girls was seen by an audience of 9,500 on Saturday (Aug 9).

  • Swiss producers set for broadcaster boost

    14-Aug-2003

    Swiss public broadcaster SRG SSR plans to inject an additional US$11m (CHF15m) into the local film industry between 2004-2007.

  • Currency crunch hits Internationalmedia

    14-Aug-2003

    Internationalmedia(IM) - parent company of Intermedia - has blamed currency imbalances between the Euro and the Dollar for a 5.7% year on year revenue fall in the first half of 2003.

  • Kim's Spring, Summer gathers Locarno heat

    14-Aug-2003

    Prolific Korean film-maker Kim Ki-duk's Locarno competition film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring has been picked up by Israel's United King Films.

  • Swiss producers set for government funding boost

    13-Aug-2003

    Swiss Federal President and Minister of Culture Pascal Couchepin has proposed that the national cinema funding budget should be increased by up to 15%.

  • Constantin figures show sales plunge

    13-Aug-2003

    Germany's Constantin Film has cut its sales forecast for 2003, blaming factors such as the hot summer weather and the 'shakeout of the German media market' for the revision.

  • VIP Group fund backs first German film

    13-Aug-2003

    Munich-based media fund VIP Group boarded its first local German-language project, co-producing the latest feature film with German comic Otto Waalkes, Sieben Zwerge - Maenner Allein Im Wald (Seven Dwarves - Men Along In The Forest), directed by Sven Unterwaldt.

  • Universal looks to tap new German fund

    12-Aug-2003

    Universal Studios is set to benefit from a private media fund being prepared by Munich-based Hannover Leasing with a fund volume of up to Euros 250m.If all goes according to schedule, the fund will be brought onto the market at the end of August, inviting private individuals to invest a minimum of Euros 25,000 to finance the production and marketing of two-to-four films which will be globally distributed by Universal Studios. The investors will pay in 50% of the deposit with ...

  • Flach Pyramide takes on Bosnian Fuse sales

    12-Aug-2003

    Bosnian director Pjer Zalica's feature debut Fuse (Gori Vatra) which had its world premiere in the Official Competition at the Locarno International Film Festival on August 11, has been picked up for international distribution by Flach Pyramide International.

  • Cuban film-makers pitch projects to Euro financiers

    11-Aug-2003

    Cuban film-makers pitched a string of projects to potential European co-production partners and buyers at the Locarno International Film Festival over the weekend.

  • Premiere boss ups stake in German pay-TV platform

    11-Aug-2003

    Georg Kofler, managing director of German pay-TV platform Premiere has more than doubled his shareholding in the subscription service.

  • Calendar Girls packs in Locarno crowd

    10-Aug-2003

    Boosted by its prime Saturday evening night slot, the world premiere of Nigel Cole's Calendar Girls has proven to be the biggest draw so far at the Locarno International Film Festival.

  • Calendar Girls packs in Locarno crowd

    10-Aug-2003

    Boosted by its prime Saturday evening night slot, the world premiere of Nigel Cole's Calendar Girls has proven to be the biggest draw so far at the Locarno International Film Festival.

  • Argentinian films hunt for funding at Locarno

    7-Aug-2003

    The Locarno International Film festival (August 6-16), which kicked off last night, is to hold a co-production workshop focusing entirely on projects from Argentina.

  • Germany secures future of film funds

    7-Aug-2003

    Germany's Federal Finance Ministry has amended the way German media funds operate, bringing both an end to months of uncertainty about their future and giving investors more control over films in their portfolio.

  • Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 returns to profit

    7-Aug-2003

    Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Group has posted strong financial results, just days before U.S. investor Haim Saban is likely to sign off on his deal to buy the broadcaster.

  • Media Luna picks up Locarno competitor Maria

    7-Aug-2003

    Media Luna Entertainment has picked up world sales rights for Romanian first time director Calin Netzer's Maria which will receive its world premiere in Locarno Film Festival's Official Competition next Wednesday (August 13).Maria is a co-production by Artis Film Romania with France's Cine-Manufacture and Germany's Pandora Filmproduktion, which will be screening in the Regional Programme of the Sarajevo Film Festival a week after Locarno.

  • Premiere posts healthier than expected figures

    7-Aug-2003

    Thanks to substantial growth in revenues and further cost-cutting measures, German pay-TV platform Premiere has revised its predicted operating loss downwards a second time - to less than Euros 40m for 2003.In February, the Premiere had originally forecast a loss of Euros 80m. This was then revised downwards to a maximum of loss of Euros 60m in April in the light of Premiere's ongoing recovery.Premiere has seen its revenues climb to Euros 471m in the first half of 2003, ...

  • Bavaria picks up world sales for San Sebastian film

    6-Aug-2003

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up world sales rights for Spanish filmmaker Cesc Gay's In The City (En La Ciudad), the follow-up to his internationally successful Krampack.Starring Monica Lopez, Eduard Fernandez and Leonor Watling, the tragicomedy about a group of friends who gradually discover the truth about one another has already been invited to screen in competition at San Sebastian and is likely to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival ...

  • Locarno shines spotlight on film foundations

    5-Aug-2003

    Locarno's Film Industry Office is to cast a spotlight on the workings of film foundations such as Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund and Montecinema Verita at this year's festival.

  • Saban's German bid accepted

    5-Aug-2003

    KirchMedia's creditors have approved US media mogul Haim Saban's offer to buy a controlling stake in Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 media group.The insolvent KirchMedia announced that its creditor committee had voted unanimously to accept the proposal of insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe to sell KirchMedia's shares in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG to Saban Capital Group.

  • Indian film shoots travel to Germany

    4-Aug-2003

    Germany has hosted a string of Indian shoots in recent months, suggesting that it could follow Switzerland, Austria and Ireland (Screen Daily, July 10) as a destination for Indian film productions.

  • Saban submits fresh bid for ProSiebenSat.1

    4-Aug-2003

    US billionaire Haim Saban is poised to take over 72% of the voting shares in the German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 as part of a bidding alliance with five private equity investors.Sources at the insolvent KirchMedia confirmed press reports on August 4 that a revived bid from Saban would be on the table at a meeting of the media group's creditor committee on August 5.The German daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung had reported in its August 4 edition that Saban ...

  • Berlin Talent Campus secures major sponsor, sets deadline

    1-Aug-2003

    "Let's get passionate about film" is the motto for the Berlinale's second Talent Campus which will be held during next year's film festival from February 7-12.Campus organisers have also revealed that Volkswagen has joined Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the UK's Film Council and the House of World Cultures as one of the event's core financiers and will be supporting in particular the film music and sound design focus of the 2004 programme.Young composers of film scores, ...

  • Cowgirl lines-up Jewish circus artiste co-production

    31-Jul-2003

    Mark Schlichter and Nicole Kellerhals' Berlin-based production outfit Cowgirl Pictures has acquired the film rights to the journalist Ingeborg Prior's book Der Clown Und Die Zirkusreiterin for Schlichter to direct in summer 2004.Currently under the working title of Circus Girl (Das Leichte Maedchen), the Euros 6m project is being structured as an international co-production with partners from France and the Netherlands.

  • German producer pair relaunch film fund

    31-Jul-2003

    Producers Eberhard Junkersdorf (pictured) and Dietmar Guentsche have relaunched their media fund Neue Bioskop Germany (NBG) with the support of the Hamburg-based private bank Bankhaus Woelbern to raise private equity for the financing of a raft of German and English language features to be shot in Europe.

  • Hamburg fest plans Euro hits showcase

    31-Jul-2003

    A showcase of local European box-office hits is one of the programme innovations being planned for this year's Filmfest Hamburg (Sept 19-26) under the new festival director Albert Wiederspiel.Austria's Poppitz, Sweden's Kops and Italy's Christmas On The Nile (Natale Sul Nilo) are already confirmed for the Eurovisuell sidebar which is also set to feature the top films from Denmark, Serbia, Belgium, Portugal, Russia, Iceland, and the Czech Republic. Wiederspiel ...

  • Stuttgart regional body awards film funding

    31-Jul-2003

    New films by Didi Danquart, Michael Hofmann and Simon Aeby are among the projects supported with a total of Euros 3.1m by the Stuttgart-based regional body MFG Baden-Wurttemberg in its latest round of funding.Euros 500,000 production support was granted for Sophieee!!! filmmaker Hofmann's "impossible love story" Eden, which will be produced by the Ludwigsburg-based production houses Avanti Media and Gambit Filmproduktion, while Danquart's Romanian-set Offset ...

  • Austrian Film Institute backs five co-productions

    31-Jul-2003

    Five international co-productions are among the projects awarded over Euros 2m in production support from the Austrian Film Institute (OFI) in its latest round of funding.Production backing was allocated to Jessica Hausner's thriller Hotel, to be co-produced by Coop99 Filmproduktion with Germany's Essential Filmproduktion; Wolfram Paulus's coming of age tale Augenleuchten, to be co-produced by Fischer Film with Cologne-based TagTraum); Eva Urthaler's debut feature ...

  • Suicide bombers and von Trier edge on to Razor slate

    30-Jul-2003

    Former Senator Film executives Gerhard Meixner and Roman Paul have unveiled the production slate of their Berlin-based production outfit Razor Film with a two-track strategy - serving as the German partner on international co-productions and producing features by up-and-coming local talent.Razor's first international co-production will be Palestinian-born Hany Abu-Assad's drama Two Days (aka Paradise Now) about two youths from the Gaza strip who are just 48 hours ...

  • Good Bye, Lenin! star in demand

    29-Jul-2003

  • Sarajevo fest lines up world premieres

    28-Jul-2003

  • Good Bye, Lenin! tops 6m German admissions

    25-Jul-2003

    After 23 weeks on release in Germany, Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye, Lenin! has now passed the 6m admissions mark and clocked up over Euros 36m in box office takings.The X Filme creative pool production now qualifies for a Golden Screen with star Award, sponsored by the German exhibitors association Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater (HDF) and the film magazine Film-echo/Filmwoche, which will be presented to Becker at the beginning of the open air cinema programme ...

  • HVE, Constantin ready German teen comedy zombie flic

    25-Jul-2003

    After scoring box office success with comedies aimed at the youth market such as the Erkan & Stefan franchise and Feuer, Eis Und Dosenbier, Munich production house Hofmann & Voges Entertainment (HVE) is now turning its attention to producing the first German teen zombie comedy Die Nacht Der Lebenden Loser (Night Of The Living Dorks).Co-produced with Constantin Film Produktion - HVE have a first look production deal with Constantin - the film is being directed ...

  • At least 12 international buyers target Locarno for the first time

    24-Jul-2003

    US distributors Zeitgeist and Kino International, Sweden's Nonstop Entertainment, Brazil's Imovision, Spain's Lolafilms and Poland's Best Film are among a raft of international buyers attending the Locarno International Film Festival for the first time this year.

  • Documentaries dominate Swiss showcase at Locarno

    24-Jul-2003

    Documentaries are particularly strong in this year's "Appellations Suisse" showcase of new Swiss cinema to be presented at the forthcoming Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).Of the ten films screening in the showcase which is primarily aimed at international buyers and festival programmers, seven are documentaries, including Stefan Haupt's local hit Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross - Dem Tod Ins Gesicht Sehen (Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross -Facing Death) and Matthias von ...

  • Locarno unveils full competition line-up

    24-Jul-2003

    The concept of "passage" - historical, geographical and personal - is the common theme running through the International Competition line-up for the Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16), according to festival organisers.This year, 19 of the 20 competition films are world premieres - and come from 17 different countries. The festival has also remained true to its brief to seek out new voices and new auteurs by selecting eight first features and four second features ...

  • Filmstiftung NRW backs four international co-productions

    23-Jul-2003

    Four international co-productions - by the UK's Christopher Smith, Argentinian Pablo Trapero, Palestinian Hany Abu-Assad and German newcomer Till Franzen - are among seven feature projects receiving a total of Euros 2.5m production support from Filmstiftung NRW in its latest round of funding. Euros 500,000 was allocated to Smith's fantastic horror thriller Creep, which will star Franka Potente and shoot this summer as a coproduction between zero west Filmproduktion and ...

  • Locarno prepares to showcase global talent

    23-Jul-2003

    Films by Korea's Kim Ki-Duk, Argentina's Martin Rejtman, Germany's Soenke Wortmann, Austria's Barbara Albert and Switzerland's Dominique de Rivaz Knecht will be unveiled on July 24 as world premieres at the forthcoming Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).

  • Pictorion Das Werk unveils new management structure

    23-Jul-2003

    Pictorion Das Werk - formerly Das Werk - has unveiled its new management structure and the opening of an additional post house in Cologne.

  • Chabrol thriller backed by Bavarian fund

    22-Jul-2003

    Feature projects by veteran French director Claude Chabrol, newcomer director Marco Kreuzpaintner and Mostly Martha's Sandra Nettelbeck are among those receiving a total Euros 1.35m backing from Bavaria's regional public fund FFF Bayern.

  • Germany's Splendid to divest its 80% holding in US subsidiary

    22-Jul-2003

    Germany's Splendid Medien plans to divest itself of its 80% interest in the US subsidiary Splendid Pictures Holdings, Inc. (SPH), subject to approval at the annual general meeting.

  • VCL Film + Medien reduces 2003 forecast

    22-Jul-2003

    German home entertainment specialist/license trader VCL Film + Medien has reduced its sales forecast for the present fiscal year from the previously announced Euros 25m-30m to Euros 18m.

  • Little Polar Bear sequel among films to get German funding

    21-Jul-2003

    The sequel to the 2001 hit animation feature Der Kleine Eisbaer (The Little Polar Bear) and new films by Grill Point's Andreas Dresen, Mostly Martha's Sandra Nettelbeck and Sonnenallee's Leander Hausmann are among the projects receiving a total of Euros 3.2m from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) in its latest round of funding.

  • Saban resurfaces in KirchMedia bidding

    21-Jul-2003

    It could be the comeback of the year. Six weeks after making an eleventh hour exit from the bidding for the insolvent KirchMedia, US media tycoon Haim Saban could be back in the picture.

  • Maurice Jarre to receive award at Flanders film festival

    21-Jul-2003

    Veteran French composer Maurice Jarre will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's World Soundtrack Awards during the Flanders International Film Festival (FIFF) in Ghent (October 7-18 2003).

  • German indies win distribution funding

    18-Jul-2003

    Theatrical distributors X Verleih, Salzgeber & Co Medien and Alamode Film have been awarded prizes worth Euros 100,000 each to invest in distribution campaigns for German and other European films.

  • Franchise vs Intertainment court battle delayed

    16-Jul-2003

    The lawsuit between German license trader Intertainment and US producer Franchise Pictures may be delayed for another year, after the planned August 5 court case between the two companies was unexpectedly postponed by a Los Angeles judge.

  • Sony strikes 'three digit million' German TV deal

    16-Jul-2003

    Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SPE) latest blockbusters Terminator 3, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Spider-Man are among 80 feature film titles acquired by Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Group in an exclusive free-TV deal for all of SPE's output from 2001-2003.The package, which was concluded with Sony Pictures Television International for a reported three digit million Euro sum, also includes several TV movies and series such as The Shield, The Guardian, Joan ...

  • Cottbus focuses on new Russian cinema

    15-Jul-2003

    New Russian cinema will be in the spotlight at this year's Filmfest Cottbus (November 4-8) and the Connecting Cottbus market forum (November 4-5).The festival focus will feature programmes of contemporary young Russian cinema and leading productions of the past decade. There will also be showcases of video art and co-productions made with Russia, and a spotlight on New Petersburg Cinema.

  • Germany benefits as kids stay in the picture

    14-Jul-2003

    Although the German box office is significantly down for the first six months of this year, there is one bright spot: German market share has climbed up to 14.3% from an overall 11.9% for 2002 (Screen Daily, July 11).

  • Berlin signs up with European Film Festival network

    14-Jul-2003

    The Berlin International Film Festival has become the first A-list festival to sign up as a member of the European Coordination of Film Festivals (ECFF), a network of over 200 festivals across Europe dedicated to the promotion and circulation of European cinema.

  • Wenders wrests back control of back catalogue

    14-Jul-2003

    Wim Wenders is understood to have successfully taken back control of the copyright to his own back catalogue of some 20 films, such as The American Friend and Paris, Texas.

  • German exhibitor files for bankruptcy

    14-Jul-2003

    North Rhine-Westphalian exhibitor Gerd Politt has become the latest prominent figure in the German media scene to file for insolvency proceedings. The insolvency affects his screens in Soest and Recklinghausen and the five-screen Cineworld complex in Luenen, which only opened its doors in 2001 and has served since then as the venue for the annual Kinofest Luenen in November.According to German press reports, the complex's landlord Harpen AG, the Luenen town council and ...

  • Intertainment results hit by Franchise dispute

    14-Jul-2003

    German licence trader and producer Intertainment has blamed its failure to return to profit in the 2002 financial year on the "ongoing negative effects" of its dispute with US producer Franchise Pictures.

  • German box office, admissions fall sharply

    11-Jul-2003

    German cinema admissions and box office revenues fell by 10.9% and 12.2% respectively in the first six months of 2003 compared to the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by Nielsen EDI.

  • German tax incentives could double local production spend

    10-Jul-2003

    The introduction of tax incentives similar to the UK's sale and leaseback model or the Canadian tax credits system could result in a doubling of production expenditure in Germany over the next five to seven years, according to the producer pressure group film20.

  • UK to have strong presence at CARTOON Forum

    10-Jul-2003

    Animation shorts from the UK and France have been nominated to the final five for this year's Cartoon D'Or prize which will be presented at the CARTOON Forum in Varese, Italy (September 17-20).

  • Arndt to produce Roehler's Agnes

    9-Jul-2003

    X-Filme creative pool's Stefan Arndt, named European Producer of the Year at last month's Cinema Expo in Amsterdam, wasn't planning to produce any features this year after the demanding production history of Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin!

  • CineMedia shares soar as Tele Muenchen ups stake

    9-Jul-2003

    CineMedia Film's shares soared by over 29% on Tuesday from 93 cents to Euros 1.20 on the news that the Tele Muenchen Group (TMG) has reached agreement with Amsterdam-based German Equity Partners BV (GEP) to acquire all of its 905,000 shares.

  • New German production outfit targets Czech talent

    9-Jul-2003

    Pandora Filmproduktion's Karl Baumgartner has launched a new production outpost, Pallas Film, in the east German town of Halle to focus on projects with filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe.

  • German distributors pay back subsidies

    8-Jul-2003

    Thanks to the commercial success of such releases as the Oscar-winning Nowhere In Africa, scifi horror pic Resident Evil and 2002's top local film Bibi Blocksberg, producer-distributor Constantin Film has been able to pay back more than Euros 1.5m in production and distribution subsidies to the Bavarian public fund FFF Bayern and the Bavarian Bank Fund (BBF).

  • Germany's Helkon Media sells remaining assets

    8-Jul-2003

    German media group Helkon Media is now practically nothing more than a name after the insolvency administrator Axel W. Bierbach sold the bulk of the film library to the Hamburg-based investment company Aurum Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH.

  • OpenPictures and Intertainment seal strategic partnership

    8-Jul-2003

    Intertainment and Munich-based development, production and distribution company OpenPictures have concluded a strategic partnership which includes a co-operation on jointly financing and marketing international feature films with US major studios and legal financing against Franchise Pictures and other parties involved in a $100m litigation.

  • Eurimages backs 10 co-productions

    8-Jul-2003

    New features by Thomas Vinterberg (Dear Wendy), Auli Mantila (Ystavani Henry) and Robinson Savary (Bye-Bye Blackbird) are among ten projects supported with a total of Euros 3.8m by the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages in its latest round of funding decided at a committee meeting in Riga.

  • Guild of German arthouse cinemas fete Good Bye, Lenin!

    7-Jul-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's runaway hit Good Bye, Lenin! won the Gold Award in the Best German Film category of the Guild of German Arthouse Cinema Awards at a ceremony in Marburg's Cineplex cinema. Fatih Akin's family drama Solino picked up Silver .

  • High Hopes Award goes to French producing duo

    7-Jul-2003

    French producers Jean-Philippe Andraca and Christian Berard of Paris-based Les Films A4 have received the Euros 25,000 High Hopes Award, donated by the German collection society GWFF, for their production of Robert Kechichian's feature debut Aram, which was co-produced with StudioCanal and BAC Films.

  • Stuttgart film festival reveals competition line-up

    7-Jul-2003

    Paula van der Oest's Zus & Zo, the opening film of this year's Filmfest Stuttgart Ludwigsburg (July 10-15, 2003), Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4-ever, Karim Dridi's Rage and Sandra Goldbacher's Me Without You are among 14 films from 14 European countries competing for around Euros 70,000 in prize money.

  • Birch Tree Meadow wins Munich's Bernhard Wicki prize

    4-Jul-2003

    Marceline Loridan-Ivens has been awarded the Euros 25,000 "Bernhard Wicki Film Prize - The Bridge 2003" for her exploration of her own and Germany's past in La Petite Prairie Aux Bouleaux (A Birch Tree Meadow) at a gala ceremony during this week's Munich Film Festival. The film's lead actress Anouk Aimee was presented with an Honorary Award.

  • Little Studio strikes two-picture deal with director Claridge

    4-Jul-2003

    US management and production company Little Studio Films has concluded a two-picture directing deal with Munich-based British director Peter Claridge for two of its feature projects - action thriller Terminal Leave and the romantic comedy The Vedova.

  • New German distributor to release Don's Plum

    4-Jul-2003

    RD Robb and John Schindler's Don's Plum, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, will now be released in Germany by new distributor Favorit Film.

  • Hochbetrieb wins FFA Short Tiger award

    3-Jul-2003

  • Vienna International Film Festival courts controversy

    3-Jul-2003

    The seeds for a potentially controversial Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale, October 17-29) have been sown with the inclusion of two special programmes - one dedicated to US actor-director Vincent Gallo and the second to Austrian filmmaking as a riposte to Austria's Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak.

  • Bavaria Film takes int'l sales on Tuschi's feature debut

    2-Jul-2003

    Bavaria Film International will handle international sales on Cyril Tuschi's feature debut SommerHundeSoehne which is set to shoot on location in Spain and Morocco this October.

  • Strand takes The Child I Never Was for US release

    2-Jul-2003

    US indie distributor Strand Releasing has picked up Kai S Pieck's feature debut The Child I Never Was (Ein Leben Lang Kurze Hosen Tragen) (pictured) which is being handled internationally by Bavaria Film International.

  • German producers form Heimatfilm production company

    1-Jul-2003

    Stefan Telegty and Helmut Hartl of Munich-based commercials production house Embassy of Dreams have joined forces with Cologne producer Bettina Brokemper to establish the film and TV production outfit Heimatfilm to develop and produce features by new German directors and European co-productions as well as act a service producer in Germany for international companies.

  • Three films nominated for Berlin Today award

    1-Jul-2003

    2002 Student Academy Award winner Grace Lee (Barrier Device) is among four filmmakers - and three films, nominated from over 110 entries from all over the world to have the chance to make a short film about the German capital for the Berlin Today Award.

  • Belgian success heralds local production boom

    30-Jun-2003

    Flemish filmmaker Tom Barman's feature debut Any Way The Wind Blows has become the strongest opener in Belgium in the last year, clocking up around 14,000 admissions on 12 screens for distributor Cineart since its release on June 18.

  • Berlin film festival to launch co-production market

    30-Jun-2003

    Next year's Berlinale (February 5-15 2004) is to launch a co-production market associated with its second Berlinale Talent Campus.

  • German fund to invest in Fox marketing campaigns

    30-Jun-2003

    German fund initiator Ideenkapital is launching its Mediastream IV fund to raise Euros232m from private individuals for investing in the marketing costs of three releases by 20th Century Fox.

  • German exhibitors threaten UIP boycott

    30-Jun-2003

    A group of German exhibitors is threatening to boycott UIP's forthcoming releases of The Hulk (3 July ) and Sinbad (24 July) because of the introduction of a new rental system which sees the percentage cut taken by the US major rising to 55% for the release of Van Helsing in May 2004.

  • Constantin Film rejects Highlight, Eichinger bid

    27-Jun-2003

    Highlight Communications and Bernd Eichinger's joint tender offer of Euros4.50 per share for the remaining shares in Constantin Film has been rejected by the German producer-distributor's management board and the majority of its supervisory board as "not appropriate and too low".

  • German arthouse cinema nominations announced

    27-Jun-2003

  • Cologne conference hands out annual awards

    26-Jun-2003

    zero film's Martin Hagemann and Thomas Kufus, producers of Max Faerberbock's September and Alexander Sokurov's Father And Son, are the winners of this year's Producers Award at the Cologne Conference.

  • Finalists selected for Sarajevo's CineLink market

    26-Jun-2003

    Vedran Fajkovic's Bosanski Ionac and Namik Kabil's Zadnji Dan are among six projects selected by producers Cedomir Kolar and Behrooz Hashemian and sales agent Philippe Bober to be presented at Sarajevo Film Festival's first CineLink Market from August 20-22.

  • New deputy MD appointed at Columbia TriStar Germany

    26-Jun-2003

    Gerd Bender, sales director for Columbia TriStar Film in Germany since 1990, has been promoted to deputy managing director, by Martin Bachmann, the new managing director of Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International's (CTFDI) German operation. Bender will also continue in his capacity as sales director.

  • Pandora to produce Nalin's Valley Of Flowers

    24-Jun-2003

    German production house Pandora Filmproduktion, producer of Indian director Pan Nalin 2002 feature debut Samsara, are to team up again for his next project Valley Of Flowers which is set to go into production in the Himalayas, Tokyo and a Cologne studio from summer 2004.

  • Premiere secures pay-TV package from Warner Bros

    24-Jun-2003

  • Tunisia's Bouzid wins Innsbruck with Arais Al-Tein

    24-Jun-2003

    Tunisian filmmaker Nouri Bouzid's Poupees D'Argile (Arais Al-Tein) picked up three prizes at this year's Innsbruck International Film Festival (June 18-22) which is dedicated to films from South America, Africa and Asia.

  • 80 Days provides boost to regional German economy

    23-Jun-2003

    Frank Coraci's Around The World In 80 Days is expected to generate an economic 'effect' of 4,000% on the Euros 500,000 production funding granted by the regional Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg, with turnover of Euros 20m in the region.

  • UK, French shorts lead Cartoon D'Or hopefuls

    20-Jun-2003

    British and French animated shorts make up almost two-thirds of the 25 European films vying to be shortlisted for the nominations for this year's Cartoon D'Or.

  • EAVE plans more production forums

    19-Jun-2003

    MEDIA Plus producer training programme EAVE has announced plans for further Production Forums in Venice, Ghent and Vendome following its first one on 'Responding To New Developments in European Distribution' in Paris from July 4-6.

  • Colour Me Kubrick is Studio Hamburg's first project

    18-Jun-2003

    Brian Cook's Euros 8.5m satirical comedy Colour Me Kubrick will be the first project for Studio Hamburg Produktion's English-language division Studio Hamburg International Production (SHIP) which was launched shortly before this year's Cannes Film Festival.

  • Bachmann replaces Schau at Columbia TriStar Germany

    17-Jun-2003

    Martin Bachmann, senior vice president international marketing at the headquarters of Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI), is to succeed Juergen Schau as Managing Director, Germany.

  • Senator Entertainment reports Euros 178.2m net loss

    17-Jun-2003

    German distributor-producer Senator Entertainment posted a net loss of Euros 178.2m for the 2002 financial year (2001's loss was: Euros 4.2m) but expects its extensive restructuring will start showing results by the 2004 financial year.

  • UK productions win main prizes at Emden

    17-Jun-2003

    Features by Lone Scherfig and Gillies MacKinnon were among four UK productions which were awarded prizes at this year's Emden - Aurich - Norderney International Film Festival which focuses on new British cinema.

  • Nowhere In Africa producers team for Sergeant Pepper

    17-Jun-2003

    MTM Medien & Television Muenchen and Constantin Film, who were co-producers on Caroline Link's Oscar-winning Nowhere In Africa, are teaming up for Sandra Nettelbeck's second German-language feature Sergeant Pepper after her international hit Mostly Martha.

  • House Of Fools to open Munich film festival

    11-Jun-2003

    Andrei Konchalovsky's House Of Fools (Dom Durakov), winner of the Jury Grand Prix at 2002's Venice Film Festival, will open this year's Munich Film Festival on June 28.

  • Emden film festival focuses on new British cinema

    10-Jun-2003

    The International Film Festival Emden - Aurich - Nordeney (June 11-18) is remaining true to its traditional focus on new British cinema with screenings of new films by Don Coutts (American Cousins), Ken Loach (Sweet Sixteen), Duncan Roy (AKA) as well as Lone Scherfig's UK-Danish co-production Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself and a Director's Portrait devoted to Peter Greenaway.

  • Game, set and match to Becker at German Lolas

    9-Jun-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin! swept the board at the German Film Awards by picking up a record nine Lolas - seven Golden Lolas with prize-money totalling Euros 560,000 and the two Audience Awards - to add to the Lola that Becker and co-author Bernd Lichtenberg won for Best Filmed Screenplay during the Berlinale last year.

  • Hello America for Good Bye, Lenin!

    9-Jun-2003

    Bavaria Film International closed a US deal with Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) for Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin! ahead of its winning nine Lolas at this year's German Film Awards on Friday evening in Berlin.

  • German animators demand their own Lola award

    5-Jun-2003

    On the eve of the German Film Awards ceremony in Berlin on Friday evening, a group of German animation producers including Warner Bros. Willi Geike, Motion Works' Tony Loeser, Dreamin' Dolphin Film's Lilian Klages and Cartoon Film's Thilo Graf Rothkirch have called on State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss to introduce a nomination category for best animation feature.

  • New selection process for int'l festival of film schools

    5-Jun-2003

    Munich's International Festival of Film Schools (IFFS) will return this year to its traditional place in November with a new structure intended to make the event more attractive.

  • Gabriele Roethemeyer named artistic director at Stuttgart

    4-Jun-2003

    Gabriele Roethemeyer, chief executive of Baden-Wuerttemberg's regional fund Medien- und Filmgesellschaft (MFG ), has been appointed artistic director for the Film- und Medienfestival GmbH (FMF) which organises the Stuttgart Ludwigsburg European Filmfest (July 10-15), European Short Film (September 10-15), the Stuttgart Internatonal Festival of Animated Film, and the fmx conference for digital media production.

  • Munich unveils new regional focus strand

    4-Jun-2003

    New films from Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia will be shown in a new regional focus at this year's Munich Film Festival (June 28-July 5) alongside the event's traditional platforms for French cinema - Nouveau Cinema Francais - and Latin American cinematography - Visiones Latinamericanas.

  • Polish film-maker wins PLANET award

    4-Jun-2003

    Poland's Bartek Konopka has been selected from among 100 young filmmakers from all over the world as this year's winner of the treatment contest for the PLANET Documentary Film Prize 2004.

  • Banks move in on Kirch after Saban bid collapses

    4-Jun-2003

    US investor Haim Saban's planned Euros 2bn takeover of bankrupt KirchMedia is off.

  • Macedonia becomes 29th member of Eurimages

    3-Jun-2003

    As of July 1, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" will become the 29th country to join Eurimages, the Council of Europe's pan-European support fund for the co-production, distribution and exhibition of cinematographic works.

  • Sony plans pay-TV channel in Germany

    3-Jun-2003

    Sony Pictures is planning to launch its own pay TV channel in Germany and is also interested in collaborating with T-Online on providing content for its video on demand service.

  • Flanders festival changes awards policy

    2-Jun-2003

    In the light of the present crisis in arthouse distribution, Ghent's Flanders International Film Festival (FIFF) will be revising its awards policy for the 30th edition from October 7-18.

  • Kinderfilmfest tribute for Iran's Mohammad Ali Talebi

    2-Jun-2003

    Iran's Mohammad Ali Talebi is to receive the first ever showcase at a film festival of a selection of his feature films with the staging of a Director's Portrait by this year's Kinderfilmfest during the Munich Film Festival (June 28-July 5).

  • Bavaria Film closes multiple Cannes sales

    30-May-2003

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has sold the FIPRESCI Award-winning Spanish film Las Horas De Dia to France's ARP and the UK's ICA among a raft of deals concluded by the German sales agent in Cannes.

  • Controversy sparked at Diagonale festival director appointment

    28-May-2003

    The Diagonale festival of Austrian cinema and Austria's Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak have once more hit the headlines - this time with the appointment of Miroljub Vuckovic as the festival's Artistic Director and Tilmann Fuchs as Business Affairs Manager to succeed Christine Dollhofer and Constantin Wulff.

  • German DVD boom gathers pace

    28-May-2003

    Germany's DVD boom continues at the expense of the VHS video market, according to figures released by video trade body BVV for the first quarter of 2003.

  • Highlight reports increased revenue and profits

    23-May-2003

    Swiss media concern Highlight Communications has posted a 16% increase in consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2003 in spite of difficult market conditions.

  • Netherlands production platform expanded

    19-May-2003

    The Netherlands Production Platform, which is held during the Netherlands Film Festival's (NFF) Holland Meeting (September 26-29) in Utrecht, is to be extended this year to include European feature projects seeking Dutch financing or co-production partners and involving major Dutch elements.

  • German-UK development venture formed

    14-May-2003

    Germany's MagicWorx has formed a development joint venture with What's The Story, the production outfit of UK casting directors Ros and John Hubbard (Lord Of The Rings) to join forces on developing high-profile feature projects budgeted at between $2m-$20m, with the majority being between $5m-10m.

  • Kinowelt back in distribution business

    14-May-2003

    The reincarnated Kinowelt will be back in business as a theatrical distributor from July 1 under the management of Michael Koelmel and Bertil le Claire.

  • Constantin to explore alternatives to Highlight takeover bid

    13-May-2003

    Constantin Film's supervisory board has given its management board headed by Fred Kogel the green light to explore 'alternative measures' to counter a takeover bid by Swiss media concern Highlight Communications.

  • Flanders Image selects producer for Cannes showcase

    13-May-2003

    Flanders Image has picked Bart Van Langendonck of the young Brussels-based production house CCCP as its very first 'Producer in the Picture' to be showcased during the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Outlook remains stagnant for German market

    13-May-2003

    The German advertising market will remain stagnant until next year, according to a survey by accountancy firm KPMG of 129 managers from the fields of film, broadcasting and publishing.

  • Sequels awarded Bavarian fund backing

    13-May-2003

    Sequels of Dennis Gansel's 2001 teen-comedy hit Girls On Top (Maedchen Maedchen) and 2002's most successful German film Bibi Blocksberg are among nine projects awarded Euros 6.6m by Bavaria's regional fund, FFF Bayern.

  • Bavaria Film takes int'l sales on Spanish Hours Of The Day

    12-May-2003

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has picked up international sales rights to Spanish filmmaker Jaime Rosales' directorial debut The Hours Of The Day (Las Horas Del Dia) which will have its world premiere in Cannes' Director's Fortnight sidebar on May 19.

  • Germany's VCL looks to US distribution

    12-May-2003

    Germany's VCL Film + Medien has announced that it is advanced negotiations with an unnamed US major to have part of its feature film repertoire distributed by the studio through an independent label.

  • Constantin Film reports decreased sales, improved earnings

    9-May-2003

    Constantin Film has announced increased earnings for the first quarter of 2003 ahead of a May 10 meeting to decide on a response to the takeover bid from Highlight Communications.

  • Sarajevo festival to launch CineMart-inspired CineLink

    8-May-2003

    This year's Sarajevo Festival (August 15-23) will be launching its CineLink project which has been inspired by Rotterdam's CineMart.

  • Argentina's Toys wins Int'l Student Film Fest

    7-May-2003

    Argentine filmmaker Esteban Puenza's Toys (Juguentes) won the Euros 5,000 Feature Film Prize at this year's 'Sehsuechte' International Student Film Festival which attracted more than 10,000 spectators to the festival venues in Babelsberg.

  • Universum picks up 80 Days for Germany

    7-May-2003

    RTL Group's theatrical distribution arm Universum Film has picked up the German theatrical and video/DVD rights to Frank Coraci's Around The World In 80 Days which began shooting in Berlin yesterday.

  • Henson family buys Jim Henson Company from EM.TV

    7-May-2003

    Having been reportedly courted by Haim Saban and Walt Disney, Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising has sold all of its shares in the 100%-owned subsidiary The Jim Henson Company (TJHC) to the children of its founder Jim Henson.

  • Studio Hamburg launches English-language division

    7-May-2003

    Studio Hamburg Produktion (SHP) has launched an English-language division Studio Hamburg International Production (SHIP) to focus on internationally marketable productions as part of the reorganisation of SHP's production activities by CEO Sytze van der Laan.

  • Germany's BetaCinema moves into English-language films

    5-May-2003

    German sales agent BetaCinema has moved into English-language features for its line-up at the forthcoming Cannes market.

  • Out Of Control wins top Britspotting prize

    2-May-2003

    Dominic Savage's Out Of Control has won the Best Feature Film Award at the 4th 'britspotting' British Independent Film Festival in Berlin.

  • Solo takes German rights on Jester Till

    2-May-2003

    Peter Heinzemann's Solo Film has picked up theatrical and video/DVD rights for producer-director Eberhard Junkersdorf's (pictured) latest animated feature Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel).

  • Constantin continues to fend off Highlight's advances

    1-May-2003

    The board of Germany's most successful producer/distributor Constantin Film has failed to reach a decision on a response to Swiss media group Highlight Communications' planned take-over of the company.

  • Germany's CMW Film boards Russendisko adaptation

    1-May-2003

    A film version of Wladimir Kaminer's cult novel Russendisko has been announced as one of the projects in the slate of international co-productions by German producer Christoph Meyer-Wiel's new Berlin-based production outfit CMW Film Company.

  • Eurimages supports 15 European co-productions

    29-Apr-2003

    New features by Sergio Bodrov (Alone With The Moon), Manuel Pionier (Chemins De Travers), Patricio Guzman (Salvador Allende), Frederic Fonteyne (La Femme De Gilles) and Silvio Soldini (Agata E la Tempesta) are among 15 European co-productions awarded over Euros 4.1m in production support by the Council of Europe's pan-European fund Eurimages at its last sitting in Athens.

  • WorldWide Pictures gears up for English-language productions

    28-Apr-2003

    Studio Hamburg WorldWide Pictures (WWP) is planning to produce and fully finance five to six English-language films in the $5m-$20m budget range this year after receiving a placement guarantee from its capital market partners.

  • Highlight bid met with hostility from Constantin

    28-Apr-2003

    Highlight Communications' bid for additional Constantin shares has sparked 'controversial discussion' within the German distributor-producer's supervisory and management boards about the possibility of the Swiss media concern effecting a complete takeover.

  • Bertelsmann raises $500m from US private placement

    25-Apr-2003

    German media concern Bertelsmann has raised $500m from US investors in a private placement to offset existing bank loans.

  • EM.TV sells stake in Constantin Film to Highlight Communications

    24-Apr-2003

    Germany's EM.TV has sold its stake in production company Constantin Film to Highlight Communications for Euros 7.5m.

  • Freedom To Speak project extends to Tribeca and Cannes

    24-Apr-2003

    The Freedom To Speak (f2s) forum, which gave filmmakers an opportunity to express their views during February's Berlinale, is also to be created at the forthcoming Tribeca (May 3-11) and Cannes (May 14-25) film festivals.

  • Bruno Ganz cast as Hitler in Eichinger drama

    23-Apr-2003

    Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, known internationally for his roles in such films as Wim Wenders' Wings Of Desire and The American Friend, will play the part of Hitler in Oliver Hirschbiegel's Euros 13.5m feature Der Untergang - Hitler Und Das Ende Des Dritten Reiches which will begin shooting in St Petersburg and Munich from August 12.

  • Media funds pledge to invest in German industry

    18-Apr-2003

    German media funds have said they are willing to spend a set amount of the money they raise each year on films shooting in Germany.

  • MEDIA programme to be extended to 2006

    17-Apr-2003

    The European Commission is to propose to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament that the existing MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training programmes be extended for another year until the end of 2006.

  • German producer readies Alone In The Dark adaptation

    16-Apr-2003

    Infogrames Entertainment's video arcade game Alone In The Dark is to be given the silver screen treatment by German director-producer Uwe Boll after his film version of Sega's cult game The House Of The Dead.

  • Proposed new German film law comes under increasing fire

    15-Apr-2003

    The draft German Film Law has drawn further criticism from four film industry trade associations and a group of independent producers.

  • 21 young European producers selected for Cannes showcase

    14-Apr-2003

    Germany's Jakob Claussen (Distant Lights, Anatomie), the Czech Republic's Pavel Strnad (Year Of The Devil) and Antonio Saura (Semana Santa) are among 21 young European producers selected by the member organisations of the pan-European promotion body European Film Promotion (EFP) to take part in the "Producers On The Move" showcase at the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival.

  • Austria mulls Luxembourg-style tax scheme

    14-Apr-2003

    Austria's federal government has been urged to adopt Luxembourg's Audiovisual Investment Certificate Programme in a reform of national film policy to introduce tax incentives for private investment in film production.

  • Constantin prepares big-budget Hitler feature

    14-Apr-2003

    Constantin Film's Bernd Eichinger (pictured) is producing a film on the last days of Adolf Hitler with director Oliver Hirschbiegl in his first feature outing since the award-winning Das Experiment.

  • Good Bye, Lenin! - Hello Lolas!

    14-Apr-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's box-office triumph Good Bye, Lenin!, which is now approaching 5 million admissions (Euros 28.4m), received six nominations for Germany's Oscars, the Lolas - for Best Film, Best Direction and in four acting categories.

  • Britspotting festival to honour Winterbottom

    11-Apr-2003

    Golden Bear-winning UK director Michael Winterbottom will be the subject of this year's retrospective at the British independent film festival "britspotting" in Berlin from April 24-30.

  • International festival selectors could undermine new German Film Law

    11-Apr-2003

    Festival selectors for Cannes, Venice and Berlin could exert an unacceptable influence on future German film funding decisions under the proposed new German Film Law (FFG), according to Klaus Schaefer, managing director of the Bavarian Film & Television Fund FFF Bayern.

  • Hope & Glory Pictures opens UK base

    10-Apr-2003

    Berlin production house Hope & Glory Pictures International (HGPI) has opened a London-based outpost.

  • The Son wins three Belgian Oscars

    10-Apr-2003

    Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's The Son (Le Fils) was the big winner at this year's Belgian Oscars, the Joseph Plateau Awards, taking the honours in three categories - Best Belgian Film, Best Belgian Director and Best Belgian Actor - after being nominated for five.

  • German arthouse sector outperforms multiplexes

    9-Apr-2003

    Germany's arthouse sector reported a slight increase in admissions for 2002, according to an internal survey conducted by AG Kino, the trade association for specialist cinemas.

  • Haffa brothers fined for misrepresenting EM.TV finances

    9-Apr-2003

    Former German stockmarket high flyers, brothers Thomas and Florian Haffa were found guilty yesterday (Tuesday) of misrepresenting their previous company, EM.TV's financial figures in 2000 in order to influence the share price.

  • Baltic Films becomes member of European Film Promotion

    8-Apr-2003

    Baltic Films, the joint organisation of the Estonian Film Foundation, the Latvian National Film Center and the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, has become the 22nd organisation to become a member of the pan-European promotional body European Film Promotion (EFP).

  • Constantin Film confirmed as Germany's top producer, distributor

    7-Apr-2003

    Constantin Film confirmed its leading position as Germany's top production house and distributor by walking away with almost a third of the Euros 22.6m retroactive "reference" funding handed out by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Wenders tipped to get back his old company

    7-Apr-2003

    Wim Wenders and Peter Schwartzkopff, who jointly founded Reverse Angle Production in Hamburg last autumn, are now favourites to retrieve Wenders' old production company Road Movies from the insolvent Das Werk group, according to Germany's Die Welt.

  • Barbara Rudnik to head PLANET documentary prize jury

    7-Apr-2003

    German actress Barbara Rudnik (pictured) has been named chairperson of the international jury for the PLANET Documentary Film Prize 2004.

  • European Film Promotion to tour Argentina

    3-Apr-2003

    Pan-European promotional body European Film Promtion (EFP) will presenting a touring programme of new European films through Argentina in May and June as part of a first collaboration this year with the Buenos Aires V Festival Internacional de Cine Independente (BA FICI) (April 16-26)

  • German broadcasters to double film funding

    3-Apr-2003

    Germany's public and private broadcasters have agreed to double their financial contribution to the German Federal Film Board (FFA) to Euros 22.4m from 2004, State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss (pictured) announced on unveiling the draft German Film Law (FFG) on Wednesday (April 2).

  • Blue Moon wins Grand Prize at Diagonale

    31-Mar-2003

    Andrea Maria Dusl's feature debut Blue Moon was the winner of this year's Euros 19,000 Grand Prize at the Diagonale Festival of Austrian Cinema which closed in Graz on March 30.

  • Germany's Constantin Film reports increased sales

    31-Mar-2003

    Germany's leading independent distributor-producer Constantin Film posted a 3% year-on-year increase in sales to Euros 131.2m "in spite of the continuing crisis on the German media market last year", according to figures for the 2002 fiscal year.

  • Das Werk sold to German production outfit

    28-Mar-2003

    Huerth-based production outfit Media Select has acquired the core activities of the insolvent Das Werk postproduction group, in the face of stiff competition from a number of rival bidders from Germany, Europe and the USA.

  • Oberhausen engulfed in Iraq war ban controversy

    28-Mar-2003

    The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (May 1-6) has become embroiled in controversy after announcing that it intends to ban official representatives of the US, UK, Spanish and Italian governments from attending the festival following their policy on Iraq.

  • Saban completes takeover of KirchMedia film library

    28-Mar-2003

    As planned following the purchase of the majority of ProSiebenSat.1 Media on March 17 (Screendaily, March 17), US media mogul Haim Saban has now concluded a deal with insolvency manager Michael Jaffe and the KirchMedia management to acquire the film library of 18,000 films and TV series and the film rights business.

  • Slovenia joins EU MEDIA Programme

    28-Mar-2003

    Slovenia has become the seventh Central and East European country to become a member of the European Union's MEDIA Programme following Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

  • Bavarian film fund to sign accord with Quebec film body

    26-Mar-2003

    Bavaria's regional film fund FFF Bayern is to sign a Film Agreement with Quebec's Societe de Developpement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC) during a Bavarian Arts and Business Week in Montreal in mid-May.

  • German media lawyers propose adoption of UK's sale & leaseback model

    26-Mar-2003

    The UK's sale & leaseback model and Canada's tax credit model are two options proposed by the German producer pressure group Film 20 to Gerhard Schroeder's administration to improve the international competitiveness of the German film industry.

  • Austrian, Slovenian industries get together at Diagonale fest

    25-Mar-2003

    Austrian filmmakers will meet their counterparts from neighbouring Slovenia for the first time, at an industry get-together on March 28 during the Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Cinema, which started yesterday.

  • Argentina wins big at Fribourg

    24-Mar-2003

    Argentinian cinema was the big winner at this year's Fribourg International Film Festival which closed on Sunday March 23 with the $21,500 (SFR 30,000) Regard D'Or going to Carlos Sorin's Historias Minimas.

  • Advanced Medien calls AGM to report new losses

    20-Mar-2003

    Beleaguered German rights trader Advanced Medien is to call an annual general meeting after preparations for its 2002 financial report showed that the company incurred a loss amounting to at least half of its capital stock.

  • German publisher to up stake in ProSiebenSat.1

    20-Mar-2003

    German publishing empire Axel Springer has confirmed that it will increase its interest in ProSiebenSat.1 Media by 2% to 13.5% and receive another seat in the broadcasting group's supervisory board.

  • Culture Minister increases German Film Award prize money

    19-Mar-2003

    Germany's State Minister of Culture Christina Weiss will increase the total prize-money allocated to the German Film Awards (Lolas) by Euros 310,000 to Euros 3.125m this year.

  • RTL unveils new management as revenues rise

    18-Mar-2003

    Europe's leading broadcaster and content provider RTL Group has unveiled a new management structure as audited preliminary figures for 2002 show that group revenues performed strongly despite a difficult market.

  • France receives two Cartoon Movie tributes

    18-Mar-2003

    France's domination of the European animation sector was recognised at the end of this year's Cartoon Movie market when two of its Cartoon Movie Tributes went to animation producers from France.

  • New Wim Wenders film gets German regional film fund cash

    18-Mar-2003

    Wim Wenders' next feature Don't Come Knockin' has received the highest amount - Euros 500,000 - from Hamburg's regional film fund FilmFoerderung Hamburg (FFH) in its latest round of a total Euros 2m in funding.

  • Sellers welcome future Berlin-AFM breathing space

    18-Mar-2003

    When the Berlin Film Festival announced its 2004 dates - Feb 5-15 - last week, the early scheduling was primarily motivated by the fact that next year's Academy Awards ceremony will be held almost a month earlier, on Feb 29.

  • TV-Loonland sells stake in Korea's SRE Corp.

    18-Mar-2003

    German integrated media company TV-Loonland has sold its 72.6% stake in the loss-making South Korean media house SRE Corporation to Seoul-based Moohandae Media Ltd

  • Saban buys broadcasting group from insolvent KirchMedia

    17-Mar-2003

    Hollywood mogul Haim Saban (pictured) has taken the first step in buying the assets of KirchMedia by acquiring German TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media.

  • German Film Board hands out record amount of cash

    14-Mar-2003

    A record Euros 22.6m in retroactive "reference" funding is to be distributed to around 100 German producers and distributors by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) for successful theatrical releases of German films in 2002. Last year, the FFA had handed out Euros 21.6m.

  • The Hours to receive German Film Award

    14-Mar-2003

    Stephen Daldry's drama The Hours has been named as this year's winner of the German Film Award's golden Lola statuette for best foreign film.

  • Vivendi offloads Babelsberg tour and theme park

    14-Mar-2003

    Vivendi Deutschland has offloaded its 100% interest in Babelsberg studio tour and theme park to Schatz Entertainment GmbH und Co. Filmpark Babelsberg KG in line with the French media empire's concentration on core activities at the film and television production centre.

  • Saban, TF1 venture left as sole bidder for KirchMedia

    12-Mar-2003

    In a surprise development, German publisher Heinrich Bauer has withdrawn from the bidding for the KirchMedia empire, leaving the way open for US media mogul Haim Saban and partner TF1.

  • Sony closes German film production arm

    12-Mar-2003

    Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SPE) German production arm Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion (DCPF) is to be closed down due to "the difficulties of the media market and the downward box-office trends in Germany", according to SPE chairman and CEO John Calley.

  • Kosslick wades into German media fund debate

    11-Mar-2003

    Berlin Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick has added his voice to the growing chorus of industry figures calling for the private media funds to invest more in German production rather than concentrating on US productions.

  • Oscar-winning German producer dies

    11-Mar-2003

    Oscar-winning producer Manfred Durniok (Mephisto) died at the age of 68 at the weekend of a heart attack.

  • Roissy to sell Bleating Of The Sheep

    11-Mar-2003

    Roissy Films will handle international sales on Gjergj Xhuvani's second feature The Bleating Of The Sheep which began shooting on location in Albania on March 3.

  • German fund gathers around 80 Days

    10-Mar-2003

    Frank Coraci's Around The World In 80 Days starring Jackie Chan is one of 30 projects awarded a total of Euros 4.5m by the Central German film fund Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung (MDM).

  • Disney back in the frame for the Jim Henson Company

    10-Mar-2003

    Walt Disney has reportedly come back into the picture as a possible bidder for The Jim Henson Company (JHC) after a US investment group terminated its non-binding letter of intent with JHC's current owner Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising for the partial sale of 49.9%.

  • Rotterdam fest acts to avoid Berlin date clash

    7-Mar-2003

    A potentially damaging head-to-head clash between the Rotterdam and Berlin film festivals over the dates for their 2004 editions has been nipped in the bud.

  • Latin American films dominate Fribourg competition

    6-Mar-2003

    More than half of the feature films showing in the competition of Germany's 17th Fribourg International Film Festival (March 16-23) come from Latin America.

  • Cartoon Movie tribute nominees announced

    5-Mar-2003

    France's MK2, Sweden's Folkets Bio and Spain's Grupo Filmax are among seven companies or individuals who have been nominated for Cartoon Movie Tributes in recognition of their contribution to the success of feature animation in Europe.

  • Germany's RTL Group names new CEO

    5-Mar-2003

    Gerhard Zeiler has been named chief executive Germany's RTL Group following the exit of Didier Bellens.

  • German film fund awards more than $5m to new projects

    4-Mar-2003

    New features by Dennis Gansel, Sherry Hormann, Ben Verbong and three graduation films by students of Munich's Academy for Television & Film (HFF) are among the film projects receiving over Euros 5m from Bavaria's regional film fund FFF Bayern.

  • German actor Horst Buchholz dies, aged 68

    4-Mar-2003

    The German film industry is mourning the passing of actor Horst Buchholz at the age of 68.

  • The end of the road for Wim Wenders & Road Movies'

    3-Mar-2003

    The final chapter in the history of Road Movies may have been written with the news of the firing of Wim Wenders as managing director from the company he founded with partners in 1976 to make such classics as Paris, Texas, Wings Of Desire and Buena Vista Social Club.

  • Forced exit for Tobis distribution head

    28-Feb-2003

    Marlies Weber, head of distribution at Berlin-based Tobis Film, has been forced to vacate her position as of today.

  • New films by Rohmer, Akerman and Fridriksson get Eurimages cash

    28-Feb-2003

    New feature films by Eric Rohmer, Chantal Akerman and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson are among nine projects awarded over Euros 3.3m by Eurimages.

  • Audiovisual Eureka to close by end of June

    27-Feb-2003

    The European Union's enlargement eastwards and changes in its membership have resulted in Audiovisual Eureka deciding to close down in June, leaving Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and states of the former Yugoslavia without a broad support programme.

  • German politician urges Jackass boycott

    27-Feb-2003

    On the eve of its German opening, a Bavarian politician has called on cinema-owners to drop Jackass - The Movie from their programmes.

  • German Film Academy launches international exchange programme

    25-Feb-2003

    German Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg, whose graduates Chris Stenner, Heidi Wittlinger, Georg Gruber and Arvid Uibel have been nominated for an Academy Award with their animated short Das Rad, has launched an international student exchange programme.

  • French projects set to animate Cartoon Movie market

    21-Feb-2003

    Reflecting the strong French animation market, over a quarter of the 47 animation feature projects looking for financing or distribution at this year's Cartoon Movie market in Babelsberg (March 13-15) have been initiated by French animation studios.

  • New proposal to stem the flow of German tax money to Hollywood

    20-Feb-2003

    Ahead of next week's 'Alliance for Film' industry gathering in Cologne, producer-director and fund initiator Uwe Boll has added his voice to the debate about German media funds by proposing the adoption of the Canadian tax credit points system for the tax assessment of German funds.

  • Good Bye, Lenin! - success at home and abroad

    19-Feb-2003

    Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin!, this year's winner of the Berlinale's Blue Angel award for the best European film, has become the top German opener at this year's local box-office and has been sold to more European territories by sales agent Bavaria Film International (BFI).

  • Producers team for Nettelbeck's Helen

    19-Feb-2003

    Sandra Nettelbeck's next feature Helen is to be produced by MTM Medien & Television Muenchen's Andreas Bareiss and co-produced with Pandora Film's Karl Baumgartner, who produced her international hit Mostly Martha.

  • Sarajevo film festival launches Balkan script development project

    19-Feb-2003

    The Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) has attracted support from Rotterdam International Film Festival's Hubert Bals Fund and the Dutch foundation HIVOS for a "Regional Script Development Project" which aims to support film production in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia.

  • Cyprus becomes MEDIA Programme's 25th member

    18-Feb-2003

    Cyprus has become the 25th member of the European Union's MEDIA Programme following the Slovak Republic which signed its association agreement on January 10. Both agreements have been back-dated to January 1, 2003.

  • New kind of tax-based German production fund proposed

    18-Feb-2003

    German feature film producers could receive an injection of Euros 70m-80m worth of fresh cash from an unexpected source - the pay-TV platform Premiere.

  • European broadcasters called on to increase film funding

    17-Feb-2003

    German broadcasters have been called on to double their financial contribution to the German Federal Film Board to bring them into line with the cinema owners' annual payments of Euros 21m.

  • German media fund takes 'hands on' approach

    17-Feb-2003

    Private German media fund Cinerenta is to become more "hands on" in the development and production of the features it finances - moving away from the previous strategy of coming onboard projects developed by other producers.

  • Kosslick reflects on his second Berlinale

    17-Feb-2003

    As the Berlinale drew to a close with the out of competition screening of Gangs Of New York, festival director Dieter Kosslick for one was happy.

  • Odeon closes animation production division

    17-Feb-2003

    Odeon Film has closed its animation production arm in the wake of a decision to concentrate in future on live action production for film and television.

  • Winterbottom's World wins Berlinale

    17-Feb-2003

    Michael Winterbottom's In This World was the surprise winner of the Berlinale Golden Bear, beating off competition from favourites The Hours and The 25th Hour.

  • Bankruptcy workshop draws Talent attention

    14-Feb-2003

    One of the hotest draws at this week's Berlinale Talent Campus was the work shop on Bankruptcy and Resurrection, with an insiders view of the experience provided by Kinowelt's Rainer Koelmel and producers Cedomir Kolar (No Man's Land) and Nik Powell (The Crying Game).

  • Splendid lines up 2003 production slate

    14-Feb-2003

    Germany's Splendid Medien, which co-produced Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York through its then subsidiary IEG by stumping up $65m for the worldwide rights except for domestic, is lining up a number of new productions for shoot later this year.

  • VIP aims to raise Euros 500m for 20 projects

    14-Feb-2003

    German private media fund VIP is aiming to raise up to Euros 500m this year to fully finance or co-produce up to 20 features.

  • Bigelow set for VIP treatment

    13-Feb-2003

    A new film by Berlinale competion jury member Kathryn Bigelow is one of ten features being produced by the second tranche of the private German media fund operator, Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds .

  • Columbia TriStar mulls German distribution move

    13-Feb-2003

    Columbia TriStar is considering distributing third-party German films, on top of in-house productions by Deutsche Columbia Pictures.

  • Neue Kinowelt strikes first deal

    13-Feb-2003

    Neue Kinowelt's German language sales arm, Futura/Filmverlag der Autoren has made its first pickup - Christoph Schaub's melodrama Secret Love (Stille Liebe) - following the reorganisation of Kinowelt's acquisition and distribution division

  • Producers launch European lobby group

    13-Feb-2003

    120 producers from all over Europe have launched the European Motion Picture Producers Association (EMPPA) to act as a networking platform and a lobbying group to represent producer interests vis-a-vis Eurimages and MEDIA Plus as well as push for changes in Germany's Media Decree regulations on international co-productions.

  • Yugoslavia, Slovenia co-produce Red Coloured Grey Truck

    12-Feb-2003

    Hot Slovenian production house E-motion Films, producer of Damjan Kozole's Spare Parts which premieres in Official Competition in Berlin, is to co-produce feature debutant Srdan Koljevic's Red Coloured Grey Truck as the first collaboration between Yugoslavia and Slovenia since the Balkan War.

  • Jack Valenti brings anti-piracy campaign to Berlin

    11-Feb-2003

    MPAA president Jack Valenti reiterated his anti-piracy campaign in Berlin, when he addressed the opening of the European Film Finance Forum and also met German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to discuss the issue.

  • Tele-Muenchen ups German feature production

    11-Feb-2003

    Herbert Kloiber's Tele-Muenchen will step up its German-language feature production as a way of filling the gap left by the bursting of the Neuer Markt bubble.

  • Berlinale promotes Freedom2Speak

    11-Feb-2003

    Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick has given a group of young local filmmakers the greenlight to transform the festival into an ongoing discussion forum about the threat of war with Iraq.

  • Koelmels spell out Neue Kinowelt ambitions

    10-Feb-2003

    Rainer and Michael Koelmel have unveiled theplanned strategy of Neue Kinowelt,just ahead of their first market presence since regaining control oftheir insolvent Kinowelt empire.

  • Koelmels spell out Neue Kinowelt ambitions

    10-Feb-2003

    Rainer and Michael Koelmel have unveiled theplanned strategy of Neue Kinowelt, just ahead of their first market presence since regaining control oftheir insolvent Kinowelt empire.

  • Apollo to launch four English-language productions

    10-Feb-2003

    German media fund ApolloMedia has unveiled a raft of four titles to go into production in the first half of 2003.

  • Extension sought for MEDIA Plus & Training

    10-Feb-2003

    The MEDIA Programme is seeking a year extension to funding support mechanism MEDIA Plus, which is due to end in 2005.

  • Extension sought for MEDIA Plus & Training

    10-Feb-2003

    The MEDIA Programme is seeking a year extension to funding support mechanism MEDIA Plus, which is due to end in 2005.

  • Menemsha sells TV rights to Local Angel

    6-Feb-2003

    Menemsha Entertainment has sold the German and French TV rights for Udi Aloni's documentary Local Angel - Theological Political Fragments to public broadcasters WDR and ARTE respectively.

  • Ottfilm picks up Things You Can Tell for Germany

    6-Feb-2003

    Germany's ottfilm has picked up theatrical rights to Rodrigo Garcia's directorial debut Things You Can Tell from license trader and cofinancier Intertainment. In addition, Intertainment has agreed to a comprehensive video distribution package with Planet Media covering the video and DVD release of Things You Can Tell as well as such Intertainment back catalogue titles as Camouflage, The Whole Shebang, The Third Miracle and The Big Kahuna.

  • German box office in decline, recovery predicted

    6-Feb-2003

    Box office takings in Germany last year were the second best since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, according to figures released by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) yesterday.

  • Babelsberg gets Around The World

    5-Feb-2003

    Babelsberg Studios has been given a major boost with news that Jackie Chan's Around The World In 80 Days will be shot at the studios from this spring.

  • Berlinale jury member wins Goldene Kamera

    5-Feb-2003

    Berlinale international jury member and Mostly Martha star Martina Gedeck was named best German actress at this year's Goldene Kamera Awards which were presented in Berlin yesterday evening.

  • Berlinale jury member wins Goldene Kamera

    5-Feb-2003

    Berlinale international jury member and Mostly Martha star Martina Gedeck was named best German actress at this year's Goldene Kamera Awards which were presented in Berlin yesterday evening.

  • Berlinale jury member wins Goldene Kamera

    5-Feb-2003

    Berlinale international jury member and Mostly Martha star Martina Gedeck was named best German actress at this year's Goldene Kamera Awards which were presented in Berlin yesterday evening.

  • German media fund backs Oscar-winner's feature debut

    4-Feb-2003

    Private media fund CP Medien has boarded Oscar-winning German director Florian Gallenberger's feature debut Schatten Der Zeit which begins shooting in India on February 4.

  • Trust takes international sales on Home

    31-Jan-2003

    Trust Film Sales has picked up international sales on Theo van Gogh's new feature project Home Is Where The Heart Is which was presented at the Cinemart co-production market at the Rotterdam International Film Festival this week.

  • German media funds raise over Euros 2bn in 2002

    30-Jan-2003

    In spite of the German stock exchange crisis and the Federal Government dragging its feet on the future structure of its tax legislation, German investors channelled over Euros 2bn of equity into private media funds for national and international production in 2002.

  • Record year for German home entertainment market

    29-Jan-2003

    2002 looks to have been a record year for the German video and DVD market, according to the video industry trade body.

  • Hoffman, Grant, Hayek among Goldene Kamera recipients

    28-Jan-2003

    Dustin Hoffmann, Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek and Sir Elton John are among the recipients of this year's Goldene Kamera awards which will be presented by the HoerZu magazine in Berlin's Konzerthaus on the eve of the Berlinale on February 4.

  • Hoffman, Grant, Hayek among Goldene Kamera recipients

    28-Jan-2003

    Dustin Hoffmann, Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek and Sir Elton John are among the recipients of this year's Goldene Kamera awards which will be presented by the HoerZu magazine in Berlin's Konzerthaus on the eve of the Berlinale on February 4.

  • Holocaust producer receives death threats

    28-Jan-2003

    Veteran producer Artur 'Atze' Brauner has received death threats ahead of the special screening of his Holocaust drama Babij Yar at this year's Berlinale.

  • BV International Pictures takes One Last Ride

    27-Jan-2003

    Bjoerg Veland's BV International Pictures is to handle international sales on Tony Vitale's urban thriller One Last Ride which begins shooting in Los Angeles on January 25.

  • Sokurov to receive Berlin Freedom Prize

    27-Jan-2003

    Russian director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) is to receive this year's Andrzej Wajda/Philip Morris Freedom Prize at a special gala ceremony in the Berlin Rathaus on February 9.

  • Sokurov to receive Berlin Freedom Prize

    27-Jan-2003

    Russian director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) is to receive this year's Andrzej Wajda/Philip Morris Freedom Prize at a special gala ceremony in the Berlin Rathaus on February 9.

  • Comerica Bank files lawsuit against Advanced Licencing

    24-Jan-2003

    German license trader Advanced Medien's troubles seem to have no end with the news that US-based Comerica Bank has filed a lawsuit against subsidiary Advanced Licencing.

  • Kinderfilmfest international jury announced

    22-Jan-2003

    The Berlinale's Kinderfilmfest has announced its International Jury which will award the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix.

  • Kinowelt takeover saga resolved

    21-Jan-2003

    The seemingly never-ending saga of the Koelmel brothers' (Michael, pictured left and Rainer, right) planned takeover of their Kinowelt empire has finally come to an end.

  • Miracle debut wins Max Ophuels Prize

    19-Jan-2003

    Writer-director Anne Wild's feature debut My First Miracle (Mein Erstes Wunder) (pictured) has won this year's $38,500 (Euros 36,000) Max Ophuels Prize

  • Family films take top honours at Bavarian film awards

    17-Jan-2003

    The makers of the family films Bibi Blocksberg and Das Fliegende Klassenzimmer shared top honours at this year's Bavarian Film Awards

  • Another Senator executive bails out

    17-Jan-2003

    Just four weeks after the surprise departure of Juergen Fabritius from Senator Entertainment, another executive: COO Friedrich-Carl Wachs has quit the company.

  • Hot German director announces next two projects

    16-Jan-2003

    German filmmaker Oskar Roehler, whose Angst (Der Alte Affe Angst) is a competition entry at year's Berlinale, is developing his next two film projects with X-Filme Creative Pool and Constantin Film.

  • Til Schweiger to star in Star Trek spoof

    16-Jan-2003

    Til Schweiger is to take one of the leads in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1, Michael "Bully" Herbig's follow-up to his surprise 2001 hit Manitou's Shoe

  • First Forum titles confirmed for Berlin

    15-Jan-2003

    Piotr Tzaskalski's Edi, the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Lynn Hershmann Leeson's clone thriller Teknolust, starring Tilda Swinton in four roles along with Jeremy Davies and Karen Black, and Ulrike Ottinger's six hour-plus documentary travelling through south east Europe, Sudostpassage. Eine Reise Zu Den Neuen Weissen Flecken Auf Der Landkarte Europas, are among the first raft of titles confirmed for the programme of the 33rd International ...

  • Constantin Film retreats from TV to focus on features

    14-Jan-2003

    Leading German producer-distributor Constantin Film plans to concentrate its energies even more on the feature film sector in future.

  • Grill Point wins top German critics prize

    14-Jan-2003

    Andreas Dresen's Silver Bear winner Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) (pictured) has won the German film critics' Best Feature Film prize.

  • Krohmer debut to open Berlinale's German sidebar

    14-Jan-2003

    Stefan Krohmer's feature debut Sie Haben Knut will open the Berlinale's German cinema sidebar Perspektive Deutsches Kino which promises a film mix that "will once again be colourful, exciting and varied in content", according to the sidebar organisers.

  • German cinema admissions slip back in 2002

    10-Jan-2003

    A combination of an ailing economy, inclement weather and the local industry's home-made crises resulted in German admissions slipping by 5% from 2001's record attendances of 163.1m to 154.5m.

  • Koelmels' Kinowelt takeover hits further delays

    10-Jan-2003

    The takeover saga of the insolvent Kinowelt Group has continued into 2003, with news that brothers Michael and Rainer Koelmel have still not paid over the Euros32m agreed to acquire Kinowelt's core assets.

  • Nineteen actors selected as Berlin's Shooting Stars

    10-Jan-2003

    Nineteen young European actors and actresses have been selected to participate in European Film Promotion's (EFP) "Shooting Stars" showcase of new acting talent at the forthcoming Berlinale from February 8-11.

  • German culture minister mulls national film academy

    7-Jan-2003

    Germany's State Minister for Culture Christina Weiss has voiced her support for the creation of an AMPAS-style German Film Academy.

  • IN-motion parts from Myriad

    7-Jan-2003

    German media group IN-motion has sold its remaining 30% stake in Myriad Pictures to the existing shareholders and will in future concentrate its film/TV activities out of UK-based subsidiary IN-motion Pictures Ltd.

  • European Pitch Point jury selects 12 best scripts

    2-Jan-2003

    Twelve screenwriters and their projects have been chosen from 160 submitted to participate in next month's European Pitch Point.

  • Grill Point leads German critics' award nominations

    2-Jan-2003

    Andreas Dresen's Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) has picked up nominations in three of the four categories for this year's German Film Critics Award.

  • Fabritius ejected from Senator post

    23-Dec-2002

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment has given executive Juergen Fabritius orders to leave his managerial post at the group's German theatrical arm Senator Film Verleih just days before the Christmas celebrations.

  • Kosslick gives Berlinale new tolerant motto

    23-Dec-2002

    "Towards Tolerance" will be the motto for the 2003 edition of the forthcoming Berlinale in February.

  • Premiere secures new owner and Hollywood films

    20-Dec-2002

    German pay TV platform Premiere has signed film package deals with another two Hollywood studios - Paramount Pictures and Columbia - securing programming directly from seven of the eight majors from 2003. At the same time Premiere has become the first part of Leo Kirch's collapsed media empire to close a deal with a fresh investor, saying that private equity firm Permira would take it over.

  • Berlin Talent Campus attracts more than 2,000 applications

    20-Dec-2002

    Over 2,000 young filmmakers from 70 countries have applied to take part in the Berlin International Film Festival's first Berlinale Talent Campus which will be held from February 10-14.

  • Berlinale announces first Panorama titles

    20-Dec-2002

    The Panorama section at the forthcoming Berlinale will be welcoming back several filmmakers who have had films screened in past editions.

  • Eichinger joins Constantin Film supervisory board

    19-Dec-2002

    Bernd Eichinger is being lined up to succeed Commerzbank's Franz Jung as a member of Constantin Film's supervisory board from January 1, 2003.

  • 'Extraordinary' Kinderfilmfest expected

    19-Dec-2002

    Films from South Korea, Finland, Israel, Germany and Japan are among the first seven titles confirmed by the Berlinale Kinderfilmfest's new director Thomas Hailer for a programme which, in his words, "promises to be both diversified and extraordinary."

  • Anouk Aimee to get Berlinale lifetime achievement award

    18-Dec-2002

    French actress Anouk Aimee will be honoured with the Berlinale's Homage and receive a Lifetime Achievement Golden Bear at a screening of Lola on February 13.

  • German insolvency blow softened by Peppermint takeover

    18-Dec-2002

    Helkon Media's production subsidiary Kinofilm Muenchen Filmproduktion and the Vienna-based associated company Helkon Media GesmbH have become the latest divisions of the bankrupt German media group to file proceedings for insolvency.

  • Koelmels in the home straight

    17-Dec-2002

    The seemingly never-ending saga of the Koelmel brothers' bid to take over their insolvent Kinowelt empire looks like having been resolved.

  • KirchMedia strikes film deals with Paramount, German distributors

    13-Dec-2002

    Bankrupt KirchMedia has reinforced its future position in the German market by acquiring a $500m film package from Paramount Pictures, giving it the rights to around 100 feature films and series through to 2011. It has also unveiled a raft of long-term film deals with key German distributors.

  • European Film Promotion 2003 gets full MEDIA Plus support

    12-Dec-2002

    For the first time, the pan-European marketing initiative European Film Promotion (EFP) has received confirmation of support in advance for a whole year from the European Commission's MEDIA Plus Programme rather than on a project-by-project basis.

  • Transit Film picks up Fassbinder In Hollywood

    12-Dec-2002

    Transit Film has picked up international sales on Robert Fischer's documentary Fassbinder In Hollywood which was produced to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the legendary German director's untimely death in June 1982.

  • Yasujiro Ozu to be honoured with Berlinale retrospective

    12-Dec-2002

    The forthcoming Berlinale (February 6-16) will devote a retrospective to the Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth on December 12, 2003.

  • Arsenal takes Rabbit-Proof Fence for Germany

    11-Dec-2002

    Germany's Arsenal Film will collaborate with Odeon Film on the local release of Philip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence which was one of the big winners at the Australian Film Institute's Awards at the weekend and honoured by the US National Board of Review last week.

  • Publisher Bauer close to signing ProSiebenSat.1 deal

    11-Dec-2002

    The consortium of German publishing empire Heinrich Bauer and HypoVereinsbank is expected to sign a Euros 700m deal for a majority 52.5% stake in the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcasting family in the next two weeks.

  • Studio Hamburg World Wide Pictures lines up two new projects

    11-Dec-2002

    The Studio Hamburg's WorldWide Pictures (WWP) fund has lined up another two potential projects - Colour Me Kubrick and Dudes - to back after its first production, John Irvin's The Great Ceili War, wrapped on the Isle of Man last week on December 4.

  • Nine world premieres in Max Ophuels competition

    10-Dec-2002

    Over half of the 17-film line-up at this year's Max Ophuels Prize Film Festival feature film competition will be world premieres.

  • European Film Academy lambasts French, German broadcasters

    6-Dec-2002

    German and French broadcasters have come under fire from the European Film Academy (EFA) for not airing this year's European Film Awards, which takes place in Rome this Saturday (Dec 7).

  • New chief appointed at Hamburg Film Festival

    5-Dec-2002

    Albert Wiederspiel has been appointed successor to Josef Wutz as head of Filmfest Hamburg and will take up his new post from January 1, 2003.

  • VIF Distribution launched as successor to German film fund

    5-Dec-2002

    The Babelsberg-based management company VIF Distribution has been created as a successor to VIF International Films to handle the administration of three German media funds VIF 1, VIF 2 and VIP which co-produced 12 international productions including Michael Moore's box-office success Bowling For Columbine, Renny Bartlett's Eisenstein and Peter Sehr's Love The Hard Way.

  • Das Werk jettisons Swiss, Spanish assets

    5-Dec-2002

    Just aweek after Das Werk's German post-production divisions filed forinsolvency (ScreenDaily, Nov 26), the group has now sold off interests inSpain and Switzerland as part of its programme of restructuring andstreamlining operations.DasWerk has sold its stake in the Barcelona-based film laboratory ...

  • German pay-TV platform passes historic subscriber mark

    4-Dec-2002

    The number of subscribers at German pay-TV platform Premiere has passed the 2.5 million mark for the first time in the channel's 11-year history.

  • Swiss Film Prize nominations announced

    4-Dec-2002

    Local box-office hit Ernstfall In Havanna, Locarno competition entry Otre Il Confine and the documentary Forget Baghdad are among the films nominated in five categories for the Swiss Film Prize 2003 whose winners will be announced during the Solothurn Film Days on January 22, 2003.

  • Central Asian films to be focus of Trieste festival

    3-Dec-2002

    Films from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan will be showcased at this year's Trieste Film Festival - Alpe Adria Cinema (January 16-23, 2003) which has become an important meeting place for cinema from Central and Eastern Europe since its launch in 1988.

  • German Culture Minister hands out industry awards

    3-Dec-2002

    Two Munich-based distributors Prokino Filmverleih and Movienet Film and Berlin distribution outfit Piffl Medien have each received the 2002 Distributor Award worth Euros 100,000.

  • Kirch manager Kogel to step down

    3-Dec-2002

    Ahead of the sale of the insolvent KirchMedia to German publishing empire Heinrich Bauer Verlag by mid-December, managing director Fred Kogel announced at the weekend that he will leave the company at the end of the year.

  • Germany named Europe's fastest-growing DVD market

    2-Dec-2002

    Germany is set to become the fastest growing DVD market in Europe, according to new data collected by the national DVD trade body.

  • Germany's Senator reports massive net loss

    2-Dec-2002

    Senator Entertaiment has posted a net loss of Euros 59.5m for the first nine months of 2002 - a massive reversal compared with last year's Euros6.9m net profit

  • Germany's Tobis breaks away from StudioCanal

    29-Nov-2002

    The future for German distributor Tobis has become much clearer after a management buyout (MBO) by shareholders Kilian Rebentrost and Pathe.

  • Koelmels miss Kinowelt payment deadline, but get extension

    29-Nov-2002

    The Koelmel brothers' bid to take over their former company is set to drag on for yet another week after they missed the November 27 deadline for the transfer of the Euros 32m purchase price.

  • Gebirtig to open Max Ophuels prize festival

    28-Nov-2002

    Lukas Stepanik and Robert Schindel's co-directed drama Gebirtig - Austria's entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar - will be the opening film at the 24th Max Ophuels Prize Festival (January 13-19, 2003) in Saarbruecken.

  • Etre Et Avoir wins European documentary award - Prix ARTE

    27-Nov-2002

    European cultural channel ARTE and the European Film Academy have named French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert's Etre Et Avoir as the winner of this year's European Documentary Award - Prix ARTE which will be officially presented at the European Film Awards gala in Rome's Teatro dell'Opera on December 7.

  • Das Werk divisions begin insolvency proceedings

    27-Nov-2002

    Key divisions of Germany's Das Werk post-production group have begun filing for insolvency, three weeks after their parent company began insolvency proceedings (Screendaily.com, Nov 7).

  • Academy Pictures picks up Locarno winner The Longing

    26-Nov-2002

    Ludwigsburg-based Academy Pictures has picked up Iain Dilthey's The Longing (Das Verlangen) which was the surprise winner of the Golden Leopard at this year's Locarno International Film Festival in the summer.Academy's managing director Stefan Paul told screendaily.com that he expects Dilthey's sombre drama to screen in the Berlinale's Perspectives German Cinema sidebar before opening in Germany in the spring.

  • German distributors call for cinema owner flexibility

    26-Nov-2002

    German distributors are planning to start talks with cinema owners about introducing more flexible programming and price structures.

  • Germany's Telepool boards Santa Claus feature

    26-Nov-2002

    German licence trader Telepool has picked up German rights to the live-action family entertainment film The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus which is set to begin shooting next year.

  • European Pitch Point jury named

    25-Nov-2002

    German distributor Stephan Hutter of Prokino, No Man's Land producer Cedomir Kolar, Dogville co-producer Els Vandevorst from the Netherlands' Isabella Films, UK producer and European Film Academy (EFA) chairman Nik Powell, and Eurimages secretary general Renate Roginas will serve on the international jury of next year's European Pitch Point to be held during the forthcoming Berlinale on February 10.

  • KirchMedia back on the map with Buena Vista deal

    25-Nov-2002

    KirchMedia has signed a multi-year deal with Buena Vista International Television (BVI-TV) for the German free-TV rights to 20-30 feature films a year from Touchstone, Walt Disney Pictures and Miramax as well as a selection of TV movies and series from ABC/Touchstone and Walt Disney.

  • Koelmel Bros' Kinowelt bid in jeopardy

    25-Nov-2002

    The saga of the Koelmel brothers' bid to take over the core activities of their insolvent Kinowelt Medien empire has taken yet another, dramatic twist.

  • PLANET & stern documentary prize winner gets on the road

    25-Nov-2002

    Production has begun in Berlin on Axel Brandt and Irina Roerig's documentary Russenbus - Fremde Brueder which has been selected as the first winner of the PLANET & stern Documentary Prize launched at the Vision Day during this year's Berlinale (Screen Daily Feb 2002).

  • StudioCanal picks up von Trotta's Women

    25-Nov-2002

    StudioCanal has taken on international sales for Margarethe von Trotta's new feature The Women Of Rosenstrasse which continues shooting at the Babelsberg Studios until the end of this week before moving to Munich

  • Berlinale announces talent campus hosts, Cinema For Peace special screening

    21-Nov-2002

    German filmmaker Wim Wenders, production designer Ken Adam, screenwriter Alessandro Baricco and Lia van Leer, founder and director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israel Film Archives are the first industry figures recruited by the Berlinale Talent Campus.

  • Bertelsmann accesses Euros 1.5bn credit facility

    21-Nov-2002

    German media concern Bertelsmann has closed the syndication of a five year Euros 1.5bn revolving credit facility to be used for general corporate purposes and to partially replace a Euros 2.5bn bridge loan agreed in June 2002.

  • German film industry wants more cash from broadcasters

    21-Nov-2002

    The debate on a revised Film Funding Law (FFG) - due to come into effect from 2004 - has heated up with the German film industry "umbrella organisation" SPIO calling on the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF to follow the State Ministry for Culture's (BKM) proposal and substantially increase their financial support for the German Federal Film Board's (FFA) activities to Euros 40m .

  • Eurimages elects new president

    20-Nov-2002

    Former French Minister of Culture Jacques Toubon was unanimously elected on Tuesday (19 November) as the new president of Eurimages, the Council of Europe's pan-European fund for co-production, distribution and exhibition.

  • Morawetz launches new German distribution outfit

    20-Nov-2002

    After being off the radar for a while, Veronika Morawetz has bounced back with the launch of a new distribution outfit Stardust Filmverleih into the increasingly difficult German distribution market.

  • New director for Munich film festival named

    20-Nov-2002

    Andreas Stroehl has been named successor to Eberhard Hauff who this year celebrated his 20th year as director of the Filmfest Muenchen.

  • Falcom Media signs distribution deal with Universum

    19-Nov-2002

    Andreas Fallscheer's Falcom Media Group has concluded a long-term video/DVD distribution deal with the RTL Group's video subsidiary BMG/Universum Film for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

  • IM Internationalmedia to cut staff by more than 30%

    19-Nov-2002

    Following last week's announcement of pre-tax losses of $36.1m in the first nine months of 2002, production and finance group IM Internationalmedia has unveiled an extensive cost reduction programme to reduce expenses by Euros 28.7m and predicted that revenues for 2003 would be between Euros 330m-350m, well above this year's estimated result of Euros 250m-260m.

  • Jeans walks away with audience award at Luenen

    19-Nov-2002

    German actress Nicolette Krebitz's (The Tunnel) feature directorial debut Jeans won this year's 'Luedia' Audience Award at Kinofest Luenen's annual celebration of German cinema.

  • Paramount Pictures to tap German equity fund for two titles

    19-Nov-2002

    Despite the growing caution among German investors, Paramount Pictures is set to access private German equity for the financing of biopic Against The Ropes and the high school comedy The Perfect Score.

  • Junkersdorf launches tax fund to finance four pictures

    18-Nov-2002

    Eberhard Junkersdorf, who called earlier this year for the introduction in Germany of tax-driven incentives similar to those in the UK, Ireland, Canada or Luxembourg, has launched his own media fund - Neue Bioskop Film - to finance four international feature productions in 2002 and 2003.

  • Mannheim jury in favour of The Devils

    18-Nov-2002

    French director Christopher Ruggia's drama The Devils (Les Diables) was named Best Film by the international jury at this year's Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.

  • Constantin reports increase in sales - and net losses

    15-Nov-2002

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film has posted a 10% increase in sales to Euro 94.6m, but also a 64% increase in net losses to Euros 7.36m, (from 2001's loss of Euros 4.5m) according to the nine-months report to September 30, 2002.

  • German, Israeli film funds sign joint project agreement

    14-Nov-2002

    German regional film fund Filmstiftung NRW and the Israel Film Fund have signed a deal to develop relations between the two film industries.

  • German star to headline English-language Ghetto

    13-Nov-2002

    Hot German star Moritz Bleibtreu (The Experiment, Luna Papa, Taking Sides) is to play the lead role of the Nazi officer Kittel in Audrius Juzenas' adaptation of Joshua Sobol's Ghetto based on real events in the Jewish ghetto of Vilnius during the Second World War.

  • Sandrew Metronome picks up Finnish kung-fu comedy

    13-Nov-2002

    Sandrew Metronome has picked up all Scandinavian rights (except for Finnish TV rights) for first-time Finnish director Aj Annila's kung fu-fantasy-comedy Jade Warrior which was presented to international producers at this week's Mannheim Meetings co-production market.

  • German funds less attractive to investors in 2002

    12-Nov-2002

    German media funds are expected to raise Euros1.5bn in 2002 from private investors to finance feature film and TV production - 25% less than last year.

  • German investors cheered by erotic media floatation

    12-Nov-2002

    Amidst all of the insolvency doom and gloom, German investors had reasons to be cheerful with the successful flotation of the adult films trader erotic media ag on the Frankfurt stock exchange with a threefold over-subscription of its 100,000 shares. Trading began on Friday at Euros 34.50, up 15% from its launch price.

  • Internationalmedia losses force board shake-up

    12-Nov-2002

    Production and finance group Internationalmedia announced pre-tax losses of Euros35.7m for the first nine months and as part of a cost cutting programme halved its management board from four members to two.

  • Mannheim meetings to expand in 2003

    11-Nov-2002

    The "Mannheim Meetings" co-production market plans to expand next year to include projects from Asia in addition to the present line-up from Europe, Latin America and North America.

  • German TV still suffering from advertising crisis

    8-Nov-2002

    The recession in the TV advertising market has continued to affect the revenues of German broadcasting giant, the ProSiebenSAT.1 Media Group which reported a 10% decline in revenues - down Euros 40m to Euros 351.1m - for the third quarter of 2002.

  • Das Werk's holding company files to start insolvency

    7-Nov-2002

    Following Helkon International Production and peppermint from the Helkon Media Group, the German postproduction group Das Werk has become the latest former Neuer Markt stock to file an application to start insolvency proceedings.

  • Scacchi and Prochnow headline Baltic Storm

    7-Nov-2002

    Greta Scacchi and Juergen Prochnow are the leads in US director Reuben Leder's poltical thriller Baltic Storm which began shooting on location in Berlin on November 5.

  • Alcas launches Euros 93.4m German film fund for Hallmark Entertainment

    6-Nov-2002

    While debate is currently raging in Germany about ways of keeping more private film fund equity at home, fund initiator Alcas has launched a Euros 93.4m fund to produce a raft of international film and TV projects for Hallmark Entertainment.

  • German cinema admissions fall 8% in third quarter

    6-Nov-2002

    German cinema admissions have fallen 8% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2002, but industry observers expect the new Harry Potter, James Bond and The Lord Of The Rings to effect a turnaround in the fourth quarter.

  • Odeon Film switches from Neuer Markt

    5-Nov-2002

    Odeon Film, co-producer of Gregor Jordan's Buffalo Soldiers, has received the greenlight from the German Stock Exchange to switch his company listing from the Neuer Markt and start trading on the Regulated Market (Geregelter Markt) from December 2.

  • German funds in Polish development talks

    4-Nov-2002

    The German regional funds Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung (MDM) and Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg are in talks with the Polish Culture Ministry to establish a development fund dedicated to joint projects by German and Polish producers.

  • Wild Bees, Hukkle win Cottbus prizes

    4-Nov-2002

  • Michael Haneke wins Vienna city award

    30-Oct-2002

    Austria's filmmaker Michael Haneke (The Piano Player, Funny Games) was awarded the 'Golden Decoration" for services to the city of Vienna at a ceremony in the Austrian capital's City Hall on October 28 (Monday).

  • Bauer consortium selected as negotiating partner for KirchMedia

    30-Oct-2002

    The bidding consortium of German publisher Heinrich Bauer Verlag and the HypoVereinsbank has been selected by the creditors committee of the insolvent KirchMedia to enter into exclusive negotiations for the take over of the media concern which includes the private broadcasters ProSieben, SAT.1, Kabel 1 and the former KirchGroup's film library.

  • Cinerenta and Babelsberg sign co-operative agreement

    30-Oct-2002

    John Boorman's SFX-laden, family fantasy feature Knight's Castle may benefit from a cooperative agreement concluded this week between German private media fund Cinerenta and Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures for Cinerenta's Media Fund VI to be dedicated exclusively to projects produced in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

  • Michael Koelmel released on bail

    30-Oct-2002

    Kinowelt co-founder Michael Koelmel is back on the streets after being released on bail early Wednesday afternoon after spending the past two nights in a prison cell.

  • Japanese film wins Grand Prix at Cinema Tout Ecran

    29-Oct-2002

    Japanese director Tetsuo Shinohara's The High-School Girl's Friend (Jogakusei no tomo) received the $6,715 (CHF 10,000) 'Grand Prix Cinema Tout Ecran' for Best Film at this year's Cinema Tout Ecran Festival in Geneva (October 21-27) which also featured a retrospective dedicated to Atom Egoyan.

  • Two more Fox projects to be backed by German fund

    29-Oct-2002

    20th Century Fox's thriller The Clearing, starring Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe, and the family comedy Catch That Girl have been added to the projects to be financed by Ideenkapital's Mediastream III fund, due to investor demand..

  • German police arrest Kinowelt's Michael Koelmel

    29-Oct-2002

    Kinowelt co-founder Michael Koelmel has been arrested by Munich police, just three days before his Euros 32m acquisition of the insolvent Kinowelt Medien Group is due to go through.

  • Germany's Prokino prepares provocative release

    28-Oct-2002

    German distributor Prokino's marketing campaign for Buffalo Soldiers has selected both a provocative poster image as well as an arresting new title for the German market: Army Go Home

  • Wenders launches new production outfit

    28-Oct-2002

    Wim Wenders has set up a new, Hamburg-based production outfit Reverse Angle Production which will produce his next feature project entitled Don't Come Knockin'.

  • 61 projects selected for Mannheim coproduction market

    27-Oct-2002

    New feature film projects from Ireland's Orla Walsh (Love In Limbo), Poland's Robert Glinski (The Gorki Sanatorium), Brazil's Luiz Fernando Carvalho (The Passion According to G.H.), Slovenia's Igor Sterk (Red Horizons), Canada's John Hopkins (RoboSapiens) and the USA's RD Robb (Sex Crimes) are among 61 titles selected from 28 countries that are being lined up for pitching to potential financiers at this year's 'Mannheim Meetings' co-production ...

  • Donnersmarck brothers win Hof's Eastman Support Award

    27-Oct-2002

    Brothers Sebastian and Florian von Donnersmarck have won the Eastman Support Award for newcomer talents at the Hof Film Days for their short Der Templer.

  • German/Polish collaboration at the core of Cottbus

    25-Oct-2002

    Roman Polanski's Golden Palm winner The Pianist will open the Festival of East European Cinema in Cottbus (October 30-November 3) which will be placing a particular focus this year on contemporary filmmaking from Poland and the potential for closer collaboration between German and Polish producers.

  • UK talent joins Supertex - An Hour In Paradise

    24-Oct-2002

    Maureen Lipman, Stephen Mangam and Elliot Levey are among the UK acting talent cast for Jan Schuette's adaptation of Leon de Winter's best-selling novel Supertex - An Hour In Paradise which has now gone into production.

  • Digital opener for 36th Hof Film Days

    23-Oct-2002

    Marc Ottiker's digitally shot feature Halbe Miete will have its world premiere as the opening film of the 36th International Hof Film Days today (Wednesday October 23).

  • Man Without A Past wins Grand Prize at Flanders fest

    21-Oct-2002

    Aki Kaurismaki's The Man Without A Past has won the Grand Prize for Best Film at the 29th Flanders International Film Festival - Ghent.

  • Germany's Das Werk to change market listing

    17-Oct-2002

    Germany's leading postproduction player Das Werk has been given the greenlight by the German Stock Exchange to change its listing from the Neuer Markt to the Frankfurt's Geregelter Markt from Monday 11 November.

  • Two Helkon subsidiaries file for insolvency

    17-Oct-2002

    Another two, first and second-tier, companies of the bankrupt Helkon Media group - Helkon International Holding GmbH und Helkon International Production GmbH - filed for insolvency at the Munich Regional Court on Wednesday (October 16).

  • Germany's Premiere provides proof that there is life after Kirch

    16-Oct-2002

    Germany's pay TV platform Premiere has shown that it is very much still in business by sealing a long-term output deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and acquiring a film package from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

  • Highlight increases stake in Constantin

    9-Oct-2002

    Swiss media concern Highlight Communications has increased its stake in German distributor-producer Constantin Film from 23% to 25% and announced an agreement for cooperation on theatrical distribution in Germany.

  • Germany's Constantin Film signs deal with Freestyle Pictures

    8-Oct-2002

    Germany's Constantin Film has signed a multi-year production, finance and distribution deal with US producer Adam Platnick's Freestyle Pictures

  • Koelmel investor group announces Kinowelt contract

    8-Oct-2002

    Responding to speculation in the German press, the investor group led by Michael and Rainer Koelmel has announced that contracts were signed on October 2 for the brothers to take over the core assets of the Kinowelt Medien Group.

  • Koelmel's Kinowelt takeover plans threatened

    8-Oct-2002

    Michael and Rainer Koelmel's takeover of the core assets of their Kinowelt empire has been thrown into question, according to the German weekly news magazine Focus.

  • New state minister for culture appointed in Germany

    8-Oct-2002

    Hamburg's former culture senator Christina Weiss has been appointed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as the new State Minister for Culture to succeed Julian Nida-Ruemelin who announced last week that he is to return to his professorship in philosophy at the University of Goettingen.

  • Take Care Of My Cat scoops Feminale prize

    8-Oct-2002

    Korean director Jeong Jae-Eun's Take Care Of My Cat has won this year's Euros2,500 Feature Debut Prize at the Feminale international women's film festival in Cologne.

  • Decision on new German Minister for Culture imminent

    7-Oct-2002

    Surprise top contender as Germany's new State Minister for Culture - former regional Culture Senator Christina Weiss (pictured), is to meet Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder today, Monday October 7.

  • Pauline & Paulette team re-unite for Jam

    7-Oct-2002

    The team behind last year's hit Belgian film Pauline & Paulette are to reunite for director Lieven Debrauwer's next feature project Jam (Konfituur) about the family intrigues following a couple's separation on their 50th wedding anniversary.

  • Germany's third-largest cinema chain files for insolvency

    7-Oct-2002

    UFA-Theater GmbH und Co. KG, Germany's third-largest cinema chain with 234 screens, has filed for insolvency.

  • No recovery in sight for German TV advertising

    7-Oct-2002

    Spending on TV advertising in Germany is forecast to decline by 8.2% this year, according to a study commissioned from market research institute Prognos AG by the ProSiebenSat.1 Group.

  • Achterbahn files for insolvency

    3-Oct-2002

    Achterbahn AG, producer of the hugely successful animated Werner features, has become the latest in a long line of publicly listed German media companies to file for insolvency.

  • Germany's F.A.M.E. to be axed after shareholder vote

    3-Oct-2002

    Film & Music Entertainment (F.A.M.E. AG) is to be dissolved after shareholders accepted management proposals to close the company.

  • Mira Nair to launch film training lab in Uganda

    2-Oct-2002

    Internationally acclaimed director Mira Nair is planning to create a 'film lab' in Uganda, inspired by the Sundance Institute's training initiative, to offer four East African and four Indian students six weeks of tuition.

  • Sundance to champion European cinema

    2-Oct-2002

    The Sundance Film Festival is set to become a platform for European filmmakers, according to festival director Geoffrey Gilmore, speaking at the Holland Film Meeting in Utrecht.

  • Speculation mounts about successor to German culture minister

    2-Oct-2002

    SPD politicians Thomas Krueger, president of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, who has served on several film funding committees, and Monika Griefahn, who chairs the Bundestag's cultural committee have been tipped as a possible successor to Julian Nida-Ruemelin as Germany's Federal Commissioner for Affairs of Culture and the Media (BKM).

  • Germany's arthouse sector mourns Nina Becker

    30-Sep-2002

    The German film industry is mourning the death last week of the much-loved arthouse cinema-owner Nina Becker who died after along battle with cancer at the age of 41.

  • Rotterdam film fund's first development prize awarded

    30-Sep-2002

    The Rotterdam Film Fund's first development prize has been awarded to Eugenie Jansen (director of last year's Tussenland) and producer Stienette Bosklopper for their feature film project Calimucho which was presented at this year's Netherlands Production Platform in Utrecht at the weekend.

  • Future of Babelsberg studios secured

    27-Sep-2002

    The future of Studio Babelsberg is secure after Vivendi Universal's announcement on Wednesday (Sept 25) to focus its activities in future as a conglomerate for the film, TV and entertainment industry.

  • Hamburg festival cheers on Beckham

    26-Sep-2002

    Josef Wutz's final outing as director of the Filmfest Hamburg (Sept 23-29) was kicked off in fine form on Monday (Sept 23) with the world premiere of local filmmaker Fatih Akin's Italian immigrant family drama Solino, plus a gala screening of Mike Leigh's All Or Nothing.The real highlight of the festival so far, though, has been the German premiere of Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham - which has been re-christened Kick It Like Beckham by distributor ...

  • First participants confirmed for German sales & distribution market

    25-Sep-2002

    Germany's Bavaria Media, the Czech Republic's Space Film, Norway's BV International Pictures and the UK's Indyuk Films are among over 20 European arthouse sales agents which have already registered for the first 'Sales & Distribution Market' to be held by the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival from November 12-14.

  • Home Road Movies scoops Cartoon d'Or

    24-Sep-2002

    UK animator Robert Bradbrook was named the winner of the 12th Cartoon d'Or for his 12-minute mix of 3-D computer animation and live action Home Road Movies.

  • Altman's ballet Company does trans-Atlantic pas de deux

    23-Sep-2002

    Veteran US director Robert Altman's new feature The Company is to be the first project backed in a new joint venture between German private media fund CP Medien and the Los Angeles/Munich-based production outfit SRO Entertainment.

  • Struggling Vivendi Universal 'committed' to Babelsberg studios

    18-Sep-2002

    Struggling media group Vivendi Universal remains committed to its ownership of Babelsberg Film Studios, according to Thierry Potok, chief executive of Vivendi Deutschland and caretaker manager of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP).The sudden departure last week of SBMP CEO Gabriela Bacher, plus Vivendi Universal's ongoing attempts to raise cash by selling off key assets, had caused many industry observers to speculate about the French group's commitment to the German film ...

  • German exhibitor launches theatrical distribution operation

    17-Sep-2002

    German exhibitor Kinostar Theater GmbH has expanded its operations to embrace in-house theatrical distribution in the field of arthouse cinema in addition to its exhibition and production activities.

  • Look Now signs output deal with Swiss Dschoint Ventschr

    15-Sep-2002

    Zurich-based production outfit Dschoint Ventschr has signed an output deal with local theatrical distributor Look Now for the release of its films in Switzerland

  • Egoyan to be honoured by Cinema Tout Ecran festival

    11-Sep-2002

    Canadian director Atom Egoyan will be honoured with a retrospective at the 8th Cinema Tout Ecran International Film and Television Festival in Geneva (October 21-27) which showcases feature films produced by or for television.

  • Italy's Mikado Film picks up Fuehrer Ex

    11-Sep-2002

    Italian distributor Mikado Film has picked up Winfried Bonengel's controversial Neo-Nazi drama Fuehrer Ex which screened in Official Competition in Venice last week and received its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival yesterday.

  • Studio Babelsberg chief Bacher exits suddenly

    11-Sep-2002

    Less than a week before Babelsberg Studios' 90th anniversary on September 16, the German film industry has been rocked by the news of CEO Gabriela Bacher's sudden exit.

  • Valli to direct Tibet Project for German Friends

    11-Sep-2002

    French director Eric Valli, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his feature Himalaya in 2000, has been signed up by Munich-based production house Friends Production to direct the ethnological road movie The Tibet Project (working title).

  • Feminale festival announces first competition line-up

    10-Sep-2002

    The first Chinese production about a relationship between two women - Li Yu's Fish And Elephant -, Marilyn Freeman's study of group therapy GROUP, and Eliane de Latour's documentary Bronx-Barbes about teenage gangs in the West African city of Abidjan are among seven international films selected to compete for the Debut Prize at this year's International Women's Film Festival 'Feminale' (October 2-6) in Cologne.

  • German producers reach 'voluntary' agreement with public broadcasters

    6-Sep-2002

    German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have reached a voluntary agreement with the national producer associations which will see the first exploitation cycle for TV rights on funded cinema co-productions reduced from seven years to five.

  • Movienet Film sells five titles to Austria

    6-Sep-2002

    Munich Filmfest's opening film The Son's Bride (El Hijo De La Novia) and Mika Kaurismaki's music documentary Moro No Brasil are among five films sold by Munich-based theatrical outfit Movienet Film to Austrian distributors.

  • Beta Cinema adds Baader, Scherbentanz to sales slate

    4-Sep-2002

    Beta Cinema, the feature film division of Beta Film, has picked upinternational rights to Christoph Roth's controversial biopic Baaderwhich won the Alfred Bauer Prize at this year's Berlinale and received a stormyinternational premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in a 15-minute shorter version last month.

  • Helkon sells TV prod unit and distributor Solo Film

    4-Sep-2002

    Helkon Media has now offloaded its interests in the TV productionsubsidiary Sonne, Mond + Sterne Film- und Fernsehproduktions and distributorSolo Film Verleih.

  • Saturday wins Agnes B award at Sarajevo film festival

    28-Aug-2002

    Argentine director Juan Villegas'(pictured) Saturday (Sabado) won the Euros 12,000 'J'aime le cinema' Best First Feature Film Award which was donated by French designer Agnes B. at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival (16-24 August).

  • Gladiator, Mummy head Premiere/Vivendi film deal

    20-Aug-2002

    Beleaguered German pay-TV platform Premiere has sealed a deal with Vivendi Universal for such films as Gladiator, Erin Brockovich and The Mummy Returns as it attempts to put itself on a sound financial footing and attract new investors.

  • Berlinale hit with second sidebar defection

    14-Aug-2002

    Renate Zylla, director of the Berlinale's Children's Film Festival (Kinderfilmfest), has tendered her resignation, less than a fortnight after Wolfgang Jacobsen's announced he was stepping down as the organiser of the festival's Retrospective.

  • Das Werk thrown E60m lifeline

    14-Aug-2002

    The survival of ailing post-production group Das Werk has been given a crucial boost through the granting of a credit line of more than Euros60m ($58.5m) and the extension of previous loans by a banking pool that includes BHF Bank, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.

  • German box office continues upward swing

    14-Aug-2002

    The recent upward trend in the German exhibition sector has continued in the first half of 2002, according to statistics issued by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Flach Pyramide picks up Suddenly

    13-Aug-2002

    Flach Pyramide International (FPI) has picked up international distribution rights on Argentinian director Diego Lerman's feature debut Suddenly (Tan De Repente) which had its world premiere in competition in Locarno

  • KirchMedia to merge sports and film rights

    13-Aug-2002

    KirchMedia's managing director sports rights, Dr Alexander Liegl has quit the insolvent German media group ahead of plans to merge its film and sports rights businesses under the management of one director.

  • Koelmel brothers back in control at Kinowelt with E32m bid

    12-Aug-2002

    Brothers Michael and Rainer Koelmel are back in the driving seat at Kinowelt after their bid to take over the running of the group's core interests was accepted by a committee of creditor banks.

  • The Longing tops Locarno winners

    12-Aug-2002

    Scots-born, German director Iain Dilthey's austere The Longing (Das Verlangen) was the surprise winner of this year's International Competition in Locarno.

  • Swiss film industry gets $33.3m production support

    9-Aug-2002

    The Swiss film industry will receive $33.3m (CHF 50.4m) production support over the next three years with the signing of a third expanded Audiovisual Pact between public broadcaster SRG SSR idee suisse and the Swiss film industry in Locarno this week.

  • Emerging actresses are the talk of Locarno

    8-Aug-2002

    Young women searching for their place in life is a major theme of a number of films in the second Locarno competition under the direction of Irene Bignardi - from Michael Hofmann's Sophiiie and Andrea Dusl's Blue Moon to Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity and Dorothee Van Den Berghe's Meisje (Girl).

  • German regional film office fights for survival

    8-Aug-2002

    Some 200 members of a German regional film office have protested to the local government at plans to close down its operations after 22 years of activity.

  • Locarno competition hopeful nominated for First Steps award

    8-Aug-2002

    Locarno competition entry The Longing (Das Verlangen) (pictured) by Iain Dilthey, which has its international premiere in the official competition here on Thursday 8th August, is among five feature-length films by German film school graduates nominated for this year's FIRST STEPS Awards which will be announced in Berlin on August 26.

  • Bavaria takes world sales on Fuehrer Ex

    8-Aug-2002

    Bavaria Film International (BFI) has taken over world sales for Winfried Bonengel's Fuehrer Ex which will have its world premiere in competition at the 59th Venice Film Festival.

  • Kinowelt decision set for today

    8-Aug-2002

    The future of the beleaguered Kinowelt group will be decided once and for all at a meeting in Munich today.

  • Blue Moon rights selling fast in Locarno

    6-Aug-2002

    Monopole Pathe has picked up all Swiss rights for Austrian director Andrea Maria Dusl's feature debut Blue Moon which had its world premiere in the Locarno Festival international competition this weekend.

  • IM Internationalmedia reports revenues up, profits down

    6-Aug-2002

    IM Internationalmedia's business activities developed largely as predicted in the first half of 2002, posting a 33% year-on-year increase in revenues to Euros 94.3m, from Euros 70.8m (pro forma) - while EBITDA plummeted from Euros 17.8m in the first half of 2001 to minus Euros 13.4m for this year.

  • Rudy Tjio joins ottfilm's development and acquisitions team

    4-Aug-2002

    Veteran film buyer Rudy Tjio has joined the development and acquisition division of Christoph Ott's distribution outfit ottfilm.

  • Sponsorship issues cause Berlinale retrospectives organiser to quit

    4-Aug-2002

    Wolfgang Jacobsen, organiser of 12 retrospectives and 15 homages for the Berlinale since 1990, has stepped down from his position, citing "a series of conflicts" about the structure of the collaboration with the festival's TV sponsors

  • Seven groups submit KirchMedia takeover bids

    2-Aug-2002

    An offer of $2.6bn emerged as the highest of seven bids submitted by separate consortia offering to take over the insolvent KirchMedia, a meeting of the concern's creditors was told yesterday. Some creditors had hoped for bids to reach $3.5bn

  • International film buyers target Locarno film festival

    1-Aug-2002

    Over a dozen new international buyers - from Japan's Asmik Ace to Norway's Oro Films and the UK office of Unversal Pictures - are attending the Locarno International Film Festival for the first time this year; clear evidence of the festival's increasing market relevance.

  • Bertelsmann chairman steps down

    29-Jul-2002

    Thomas Middelhoff, Chairman and CEO of the Bertelsmann media empire since 1998, has exited his post due to "differences of opinion" with the Supervisory Board "about the future strategy of Bertelsmann AG and the cooperation between the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board".

  • Filmfest Hamburg chief heads for exit

    28-Jul-2002

    Filmfest Hamburg director Josef Wutz has announced that this year's festival will be his last in charge of the event.

  • Luther biopic follows El Crimen Del Padre Amaro in wide release pattern

    26-Jul-2002

    Following the news that Mexico's El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, about a priest's affair with a young woman, is to get the country's biggest ever national release; now a $20m German/US co-production plans to get the story of Martin Luther and his relationship with a former nun on to 1,200 US screens.

  • Sarajevo film festival to open with The Sum Of All Fears

    26-Jul-2002

    An open-air screening of Phil Alden Robinson's thriller The Sum Of All Fears will open this year's Sarajevo Film Festival on August 16.

  • Aki Kaurismaki to get Douglas Sirk award at Filmfest Hamburg

    25-Jul-2002

    Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki is to receive the Douglas Sirk Award at this year's Filmfest Hamburg (September 23-29) during the German premiere of his Cannes prize-winner The Man Without A Past.

  • Neue Kinowelt to be back in business for this autumn's film markets

    25-Jul-2002

    Jerry Payne and Marcus Schoefer of the Kinowelt management buyout (MBO) team anticipate their takeover plans will be a done deal by the middle of next week and are looking to be back in the rights acquisition business in time for this autumn's film markets.

  • Germany's Advanced Medien files suit for damages of Euros 4m

    17-Jul-2002

    The increasingly acrimonious mood within the publicly -listed German media companies has been further stoked with the news of Advanced Medien's filing of a suit for damages of Euros 4m against former members of the company's management board.

  • Locarno announces full competition line-up

    17-Jul-2002

    "Quality is the all-embracing element" says festival director Irene Bignardi about this year's International Competition lineup for the 55th Locarno International Film Festival (Aug 1-11) which kicks off on the stroke of midnight on Aug 1 with an open-air screening of Oliver Parker's The Importance Of Being Earnest.

  • Germany's Splendid Film package sold for $17.4m

    16-Jul-2002

    The romantic comedy Kate & Leopold and police thriller NARC are among a 16-title, Euros 17.3m package of films sold by Splendid Film to the German private broadcasting group ProSiebenSat1 Media.

  • Sun Gateway fund opens up for English-language productions

    16-Jul-2002

    Features by Michael Radford, Sandy Johnson and Amy Lyndon have been lined up as possible projects for backing by the new Sun Gateway Entertainment (SGE) private media fund.

  • IM Internationalmedia releases second quarter results ahead of schedule

    12-Jul-2002

    IM Internationalmedia generated Euros 75m - 85m in the first half of 2002 thanks to The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys and overages from such films as Traffic and The Wedding Planner, according to preliminary figures for the second quarter which will be officially released on August 29.

  • Koelmels step down as MBO secures Kinowelt's future

    12-Jul-2002

    Kinowelt co-founders brothers Rainer and Michael Koelmel have stepped down from the company as an investor group led by Kinowelt executives Marcus Schoefer and Jerry Payne moved to take over the company's core businesses of theatrical distribution, home entertainment and license dealing in a management buy out.

  • Latvia joins Poland in EU's MEDIA Plus programme

    10-Jul-2002

    Following hot on the heels of Poland, Latvia is now the second of the East European countries to become a member of the European Union's (EU) MEDIA Plus Programme.

  • Austrian Film Institute gets 30% budget boost

    9-Jul-2002

    The Austrian Film Institute is to get a substantial increase in its 2002 budget from Euros 7.4m to Euros 9.8m, in order to give its national film industry a better profile in the European arena.

  • German film funds face new threat

    9-Jul-2002

    The future of Germany's film funds has come under further threat with news of proposed tighter regulations by the Federal Ministry of Finance

  • Good Machine wins High Hopes award at Munich film festival

    8-Jul-2002

    US production house Good Machine has won German collection society GWFF's High Hopes Award for Michel Gondry's feature debut Human Nature (pictured) at this year's Munich Filmfest.

  • Arsenal loads up with Only The Strong Survive, Fast Runner

    5-Jul-2002

    Germany's Arsenal Film has picked up Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker's musical documentary Only The Strong Survive and Zacharias Kunuk's Inuit language action thriller Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner. Only The Strong Survive has been screening in an homage at this week's Filmfest Muenchen to Hegedus and Pennebaker, while The Fast Runner has shown in the festival's main "World Cinema" programme.

  • Germany's CinemaxX posts Euros 29.6m net loss

    5-Jul-2002

    Germany's multiplex market leader CinemaxX posted a net loss of Euros 29.6m for the 2001 financial year, due to depreciation of Euros 17.6m and an adjustment for discounted loans to Ufa-Theater of Euros 3.5m.

  • F.A.M.E. and RTV apply to exit from Germany's Neuer Markt

    3-Jul-2002

    F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment and RTV Family Entertainment are the latest publicly listed German media companies to announce plans to exit the Neuer Markt and trade on the Geregelter Markt.

  • EM.TV boss doubts company's chances of survival

    2-Jul-2002

    Werner E. Klatten, CEO of the beleaguered German media concern EM.TV & Merchandising, has expressed his doubts about the chances of his company emerging from restructuring after the bursting of the Neuer Markt bubble and the Kirch crisis.

  • Casting awards go to German, UK agents

    30-Jun-2002

    German casting agent Rita Serra-Roll (Manitu's Shoe) and UK casting agency Hubbard Casting (Chocolat, The Lord Of The Rings) are the winners of this year's National and International Casting Awards which have been sponsored by the private media fund Erste MedienDachFonds.

  • Four German documentary prizes awarded

    30-Jun-2002

    Four up-and-coming German documentary filmmakers were awarded this year's Bavarian Documentary Prize "The Young Lion" on the eve of the 20th Munich Filmfest this weekend.

  • Helkon Media reports increased turnover, reduced earnings

    30-Jun-2002

    While Helkon Media's turnover increased by 48% in the first nine months of its 2001/2002 financial year (August 1 2001 - 30 April 2002) from Euros 98m to Euros 145m, its earnings from usual business activities plummeted to Euros - 21.9m (2001: Euro 3.1m).

  • Sales agents, distributors awarded MEDIA cash

    28-Jun-2002

    The UK's FilmFour, Pathe International, Bavaria Media and Adriana Chiesa Enterprises are among 18 European sales agents granted over Euros 700,000 in financial support by the European Union's MEDIA Plus programme to promote the trans-national distribution of European films.

  • German TV rights package boosts market optimism

    26-Jun-2002

    RTL Television, Germany's leading private broadcaster, has acquired a package of films and TV series from Warner Bros. International Television (WBIT), including the free TV rights to Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, The Lord Of The Rings, Ocean's Eleven, The Matrix, and The Perfect Storm.

  • PACT, CineMart partner for Immersion 2002: Europe

    25-Jun-2002

    UK producers association PACT and the Rotterdam International Film Festival's CineMart have become partners in the 'Immersion 2002: Europe' co-production gathering for Canadian and European producers held in Paris from November 18-22, 2002.

  • Poland joins EU's MEDIA Plus programme

    25-Jun-2002

    In another step towards the European Union's (EU) enlargement, Poland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EU enabling it to participate in the MEDIA Plus programme.

  • Bank loan saves RTV Family Entertainment

    25-Jun-2002

    Animation production house RTV Family Entertainment has moved out of temporary insolvency after receiving a bridging credit line from its bank syndicate backed by a letter of credit from majority shareholder Ravernsburger AG.

  • Pandora returns to German distribution with Kaurismaki

    25-Jun-2002

    Karl "Baumi" Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig's distribution venture Pandora Filmverleih is staging a comeback on the German market nearly four years after being swallowed up by the Kinowelt empire in July 1998. Its first theatrical release - on 14 November - will be Aki Kaurismaki's Cannes prize-winner The Man Without A Past, which Pandora Film Produktion co-produced.

  • German Camera Awards announced

    24-Jun-2002

    Directors of photography Peter Nix (Wie Feuer Und Flamme) and Hans-Guenther Buecking (Der Tanz Mit Dem Teufel) were among the prize-winners at this year's German Camera Awards in Cologne, which also included an Honorary Award for veteran cinematographer Juergen Juerges.

  • US producer Saban Entertainment joins KirchMedia bidders

    24-Jun-2002

    US producer Haim Saban is set to join the growing list of bidders for the insolvent KirchMedia, albeit in collaboration with further strategic partners, according to the latest issue of the German news weekly Focus.

  • Credit line saves RTV Family Entertainment

    21-Jun-2002

    Animation production house RTV Family Entertainment has moved out of temporary insolvency after receiving a bridging credit line from its bank syndicate backed by a letter of credit from majority shareholder Ravernsburger AG.

  • German production community faces 90% reduction

    21-Jun-2002

    The German production community is facing a crisis which could see the numbers of film and TV producers decimated by the end of next year, according to Stefan Arndt of X-Filme Creative Pool.

  • Blueprint for ottfilm/Telepool distribution deal

    21-Jun-2002

    German theatrical distributor ottfilm and Munich-based Telepool have concluded a three-year first look deal for the international distribution of feature films.

  • Another German media company files for insolvency

    20-Jun-2002

    German production outfit H5B5 Media, which co-produced Cannes film Welcome To Collinwood, has become the latest in the growing list of German media companies filing for insolvency.

  • The Tunnel's Teamworx team picks up producers' prize

    20-Jun-2002

    German production company Teamworx's Nico Hofmann, Ariane Krampe, and Bettina Reitz, the team behind "event television" productions The Tunnel and Tanz Mit Dem Teufel - Die Entfuehrung Des Richard Oetker, have been awarded this year's Producers' Prize at the Cologne Conference.

  • Ufa Theater faces the final curtain

    20-Jun-2002

    Production, distribution and now exhibition - German cinema chain Ufa-Theater looks like becoming the latest in a growing list of insolvent German media companies.

  • German broadcaster RTL joins film funding institution

    19-Jun-2002

    German private broadcaster RTL is to become a shareholder in regional public fund Filmstiftung NRW on July 1, contributing some $2.9m to the overall $28.5m annual budget.

  • Publishers Springer and Bauer join KirchMedia bidders

    19-Jun-2002

    German publishing empires Axel Springer Verlag and Heinrich Bauer Verlag have set up a consortium to acquire at least 51% of insolvent KirchMedia when it emerges from restructuring.

  • Germany, Luxembourg sign co-production treaty

    18-Jun-2002

    Co-productions between film producers in Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were given a boost this week after the signing of a formal co-production treaty between the two countries.

  • Germany's TiME Group confronts insolvency

    18-Jun-2002

    Germany's TiMe Group has filed for protection from creditors two months after it was forced to dramatically scale back distribution and licence trading arm TiMe Medienvertriebs.

  • Film distribution arm launched by Germany's BMG/Universum

    17-Jun-2002

    European broadcaster RTL Group's video subsidiary BMG Video/Universum Film has launched a theatrical arm Universum Film to act as a link in the distribution cooperation deal announced last year between RTL and Constantin Film (Screendaily, 10 September 2001).

  • German Film Awards go to Nowhere In Africa

    17-Jun-2002

    Caroline Link's Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo In Afrika), swept the board at the German Film Awards this weekend, winning in all of its nominated categories, including Lolas for best film and director.

  • Heidi delayed by KirchGroup fallout

    17-Jun-2002

    German media giant KirchGroup's bankruptcy has brought work on animated feature film Heidi to a standstill and may threaten the future of animation specialist TV Loonlands' Budapest facility after payments from group subsidiary TaurusProduktion, the film's co-producer failed to materialise.

  • MediaPro continues Spanish expansion activity

    17-Jun-2002

    Recent Spanish entrant into feature film production, media conglomerate MediaPro looks set to continue its expansion with the $57m (Euros 60m) buy-out of rival Avanzit Media, the media subsidiary of Spanish technology giant Avanzit.

  • TV audience determines German blockbuster director's next movie

    13-Jun-2002

    Michael "Bully" Herbig, director-producer of German box-office phenomenon Manitou's Shoe, is planning a spoof of cult TV series Star Trek as his next film after asking viewers of his TV show Bullyparade to vote among four alternatives

  • Collapse of Germany's Kirch empire now complete

    12-Jun-2002

    The collapse of German media mogul Leo Kirch's empire was sealed on Wednesday with the filing for insolvency of two more divisions of the KirchGroup

  • Helkon to quit Germany's Neuer Markt

    11-Jun-2002

    Helkon Media is seeking to leave the Neuer Markt by the end of the month as part of a programme of cost reduction and reorganisation. If the Deutsche Boerse approves its shares will be traded on the third tier Geregelter Markt from July 1.

  • Nowhere goes somewhere with Zeitgeist

    11-Jun-2002

    Following The Tunnel and Sun Alley (Screen Daily, May 29), Caroline Link's Nowhere In Africa (Nirgendwo In Afrika) has become the latest German film picked up for US theatrical distribution.

  • Columbia said to be heading for Kirch bid

    10-Jun-2002

    A consortium of Germany's Commerzbank, the Rhineland-based WAZ publishing group and US major Columbia TriStar could be setting its sights on the assets of debt-ridden KirchMedia.

  • MEDIA programme aids 29 festivals

    10-Jun-2002

    Film festivals held in Giffoni, Oberhausen, Bergamo, La Rochelle, Dresden, Tampere and Pesaro are among 29 events throughout Europe which have been supported with a total of Euro623,000 by the European Union's MEDIA Plus Programme in its latest round of funding for festivals.

  • RTL closes in on Warner Bros German package

    10-Jun-2002

    The KirchGroup's arch rival RTL Television is in talks with Warner Bros to sign a $200m film package spanning such titles as The Matrix, The Lord Of The Rings, Ocean's Eleven and Harry Potter.

  • Germany's DVD sell-through market leaps 79%

    7-Jun-2002

    Germany's DVD sell-through market has leaped 79% in the first quarter, over 2001, helping to boost overall turnover in the national video industry by 25.5% to $332.2m in the first three months of 2002.

  • IN-motion hangs on to Neuer Markt listing

    7-Jun-2002

    International media company IN-motion will remain listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt exchange after an arbitration panel ruled against the Deutsche Boerse's plans to delist it

  • German media funds defend accusation of US bias

    6-Jun-2002

    The newly created interest group for Germany's media funds, Verband Deutscher Medienfonds (VDM) has responded to criticism from Culture Minister Julian Nida-Ruemelin and film industry figures that monies raised by the funds flow wholesale into US major studio productions.

  • Fund veteran Marco Mehlitz named COO at Cinerenta

    5-Jun-2002

    Marco Mehlitz, the former head of production at VIF International Films, has been named chief operating officer of German production fund Cinerenta. He will be responsible for sourcing projects to be produced by Cinerenta and overseeing the projects alongside Michael Ohoven, CEO of LA-based Infinity International Entertainment, the US consultant for Cinerenta.

  • New directors awarded German Film Board funds

    3-Jun-2002

    The new generation of German cinema is the focus in the Federal German Film Board's (FFA) latest round of production funding which totalled Euros 2.5m.

  • Germany's Das Werk reports sales increase, film production optimism

    31-May-2002

    German media company Das Werk posted a 14.6% increase in turnover to Euros 26.8m for the first quarter of 2002 compared to the same period last year, thanks to business generated by its new acquisition Centropolis Effects (CFX).

  • Major cash boost for German regional film fund

    31-May-2002

    German regional public fund Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg could get a 30% boost to its funding budget for 2003 following an announcement by the Berlin Senate that it intends to provide an additional Euros 2.5m for the subsidy body next year.

  • Competition line-up set for Cologne International festival

    30-May-2002

    TV movies and documentaries by Charles Sturridge (Shackleton), Danny Boyle (Vacuuming Completely Nude In Paradise), Christian Frei (War Photographer) and Coco Schrijber (First Kill) are among 20 national and international premieres selected from more than 600 entries for the 12th International TV & Film Festival Cologne (June 14-21) as part of the medienforum.nrw's Cologne Conference.

  • Germany's Helkon Media boss steps down

    30-May-2002

    An era has come to an end at Germany's Helkon Media with the decision by Martin Heldmann, co-founder, CEO and major shareholder, to step down from heading the company as well as managing several of its subsidiaries.

  • '99 Euro Films' expands European dimension

    29-May-2002

    The UK's Richard Stanley, France's Tony Baillargeat, Spain's Nacho Cerda, Belgium's Harry Kuemel and Germany's Benjamin Quabeck are to contribute to a second edition of the '99-euro films' series of digitally produced shorts which is now being opened up to European filmmakers.

  • Beta Cinema closes US distribution deal on Sun Alley

    29-May-2002

    Germany's Beta Cinema has closed a US distribution deal with Outrider Pictures for Leander Haussmann's feature film debut Sun Alley (Sonnenallee) with a release planned for this autumn.

  • Son Of The Bride to open Munich film festival

    29-May-2002

    Juan Jose Campanella's romantic comedy and directorial debut Son Of The Bride (El Hijo De la Novia), which was nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar, will open this year's Filmfest Muenchen in Germany on June 29.

  • Eureka Screenings to select 300 love stories

    28-May-2002

    Love has been chosen as the theme for Audiovisual Eureka's 5th Eureka Screenings which are being hosted in Skopje by the Minister of Culture of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from October 30 - November 3.

  • Tradewind, MMC Independent sign first-look deal

    28-May-2002

    Cologne/Erfurt-based production house Tradewind Pictures and the MMC studios' production arm MMC Independent have signed a first-look deal for a long-term co-operation on the production of national and international feature films.

  • Almodovar to head first European cinema heritage week

    27-May-2002

    Pedro Almodovar will be the patron of the first European Cinema Heritage Week (November 15-23, 2002) which aims to raise awareness of European cinema and to promote discussion of the visual image.

  • No Man's Land wins European Union media prize

    27-May-2002

    This year's Foreign Language Film Oscar-winner Danis Tanovic's No Man's Land has been presented with the European Union's Euros 25,000 Media Prize.

  • Columbia launches German arthouse distribution division

    24-May-2002

    The German office of Columbia TriStar Film has launched Columbia Pictures Art Selection - a classics-style division for the theatrical release of arthouse titles.

  • Tristan And Isolde involved in double shooting

    21-May-2002

    Start-up production company Octagon Films will co-produce a version of Tristan And Isolde with Ridley Scott's Scott Free, to be directed by Kevin Reynolds - while at the same time Intermedia and Metropolitan Filmexport have teamed to finance and sell their own Tristan & Iseult, to which Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata) is attached to direct.

  • 20th Century Fox taps new Euros 246m German production fund

    16-May-2002

    20th Century Fox is tapping a new Euros 246m German production fund for three of its projects; The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Down With Love and Just Married.

  • Europa Cinemas increases network to 896 screens

    16-May-2002

    The MEDIA Programme's exhibition initiative Europa Cinemas has added 171 screens in 28 European cities to its network, bringing the total number of screens getting support from MEDIA Plus for programming European films, to 896 in 356 cinemas located in 201 cities in 17 countries.

  • Advanced Medien agrees settlement with Wolfgang Petersen

    15-May-2002

    German rights trader Advanced Medien and film director Wolfgang Petersen have reached a settlement in the lawsuit regarding mutual contract fulfilment, which had been dragging on since August 2001.

  • Intermedia co-founders step down from board of directors

    10-May-2002

    Internationalmedia (IM) co-founders Guy East and Nigel Sinclair have stepped down from the board of directors and entered into a three-year producing deal with the company. At the same time, Graham King, President and CEO of the IM Group subsidiary IEG, will join the executive board.

  • Dream Work takes top prize at Oberhausen shorts fest

    9-May-2002

    Austrian filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky's visual poem Dream Work won the Grand Prize at this year's Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (May 2-7)

  • Helkon severs TV ties with Buena Vista International

    9-May-2002

    The German outpost of Buena Vista International (BVI) and local distributor Helkon have formally ended BVI Television's representation of Helkon titles in German speaking territories.

  • Sweet Sixteen, Deux, 10 Minutes Older picked up by ottfilm

    9-May-2002

    Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, which will premiere in competition in Cannes on May 21, is one of three new titles picked up by German theatrical distributor ottfilm.

  • German cinemas report boost in box office, drop in admissions

    8-May-2002

    Box office receipts at German cinemas increased 6.3% year-on-year to Euros 271.4m in the first quarter of 2002 - although admissions slipped by 2.2% (1m) to 45.2m, according to official figures released by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Germany's KirchPayTV files for insolvency

    8-May-2002

    The crisis-ridden KirchGroup's pay TV unit KirchPayTV has been forced to file for insolvency a month after the KirchMedia holding company filed for insolvency and self-administration.

  • VFX experts converge on FMX conference

    6-May-2002

    Visual effects experts from Europe, Japan and the USA including Olcun Tan (Black Hawk Down), Karen E. Goulekas (Spider-Man), Thomas Duval (Amelie), and Tim McGovern (Total Recall) will speak about past and present projects and artistic visions in the conference section of this year's Film and Media Exchange (FMX) in Stuttgart from May 23-26.

  • Eurimages appoints new board member, awards co-production funds

    2-May-2002

    The European production fund Eurimages has for the first time appointed a Norwegian to its board - the 52-year-old Nils Klevjer Aas, who works for the new Norwegian Film Fund.

  • Delphi Film picks up The Russian Ark for Germany

    1-May-2002

    Delphi Film will handle the German theatrical distribution of Alexander Sokurov's The Russian Ark, which will have its world premiere in competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

  • Legal dispute prompts Intertainment to increase write-offs by Euros 109m

    1-May-2002

    The continuing legal dispute with Franchise Pictures over allegedly inflated budgets has led German rights trader Intertainment to increase depreciations, allowances and provisions by Euros 109.3m to Euros 142.4m for the last financial year.

  • Film supply for German free-TV stations is secure

    30-Apr-2002

    German newspaper speculation that the supply of Hollywood feature films to the free-TV channels of ProSiebenSAT.1 could become a victim of the KirchGroup crisis, has been refuted by ProSiebenSAT.1's board chairman.

  • 'The lights are on green' for EM.TV after Euros 240m write-offs

    30-Apr-2002

    Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising has reacted to 'the weak advertising market and current changes in the media landscape' by undertaking Euros 240m of extraordinary write-offs.

  • Advanced's corrected figures show deeper losses in '99, but less red ink in 2000

    28-Apr-2002

    German rights trader Advanced Medien has published its revised financial statements for 1999 and 2000 after auditors exposed "dubious" transactions in the original filing, rendering them "ineffective" and, according to some analyst allegations at the time, possibly fraudulent. (ScreenDaily, March 21, 2002)

  • Moby Dick gets biggest slice of German film fund backing

    28-Apr-2002

    New feature film projects by Soenke Wortmann, Sherry Hormann, Wolfgang Panzer and Benjamin Quabeck are among more than 20 projects backed with over Euros 6m by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern in its latest round of funding.

  • Beckham picked up for Germany

    26-Apr-2002

    Highlight Film has picked up German speaking rights for Gurinder Chadha's box office hit Bend It Like Beckham, which has so far clocked up $6.6m on its UK release.

  • Internationalmedia claims revenues set to double in 2002

    26-Apr-2002

    After posting a decrease in revenues and a negative EBIT for the financial year 2001, Internationalmedia (IM) has announced that revenues in 2002 will be between Euros 330m - 370m and operating profit before goodwill amortization (EBIA) estimated at between Euros 21m - 25m.

  • My Brother Tom wins 'Britspotting' audience award

    26-Apr-2002

    The 3rd 'Britspotting' British Independent Film Festival in Berlin awarded audience prizes for the first time this year, with the Best Feature Film category won by Dom Rotheroe's feature debut My Brother Tom which took home Euros 13,000 in prize-money donated by Das Werk and Metropolitan TV.

  • Germany's NRW film body awards Euros 9m backing

    25-Apr-2002

    New features by Amos Kollek, Max Faerberboeck, Lone Scherfig and Peter Lichtefeld are among the projects granted over Euros 9m backing by Filmstiftung NRW in its latest round of funding.

  • New support award for German cinema planned for Munich Filmfest

    25-Apr-2002

    Leading German bank HypoVereinsbank has been joined by Bavaria Film and public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk for an expanded version of its Director's Support Award which is presented during the next Munich Filmfest at the beginning of July.

  • Germany's third largest exhibitor faces bankruptcy

    23-Apr-2002

    Germany's third biggest cinema chain, Ufa Theater, with 240 screens at 42 sites, is threatened with insolvency after its bank declined to provide further financing following two years of restructuring.

  • Germany's TiMe distribution scales back staff, moves HQ

    23-Apr-2002

    The difficulties facing the German independent distribution sector has forced Wolfram Tichy's TiMe Group to re-locate its theatrical distribution and licensing arm TiMe Medienvertriebs GmbH from Munich to the group's headquarters in Potsdam.

  • Senator sells 10-film package to ZDF

    23-Apr-2002

    Germany's Senator Entertainment has closed its second free-TV package deal of 2002, this time for ten titles with German public broadcaster ZDF.

  • Finance chief of KirchGroup holding company steps down

    21-Apr-2002

    Brian Cook, chief financial officer of KirchGroup holding company, TaurusHolding has left the company after just nine months.

  • Nirgendwo In Afrika leads German Film Award nominations

    21-Apr-2002

    Caroline Link's Nirgendwo In Afrika has picked up four nominations for this year's German Film Awards (Lolas) which will be presented in Berlin's Tempodrom on June 14.

  • German banks provide KirchMedia with Euros 100m

    19-Apr-2002

    German banks Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank, Bayerische Landesbank, and DZ Bank have reportedly agreed to provide the crisis-ridden KirchGroup's KirchMedia with Euros 100m working capital to enable the company, which filed for Chapter 11 at the beginning of last week, to continue operations as a going concern.

  • Venice film festival selects Buschmann for German liaison

    19-Apr-2002

    Venice Film Festival's new director Moritz de Hadeln has named filmmaker/producer Christel Buschmann as the festival's correspondent for Germany to liaise with German producers wanting to place their films in Venice.

  • Constantin takes majority stake in Rat Pack

    18-Apr-2002

    Germany's Constantin Film has added to its portfolio of 'satellite' production houses by taking a 51% majority stake in Christian Becker and Anita Schneider's new outfit Rat Pack Filmproduktion

  • German animation studio to close after just two years

    18-Apr-2002

    After just two years in the German market, animation production outfit Ellipse Deutschland Film und Fernsehproduktion has shut up shop following the decision by its French parent Expand to pursue a course of consolidation after group losses last year.

  • Morocco to get two new film production studios

    18-Apr-2002

    The Moroccan film industry is set to for a major boost with the announcement of ambitious plans for two studio complexes at Ouarzazate, a town 200 kilometres south of Marrakesh, at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.

  • First programmes for Cologne Conference selected

    17-Apr-2002

    The German premieres of the World War II series Band Of Brothers, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, American Beauty author Akan Ball's black comedy Six Feet Under and Swiss documentary filmmaker Christian Frei's Oscar-nominated War Photographer are among the international productions being lined up for the 12th International Television Festival in Cologne during this year's Cologne Conference (June 15-21, 2002).

  • Germany's RTL denies plans to acquire Constantin stake

    14-Apr-2002

    Private German broadcaster RTL has denied claims made by EM.TV Board Chairman Werner Klatten at a press conference last week that the RTL Group is interested in acquiring a stake in distributor-producer Constantin Film.

  • Murdoch seen moving in on KirchPayTV

    14-Apr-2002

    The prospect of the KirchGroup's pay TV unit KirchPayTV filing for insolvency is now appearing 'extremely unlikely', according to a report in the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag (WamS).

  • Insolvent KirchMedia begins rights renegotiations

    10-Apr-2002

    Debt-ridden media mogul Leo Kirch finally filed insolvency proceedings for the KirchMedia division of his KirchGroup empire yesterday morning (April 8).

  • Germany's RTL buys three Intermedia titles

    9-Apr-2002

    Pursuing an 'all rights' strategy, German private broadcaster RTL Television has acquired German rights for three titles - K-PAX, K-19 and Basic - from Intermedia Film, in what is described as the beginning of a business relationship.

  • Refinanced Senator favours one Joe over another

    8-Apr-2002

    German producer-distributor Senator Entertainment's deal with Joe Roth's Revolution Studios is likely to be revised as part of a wide-ranging review of its financial and production strategies. Joe Drake's Senator International sales arm is likely to be expanded.

  • Kirch Group faces insolvency proceedings

    4-Apr-2002

    The crisis-ridden Kirch Group is considering instituting insolvency proceedings for its core business division KirchMedia following the failure of the Group's creditor banks and investors to agree to a bridging loan of Euros 150 million, according to German press reports on Monday.

  • IN-Motion faces Neuer Markt termination

    2-Apr-2002

    The German Stock Exchange has warned it plans to terminate trading on the Neuer Markt of shares in the IN-Motion Group, parent of Kirk D'Amico and Philip von Alvensleben's Myriad Pictures, within weeks.

  • Schloendorff project faces up to rival Pope Joan

    25-Mar-2002

    Volker Schloendorff's upcoming production of Pope Joan is heading for a clash with a rival TV project, it emerged last week.

  • Kinowelt sells more cinemas, production arm

    22-Mar-2002

    Debt-laden Kinowelt is close to completing its withdrawal from the exhibition sector having sold the Kinopolis multiplex chain. It now expects to dispose of its 25% minority holding in a clutch of Village Roadshow-controlled complexes by the end of this month.

  • Constantin unveils first fruit of RTL distrib deal

    22-Mar-2002

    German distributor Constantin Film and private broadcaster RTL Television have unveiled the first three titles to be released under a deal struck last September.

  • Advanced Medien's financial statements exposed

    21-Mar-2002

    Auditors have exposed 'dubious' transactions within Germany's Advanced Medien's financial statements for 1999 and 2000, rendering them 'ineffective' and according to some analysts, potentially fraudulent.

  • Germany's Premiere unveils low-cost package

    21-Mar-2002

    Leo Kirch's beleaguered pay TV platform Premiere is to launch a new "taster" package from May 1 as part of managing director Georg Kofler's plans to make savings of around Euros 500m each year from 2003 and reach a positive operating result (EBITDA) a year later.

  • Mojto to unveil new German production company

    21-Mar-2002

    Veteran KirchGroup programming executive Jan Mojto is expected to launch his own German film production company at the forthcoming MIP-TV market in Cannes in April.

  • KirchMedia, ProSiebenSat.1 merger cancelled

    21-Mar-2002

    Germany's KirchMedia and ProSiebenSat.1 have cancelled their planned merger which was to take place this June.

  • Bertelsmann opts against RTL share offering

    19-Mar-2002

    Germany's Bertelsmann has decided not to proceed with a voluntary public offer for minority shares in the RTL Group not already held by the media concern or its affiliates.

  • Cartoon Movie tribute nominations announced

    12-Mar-2002

    Seven European companies have been nominated for this year's Cartoon Movie Tributes which will be awarded to three players who have had a positive and dynamic influence on the European animation feature film industry.

  • Wachs joins Senator Entertainment board

    11-Mar-2002

    German industry association, Producers AG, is to lose its chief executive Dr. Friedrich-Carl Wachs (pictured), who is to become the fourth board member of Senator Entertainment from April 1.

  • Fribourg fest fetes Latin America, Asia and Africa

    7-Mar-2002

    Prominent figures of Afro-American cinema such as Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), Billy Woodberry (Bless Their Little Hearts) and Haile Gerima (Bush Mama), and the South American documentary filmmakers Marta Rodriguez (Colombia), Vladimir Carvalho (Brazil) and Mario Handler (Uruguay) are among 50 directors who will be attending the 16th Fribourg International Film Festival from March 10-17 .

  • Record number of submissions for Animation fest

    7-Mar-2002

    A record 1,000 entries from more than 40 countries were submitted for the 11th International Animation Film Festival Stuttgart which will be staged from March 22-27 showing a total of 425 films with enlarged competition sections and a more international slant.

  • Bavaria Film completes Grill Point, Tattoo sales

    7-Mar-2002

    In spite of an overall quiet AFM, Bavaria Film International (BFI) completed sales on the Jury Grand Prix/Silver Berlin Bear winner Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) and newcomer Robert Schwentke's thriller Tattoo.

  • German producer and sales co to release Felsen

    7-Mar-2002

    Medien & Television Muenchen (MTM), producer of the Berlinale competition film Der Felsen (A Map Of The Heart), and the film's sales agent Bavaria Film International plan to release Dominik Graf's film themselves theatrically in Germany.

  • Kirch joins with Arcor for German VOD pilot

    6-Mar-2002

    Leo Kirch's embattled pay-TV platform Premiere is seeking to increase business by joining forces with Arcor Online to launch a six-month video-on-demand (VOD) pilot to download feature films via broadband networks.

  • Intermedia crash has Splendid knock-on effect

    6-Mar-2002

    Internationalmedia's cancellation of its proposed merger with Spyglass Entertainment has had a "knock-on" effect for rival German listed media company Splendid Medien, which saw its stock price plummet over 23% in trading on Wednesday morning.

  • Two Euro training programmes launched

    5-Mar-2002

    The Brussels-based Cartoon initiative and the German Federal Film Board (FFA) have joined forces to launch the Cartoon Movie Coaching Programme at this year's Cartoon Movie co-production market for animated feature films in Babelsberg from March 14-16.

  • Sex Up to become Columbia Germany's sixth

    4-Mar-2002

    Florian Gaertner's screwball teenage comedy Sex Up will be the sixth local feature to be produced by Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion GmbH (DCPF), the German production arm of Columbia TriStar Film.

  • Kuhn fund to raise Euros 99m for 10-picture slate

    3-Mar-2002

    With its first project Sin Eater, now in production (Screen Daily, March 1), Michael Kuhn's German-based media investment fund N1 European Film Produktions-GmbH & Co KG (N1 EFP) is planning to raise Euros 99 m by the end of 2002 to invest in the development and production of 10 English-language feature films over the next three years.

  • Millimages buys 51% of Toons 'N' Takes

    28-Feb-2002

    Leading French animation house Millimages has acquired a 51% majority stake in Hamburg-based studio Toons 'N' Takes.

  • House Of The Dead to go live action in May

    28-Feb-2002

    After Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and most recently Tekken (Screen Daily Feb 21), attention has now turned to Sega's best-selling video game, House Of The Dead for a live-action feature production.

  • Endemol to buy German film production companies

    28-Feb-2002

    Dutch media giant Endemol Entertainment plans to expand its role as a producer for cinema and television in Germany with the purchase of a number of film production companies.

  • MEDIA! AG anticipates declining fortunes

    27-Feb-2002

    German production services provider MEDIA! AG anticipates a negative result in the 2001/2002 financial year and sales target of Euros 30m, although it could reach a positive annual result in the next financial year (2002/2003).

  • European DVD market sets new sector records

    26-Feb-2002

    The meteoric rise in the global popularity and profitability of the DVD format has seen Germany and the UK join the many markets experiencing record business in the sector.

  • Deutsche Telekom/Liberty deal is blocked

    26-Feb-2002

    Germany's Federal Cartel Office has blocked Deutsche Telekom's planned sale of six regional cable TV companies to the US media concern Liberty Media throwing the German media landscape into disarray.

  • Germany's Helkon must release titles through BVI

    19-Feb-2002

    The German office of Buena Vista International (BVI) has obtained a temporary injunction from a Munich regional court preventing Helkon Media from distributing The Musketeer or Rollerball either directly in-house or through third party distributors.

  • Grill Point's international sales heat up

    18-Feb-2002

    Even before the audience's rapturous applause at the announcement of Grill Point (Halbe Treppe) being awarded the Jury Grand Prix, Silver Bear at the Berlinale on Sunday (Feb 17), Andreas Dresen's bittersweet comedy had already impressed a host of international film buyers.

  • Germany's Helkon raises Euros 20m loan

    18-Feb-2002

    Ahead of its AGM on Feb 19, German license trader-producer Helkon Media has announced that its credit lines with the Hamburg-based Vereins- und Westbank AG and Cologne's Stadtsparkasse Koeln has been transferred into a syndicated loan giving the company additional funds of Euros 20m.

  • Magicworx adds three English lang titles to slate

    17-Feb-2002

    Munich-based production outfit Magicworx, a division of the international production and distribution 2K Group, is lining up three English-language projects to co-produce this year.

  • Germany's Allmedia moves into feature production

    17-Feb-2002

    Munich-based production outfit Allmedia is to expand into feature film production with the arrival of Uwe Schott as a joint managing director alongside Heike Richter-Karst.

  • Degeto buys six-pack from Prokino

    14-Feb-2002

    Jean-Pierre Jeunet's multi-Oscar nominee Amelie heads a six-title package acquired from theatrical distributor Prokino by the ARD's central purchasing agency DEGETO Film for screening on the public TV network.

  • Russian film industry comes in from the cold

    14-Feb-2002

    The Russian film industry is gearing up to return to the international film-making community, but this time with government backing, as opposed to the fluctuating private investment that has market previous production activity

  • Berlin to support foreign film production

    14-Feb-2002

    The Berlinale is set to join other European film festivals in finding ways of supporting filmmakers from developing countries in the production of their films.

  • FIAPF re-categorises Locarno film festival

    12-Feb-2002

    Previously specialised in young cinema, the Locarno festival is to become a generalist event from this year.

  • Wild Bunch seals raft of deals at EFM

    12-Feb-2002

    French sales agent Wild Bunch has completed a swathe of sales on its huge European Film Market slate.

  • Gilliam to exec produce Quay Bros' next feature

    11-Feb-2002

    Two of the Berlinale's "Vision Day" panelists have revealed details of the new projects they are hatching.

  • Berlinale confirms status as new-talent event

    11-Feb-2002

    Two of the Berlinale's "Vision Day" panelists have revealed details of the new projects they are hatching.

  • New German production outfit seeks US product

    11-Feb-2002

    Framewerk's Stefan Jonas and three partners have launched the new Munich-based international production outfit SRO Entertainment AG.SRO - which stands for Standing Room Only - will be represented in Los Angeles by Michael Ovitz's AMG and top lawyer Larry Hirsch to access top quality projects from the US.

  • Kinowelt's fate to be determined by March 2002

    10-Feb-2002

    A final decision on the fate of the debt-ridden Kinowelt Medien Group is likely to be made by the second half of March, according to the provisional insolvency administrator Dr. Wolfgang Ott.

  • German exhibitors boycott All Industry Meeting

    10-Feb-2002

    German exhibitors' association Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater (HDF) last week boycotted an All Industry Meeting on joint marketing measures in response to critical comments made about it in an internal memo by the distributors' association Verband der Filmverleiher (VdF).

  • Screenwriters to get equal billing at Berlinale

    10-Feb-2002

    Less than a year after the threat of a screenwriters' strike stuck fear into the heart of Hollywood, the Berlinale is to change its rules on recognition for scriptwriting.

  • Contact Berlin feature line-up confirmed

    8-Feb-2002

    New feature projects from the UK, Spain, Denmark and France are among 12 films being presented to key potential financiers at the "Contact Berlin" financing platform being held at this year's Berlinale from February 9-10.

  • Nazi image set to fire up Berlin film festival

    7-Feb-2002

    A crucifix parodied as a Nazi swastika, hung only a few hundred metres from Hitler's famous bunker in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, is certain to spark controversy at the Berlin festival as well as among the city's populace.

  • Germany's VIP fund to back Richter's The I Inside

    5-Feb-2002

    Munich-based Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds (VIP) is to back the first English-language project by Der Tunnel director Roland Suso Richter.

  • Bavaria Film Int'l, X-Filme expand relationship

    5-Feb-2002

    German world sales company Bavaria Film International (BFI) and X-Filme Creative Pool, producer of the Berlinale's opening film Heaven, have agreed to expand their existing working relationship.

  • France, Spain and UK dominate Cartoon market

    5-Feb-2002

    More than half of the 42 feature projects selected for this year's Cartoon Movie market (March 14 - 16) to be presented to investors and distributors come from animation production companies from France, Spain and the UK.

  • Korean, Canadian shorts featured at Dresden fest

    4-Feb-2002

    Short films from South Korea and Canada will be specially featured in the sidebar section of this year's Filmfest Dresden (April 16-21).

  • Blanchett among Golden Camera award winners

    4-Feb-2002

    Actresses Cate Blanchett and Heike Makatsch and actor Heino Ferch are among the prize-winners of the 37th Golden Camera Awards which will be presented by the German TV and radio listings magazine Hoer Zu in Berlin today, on the eve of this year's film festival.

  • Germany's Splendid reports 150% sales growth

    31-Jan-2002

    Germany's Neuer Markt-listed Splendid Medien reported a 150% year-on-year growth in sales and positive earnings before tax, according to provisional figures for the 2001 financial year. The final financial report will not be presented until March 28.

  • German media companies reorganise funds

    30-Jan-2002

    EM.TV & Merchandising has parted with its shares in Hamburg-based TFC Holding, Israel's Talit.TV & Communications and Stockholm-based Plus Licens AB as part of its strategic reorientation.

  • Fiennes takes lead in $10m Luther biopic

    30-Jan-2002

    UK actor Joseph Fiennes has signed up to play religious reformer Martin Luther in a $10m feature film biopic to be directed by Eric Till.

  • Roxie takes US rights to Richter's The Tunnel

    30-Jan-2002

    US distributor Roxie Releasing picked up US rights for Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel from Beta Cinema at this week's Rotterdam Film Festival.

  • Berlin's new Perspective sidebar & Vision Day

    30-Jan-2002

    The 99 Euro-Films omnibus project will open the Berlinale's new sidebar "Perspective of German Cinema" which is described by the organisers as "a voyage of discovery and adventure through the entire spectrum of German cinema from fictional and experimental films to documentaries".

  • Kinowelt to exit German Neue Markt

    30-Jan-2002

    Germany's Kinowelt Medien has withdrawn its listing on the Neuer Markt as of Feb 22 and will transfer its stock to the Regulated Market from Feb 25.

  • European Film Market on target for record year

    30-Jan-2002

    The Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) is looking forward to a vintage year, with record-breaking levels of registrations, screenings and exhibitors.

  • Das Werk picks up $17m worth of work

    28-Jan-2002

    The international postproduction group Das Werk has won contracts worth $17.2m (Euros 20m) which will keep its feature film facilities working to capacity throughout 2002.

  • Japanese pick-up for Brussels Avenue

    28-Jan-2002

    Brussels-based world sales outfit Brussels Ave has picked up world distribution rights on Japanese documentary filmmaker Seiichi Motohashi's Alexei And The Spring (Alexei To Izumi) which will be screened in the International Forum of New Cinema at the forthcoming Berlinale.

  • IMAX symposium during Berlinale

    28-Jan-2002

    The large-format films Skydance and Horses: The Story Of Equuus, Kilimanjaro are to be screened during this year's Berlinale by Euromax, the European association of the large format industry at its 8th European Large Format Filmmakers Symposium .

  • Constantin expands successful partnership

    28-Jan-2002

    Germany's Constantin Film is to expand its successful relationship with Achterbahn Film (AF) to include a first-look deal on AF's first live-action production, Wie Die Karnickel, written by Der Bewegte Mann author Ralf Koenig.

  • Kinowelt sells media[netCom] stake

    24-Jan-2002

    As part of its ongoing consolidation and focusing on so-called core business, the beleaguered Kinowelt Medien Group has offloaded its 7.7% stake in the Marburg-based media[netCom] AG by selling 622,222 shares at the current market price to three financial investors who had hitherto not held any shares in the video-on-demand operator.

  • Panorama programme revealed for Berlinale

    24-Jan-2002

    Films by China's Feng Xiaogang (Big Shot's Funeral), Spain's Antonio Hernandez (The City Of No Limits), Hong Kong's Ann Hui (July Rhapsody) and documentaries by Lindsey Merrison (Friends In High Places), Bill Weber and David Weissman (The Cockettes) and Jaime Camino (The Children Of Russia) are among the last dozen titles now confirmed by the Panorama section for this year's Berlinale (February 6-17).

  • Berlin's Forum Of New Cinema unveiled

    23-Jan-2002

    Films from Argentina, Tunisia, Morocco, Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Korea have been selected for this year's International Forum of New Cinema at the Berlinale, which will be the first edition under the direction of Christoph Terhechte as successor to Ulrich Gregor.

  • Berlin's official competition line-up announced

    23-Jan-2002

    German cinema features prominently in the official competition section of next month's Berlinale, the first under new director Dieter Kosslick's leadership.

  • Cinepool picks up films for Berlin market

    22-Jan-2002

    Austrian filmmakers Sabine Hiebler and Gerhard Ertl's drama Nogo and Oliver Dommenget's children's film Help I'm A Boy! will be given their market premieres by Munich-based world sales outfit Cinepool at the forthcoming European Film Market in Berlin.

  • TV Loonland boosts US presence

    21-Jan-2002

    German integrated media group TV-Loonland has intensified its presence in the US market by forming a production alliance with Artists Management Group's (AMG) Animation & Family Entertainment department to produce a minimum of four animated television series over the next three years.

  • Fourth German film selected for Berlin competition

    21-Jan-2002

    German cinema is really being put in the spotlight at the upcoming Berlinale (February 6-17) with the news that a fourth local film - Andreas Dresen's Halbe Treppe - has been selected to screen in the festival's Official Competition section.

  • Bavarian Film Awards honour Berlin competitor

    20-Jan-2002

    With less than three weeks to go to the Berlin International Film Festival, Official Competition entry A Map Of The Heart (Der Felsen) was amongst the main winners at this year's Bavarian Film Awards.

  • Shooting Stars assemble for Berlin festival

    18-Jan-2002

    Germany's Antonio Wannek, the UK's Lucy Russell and France's Rachida Brakni are among the up-and-coming actors and actresses being feted at the Berlin International Film Festival by the Shooting Stars initiative for promoting European talent.

  • Utopia Blues triumphs at Swiss Film Awards

    18-Jan-2002

  • German crits awards snub triple nominees

    18-Jan-2002

    Christian Petzold's The State I Am In and Achim von Borries' England! picked up two awards each in this year's round of honours by the German film critics association Verband Der Deutschen Filmkritik.

  • Premiere World adds Kofler, loses Liberty

    16-Jan-2002

    German entrepreneur Dr. Georg Kofler (pictured) has been enticed back into the Kirch empire to head up the debt-ridden digital pay TV platform Premiere World. At the same time, US cable operator Liberty Media has surprisingly withdrawn an application submitted to the German cartel office for clearance to take a stake in Premiere World.

  • Helkon severs ties with Buena Vista International

    15-Jan-2002

    German media concern Helkon Media has severed its last link with the local outpost of Buena Vista International (BVI) by ending its booking and billing arrangement for the German theatrical release of its films after ending its TV output agreement with BVI at the end of last year.

  • Venture capitalist funds EM.TV share acquisition

    15-Jan-2002

    Dutch venture capital company Constant Ventures is to finance EM.TV board chairman Werner Klatten's acquisition of shares in the company.

  • Berlinale Panorama: two thirds confirmed

    14-Jan-2002

    New films by Lynne Stopkewitch, Mika Kaurismaki, Monica Treut, Ventura Pons and Marius Holst are among the films which have been confirmed so far as two-thirds of the line-up for the Berlinale's Panorama section.

  • Policewoman, Slurb rule German Critics nominations

    14-Jan-2002

    Andreas Dresen's The Policewoman (Die Polizistin) and Ben Verbong's family film The Slurb (Das Sams) have each bagged three nominations from the German critics association (Verband der Deutschen Filmkritik) for this year's German Film Critics Prize

  • IM profit warning clouds Spyglass deal

    14-Jan-2002

    Neuer Markt-listed Internationalmedia's (IM) announcement that it will miss its 2001 targets has clouded analyst enthusiasm about the Spyglass takeover deal and sent shares falling by over 20% to Euros 18 by mid-afternoon Monday (Jan 14).

  • Hamburg's public film fund under threat

    14-Jan-2002

    The German city of Hamburg's status as a film and TV production location is under serious threat following plans by the new Senate to slash almost $915,000 (DM 2m) from the 2002 budget for the city's public FilmFoerderung film fund.

  • Three KirchGroup companies renamed

    11-Jan-2002

    The KirchGroup's three holding companies are to be renamed as a consequence of the planned merger of ProSiebenSat.1 and KirchMedia this June.

  • Wim Wenders produces Berlin cinema

    11-Jan-2002

    Film director Wim Wenders has joined forces with distributor Christoph Ott of ottfilm and exhibitors Gerhard Gross and Burkhard Voiges of the Hackesche Hoefe cinemas to re-launch one of Berlin's oldest cinemas, the KANT Kino, which first opened its doors in 1912.

  • Euro MEDIA Programme supports 36 initiatives

    11-Jan-2002

    Three industry events at the forthcoming Berlinale (February 6-17) are among 36 initiatives which have been awarded over Euros 2.8m by the European Commission's MEDIA Programme as part of its support for promotional measures and film festivals.

  • Graz fest highlights three filmmakers

    10-Jan-2002

    Filmmakers Heddy Honigmann, Gustav Deutsch and Alexander Hammid are the subject of special sidebars being staged at this year's Diagonale showcase of Austrian cinema in Graz from March 18-24, 2002.

  • UIP retains German box office crown

    9-Jan-2002

    UIP held onto pole position at the German box office in 2001 with a 20.5% market share, according to ACNielsen/EDI figures, but Warner Bros. was the year's big winner as it more than doubled its share of the market from 2000's 8.3% to 18.8.% thanks in particular to the end-of-year releases of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone and The Lord Of The Rings.

  • ApolloProMedia fund to back Borderline

    7-Jan-2002

    Evelyn Purcell's psychological thriller Borderline, starring Gina Gershon (Driven) and Chris Noth (Sex And The City), is to be backed by the German ApolloProMedia private film fund.

  • Catherine Buresi named chief exec of EAVE

    7-Jan-2002

    Catherine Buresi has been named the successor to Raymond Ravar as chief executive of the MEDIA Programme-supported, Brussels-based European producers training programme EAVE (Les Entrepreneurs De L'Audiovisuel Europeen).

  • Germany's Red Beat announces 10-picture slate

    6-Jan-2002

    Berlin-based production house Red Beat Pictures has announced an ambitious slate of ten feature projects after almost two years dedicated to project development since its launch in April 2000 by partners Herbert Gehr, Michael Helfrich and Ali Eckert.

  • Berlin reveals competition, world premiere titles

    6-Jan-2002

    The first round of competition titles to be announced for the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival (6 - 17 February) includes six world premieres and a strong European slant.

  • Germany's Senator welcomes Fabritius

    4-Jan-2002

    After months of speculation as to his next destination, former Arthaus Filmverleih managing director Juergen Fabritius has been appointed as one of the managing directors at Senator Film Verleih with responsibility for marketing and distribution for releases in the German language area.

  • Bertelsmann increases RTL Group shareholding

    4-Jan-2002

    Germany's Bertelsmann is to increase its current 67% majority shareholding in the radio and television holding RTL Group by acquiring the 22% stake held by the Pearson Group. The remaining11% is held by the public as free-float.

  • Wenders, Scorsese support 1st Int'l Frankfurt fest

    1-Jan-2002

    Wim Wenders and Martin Scorsese have been recruited as supporters of the 1st Frankfurt International Film Festival which is launched on January 9 with Herve Le Roux's comedy On Appelle Ca ... Le Printemps.

  • Minoes to open Berlinale Kinderfilmfest

    30-Dec-2001

    Belgian director Vincent Bal's Minoes will be the opening film of the Berlinale's children's film sidebar, the Kinderfilmfest, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2002.

  • Senator sells 29 titles to Universal Germany

    30-Dec-2001

    Germany's Senator Entertainment has sold a package of some 29 video/DVD titles, including: America's Sweethearts, The Others, Black Hawk Down, Lammbock and Mondscheintarif to Universal Pictures Germany.

  • New German talent premieres for Ophuels Prize

    20-Dec-2001

    World premieres of Oliver Rihs' Brombeerchen, Zueli Aladag's Elefantenherz and Almut Getto's Fickende Fische are among the 18 films by up-and-coming German-language filmmakers selected for the official competition of the Max Ophuels Prize Film Festival in Saarbruecken (January 22-27, 2002).

  • KirchMedia sells Mediaset stake for Euros 120m

    20-Dec-2001

    Christmas has come early for German media mogul Leo Kirch after his free-TV division KirchMedia sold its 1.28% stake in Italy's Mediaset for Euros 120m.

  • Kinowelt Medien AG files for insolvency

    20-Dec-2001

    Embattled German distributor Kinowelt yesterday (Dec 19) filed insolvency proceedings in the Munich courts.

  • Sony subsids join German lobby group

    19-Dec-2001

    Sony Pictures Entertainment's German film and television production arms Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion (DCPF) and Columbia TriStar Film und Fernsehproduktions (CTFF) have become the 21st and 22nd members of Germany's producer lobby group film20.

  • Kloiber plans assault on Kirch pay-TV domination

    18-Dec-2001

    Herbert Kloiber's Tele Muenchen Group (TMG) and digital and interactive TV service company GET ON AIR are planning an ambitious 2002 launch of three German digital pay-TV channels to compete with Leo Kirch's high-profile Premiere World.

  • Euro Pitch Point selects 12 projects for Berlinale

    17-Dec-2001

    An international jury composed of Eurimages' executive secretary Renate Roginas, Senator Film Produktion's managing director Benjamin Herrmann, Road Movies' Uli Felsberg, Maestranza Films' Antonio P. Perez, and Renaissance Film's Angus Finney has selected 12 feature film ideas to be pitched by their writers at the 3rd European Pitch Point on February 8 during the next Berlinale.

  • 60's retrospective, 'shooting stars' at Berlinale

    17-Dec-2001

    European cinema of the 1960s will be the theme of the 2002 Berlinale's Retrospective. In addition, a special 'Shooting Stars' film programme will be staged by pan-European promotion body European Film Promotion (EFP).

  • Germany's Feardotcom acquired by Warner

    13-Dec-2001

    Warner Bros. has picked up North American rights for William Malone's horror action thriller feardotcom, starring Stephen Dorff, Natasha McElhone, Stephen Rea and Udo Kier.

  • Ottfilm snags Mostly Martha on the rebound

    12-Dec-2001

    Sandra Nettelbeck's Mostly Martha has been picked up by Ottfilm for theatrical distribution in its native Germany. The film was originally included in Kinowelt's lineup for release this month.

  • Haffa to stand down completely at Constantin

    12-Dec-2001

    Former EM.TV & Merchandising chairman Thomas Haffa will leave the supervisory board of producer-distributor Constantin Film at the end of this year. Last April, Haffa stepped down as chairman of the board, a position then taken over by KirchMedia's Fred Kogel.

  • Melanie Griffith to star in Almost Japanese

    11-Dec-2001

    Melanie Griffith has been cast to play the lead in Robert Allan Ackermann's provocative comedy Almost Japanese which is set to be backed by the Potsdam-based producer fund Vif International Films.

  • Powell re-elected chairman of Euro Film Academy

    10-Dec-2001

    UK producer Nik Powell has been re-elected by the general assembly of the European Film Academy (EFA) as the institution's chairman for another two years, with Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick and French producer Humbert Balsan also confirmed in their posts as deputy chairmen.

  • Scorsese-backed one shot feature to film on Dec 23

    10-Dec-2001

    December 23 has been set as the date for Alexander Sokurov's one-shot, 90-minute film Waterloo - The Russian Ark which will be filmed at original locations in the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, tracing.key events in the former Tsarist Empire from Catherine the Great to Nicolas II.

  • New ACE fund to launch with 18-picture slate

    9-Dec-2001

    New films by John Woo, Nick Hurran, John Milius and Jeremy Leven are among an 18-picture slate being lined up to receive backing from a new $250m German private investment fund which is to be launched in January 2002.

  • Zeal shows enthusiasm for Euro co-productions

    7-Dec-2001

    The US production outfit Zeal Pictures Group, which was behind the 1998 feature Simpatico with Sharon Stone, Nick Nolte, Albert Finney, and Jeff Bridges, has launched a European production company, Zeal Pictures Europe GmbH & Co. KG, based in Berlin.

  • Berlin unveils Premiere First Movie Award

    5-Dec-2001

    A new prize for first-time feature filmmakers is to be introduced at the forthcoming Berlin International Film Festival (February 6-17, 2002) in collaboration with the Premiere World digital pay TV platform.

  • German film industry summit set for Dec 7

    4-Dec-2001

    The film policy document presented last month by Germany's State Minister for Culture Julian Nida-Ruemelin on proposals for reforms to the film funding infrastructure will be at the centre of the fourth German "Alliance for Film" summit on Dec 7.

  • F.A.M.E. shuts Soundhouse post subsidiary

    4-Dec-2001

    German media concern F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment has closed its postproduction subsidiary F.A.M.E. Soundhouse, which has filed for insolvency. The parent company will also now cut back on its operations as a rights trader and expand activities in international co-production.

  • Germany's VIP launches second media fund

    4-Dec-2001

    Munich-based private media fund Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds is preparing to place its second fund with a volume of between Euros 10m and a maximum Euros 100m.

  • Germany's Senator issues surprise profit warning

    2-Dec-2001

    German market analysts have been caught unawares by Senator Entertainment's profit warning for the financial year 2001 - reducing its targetted revenues from Euros 197.1m to Euros 125m-130m and its EBIT from Euros 40m to Euros 2m-5m.

  • Bank files insolvency suit against Kinowelt

    2-Dec-2001

    The embattled German media group Kinowelt Medien reported that the restructuring measures aimed at streamlining operations had an "adverse effect" on its results for the first nine months of 2001.

  • EM.TV re-enters programme production

    2-Dec-2001

    Following its radical programme of restructuring under the new CEO Werner Klatten, EM.TV & Merchandising is now planning to re-enter the arena of production in the field children's and family programming.

  • Amelie walks off with European film academy crown

    2-Dec-2001

    As widely anticipated, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie was the big winner at the 14th European Film Awards in Berlin's new Tempodrom venue on Dec 1, taking home four separate prizes, comprising: best European film, best director, cinematographer as well as the people's choice award for best director.

  • Loss of Warner films final straw for Kinowelt'

    28-Nov-2001

    Less than 24 hours before Kinowelt's deadline (on November 28) to persuade ABN Amro Bank to retract its plan to call in loans totalling around $63.2m (DM 140m), what may be the final nail has been hammered into the beleaguered German company's coffin with the news that the 1999 film package deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution has been terminated.

  • EM.TV CFO exits after only three months

    27-Nov-2001

    After just three months in the job as EM.TV & Merchandising's CFO Marius Schwarz (pictured) is exiting the company at the behest of CEO Werner Klatten and with the consent of the supervisory board.

  • Paramount taps latest German fund

    27-Nov-2001

    Having already accessed German private film funds initiated this year by Alcas and Bayerische Immobilien-Leasing (BIL)/Deutsche Bank, Paramount Pictures is set to benefit from a new German private equity fund launched by SachsenFonds and EastMerchant.

  • Mediability is first German film fund to collapse

    27-Nov-2001

    Launched just five months ago, Mediability has become the first casualty among the recent wave of German private media funds; unable to raise sufficient cash from investors for its three proposed animation series: Frog, Thorgal,and Baron Muenchhausen, the Munich-based equity fund has now filed for insolvency.

  • Kinowelt may be forced into insolvency

    26-Nov-2001

    Just four days ahead of the presentation of its nine-month figures on November 30, embattled German media concern Kinowelt Medien may now have to file for insolvency after ABN Amro Bank announced its intention to call in loans of more than $45.1m (DM 100m) to Kinowelt as from November 28.

  • European Investment Bank starts loan facility

    25-Nov-2001

    The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) has made its first investment into European audiovisual production as part of the "Audiovisual i2i" initiative by signing two agreements for Euros 20m each with the French credit institutions Cofiloisirs and Coficine.

  • Intertainment ends Filmgroup deal as sales fall

    25-Nov-2001

    Following the insolvency of the UK media company Filmgroup PLC, Germany's Intertainment has taken back from the company more than 75 titles including The Whole Nine Yards, 3000 Miles To Graceland and Battlefield Earth. News of the termination of the contract came as Intertainment reported a reduced surplus of Euros 4.6m for the first nine months of this year, compared to Euros 12.4m for the same period last year.

  • German scopas fund adds to family entertainment

    22-Nov-2001

    Frankfurt-based animation studio scopas medien has joined a recent wave of funds concentrating on family entertainment, including Victory, Mediability, Equity Pictures, and Festival Film by launching a Euros 30m private media fund to invest in internationally marketable family entertainment for cinema and television.

  • Berlinale lines up 13-strong selection committee

    22-Nov-2001

    The UK's Simon Perry, Holland Film's Claudia Landsberger and Pandora Film's Christoph Friedel are among the members of the revamped selection committee for the Berlinale's official competition section at the forthcoming festival (February 6-17, 2002).

  • German cultural film funding gets boost

    21-Nov-2001

    German Minister for Culture Julian Nida-Ruemelin will have Euros 1.5m more to spend on film funding measures in 2002 as part of a global 3% increase in Gerhard Schroeder administration's arts budget.

  • Germany's Road Movies relocates to London

    21-Nov-2001

    German production outfit Road Movies is to relocate from Berlin to London from 2002 as part of a restructure by the Das Werk Group in order to generate savings of around Euros 5m next year.

  • Advanced revises 2001 sales forecast

    20-Nov-2001

    Less than two weeks after Germany's Advanced Medien announced the closure of its theatrical operations at the end of the year, the rights trader has now reforecast its consolidated sales for 2001 from Euros 23m to between Euros 18m-Euros 20m.

  • Swiss film award nominations announced

    19-Nov-2001

    Thomas Imbach's Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Stefan Haupt's Utopia Blues and Lutz Konermann's Lieber Brad have each received two nominations for the 2002 Swiss Film Awards which will be presented during the Solothurn Film Days on January 16, 2002.

  • Equity Pictures fund lines up new projects

    19-Nov-2001

    A second season of Tales From The Neverending Story TV series is among three projects being lined up for backing by the new Munich-based private media fund Equity Pictures.

  • Scandi films triumph at Mannheim festival

    19-Nov-2001

    Scandinavian cinema dominated the awards at the 50th edition of the International Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival in Germany (November 8-17).

  • German cinema ticket tax proposal sparks outrage

    19-Nov-2001

    German Culture Minister Julian Nida-Ruemelin's plans to increase the national cinema ticket tax by "a few percent" has prompted the local exhibition sector to vow to fight any increase "on all political, legal and internal industry levels".

  • Liberty confirms German operational base

    18-Nov-2001

    US media group Liberty Media will base its German operations in Munich and create up to 10,000 new jobs throughout Germany.

  • Germany's Senator postpones three releases

    16-Nov-2001

    German theatrical distributor Senator Film has announced that it will hold over three planned winter releases until early 2002. This follows a recent Constantin Film postponement of nine of its planned 25-film line-up for 2001 to next year (Screendaily, Oct 14 2001)

  • Media Salles launches exhibition training scheme

    16-Nov-2001

    MEDIA Salles, the cinema exhibition initiative of the European Union's MEDIA Programme, has launched a training strand for exhibitors with particular attention to the main trends shaping today's cinema industry and to the demands of audiences of European films.

  • Germany delights to Scary Movie 2

    15-Nov-2001

  • Eurocinema TV channel proposed by EC minister

    14-Nov-2001

    The President of the European Council of Audiovisual Ministers, Richard Miller, announced at the Strasbourg Forum of European Cinema in the European Parliament that he had personally earmarked funds for a feasibility study on the creation of a 'Eurocinema' television channel. The pan-European channel would feature European films, film education programming and experimental work as well as generic 'Euromovie' magazine programmes.

  • Eurocinema TV channel proposed by EC minister

    14-Nov-2001

    The President of the European Council of Audiovisual Ministers, Richard Miller, announced at the Strasbourg Forum of European Cinema in the European Parliament that he had personally earmarked funds for a feasibility study on the creation of a 'Eurocinema' television channel. The pan-European channel would feature European films, film education programming and experimental work as well as generic 'Euromovie' magazine programmes.

  • Kayser exits German Premiere World

    12-Nov-2001

    Less than two months after the rapid exit of Manfred Puffer from the management of the debt-ridden pay-TV service Premiere World and just a couple of weeks after Rupert Murdoch suggested that he might consider bailing out of the German platform (Screen Daily, Nov 2001), Ferdinand Kayser has announced that he will leave the company at the end of the year to become the president and chief executive officer of the satellite operator SES ASTRA.

  • Black Box BRD wins Euro documentary award

    12-Nov-2001

    Andres Veiel's Black Box BRD has been named as the winner of this year's European Documentary Award - Prix Arte which will be presented at the forthcoming European Film Awards in Berlin on December 1.

  • Second Global Motion Pictures fund launched

    11-Nov-2001

    The Frankfurt-based IN-motion Group is behind the launching of a second private media fund to follow its Euros 15m first Global Motion Pictures Fonds (GMPF) which was brought on to the market in July.

  • German media sector sees further major changes

    11-Nov-2001

    Advanced Medien, VCL Film + Medien, and FAME are the latest publicly listed German media companies forced by the 'unfavourable market environment" in the German media sector to embark on a radical strategic reorientation of their operations.

  • Target launches Euros50m media fund

    8-Nov-2001

    Berlin-based Target Media Entertainment, who entered into a long-term, multi-picture deal with Warner Bros. Pictures Germany at the end of October (Screendaily, Oct 26 2001), has now launched a Euro 50m media fund to finance up to 15 live.action and animated German and English-language features.

  • Bertelsmann denies studio acquisition plans

    8-Nov-2001

    Speculations that German media concern Bertelsmann might be interested in acquiring a Hollywood studio have been dashed once more by CEO Thomas Middelhoff.

  • German cinema admissions reach 10-year high

    8-Nov-2001

    August's cinema admissions in Germany were the highest for 10 years, thanks to the combined success of Der Schuh Des Manitu Jurassic Park III and Bridget Jones, according to figures collated by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Kirch/ProSieben agrees management board

    6-Nov-2001

    Agreement has been reached internally within the KirchGroup on the executives who will sit on the management board of the new company created from the merger of ProSiebenSAT.1 Media AG and KirchMedia by mid 2002, according to the business news service vwd.

  • Mannheim reveals debut directors' competition

    6-Nov-2001

    Danish director Ake Sandgren's Truly Human (Et Rigtigt Menneske) is the opening film at the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (November 8-17 2001) which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a number of special events looking back over the past five decades with such filmmakers as Volker Schloendorff, Vera Chytilova, Henning Carlsen, Krzysztof Zanussi and Jeanine Meerapfel..

  • Ex-EM.TV bosses to be prosecuted in Germany

    6-Nov-2001

    Munich's public prosecutor's office is tabling charges against the former CEO Thomas Haffa and CFO Florian Haffa of one-time shareholders' darling EM.TV & Merchandising's on suspicion of them purposely concealing the true state of the company's shares. (Screendaily Dec 17, 2000)

  • TV-Loonland takes 29.9% stake in Metrodome

    6-Nov-2001

    UK DVD and video distributor Metrodome Group is set to boost its international, presence in the home entertainment sector following plans by Germany's TV-Loonland to acquire a 29.9% stake.

  • Gumpert joins Intermedia Film Equities

    31-Oct-2001

    Former Universal Pictures executive vp Jon Gumpert has joined the Internationalmedia Group as vice chairman of Intermedia Film Equities USA, Inc.

  • European parliament proposes promotion fund

    30-Oct-2001

    The creation of a European Promotion Fund and the "interconnecting" of existing automatic support funds in European Union member states are among a set of recommendations presented by European Parliament (EP) deputy Luckas Vander Taelen in a report "on achieving better circulation of European films in the internal market and the candidate countries".

  • Two new German media funds launched

    30-Oct-2001

    A $15.4m (DM 33.2m) two-part TV biopic on the life of Italian automobile legend Enzo Ferrari is one of four projects lined up by Germany's Victory Media for its latest media fund, Victory MultiMediaFonds Private Placement which was launched on October 31.

  • Schmid wins prestigious Hof film award

    29-Oct-2001

    Hans-Christian Schmid, director of last year's box-office and critical success Crazy, was awarded this year's Film Prize of the Town of Hof at the International Hof Film Days (October 24-28) joining past filmmakers including Wim Wenders, Doris Doerrie, Tom Tykwer, Detlev Buck and Werner Herzog, all of whom have a special connection to the festival.

  • German cinema admissions to rise by 9% in 2001

    29-Oct-2001

    German cinema admissions are expected to rise by 9% this year to 166m, according to a new report. In comparison, French admissions are expected to reach between 172m and 180m, while in the UK they are predicted to reach at least 148m for 2001.

  • H5B5 issues sales and profit warning

    28-Oct-2001

    German media company H5B5 Media has issued a sales and profit warning for the current and coming financial years due to "the reserved purchasing behaviour of German and international television stations".

  • Germany's Bavaria takes controllong stake in Odeon

    28-Oct-2001

    Munich-based Bavaria Film has become a major shareholder in the publicly-listed Odeon Film by increasing its interest to 50.01%.

  • peppermint adds six titles to Mifed slate

    25-Oct-2001

    German sales company peppermint has added another six titles to its new film division's MIFED slate bringing the line-up to 14 films for its market premiere.

  • SunriseMediaStar fund lines up partners

    25-Oct-2001

    Pierce Brosnan's Irish production outfit DreamTime, veteran producer Wayne Duband's Screen Corporation Limited (SCL), France's TF 1 and Ireland's Mc Films are being lined up as production partners for the new Euros 50m private film fund SunriseMediaStar.

  • ProSiebenSat.1 suffers nine-month profit dive

    25-Oct-2001

    The slowdown in the German advertising market has pushed down the earnings of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group in the first three quarters of 2001. Consolidated revenues of Euros 1.419 billion were posted as of September 30, down 4.5% on last year's Euro 1.486 billion. While the consolidated pre-tax result was Euros 34.6m (2000: Euros 65.4m), group net income for the first nine months of 2001 amounted to Euros 22.3m (2000: Euros 30.6m.)

  • IMAX format films to showcase at Berlinale 2001

    25-Oct-2001

    A selection of past and present large format IMAX films are set to be shown in a special sidebar at next year's Berlinale.

  • Berlinale films may be influenced by Sept 11deaths

    23-Oct-2001

    The film selection for next year's Berlin Film Festival will almost certainly be influenced by the terror attacks of September 11, according to festival chief Dieter Kosslick.

  • EFA to host international film festival conference

    23-Oct-2001

    The first ever conference of international film festival directors has been scheduled during the European Film Awards (EFA) weekend in Berlin from November 29 to December 2.

  • Manitu becomes all-time German champion

    23-Oct-2001

    After 14 weeks on release, this year's surprise summer hit Der Schuh Des Manitu has broken the 15-year record held by comedy Otto - Der Film to become the most successful German film since records began, in 1980.

  • Omirbajev's Jol to open FilmFestival Cottbus

    23-Oct-2001

    Kazakh filmmaker Dareshan Omirbajev's Jol will open this year's FilmFestival Cottbus (October 31 - November 4) which has developed into a leading international showcase spotlighting the range of production from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

  • ottfilm announces further distribution deal

    21-Oct-2001

    Following the sealing of a distribution co-operation with the German office of UIP at the end of August, new theatrical distributor ottfilm has reached a further agreement with the Munich-based Filmwelt Verleih Agentur.

  • Cobalt taps into German WorldWide Picture Fund

    21-Oct-2001

    Cobalt, the London and Los Angeles-based sales and financing house, is tapping into German financing through a Euro 100m fund being launched by local studio facility Studio Hamburg and the German arm of ING Bank.

  • peppermint to launch film distribution at Mifed

    19-Oct-2001

    The German international sales sector has seen some movement with the news that the German TV distributor peppermint is to launch a feature film distribution arm at the forthcoming MIFED market with eight titles, including Ralf Huettner's romantic comedy Moonlight Tariff (Mondscheintarif) and Stefan Jaeger's digitally shot Birthday.

  • Germany's MBP launches family entertainment fund

    19-Oct-2001

    Low budget family entertainment features are the focus of a new film fund being launched by Munich-based financier MBP whose past credits include Istvan Szabo's Taking Sides, Fred Schepisi's Last Orders and Jimmy Murakami's animation feature Christmas Carol.

  • Hamburg film fund invests in production support

    18-Oct-2001

    New film projects by Margarethe von Trotta, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Volker Schloendorff, and Rolf Schuebel have received backing in the latest round of funding by Hamburg's regional public film fund FilmFoerderung Hamburg.

  • Oberhausen to analyse Catastrophe as media event

    18-Oct-2001

    The ways in which catastrophes become media events will be the focus of the Special Programme at next year's edition of the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (2-7 May 2002).

  • Germany's Constantin relinquishes Mandalay output

    18-Oct-2001

    Germany's ConstantinFilm will not be renewing its output deal arrangement with Mandalay Pictures when it expires at the end of this year. The decision comes as the producer-distributor is drawing up a new strategy for filling its product pipeline for theatrical releases.

  • Cannes names new German correspondent

    16-Oct-2001

    Cannes Film Festival has taken another step in its rapprochement with the German film industry by the naming of Berlin film journalist Christiane Peitz as the festival's new national correspondent to succeed Hans-Dieter Seidel.

  • Helkon signs $9.1m package deal with RTL 2

    15-Oct-2001

  • Pauline & Paulette scoops 5 Ghent Plateau awards

    15-Oct-2001

    Belgium's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar: Pauline & Paulette by Lieven Debrauwer was the big winner at this year's "Joseph Plateau Awards" which were presented during the International Flanders Film Festival in Ghent.

  • KirchMedia reports strong first half performance

    15-Oct-2001

    Releasing interim results for the first time, Geermany's KirchMedia has reported significant increases in sales and earnings for the six months to June 30 2001.

  • Constantin postpones nine theatrical releases

    14-Oct-2001

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film has "considerably" reduced its planned earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for 2001 after deciding to postpone nine theatrical releases from the second half of this year until the beginning of 2002.

  • German producers decry

    14-Oct-2001

    The future of the German film and television sector is under serious threat from the Gerhard Schroeder administration's plans to introduce a new copyright bill to improve the situation of authors and performing artists, according to producer associations and the six major regional public funds.

  • New German digital film prize is postponed

    12-Oct-2001

    A new German film prize, the E-Motion Bytes Award, which was launched in January by the Hof Film Days and the Berlin-based production company Road Movies, for digitally-produced shorts of up to 10 minutes in length, has had its first awards event postponed from this year's festival (October 24-28) until 2002.

  • First buzz films tipped for next year's Berlinale

    12-Oct-2001

    New films by Wim Wenders, Tom Tykwer, Constantin Costa-Gavras and Rosa von Praunheim are among the first titles being tipped for an invitation to Dieter Kosslick's first Berlin festival as director.

  • EM.TV signs co-production deal with First Asia

    10-Oct-2001

    Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising has signed a three-year co-production pact with First Asia Entertainment Productions Ltd (FAE) to collaborate on at least eight animation series with a programme volume of at least 208 half-hours of programming from EM.TV's portfolio until November 2004.

  • Helkon issues downgrade, Kinowelt issued ultimatum

    10-Oct-2001

    Echoing the experience of several other publicly listed German media companies this year, producer/rights trader Helkon Media has downgraded its sales and earnings expectations for the 2000/2001 financial year

  • New MD for Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures GmbH

    10-Oct-2001

    Producer Gabriela Bacher has been appointed as the managing director of the soon-to-be founded Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures GmbH with responsibility for all media activities in Potsdam/Babelsberg and Los Angeles.

  • Intertainment, RTV announce appointments

    7-Oct-2001

    Stephen Brown, the head of German film rights trader Intertainment's US operations and board member responsible for business development, has been appointed as the vice president and successor to David Williamson who has left the company by mutual agreement. Williamson's responsibility for legal affairs will now be assumed by CEO Barry Baeres.

  • Korean debut wins Hamburg's Golden tesafilm reel

    4-Oct-2001

    Korean director Kim Dae-Seung's first feature film Bungee Jumping Of Their Own has won the Filmfest Hamburg's 'Golden tesafilm Reel' audience award against competition from 10 other first-time filmmakers.

  • Germany to get UK comedy TV adaptations

    4-Oct-2001

    UK television comedy series Hale And Pace and drama series Reckless are being adapted by the German production arm of UK broadcaster Granada.

  • Constantin/Propaganda joint venture folds

    3-Oct-2001

    ProCon Pictures LLC, the joint venture launched by Germany's Constantin Film and US production studio Propaganda Films to share the development, financing, production and exploitation of international cinema and TV projects has folded.

  • Production division is latest Kinowelt casualty

    3-Oct-2001

    Cash-strapped Kinowelt Medien's production arm Kinowelt Filmproduktion has become the latest victim of the German media group's radical programme of restructuring.

  • FFF Bayern awards funding for eight projects

    2-Oct-2001

    New feature films by Margarethe von Trotta, Oskar Roehler, Doris Doerrie and Gavin Hood, are among eight projects awarded a total of $5.9m (DM 12.6m) production funding by the Bavarian public funder FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFF) at its latest session.

  • Premiere World carrying Fox News Channel

    26-Sep-2001

    In response to the recent tragic events in the US, Germany's digital platform Premiere World has decided to carry the Fox News Channel from September 25 until further notice.

  • Germany's H5B5 to make Oma Porat biopic

    26-Sep-2001

    German media group H5B5 Media has acquired the exclusive rights to produce a biopic based on the eventful life of Israeli actress Orna Porat.Born as Irena Kline in Germany, she came to fame on the German stage in the 1930s and was an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth. Later, though, she fought in the Israeli War of Independence and was instrumental in making the very first secret peace contacts to the Arab world in ...

  • Hamburg's Digi@ward goes to Danish KAT

    26-Sep-2001

    Filmfest Hamburg's first Digi@ward in recognition of the use of digital technology in film has gone to Henrik Danstrup, producer of Danish filmmaker Martin Schmidt's psycho-thriller KAT.

  • German private film fund names strategic partners

    25-Sep-2001

    Indigo Film, Claussen + Woebke Filmproduktion and Calypso Film have been named as the first strategic partners of the Berlin-based private media fund German Film Productions (GFP), which plans to raise Euros 11m for the financing of German language feature films and TV movies.

  • German Short Film Award nominations revealed

    25-Sep-2001

    Su Turhan's Gone Underground, which was one of the first shorts to be shot with the Sony 24p digital high definition camera, is among eight German shorts nominated from 108 entries for this year's German Short Film Awards which will be presented by Culture Minister Julian Nida-Ruemelin at a ceremony in Berlin on November 10.

  • Fox and Warner team for Swiss distribution

    25-Sep-2001

    After months of speculation the Swiss outposts of US majors 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have announced that they will release their films from Oxtober 1 under the joint banner Fox-Warner.

  • Germany's BKNI gets shareholder support

    25-Sep-2001

    Following its recent announcement to implement a capital increase of 769,695 new ordinary shares to finance further investment in the production of new animated series, BKN International (BKNI) has now received an offer of support from its largest shareholder, Durham Capital Holdings "to ensure that the management of BKNI retains flexibility to pursue these opportunities in line with the company's stated growth strategy".

  • Father And Daughter awarded Cartoon d'Or

    23-Sep-2001

    Michael Dudok de Wit's animated short Father And Daughter was presented with this year's Euro25,000 Cartoon d'Or at the 12th Cartoon Forum co-production market (September 19-22) which was held in the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2001. Next year's Forum will be hosted by the region of Snowdonia, Wales.

  • Germany's RTL joins Filmstiftung NRW

    21-Sep-2001

    Germany's largest private TV channel RTL is to become the fourth shareholder of the country's largest public fund Filmstiftung NRW.

  • Mannheim Meetings introduces Nyman's film debut

    19-Sep-2001

    Michael Nyman's directorial debut, and film version of his own opera Facing Goya and Icelandic filmmaker Hilmar Oddson's Cold Ice are among the film projects from Latin America, West and Eastern Europe and Canada already confirmed for this year's Mannheim Meetings co-production market (October 11-14) at the 50th International Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival.

  • Neue Sentimental acquires Compass Films

    18-Sep-2001

    Frankfurt-based German production group Neue Sentimental Film (NSF) has acquired the remaining 49% interest in New York's Compass Films to add to the initial 51% stake it had obtained in February as part of a restructuring of its US-based business.

  • German Mediability fund extends portfolio

    18-Sep-2001

    Munich-based private media fund Mediability has added Hahn Film's Wildlife 2 to its portfolio of animation projects.

  • Leipzig fest premieres Syrian documentaries

    18-Sep-2001

    Leipzig's Festival for Documentary and Animation Film (October 16-21)is to host the first ever international showcase of documentaries from Syria.

  • Germany's NRW supports 14 new features

    18-Sep-2001

    New features by Lars von Trier (Dogville), Ken Loach (Sweet Sixteen) and Alexander Sokurov (Vater Und Sohn) are among 14 film projects backed with over $3.8m (DM 8m) by the regional German public fund Filmstiftung NRW in its latest round of production funding.

  • Digi@ward line-up at Germany's Filmfest Hamburg

    16-Sep-2001

    Dom Rotheroe's My Brother Tom, Dan Ying's Home Sour Home and Christine Lahti's My First Mister are among the twelve films using digital technology in this year's Filmfest Hamburg programme, which will be competing for the newly created $47,000 (DM 100,000) Digi@ward

  • Berlin Academy supplies 5th newcomer award winner

    16-Sep-2001

    This year's $7,000 (DM 15,000) Studio Hamburg Newcomer Prize for Best Film was awarded to Hannes Stoehr's Berlin Is In Germany, making him the fifth graduate in a row from Berlin's German Film & Television Academy (dffb) to receive this top honour since the founding of the prize in 1997.

  • Germany's VCL restructures subsidiary Scanbox

    14-Sep-2001

    Germany's VCL Film + Medien has begun a finance restructuring of its subsidiary Scanbox Entertainment after talks with Danish banks to increase credit facilities ended without results. As a consequence, VCL and Scanbox's board agreed to transfer all operational assets of Scanbox into a new 100% subsidiary.

  • 44 European films compete for top EFA award

    12-Sep-2001

  • Cartoon D'Or animated shorts nominations

    12-Sep-2001

    Five European animated shorts have been nominated for this year's Cartoon D'Or Award which will presented in a gala ceremony at the end of the Cartoon Forum co-production market in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on September 22.

  • Eleven feature debuts compete for tesafilm award

    12-Sep-2001

    The UK's Dom Rotheroe, Brazil's Lais Bodanzky, Denmark's Anders Thomas Jensen and the USA's Michael Cuesta are among eleven first-time filmmakers invited by the Filmfest Hamburg to show their feature debuts in its tesafilm Festival sidebar and compete for the $13,975 (DM 30,000) "Golden tesafilm Reel".

  • Germany's KirchMedia acquires Splendid package

    31-Aug-2001

    In a deal worth Euro 23.3m, KirchMedia has acquired the free- and pay -TV rights to a 22-film package from Splendid Film for the German market, including Traffic, Gangs Of New York, Dr T & The Women and Cutaway.

  • Germany's Kinowelt on the verge of bankruptcy

    30-Aug-2001

    Two days ahead of the publication of its half-yearly figures, debt-ridden German media group Kinowelt Medien joined the ranks of the so-called "penny stocks" as trading on Wednesday sent the share price down by some 17% to a new all-time low of Euro 0.90.

  • UK's Film Council looks for European partners

    30-Aug-2001

    The UK's Film Council is eager to collaborate with other European film funding bodies in the fields of development and nurturing filmmaking talent. The first collaborative venture is already being prepared by the Fund with France's CNC on the making of a series of shorts to be shot in both the French and English languages.

  • Germany's VCL teams with UIP for distribution

    28-Aug-2001

    After Scanbox cooperated with US major UIP in Scandinavia for theatrical distribution of its films, Scanbox's mother company, German media concern VCL Film + Medien's theatrical arm VCL Licensing has now entered into a distribution cooperation with UIP's German outpost to handle the physical distribution of its films.

  • KirchGroup will not acquire EM.TV shares

    28-Aug-2001

    Germany's KirchGroup has announced that it will now not acquire a 16.74% stake and minority voting rights of 25.1% in the debt-ridden EM.TV & Merchandising and has withdrawn its application to the German cartel authority "in agreement with EM.TV".

  • Oldenburg reveals festival line-up

    28-Aug-2001

    Ralf Huettner's romantic comedy Mondscheintarif will open this year's Oldenburg International Film Festival (September 5-9) which will also feature the world premieres of Salome Breziner's Fast Sofa, Richard Stanley's The Secret Glory, and Sheree Folkson's Gypsy Woman .

  • Germany's PAG buys stake in Swiss C-FILMS

    27-Aug-2001

    The German production grouping Producers' AG (PAG) has taken its first step on the path of its planned international expansion outside of Germany by taking a stake in the Swiss film and TV production house C-FILMS.

  • Tanovic's No Man's Land takes top Sarajevo awards

    27-Aug-2001

    Local director Danis Tanovic triumphed at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival, winning both Best First Feature and Audience Award for his feature debt No Man's Land.

  • People's Choice - Euro film award nominations

    26-Aug-2001

    Forty eight European directors and actors from Jean-Jacques Annaud to Ray Winstone have been nominated for this year's People's Choice Awards which will be presented during the European Film Awards in Berlin on December 1.

  • Vif International launches German film fund

    26-Aug-2001

    Potsdam-based Vif International Films has launched its fourth tranche to raise Euro 50m from private individuals each investing a minimum of Euro 25,000 for the financing of internationally marketable feature film and television projects

  • Women directors to open Filmfest Hamburg

    24-Aug-2001

    Films by two up-and-coming female German directors, Vanessa Jopp and Nathalie Steinbart will open this year's Filmfest Hamburg (September 24-30).

  • Sarajevo anticipates exhibition growth

    24-Aug-2001

    The number of cinema screens in Sarajevo could more than double by the end of next year if plans to create the city's first multiplex are realised.

  • Germany pioneers new director opportunities

    24-Aug-2001

    Aspiring film-makers have it good in Germany. "No other country on earth enables so many film-makers to shoot their first film," says Gebhard Henke, head of the film department at the powerful Cologne-based public broadcaster WDR.

  • Bosnian Cinema Co-Production Project launched

    20-Aug-2001

    Bosnian regional and federal authorities have signalled they are to make concerted efforts to provide financial support for the development of the film industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the successful launch of the New Bosnian Cinema Co-Production Project (NBCCP) at this years Sarajevo Film Festival.

  • Sweden backs Gothenburg's CineBosnia fund

    20-Aug-2001

    Short film production in Bosnia-Herzegovina has been given a welcome boost by the decision of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) on the eve of this years Sarajevo Film Festival (August 17-25) to guarantee $28,995 (SEK 300,000) backing for the Goteborg Film Festival's CineBosnia fund.

  • New German distributor teams with UIP

    20-Aug-2001

    Christoph Ott's new German theatrical distribution company OTTFilm has signed a deal with UIP Germany for the joint distribution of new local and international titles, including Woody Allen's The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion and Robert Altman's Gosforth Park.

  • German audiences increase as cinemas decline

    19-Aug-2001

    While German cinema admissions have climbed 8% to 80.3 million and box office takings increased 9.6% to $406.8m for the first half of 2001, there are deeply unsettling developments elsewhere in the market, according to the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Samaha takes advantage of Oz investor frustration

    16-Aug-2001

    Elie Samaha's Franchise Pictures has secured a new source of film financing through the German Commerzbank-backed Academy Film Fund (AFF), which has tapped Australian entertainment financiers frustrated by the tax changes in their own market.

  • German talent lines up for $99 films

    15-Aug-2001

    German actor Peter Lohmeyer (Playing Swede) is to make his directorial debut with one of the 12 shorts for the "99Euro Film" initiative which was launched by this year's Oldenburg Film Festival (September 5-9) along the lines of the Slamdance Film festival's $99 programme.

  • German audiences warm to crowd-pleasers

    15-Aug-2001

    Despite having a key role in international film funding, Germany has long struggled to gain recognition for its locally produced films.

  • Ad slump hits Germany's Das Werk

    15-Aug-2001

    Leading German postproduction group Das Werk has been hit by the economic slowdown in the advertising industry, according to its results for the first half of 2001.

  • Sarajevo festival boasts broad film selection

    13-Aug-2001

    Films by Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls), Joel Coen (The Man Who Wasn't There) and Jafar Panahi (The Circle) are among the films screening in the Panorama sidebar of this year's Sarajevo Film Festival which opens on August 17 with an open-air screening of Cannes prize-winner No Man's Land.

  • Italian road movie wins Locarno's Golden Leopard

    12-Aug-2001

    Italian director Maurizio Sciarra's Alla Rivoluzione Sulla Due Cavalli (pictured) - a road movie about three friends who travel to witness Portugal's 1970s revolution - won both the Golden Leopard and Best Actor Bronze Leopard at this year's Locarno International Film Festival.

  • Kinowelt's Arthaus could lose its boss Fabritus

    9-Aug-2001

    The unravelling of German media group Kinowelt Medien has taken a further twist this week with reports spreading through the German distribution sector that Juergen Fabritius, managing director of Kinowelt's arthouse distribution arm, Arthaus Filmverleih, has left the company ahead of plans to fold Arthaus into the mainstream Kinowelt Filmverleih.

  • Filmfest Hamburg reveals first programme titles

    6-Aug-2001

    Fosco and Donatello Dubini's new feature Die Reise Nach Kafiristan, which will have its world premiere on Locarno's Piazza Grande open-air venue on August 9, is one of the titles confirmed so far for this year's Filmfest Hamburg (September 24-30).

  • Constantin rules German independent distribution

    6-Aug-2001

    German independent distributor Constantin Film has re-asserted its status as the most successful distributor of German films this year, largely due to the phenomenal performance of local Western spoof, Der Schuh Des Manitu.

  • Swiss distributors, Columbus and Vega, join forces

    6-Aug-2001

    Swiss distributors Columbus Film and Vega Distribution are to co-operate for joint booking and billing of their releases.

  • Regent partners up for new German film fund

    6-Aug-2001

    US producer Regent Entertainment (Gods And Monsters) and German production outfit A.C.H. GmbH Production have been lined up as two of the co-production partners for the new Munich-based "blind pool" film fund: Christopher Filmcapital.

  • German exhibition partners sever relationship

    6-Aug-2001

    German exhibition companies Cinemaxx and Ufa are to sever their co-operative partnership after little more than a year. The break-up of what would have become Germany's largest cinema chain follows the posting of CinemaxX's 2001 half-year losses of $22.5m (DM52.3m).

  • Kinowelt parts company with CFO Unzeitig

    2-Aug-2001

    Eduard Unzeitig, CFO of debt-ridden Kinowelt Medien Group, has left the company, following news that his contract has been terminated "jointly and with immediate effect".

  • EM.TV offloads holding in Crown Media

    30-Jul-2001

    In yet another stage of its restructuring, beleagured German media concern EM.TV & Merchandising has offloaded its holding in Crown Media Holdings to Hallmark Entertainment for a total $ 103m.

  • Kinowelt looks for partners in bail-out bid

    30-Jul-2001

    The RTL Group has been named by a German newspaper as a possible strategic partner to bail out debt-ridden Kinowelt Medien.

  • Germany's Das Werk expands international network

    30-Jul-2001

    German postproduction group Das Werk has taken a 25% stake in the Belgian high-end video and film post-production company ACE Digital House, as part of its creation of an international network of postproduction companies.

  • Swiss film industry on an upswing

    30-Jul-2001

    Switzerland has seen cinema admissions soar by 6.4% in the first half of 2001 to 8.78m, with local productions accounting for a 4.1% market share in the first six months, compared with 4.6% in 2000 as a whole.

  • Oldenburg festival launches $99 Specials

    29-Jul-2001

    The Oldenburg Film Festival (September 5-9) has launched a new short film programme in co-operation with the Slamdance Film Festival and based on its "$ 99 Specials" initiative which was a new feature last January.

  • Traumwerk and Promark unite for TV series

    29-Jul-2001

    Das Werk's production subsidiaries Traumwerk Filmproduktion and Promark Entertainment are banding together under the label Promark International to develop English-language TV 'events' and mini-series productions for the international market.

  • Germany creates two new digital film awards

    27-Jul-2001

    Digital filmmakers can compete for two new German awards that are being launched at the BerlinBeta Film Festival (August 29 - September 5) and Filmfest Hamburg (September 24-30) this year.

  • Fremaux opens Cannes door to German films

    27-Jul-2001

    After nearly a decade of being excluded from the Cannes Film Festival's official competition, the German film industry has been given a glimmer of hope by the festival's new artistic director Thierry Fremaux.

  • 105 German graduate films up for First Steps award

    25-Jul-2001

    Berlinale 2001 competition entry My Sweet Home by Filippos Tsitos, Hans Weingartner's Max Ophuels Prize-winner White Noise (Das Weisse Rauschen) Benjamin Quabeck's HypoVereinsbank Prize-winner No Regrets (Nichts Bereuen), and Marco Kreuzpaintner's medium-length film Der Atemkuenstler are among 105 titles submitted for this year's First Steps Award open to recently completed graduation films from German film schools.

  • Germany maintains investment in exhibition sector

    23-Jul-2001

    The German exhibition sector has been maintaining a high level of investment in the national cinema infrastructure, despite widespread caution that cinema construction is outstripping the growth in admissions across many European territories.

  • Kinowelt Int'l chief quits as redundancies loom

    20-Jul-2001

    Alexander van Duelmen, managing director of Kinowelt International, a subsidiary of beleaguered German media concern, Kinowelt Medien, has quit his post suddenly, "by mutual agreement and with immediate effect". Further staff reorganisation is expected to follow shortly.

  • German comedy smashes local box office record

    20-Jul-2001

    Just as Jurassic Park III was creating a stir with its opening day ticket sales in the US, a local German film has smashed box office records with its first day's admissions.

  • Global Motion Pictures Fund launched

    19-Jul-2001

    Frankfurt-based IN-motion Group has launched a new private media fund to follow the five World Media Funds it has already initiated since 1998, and which have raised a total to date of $128.8m (Euro 148m) for film and television financing.

  • Pleskow sells Pleswin stake to partner de Winter

    18-Jul-2001

    Veteran producer Eric Pleskow has announced that he has sold his interest in Pleswin Entertainment Group BV to its other principal shareholder Leon de Winter.

  • Locarno reveals competition line-up

    18-Jul-2001

    While Final Fantasy - The Spirit Within and Moulin Rouge will open and close the Piazza Grande programme respectively, this year's official competition of 19 films from 13 different countries includes ten first features and 15 world premieres.

  • PrimaCom signs ppv deal with Universal

    17-Jul-2001

    Private German cable network PrimaCom and Universal Studios International have signed a non-exclusive pay-per-view (ppv) output deal for a wide range of current and library titles from Universal, including Oscar-winner Gladiator and The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas.

  • White Noise takes top Babelsberg prize

    17-Jul-2001

    Max Ophuels Prize winner Hans Weingartner and Oscar nominee Marc-Andreas Bochert were among the recipients of the 2001 Babelsberg Media Awards presented last weekend.

  • BerlinBeta launches digital fiction award

    12-Jul-2001

    BerlinBeta's film festival - from August 29 - to September 5 - is to become the first event of its kind in Europe to offer a Digital Fiction Award, in conjunction with Das Werk, for the best digitally produced feature. The event will also feature a sidebar with the latest examples of digital production, ranging from Nicolette Krebitz's Jeans and Hans Weingartner's Das Weisse Rauschen to Mike Figgis' Timecode and Wayne Wang's The Center Of The World, as well ...

  • Constantin sales drop for first half 2001

    12-Jul-2001

    Sales for Germany's Constantin Film in the first half of 2001 are down by around a third on the performance for the same period last year, according to provisional figures released ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting in Munich.

  • Germany's oldest distributor folds into Kinowelt

    12-Jul-2001

    Kinowelt's process of restructuring continues apace with news that Germany's oldest film distributor Jugendfilm will be finally wound up and its new releases and 200-plus title library administered centrally by Kinowelt's theatrical arm Kinowelt Filmverleih.

  • Highlight Communications seeks Neuer Markt exit

    11-Jul-2001

    Swiss media concern Highlight Communications is considering withdrawing from the Neuer Markt following measures by the German Stock Exchange (Deutsche Boerse) to tighten up procedures and flush out so-called "pennystocks", i.e. shares trading under Euro 1.

  • Christoph Ott to release VCL's Scorpion in Germany

    11-Jul-2001

    Ahead of VCL Film + Medien's shareholders meeting on July 11 in Munich, Screendaily has learnt that the German media concern will have the local theatrical release of its films handled by the new distribution company being launched by former Senator Entertainment executive Christoph Ott.

  • German media funds set to raise $4.3bn this year

    10-Jul-2001

    German media funds, which have raised a total of $4.3bn in the last five years, could achieve a similar volume for the year 2001 alone according to analysts, with some 20 such schemes already underway and more appearing every week.

  • Kinowelt ditches interest in East German distrib

    9-Jul-2001

    Beleaguered German media concern Kinowelt Medien has sold its 40% stake in Progress Film Verleih to Tellux Beteiligungsgesellschaft, making Tellux the sole shareholder of the former East German state distributor.

  • No Regrets for top Munich festival film prize

    8-Jul-2001

    This year's $35,000 (DM 80,000) main prize at the Munich Filmfest was awarded to Benjamin Quabeck for his graduation film Nichts Bereuen (No Regrets).

  • New German production company attracts F.A.M.E.

    7-Jul-2001

    German publicly listed media concern F.A.M.E. has taken a 30% stake in the newly-founded Munich-based production outfit BUETOW MAINUSCH Filmproduktion.

  • CinemaxX CFO quits as expansion plans collapse

    6-Jul-2001

    Marius Schwarz, chief financial officer at German exhibition giant CinemaxX has quit following the posting of half-year company losses of $22.5m (DM52.3m)

  • Kinowelt divests merchandising business

    3-Jul-2001

    As part of its announced restructuring process (Screen Daily June 19), troubled Kinowelt Medien has parted company with part of its merchandising operations.

  • German film fund launches minimum guarantee scheme

    2-Jul-2001

    German producers and filmmakers are set to benefit from a new private film investment fund, entitled German Film Productions (GFP), which is to be launched within the next six weeks to raise $21.6m (DM 50m) from private investors by the end of 2002.

  • German toon house RTV snags Australia's Energee

    29-Jun-2001

    German animation production-distribution entity RTV Family Entertainment has taken over full strategic and operational management at the Australian animation studio Energee Entertainment.

  • Helkon right on track for meeting 2001 targets

    29-Jun-2001

    While other Neuer Markt-listed German media companies have been issuing profit warnings in the past few weeks, Helkon Media is still on course to post the $138m (DM318m) sales and $19.5m (DM45m) EBIT which were forecast for the financial year 2000/2001 last September.

  • Advanced takes step back as cash flow woes bite

    29-Jun-2001

    Germany's Advanced Medien has failed to meet investment plans for Wolfgang Petersen's Red Cliff Productions and has been forced to end a $15.1m package deal with StudioCanal.

  • Intertainment to focus on hands-on production

    28-Jun-2001

    Troubled German rights trader Intertainment aims to be more of a "hands on" producer in the future, through such production alliances as the one forged last year with veteran US producer Arnold Kopelson.

  • Balian and Wiederspiel quit Tobis StudioCanal

    28-Jun-2001

    On the eve of this year's Filmfest Muenchen, the German distribution sector has been rocked by the news of the sudden departure of Haig Balian and Albert Wiederspiel from Canal Plus' German theatrical arm Tobis StudioCanal (TSC) "due to insurmountable differences".

  • German distributors get inaugural culture awards

    27-Jun-2001

    Distributor Arsenal Filmverleih, Berlin's fsk Kino & Peripher Filmverleih and Rapid Eye Movies in Cologne have each been selected for the Germany government's 2001 Distributor Awards.

  • German producers body adds Filmpool to books

    27-Jun-2001

    Cologne-based production outfit Filmpool has been accepted as the 21st member of recently-launched German producers pressure group Film 20. Current members include Kinowelt Medien, Senator Entertainment, Producers AG, Claussen + Woebke Filmproduktion and Constantin Film.

  • Pay-TV channel launches for Germans living abroad

    27-Jun-2001

    ChannelD, a German-language pay-TV service for ex-pat Germans and holidaymakers in Latin America, the Caribbean and the US East Coast, has been established by six multimedia companies.

  • Cologne's TV and film fest announces prizewinners

    26-Jun-2001

    Screenwriter Ruth Toma, Berlin-based production company moneypenny Filmproduktion and casting director Rita Serra-Roll were among the German film industry figures honoured at the end of the Cologne Conference's eleventh International Television and Film Festival during the Media Forum NRW.

  • Germany's Senator questioned over TV dealings

    26-Jun-2001

    Senator Entertainment chief executive Hanno Huth defended his company's sale of film rights to two unnamed intermediary rights dealers rather than directly to TV stations at this week's annual shareholders meeting in Berlin.

  • StudioCanal and Germany's box! line up two titles

    26-Jun-2001

    Fledgling Berlin-based production outfit box! Film & Fernsehproduktion has added two new German-language projects to its co-development and first look deal with StudioCanal.

  • Meyer quits Studio Hamburg's Letterbox

    25-Jun-2001

    German producer Henrik Meyer is to step down as one of the managing directors of Studio Hamburg's production arm Letterbox Filmproduktion from July 1. Meyer will have an exclusive deal with the outfit as a freelance producer for feature films and TV movies, focusing on developing screenplays with US writers for the German market.

  • Germany's Splendid to buy back 10% of stock

    25-Jun-2001

    Shareholders of Splendid Medien, the German rights trader-producer behind Traffic and The Gangs Of New York, have given the company's board of management the green light for a stock repurchase programme of 890,000 shares.

  • MEDIA programme gets new admin body for funding

    25-Jun-2001

    D&S Media Services is to handle applications for MEDIA programme development and training support after winning the contract to run the Technical Assistance Office (TAO) from Brussels.

  • German film prize goes to The State I Am In

    25-Jun-2001

    Christian Petzold's The State I Am In received the top honour of a golden Lola - as the prize is now known - at the 52nd German Film Awards ceremony in Berlin. The award carries a premium of up to $440,000 (DM1m) to be invested in a future project.

  • Liberty ties up German cable for Euros 5.5bn

    22-Jun-2001

    Liberty Media Group has reached agreement with Germany's Deutsche Telekom (DT) to acquire its last remaining six cable television operations - covering 10m connected households - for a reported Euros5.5bn.

  • Germany's Brainpool expands overseas web

    20-Jun-2001

    German comedy powerhouse Brainpool TV has taken another step in its strategy of establishing an international network of companies, acquiring 50% of French light entertainment outfit Show Devant Productions (SDP).

  • Kinowelt shares go into freefall on Neuer Markt

    19-Jun-2001

    No end seems to be in sight for the downward slide of troubled German media concern Kinowelt Medien's shares, which went into freefall yesterday (June 19) on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt. By the close of business, shares in the company stood 25.37% down on the previous day at Euros2.50.

  • EM.TV sells Internet interests, Victory takes over

    19-Jun-2001

    EM.TV & Merchandising has exited from the Internet activities it has concentrated in EM interactive, amidst a restructuring and re-focusing on core businesses.

  • Hannover Leasing to raise $465m for Fox, New Line

    18-Jun-2001

    Munich-based leasing company Hannover Leasing (HL) has launched seven separate production funds to raise over $465m (Euros540m) in finance for feature projects from 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema. HL's collaboration with New Line Cinema follows on from last year when the German fund specialist raised a total of $258m (Euros300m) for two instalments of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

  • Kinowelt finally secures German TV deal with ZDF

    18-Jun-2001

    Beleaguered German mini-studio Kinowelt Medien has finally found a TV home for the Wachowski brothers' Warner Bros. action blockbuster The Matrix.

  • EM.TV shares slide as Kirch investment in doubt

    14-Jun-2001

    Shares in ailing German media concern EM.TV & Merchandising hit a 2001 low on Thursday amidst speculation that the Germany cartel office could block the KirchGroup's plans to invest in the company.

  • Das Werk raises TV stakes with company acquisition

    13-Jun-2001

    German post-production specialist Das Werk is expanding is raising its stake in TV production outfit FFP Media by 30% to 81%.

  • James Cameron's TV debut screens at Cologne

    12-Jun-2001

  • Krevoy to partner Germany's IWP on third project

    11-Jun-2001

    US producer Brad Krevoy's feature project Basshole is being lined up as his third production to be backed this year by private German film fund IWP International West Pictures as part of its six/seven-picture production slate for 2001.

  • No Man's Land set to open Sarajevo Film Festival

    11-Jun-2001

    Bosnian director Danis Tanovic's No Man's Land, which won the best screenplay award in Cannes last month, will open the seventh Sarajevo Film Festival on August 17.

  • EM.TV gets animated with double pick-up

    8-Jun-2001

    EM.TV & Merchandising has acquired international distribution rights for the animated versions of Michael Ende's Momo and Astrid Lindgren's Karlsson On The Roof.

  • $100m double boost for German film funding

    7-Jun-2001

  • VCL cuts 2001 forecasts, raises new cash

    6-Jun-2001

    Germany's VCL Film + Medien's "liquidity bottleneck has been uncorked by a $33.9m financial package provided by a consortium of banks and other investors, led by France's Societe Generale. It will help to secure the financing of the first two Woody Allen films in VCL's three-picture deal concluded in June 2000.

  • Mediacs moves into film licensing

    6-Jun-2001

    German multimedia producer mediacs has followed rival e-m-s new media into the film licensing business. It has sealed an output deal for the production and distribution of DVDs for films from Berlin-based production house TTD Checkpoint Berlin.

  • Stockmarket confirms Kinowelt share trading probe

    6-Jun-2001

    The Frankfurt-based German Federal Securities Supervisory Office (BaWe) has said that it has begun formal investigations into alleged insider trading at Kinowelt.

  • Stockmarket mulls Kinowelt insider dealing probe

    1-Jun-2001

    The German securities regulator said on Friday it would decide next week whether to start a formal insider trading probe into film rights dealer Kinowelt Medien .

  • German tax funds give Paramount another $1.12bn

    1-Jun-2001

    Paramount Pictures is tapping into another two private German film funds to raise $1.25bn for more of its feature line-up.

  • Intertainment results pounded by Franchise row

    1-Jun-2001

    Business at Neuer Markt-listed German rights trader Intertainment has been practically put on hold as a result of its bitter legal wrangle with Elie Samaha's Franchise Pictures.

  • Brotherhood Of The Wolf opens Fantasy Filmfest

    31-May-2001

    Christophe Gans' Brotherhood Of The Wolf (Le Pacte Des Loups) will open this year's Fantasy Filmfest.

  • Ridley Scott heads Tout Ecran short film jury

    31-May-2001

    Ridley Scott will head the jury for an internet shorts competition being launched for the first time this year by Switzerland's Cinema Tout Ecran Film and Television Festival, the event has announced.

  • Mediastream, F.A.M.E. unveil new German funds

    30-May-2001

    The launch of two new film funds this week underlines the growing gulf in fortunes between Germany's high flying private media funds and the struggling Neuer Markt media outfits.

  • Kinowelt shares slump as profit forecasts slashed

    29-May-2001

    Shares at Kinowelt Medien hit an all-time low this week after the German media concern halved profit expectations for this year.

  • Euro Kids Network dropped by Media Plus

    28-May-2001

    Financial support for Media Salles' Euro Kids Network (EKN) is being stopped as part of an overhaul of the cinema exhibition support initiatives of the MEDIA Plus Programme. The European Union-backed MEDIA Programme will instead concentrate its future support for the exhibition sector within the Europa Cinemas network.

  • EIB now ready to accelerate audiovisual funding

    25-May-2001

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) gave a clear signal at last week's Audiovisual Roundtable in Cannes that it wants to support the European film and TV industry and build greater competitiveness in the international market.

  • Director Khudoinazarov sets up two more pictures

    24-May-2001

  • Munich festival secures world premieres

    23-May-2001

    Alfonso Arau's TV version of The Magnificent Ambersons and Oskar Roehler's Suck My Dick, the director's first film after Die Unberuhrbare, will make their world premieres at the Munich FilmFest, the event has announced.

  • Intermedia unveils music division for soundtracks

    23-May-2001

    UK and US-based indie Intermedia has launched a music arm under Bill Curbishley, former manager of The Who and Jimi Hendrix, and Joel Sill, former vice-president music for Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures.

  • France, Germany, Luxembourg pact for co-production

    22-May-2001

    Germany and Luxembourg tightened their links with France were at last week's Cannes Film Festival by striking co-production treaties.

  • Germany's H5B5 invests in Nicolas Roeg's Addict

    21-May-2001

    Germany's H5B5 Media is teaming up with best-selling writer Stephen Smith to set up a joint company to co-produce a screen adaptation of Smith's autobiographical novel, Addict.

  • Splendid, Warner partner for rental distribution

    21-May-2001

    Germany's Splendid Medien has signed a distribution agreement with Warner Home Video for a package of 19 films.

  • DVD growth explodes in Germany, turnover up 190%

    21-May-2001

    Germany's DVD boom continued unabated during the first quarter this year, with turnover rocketing 190% to account for 45.8% of the overall turnover from the video sell-through sector.

  • Harte Jungs duo bank on new success with Pornorama

    9-May-2001

    Constantin Film's Bernd Eichinger and director Marc Rothemund are developing a new project entitled Pornorama after the box-office success of their teen comedy Ants In The Pants (Harte Jungs) which registered over 1.7m admissions and was the second most successful German film last year after Stefan Ruzowitzky's Anatomie.

  • Advanced adopts cautious approach to rights buying

    9-May-2001

    In recognition of the difficult climate of the German television market, troubled German rights trader Advanced Medien will in future only acquire film licenses so long as a broadcaster is already lined up to buy them.

  • Miramax takes Germany's Scotia to arbitration

    9-May-2001

    One of Germany's oldest distribution companies is in hot water as it came to light this week that Miramax International has taken Scotia Film to an arbitration board for non-payment.

  • Fox digs into Germany in search of funding

    8-May-2001

    20th Century Fox is planning to tap into the German private equity market to raise funds for feature projects.

  • Grosvenor Park launches German fund

    7-May-2001

    Canadian-UK financier Grosvenor Park, which has specialised in funding films through the UK's sale and leaseback system, is now planning to have a piece of the action in Germany's $2.3bn (DM5bn) private media fund sector.

  • Intertainment opens Window to life after Franchise

    4-May-2001

    Intertainment, the rights trader which is locked in an ugly litigation tussle with Franchise Pictures, has set A Window To Atlantis as the first project to flow from its deal with Hollywood veteran Arnold Kopelson.

  • Germany's e-m-s adds East European rights

    4-May-2001

    German DVD company e-m-s new media has acquired East European rights to 73 feature films as another step in the internationalisation of its

  • Producers to be feted by EFP at Cannes

    3-May-2001

    Fu Works' San Fu Maltha, X-Filme creative pool's Maria Koepf and

  • Berlin's Kosslick squares up to Cannes selectors

    1-May-2001

    New Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick has warned the Cannes film festival that he will not stand idly by and see films enticed away from his programme.

  • Financial briefs (Germany)

    27-Apr-2001

    Odeon Film

  • Haeberle quits board of F.A.M.E.

    24-Apr-2001

    Thomas Haeberle is to step down from the management board of ambitious German mini-conglomerate F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment where he was director of film production.

  • Commercial channel RTL urged to board German fund

    20-Apr-2001

    Michael Schmid-Ospach, successor to Dieter Kosslick as executive director of German regional funding board, Filmstiftung NRW, has called on leading commercial broadcaster RTL to join public TV stations WDR and ZDF as shareholders in the funding body.

  • EM.TV appoints banker as chairman

    17-Apr-2001

    Bernd Thiemann has replaced Nickolaus Becker as supervisory chairman at the beleaguered German entertainment concern EM.TV & Merchandising.Thiemann is a former chairman of DG Bank.

  • Kinowelt demonstrates faith in cinema market

    11-Apr-2001

    German mini-major Kinowelt has exercised an option to acquire the remaining 49.9% shares in the Theile Hoyts Kinopolis group, comprising ten multiplex cinemas. "The positive development in the first months of the current year in the exhibition market confirms our decision to become more involved in the running of cinemas", CEO Michael Koelmel declared.

  • TV-Loonland expands into Russia

    10-Apr-2001

    German animation specialist TV-Loonland has entered into an extensive partnership with Moscow-based Nox Music, one of Russia's fastest growing music and record labels, with a seven-year license deal for 963 half-hour episodes from TV-Loonland's catalogue, including Pettson and Findus, Cramp Twins, Letters From Felix and Little Ghosts.

  • Ott exits Senator Entertainment

    10-Apr-2001

    Christoph Ott, Senator Entertainment's board member responsible for marketing and sales, is to leave the company "at his own request and by mutual agreement to prepare the founding of his own company".

  • Tykwer and Petzold dominate German Lolas

    3-Apr-2001

    Christian Petzold's The State I Am In (Die Innere Sicherheit) and Tom Tykwer's The Princess And The Warrior (Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin) came away with four nominations each for this year's German Film Awards.

  • Simply Committed teams with Pressman and Expand

    2-Apr-2001

    New Berlin and Paris-based production outfit Simply Committed, co-founded by producer Peter Paulich and German-American actor Thomas Heinze, will announce the first projects stemming from its partnership with US producing stalwart Ed Pressman at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Quite separately, Simply has also committed to a joint venture with Expand Images, a European leader in game-shows and animated programming which is part-owned by StudioCanal.

  • Eichinger steps down as Constantin chairman

    2-Apr-2001

    Constantin Film's Bernd Eichinger has stepped down from his position as board chairman to concentrate his energies on production - the company's in-house output having more than doubled in the last year.

  • Germany's Das Werk exceeds earnings expectations

    29-Mar-2001

    German digital postproduction and production house Das Werk brought some welcome cheer to an otherwise depressed Neuer Markt exchange in Frankfurt by posting a 157% increase in sales for the financial year 2000 to Euro 88.8m, 72% higher than the forecast Das Werk had made on its flotation in August 1999.

  • Til Schweiger enters the ring as Max Schmeling

    29-Mar-2001

    Germany's leading film export Til Schweiger (Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Der Bewegte Mann) is to play the role of German boxing legend Max Schmeling in the $9m (DM 20m) Joe and Max which will begin shooting in Berlin under the direction of US filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) from this May.

  • Music publishers sing from the same sheet

    28-Mar-2001

    German publishing houses Eichborn and Achterbahn have joined forces to launch a company specialising in the devising and marketing of music for national and international feature films, TV productions and commercials.

  • Kinowelt aims international arm at Eastern Europe

    28-Mar-2001

    Kinowelt International (KI), the in-house world sales arm of Kinowelt, is to re-focus its activities exclusively on Eastern Europe, exploiting films acquired through New Line, Beacon Communications and Alliance Atlantis.

  • Kinowelt CEO still mulling stake in UK's Momentum

    23-Mar-2001

    Kinowelt has yet to acquire a 50% stake in Momentum Pictures, chief executive officer Michael Koelmel told Screen Daily on Friday, contradicting a popularly-held belief that the UK distributor is already a jointly-owned venture between his German company and Alliance Atlantis of Canada.

  • German animation house to expand abroad

    23-Mar-2001

    Animation producer BKN International (BKNI), which has been listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt since March 2000, has won approval from its shareholders to buy back up to 10% of the issued share capital by mid-September 2002 as part of a programme of expansion.

  • Cinema on Demand patented

    21-Mar-2001

    Marburg-based medianetCom has registered its broadband video-on-demand technology operating under the name of "Cinema on Demand"at the European Patent Office in Munich.

  • Premiere World revises breakthrough date

    21-Mar-2001

    German digital pay TV platform Premiere World's breakthrough with consumers is set to be delayed by another 1 - 1 ' years, according to the KirchGroup's Dieter Hahn in an interview with the German daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

  • Von Trotta's comeback to be backed by Hamburg/TMG

    20-Mar-2001

  • Pan-European Animation training network planned

    20-Mar-2001

    The MEDIA Programme-supported initiative Cartoon signed an agreement with a group of animation schools at this year's Cartoon Movie financing market in Babelsberg to create a European training network .

  • China and Taiwan dominate popular Fribourg

    20-Mar-2001

    Films from China and Taiwan were particularly strong at the 15th edition of Fribourg's festival dedicated to films from Asia, Africa and Latin America, which registered a record attendance of some 22,000 festival-goers between 11-18 March.

  • Greenlight Media to launch second animation fund

    19-Mar-2001

    Greenlight Media and the Dresdner Bank's investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein are to launch a second BAF Berlin Animation Film fund to raise in the region of $100m for the production of up to five international animation features.

  • Digital Renaissance to be reborn yet again

    16-Mar-2001

    An Israeli-UK-US consortium including Capitol Films, Gravity, DLIN and the US' Kushner Locke Group is preparing to sell controversy-ridden German VFX facility Digital Renaissance after acquiring it only two years ago.

  • Babelsberg hosts first Cartoon Movie Tributes

    15-Mar-2001

    The UK's Aardman Animation, Denmark's A.Film and Italian distributor Cecchi Gori are among the winners of the first 'Cartoon Movie Tributes' presented at this year's Cartoon Movie co-production market.

  • No more Victory for EM.TV

    15-Mar-2001

    German private media fund Victory Media has cancelled its five-year co- production agreement with EM.TV to put up $233m (DM 500m) for the production of 100 animation series for the international market with a total production volume of $700m (DM 1.5bn) over the next five years.

  • Future German co-production funding in doubt

    14-Mar-2001

    Germany's status as a major source of funding for international co-productions could be a thing of the past thanks to new government legislation which threatens to curtail the country's involvement in such projects.

  • Ferry-Go-Round claims first Jameson award

    14-Mar-2001

    Finnish director Aleksi Salmenperä's short Onnenpeli 2001 (Ferry-Go-Round) about love and relationships during a Baltic cruise has won the first Jameson Short Film Award presented at this year's Tampere Film Festival which wrapped on March 10.

  • German Experiment pays off

    14-Mar-2001

    Oliver Hirschbiegel's feature debut Das Experiment was the highest entry in this week's German box office chart with the highest screen averages for box office takings and admissions ($6,282 and 1,031) from its 229-print opening.

  • German film board awards production funds

    14-Mar-2001

    New projects by Paul Anderson and Roman Polanski are among seven features which have received a total $3m (DM 6.42m) production backing this week from the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Internationalmedia acquires Largo library

    13-Mar-2001

    Internationalmedia has acquired the 25-title Largo Entertainment film library which includes such films as, Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, Spike Lee's historical drama Malcolm X, the Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner Timecop, and Ridley Scott's White Squall and G.I. Jane.

  • EM.TV to sell Henson one year after acquisition

    13-Mar-2001

    Troubled German media concern EM.TV & Merchandising has confirmed that it is planning to sell the Jim Henson Group as part of a corporate restructure following its deal with the KirchGroup last month (ScreenDaily, Feb 2000).

  • Telepool in first-look deal with New Legend Media

    11-Mar-2001

  • Resident Evil benefits from Constantin's credit

    8-Mar-2001

    Paul Anderson's Resident Evil ,the big-screen adaptation of the video game, is the first project to benefit from a $140m revolving credit line granted to Bernd Eichinger's Constantin Film by a bank consortium led by the DG Bank.

  • Advanced Medien shares rise as e-m-s adds to stake

    8-Mar-2001

    Reflecting e-m-s new media's role in determining the destiny of the troubled German media company Advanced Medien, the DVD specialist has decided to increase its stake in the producer-distributor to more than 25% thereby giving it a so-called blocking minority holding.

  • Studio Babelsberg mourns death of Schaper

    8-Mar-2001

    Less than four months after the death of Helkon Media's Werner Koenig, the German film industry has been dealt another blow with news of the untimely death of Studio Babelsberg CEO and Head of Production Rainer Schaper at the age of 50 from a heart attack last weekend.

  • Tellux takes Progress in Germany

    7-Mar-2001

    The Tellux Group has become the major shareholder in the privatised former East German distributor Progress Film after Drefa Media Holding, a subsidiary of the Leipzig-based public broadcaster MDR, sold its 37.5% stake for an undisclosed six-figure sum.

  • Advanced Medien, EM.TV see corporate restructures

    6-Mar-2001

    The signs were on the wall, and now management musical chairs have begun with earnest at two of the most troubled companies listed on Germany's Neuer Markt exchange.

  • TV-Loonland signs first big deal with BBC

    6-Mar-2001

    German children's entertainment specialist TV-Loonland has signed its first programming deal with the UK's BBC following the sale of the animation series Cramp Twins and Clifford.

  • Hamburg Festival celebrates Spain

    6-Mar-2001

    Spain has been selected as the country focus in this year's international Hamburg Short Film Festival, Hamburg/Germany (2-9 June 2001) The fest is a showcase of short films with a running time of no more than 20 minutes (the children's film sidebar allows films of up to 45 minutes in length). Meanwhile, "Neighbours" is the subject for the "Flotter Dreier" competition of films not exceeding three minutes playing time.

  • Advanced Medien to announce changes

    5-Mar-2001

    Christophe Montague's days as executive board chairman of the debt-ridden German distributor Advanced Medien could be numbered following the appointment of a new supervisory board which is expected "to make key personnel decisions and initiate organizational measures regarding the future development of the company".

  • IN-motion acquires two US TV series

    2-Mar-2001

    The German media company IN-motion, which was particularly active at this year's Amrican Film Market through its sales arms Myriad Pictures and J&M Entertainment, has further consolidated its position as a producer of internationally marketable TV formats by acquiring the rights to two TV series from US network CBS for an overall price tag of $ 8m.

  • Brandt ends up at Endemol

    1-Mar-2001

    Former Senator Entertainment board member Borris Brandt has been appointed the new general manager of Cologne-based Endemol Productions, while his predecessor Werner Schwaderlapp has been promoted to the post of president of the German holding of the Dutch entertainment concern which consists of the 100% subsidiary Endemol Productions, a 40% stake in the infotainment producer META and 50% in the call TV producer HURRICANE.

  • ProSiebenSat.1 Media to raise up to Euros400m

    1-Mar-2001

    ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which originated from the merger last year between ProSieben Media and SAT.1, is planning a Eurobond issue of fixed-rate notes with an intermediate maturity of up to Euros400m. Lehman Brothers and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein have been appointed joint bookrunners ofthe offering whose roadshow will be launched throughout Europe on March 7th.

  • EM.TV exercises its call option for Formula One

    1-Mar-2001

    Hours before the deadline expired, EM.TV & Merchandising exercised its call option to purchase a further 25% stake in the Formula One holding company SLEC via its subsidiary Speed Investment Ltd. to bring its overall shareholding to 75%.

  • Odeon Film closes Filmstadt.de

    28-Feb-2001

    Odeon Film's entertainment website www.filmstadt.de was closed down today after negotiations with various investors for a takeover or merger came to nothing

  • Formula 1 teams manoeuvre to thwart Kirch

    28-Feb-2001

    The prospect of German media baron Leo Kirch having a controlling interest over the Formula One racing event hangs in the balance as the motor teams threaten to revolt.

  • Heimat writer finds home at UFA

    28-Feb-2001

    Bertelsmann's production arm UFA Film- & TV Produktion and Peter Steinbach, screenwriter of Edgar Reitz's internationally successful TV series Heimat (1984) and Margarethe von Trotta's award-winning Jahrestage (2000), have signed an exclusive agreement whereby Steinbach will work only with UFA on future projects for cinema and television.

  • Kinowelt leaps 20% on Bertelsmann takeover rumour

    26-Feb-2001

    Kinowelt Medien's shares on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt jumped by over 20% on speculation that the Bertelsmann media empire was considering a takeover of the Munich-based concern.

  • TEAM Communications plans expansion

    24-Feb-2001

  • New European short film awards launched

    22-Feb-2001

    The Brussels-based European Coordination of Film Festivals and Jameson Irish Whiskey have joined forces to launch an initiative worth Euros300,000 over the next three years to support European short film-making.

  • Studio Hamburg Produktion and Ellipse Deutschland

    22-Feb-2001

    Studio Hamburg Produktion (SHP), a production arm of Studio Hamburg, and Berlin-based Ellipse Deutschland Film- und Fernsehproduktion have joined forces to work together on animation projects for film and television.

  • Germany's Producers AG expands again

    21-Feb-2001

    Claus Boje and Detlev Buck's production outfit: Boje Buck Produktion and theatrical distribution outlet Delphi Filmverleih are the latest companies to become partners in the rapidly expanding Producers AG.

  • Round-up of Berlin's European Film Market

    20-Feb-2001

    Sales of Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Mortal Transferto Japan’s Amuse Pictures and Greece’s Rosebud are among a raft of deals sealedby Bavaria Film International at the European Film Market in Berlin last week.

  • EM.TV to sell off its 45% stake in TMG

    20-Feb-2001

  • German weekend box office hits all-time high

    20-Feb-2001

    Germany saw arecord-breaking weekend in the cinemas with the first four days on release ofthe Mel Gibson-starrer What Women Wantand Ridley Scott's Hannibal. Accordingto the German distributors association VdF, the result(February 15-18) of 3,563,651 admissions and box office takings of $19,937,759 (DM42,898,463) broke the previous record set in September 1997 by such films as Men ...

  • Germany creates new film and cinema prizes

    19-Feb-2001

    Germany's new state minister for culture and affairs of the media Julian Nida-Ruemelin has launched another initiative - the Innovation Prize - to follow last week's announcement of three annual film distribution awards.

  • CineMedia quits rights market

    19-Feb-2001

    German media group CineMedia Film is set to quit rights trading and licensing just one year after its launch into the market.

  • CineMedia quits rights market

    19-Feb-2001

    German media group CineMedia Film is set to quit rights trading and licensing just one year after its launch into the market.The Munich-based company made its surprise withdrawal after admitting that figures for the last financial year revealed that sales forecasts for it rights trading and licensing activities would fall far short of original expectations. Delayed sales revenues from a package ...

  • CineMedia quits rights trading

    19-Feb-2001

  • CiineMedia quits rights trading after one year

    18-Feb-2001

    German media group CineMedia Film is set to quit rights trading and licensing just one year after its launch into the market.The Munich-based company made its surprise withdrawal after admitting that figures for the last financial year revealed that sales forecasts for it rights trading and licensing activities would fall far short of original expectations. Delayed sales revenues from a package ...

  • MME acquires majority stake in Neue Impuls

    16-Feb-2001

    Hamburg-based TV production house MME: Me, Myself and Eye Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in Neue Impuls Film Produktionsgesellschaft (NIF) in a move to expand its portfolio to include film and television fiction production.

  • EMTV chairman quits

    16-Feb-2001

    Troubled German media group, EM.TV lost its second high-ranking executive on Friday after its supervisory board chairman Nikolaus Becker tendered his resignation following the deal between EM.TV and the KirchGroup on February14.

  • Germany launches new distributor cash awards

    15-Feb-2001

    Up to $28,000 (DM600,000) is being made available by Germany's new state minister for culture, Julian Nida-Ruemelin, to support "culturally outstanding achievements in the sphere of film distribution" in the form of three annual distributor awards starting this coming autumn.

  • EM.TV agrees to KirchGroup rescue deal

    15-Feb-2001

    After months of speculation about the future of the beleaguered EM.TV media group, the German rights trader and merchandising empire announced on Wednesday that it would sign a rescue deal with the KirchGroup on the basis of their negotiations dating from December 4, 2000.

  • Telepool, Nighthawk team for distribution

    15-Feb-2001

    German rights trader Telepool and start-up distributor Nighthawk Pictures have joined forces to release Michael Anderson's The New Adventures Of Pinocchio in German cinemas on April 5.

  • To See A Boat wins Prix UIP Berlin

    14-Feb-2001

    Anja Breien's short To See A Boat At Sail (A Se En Bat Med Seil) has been awarded the Prix UIP Berlin, an initiative of distributor UIP and the European Film Academy in co-operation with the Berlin International Film Festival.

  • German DVD sales up by 350%

    14-Feb-2001

    German DVD sales leapt by 350% to nine million units in 2000, compared to 2.6 million the previous year, and accounted for 30% of the sell-through video market, according to figures from market research company gfk.

  • Constantin results exceed expectations

    13-Feb-2001

    German producer-distributor Constantin Film has exceeded its sales forecasts according to provisional results, with group turnover increasing by 80% to Euros116m.

  • Thoeren quits Ufa to focus on producing

    13-Feb-2001

    Veteran producer Konstantin Thoeren is exiting his post as managing director of Ufa International Film & TV Produktion at the end of this week.

  • Babelsberg beefs up production division

    13-Feb-2001

    Germany's Studio Babelsberg has expanded its in-house production division in a bid to attract more big-budget international productions to the legendary production facility.

  • Ferch to star in Iceland's Seagull's Laughter

    12-Feb-2001

    German actor Heino Ferch, who recently headlined SAT1's East-West drama The Tunnel, is to play one of the leads alongside Margaret Vilhjalmsdottir and Ugla Egilsdottir in Icelandic director Agust Gudmundsson's next project The Seagull's Laughter (Mavahlatur).

  • Bavaria sells In July, Fandango to Japan

    12-Feb-2001

    Germany's Bavaria Film International has sold Fatih Akin's In July (Im Juli) to Japan's Tokyo Theatres, and Matthias Glasner's Fandango to Japan's Gaga Communications.

  • Peppermint acquires Italy's Domenica

    12-Feb-2001

    German rights trader Peppermint has picked up German rights to Italian director Wilma Labate's Domenica which is showing in the Panorama section of this year's Berlin Film Festival. Starring Claudio Amendola, Domenica Giuliano and Annabella Sciorra, the film centres on a police inspector, who doesn't have a daughter, and an orphan girl, who has lost her father, wandering through the streets of Naples. Sales on the film are being handled by Rai Trade.

  • Leading German producers form lobby group

    9-Feb-2001

    Constantin Film's Bernd Eichinger, Kinowelt's Rainer Koelmel and Road Movies' Uli Felsberg are among 16 leading German film and TV producers banding together to form a producers lobby group.

  • Murath, Brunckhorst share German Script Prize

    9-Feb-2001

    Two scripts - Clemens Murath's Schatten Des Jaguar and Natja Brunckhorst's Wie Feuer Und Flamme - were awarded this year's German Script Prize, worth a total $47,000 (DM100,000), by Germany's state minister for culture Julian Nida-Ruemelin.

  • E-M-S, Sunfilm strike video distribution pact

    8-Feb-2001

    German video and DVD company E-M-S New Media has forged a distribution partnership with Munich-based video distributor Sunfilm.Under the terms of the agreement, Sunfilm will handle distribution of E-M-S video and DVD titles in the rental market, while E-M-S will do the same for Sunfilm titles in the sell-through sector. "The rental business is a very personal one and Sunfilm has exactly the right contacts for this," explained E-M-S distribution chief Peter Riedel.

  • DCPF joins Media Programme in German Equinoxe

    8-Feb-2001

    Columbia TriStar's German production arm, Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion (DCPF), is setting up a German outpost of the French scriptwriting workshop Equinoxe which has supported 150 screenplays since its inception in 1993.

  • KC Medien boards StudioCanal's Ginostra

    8-Feb-2001

    Germany's KC Medien will co-finance French director Manuel Pradal's Ginostra, currently shooting in Italy with Harvey Keitel and Andie McDowell in the leads, as part of its informal producing partnership with France's StudioCanal.

  • Germany's Box! unwraps trio of deals

    7-Feb-2001

    Berlin-based production outfit Box! Filmproduktion has struck output deals with theatrical distributor Tobis StudioCanal and Bavaria Media, and is to become a production partner of media venture capital company Producers' AG.

  • Senator, Odeon exit internet activities

    7-Feb-2001

    Germany's Senator Entertainment and Odeon Film are planning to pull the plug on their respective internet businesses. In unrelated announcements, both blamed the difficult internet market.

  • Uruguay's 25 Watts lights up Rotterdam

    4-Feb-2001

    Uruguayan directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll's 25 Watts, about a group of bored teenagers in Montevideo, clinched one of the three VPRO Tiger Awards, along with the Movie Zone Award, at this year's Rotterdam International Film Festival.

  • Fake UK doc gets Colombian treatment

    2-Feb-2001

    Colombian production outfit Tucan Productions is developing a feature inspired by the case of UK broadcaster Carlton Television's fake 1996 documentary The Connection, which claimed to have uncovered a new heroin route from Colombia to British school playgrounds.

  • StudioCanal's German arm boards second project

    2-Feb-2001

    The German production arm of France's StudioCanal, StudioCanal Produktion, is to co-produce Robert Schwentke's directorial debut Tattoo, it's second project following Edward Berger's love story Frau 2 Sucht Happy End.

  • FFA supports Wortmann, Egger projects

    2-Feb-2001

    New features by Soenke Wortmann, Urs Egger and Joseph Orr are among the projects awarded almost $2.4m (DM5m) production support by the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (FFA) in its latest round of funding.

  • CinemaxX embarks on $9m cost-cutting programme

    2-Feb-2001

    The board of German exhibitor CinemaxX has agreed to a "massive programme of reducing costs" which should lead to a $9.6m (DM20m) improvement in its results.

  • Svankmajer to be awarded Freedom Prize

    2-Feb-2001

    Veteran Czech filmmaker-artist Jan Svankmajer is to be presented with the Andrzej Wajda/Philip Morris Freedom Prize by Polish director Wajda at a special ceremony in Berlin's Academy of Arts on February 11.

  • Cinema Novo launches production fund

    1-Feb-2001

    Bruges' Cinema Novo Film Festival, which focuses on films from Africa, Asia and Latin America, has announced initial steps towards its long-awaited production fund for feature films from the southern hemisphere.

  • Kirch, Cologne Gemini buy into Prima Idee

    31-Jan-2001

    One of Germany's leading independent producers, the Cologne Gemini Group, and Kirch Media's new subsidiary, Kirch Media Entertainment, have taken stakes in Berlin-based production outfit Prima Idee which specialises in TV entertainment format ideas and concepts.

  • KC Medien boards third Mandalay project

    31-Jan-2001

    German film investment fund KC Medien has confirmed Reginald Hudlin's latest feature Servicing Sara, starring Liz Hurley, Matthew Perry and Bruce Campbell, as the third Mandalay Pictures project that it will co-finance.

  • Battle Royale, Jalla! stir up Rotterdam

    31-Jan-2001

    Japanese director Fukasaku Kinji's Battle Royale, Swedish debutant filmmaker Josef Fares' comedy Jalla! Jalla! and Juan Pablo Rebella's dry-humoured slacker drama 25 Watts from Uruguay are among the buzz films on festival guests' lips at the 30th Rotterdam International Film Festival this week.

  • Berlin names competition jury

    30-Jan-2001

    Italian horror king Dario Argento, veteran Brazilian director Hector Babenco and UK actress Jacqueline Bisset will be amongst the international jury members for the 51st Berlin International Film Festival.

  • Twenty Twenty Vision sets sights on Bach project

    29-Jan-2001

    Young Berlin-based production outfit Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, which has its debut feature Filippos Tsitos' My Sweet Home in competition at Berlin next week, has lined up three further productions including a biopic of composer Johann Sebastian Bach set to star Vadim Glowna (No Place To Go).

  • StudioCanal pays a visit to God's Town

    29-Jan-2001

    France's StudioCanal is to co-finance the next feature from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, God's Town (Cidade De Deus), which is scheduled to start shooting on location in Rio de Janeiro in June.

  • Azzurro takes top honours at Swiss Film Awards

    28-Jan-2001

    Denis Rabaglia's Azzurro was named Best Feature Film at this year's Swiss Film Awards, held during the Solothurn Film Days (Jan 23-28), against competition from Markus Imboden's Komiker - which left empty-handed despite being nominated in three categories - Silvio Soldini's Bread And Tulips, Xavier Koller's Gripsholm and Clemens Klopfenstein's WerAngstWolf.

  • Haneke's Code Unknown to open Diagonale fest

    26-Jan-2001

    Michael Haneke's Cannes competition title Code Unknown (Code Inconnu) will open this year's Diagonale festival of Austrian cinema, which will feature several sidebars to complement the central showcase of new Austrian film.

  • Berlin's Kinderfilmfest unveils final line-up

    26-Jan-2001

    The world premiere of Andrea Katzenberger's Der Mistkerl, which is handled internationally by Studio Hamburg Produktion, will open this year's edition of Berlin's Kinderfilmfest.

  • EFP reveals fourth Shooting Stars line-up

    24-Jan-2001

    The UK's Kate Ashfield and Germany's Heike Makatsch, lead actresses from Panorama film Late Night Shopping, are among 18 young European actors and actresses selected by members of pan-European promotional organisation European Film Promotion (EFP) for the fourth "Shooting Stars" showcase at the Berlin Film Festival on February 10-11.

  • Switzerland's Fribourg fest unveils first titles

    24-Jan-2001

    South Korean director Im Kwon-Taek's Chunhyang and Yi Yi directed by Taiwan's Edward Yang are among the first batch of films confirmed for the official competition at the 15th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland (March 11-18).

  • Berlin to feature sidebar of De Hadeln favourites

    24-Jan-2001

    Outgoing Berlin Film Festival director Moritz de Hadeln has made a selection of personal cinematic memories from his 22-year tenure that will screen in a special sidebar at this year's event under the banner "Moritz' Favourites".

  • German film fund supports South Africa's AVEA

    23-Jan-2001

    German film fund MFG Medien und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Wuerttemberg has joined the list of backers of the new South Africa-based producers' training initiative "AVEA - Audiovisual Entrepreneurs of Africa" which is modelled on the MEDIA programme's EAVE scheme.

  • Kirch acquires TM3 and sells it to H.O.T.

    23-Jan-2001

    Germany's Kirch Media has acquired News Corp's shares in commercial free-TV channel TM3, and transferred them to EUVIA Media, a 100% subsidiary of the home shopping management and holding company H.O.T. Networks. News Corp has taken a 2.48% stake in Kirch Media as part of the deal.

  • Das Weisse Rauschen wins Max Ophuels Prize

    22-Jan-2001

    Austrian-born director Hans Weingartner walked away with this year's $28,700 (DM60,000) Max Ophuels Prize for his psychological drama Das Weisse Rauschen while the Prize of the Saarland Prime Minister went to Austria's Florian Flicker for Der Ueberfall.

  • Epsilon launches theatrical sales outfit

    22-Jan-2001

    Epsilon, the programming and acquisition joint venture between European broadcasters Kirch and Mediaset, has launched an international sales company, Beta Cinema, to focus on distribution of theatrical features.

  • Berlin unveils further Panorama, Forum titles

    22-Jan-2001

    Bela Tarr's Werckmeister Harmoniak and Renny Bartlett's Eisenstein are among another batch of titles confirmed for the International Forum of Young Cinema sidebar at this year's Berlin Film Festival. Meanwhile titles from Jean-Jacques Beineix, Lea Pool and Gerardo Herrero have been added to the Panorama line-up.

  • America, Krokodile score at Bavarian Film Awards

    19-Jan-2001

    Vanessa Jopp's Forget America, produced by Herbert Rimbach's Avista Film, and Jobst Oetzmann's Die Einsamkeit Der Krokodile, from Constantin subsidiary Olga Film, shared the top $242,000 (DM500,000) Producers Prize at this year's Bavarian Film Awards.

  • Splendid forms joint venture with Warner Music

    19-Jan-2001

    Germany's Splendid Medien has extended its existing collaboration with Warner Music by launching a joint venture company, based in Hamburg, to sell and distribute DVDs and videos in the German-speaking region.

  • De Hadeln unveils Berlin competition line-up

    18-Jan-2001

    The Berlin Film Festival's outgoing director Moritz de Hadeln has announced the competition line-up for the event's 51st edition, which as expected features a heavy European and Asian presence (ScreenDaily, Jan 15).

  • Sony acquires chunk of expanding BKNI

    17-Jan-2001

    Children's animation producer-distributor BKN International (BKNI) has sold in principle a 3.8% stake to Sony Pictures Family Entertainment as the German company gears up for expansion in the US and Asia.

  • Albis Leasing takes control of Apollo Media

    17-Jan-2001

    Germany's largest independent leasing fund specialist, Albis Leasing, has taken majority stakes in two subsidiaries belonging to private media fund, ApolloMedia, which backed this year's Sundance Film Festival opener My First Mister.

  • Maelstrom hits Berlin as festival goes Shopping

    16-Jan-2001

  • EM.TV plays down KirchGroup impasse reports

    16-Jan-2001

    Executives at Germany's beleaguered rights trader and merchandising concern EM.TV have played down wide-spread reports that talks with media concern the KirchGroup are on the rocks.

  • Germany's CineMediaFilm merges internet arm

    15-Jan-2001

    CineMediaFilm, one of Germany's first integrated media corporations, is merging its internet subsidiary Film.de with Heidelberg-based internet marketing platform kinokasse.de.

  • Endemol sells back stake in Germany's G.A.T.

    15-Jan-2001

    Munich-based TV production house G.A.T. Film- und Fernsehproduktion has bought back the 49% stake Dutch entertainment concern Endemol Entertainment acquired in the company three years ago.

  • German fund doubles for international drive

    15-Jan-2001

    The regional German film fund of Baden-Wuerttemberg, currently supporting the FilmFour-majority financed Buffalo Soldiers, is to almost double its annual spend to $10m as it seeks to attract further international productions.

  • Tele-Muenchen chief readies pay-TV push

    15-Jan-2001

    German media mogul Herbert Kloiber is reportedly readying a digital pay-TV channel to go on air this summer.

  • TEAM raises $50m production fund for TV projects

    15-Jan-2001

    US producer-distributor TEAM Communications Group is a launching a $50m TV production fund entitled TEAM TV Fund following a pact with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

  • Tele-Muenchen, Concorde pact with Studio Hamburg

    12-Jan-2001

    Studio Hamburg's feature production arm, Studio Hamburg Letterbox Filmproduktion, has signed a three-picture co-production and distribution deal with Tele-Muenchen Group and its distribution arm, Concorde Film.

  • Hit Komiker takes three nods for Swiss film awards

    11-Jan-2001

    Box-office hit Komiker took three nominations including Best Feature Film for the annual Swiss Film Award, which will be announced during on January 24.

  • Cineartists postpones Neuer Markt flotation

    11-Jan-2001

    Munich-based production entity Cineartists Entertainment has postponed its planned flotation on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt following the recent plunge of Frankfurt's Neuer Markt.

  • RTL exits German pay-TV sector

    11-Jan-2001

    Luxembourg-based RTL Group has withdrawn from the German pay-TV sector, exercising an option to sell its remaining 5% stake in pay-TV channel Premiere to majority shareholder KirchGroup.

  • Eichinger's Constantin confirms Perfume adaptation

    10-Jan-2001

    Constantin Film chief Bernd Eichinger has beaten off rival bids from several directors and producers to acquire the exclusive film rights to Patrick Sueskind's international bestseller, Perfume; the story of a murderer.

  • Berlin confirms Enemy At The Gates as opener

    10-Jan-2001

    The Berlin International Film Festival has confirmed that it will open next month with Jean-Jacques Annaud's $90m Stalingrad epic Enemy At The Gates.

  • Germany's Das Werk takes over Centropolis Effects

    9-Jan-2001

    European digital post powerhouse Das Werk has established a key presence in the North American market by taking over Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's Los Angeles-based facility Centropolis Effects (CFX).

  • Germany's e-m-s buys into two more media outfits

    5-Jan-2001

    German DVD company e-m-s new media, the publicly-listed concern which bought into film rights trader Advanced Medien in December, has taken stakes in TV production house AZAWAKH and multimedia company get.

  • Barry Levinson, Intermedia stike first-look pact

    5-Jan-2001

    The true-life story which inspired the classic novel Moby Dick is the first project in an exclusive first-look deal announced on Friday between uber-indie Intermedia and Barry Levinson and Paula Weinstein's US production outfit Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures.

  • Kinowelt gets investor as Koelmels sell 4.9%

    4-Jan-2001

    German mini-major Kinowelt has gained a new long-term investor after Munich Re Insurance Group's acquisition of 1.2m shares - equivalent to 4.9% of the media concern's capital stock.

  • Splendid balks at acquiring further IEG shares

    2-Jan-2001

    Germany's Splendid Medien has decided not to exercise an option to acquire further shares in its US production subsidiary IEG.

  • Kinowelt attacks RTL, Kirch buying tactics

    21-Dec-2000

    Germany's Kinowelt Medien has slammed local broadcasters RTL and the Kirch Group for supposedly having an understanding akin to a "gentlemen's agreement" after passing on films from Kinowelt's $300m Warner Bros package.

  • BKN International plans US, Japanese expansion

    20-Dec-2000

    German children's animation producer and distributor BKN International (BKNI) is in final talks to acquire an animation studio in the US by the end of this year as part of its ambitious strategy of international expansion.

  • Media[netCom] to launch second VoD trial

    20-Dec-2000

  • Germany's F.A.M.E. to open London outpost

    19-Dec-2000

    German film and music production house, F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment, is launching a 100% owned London-based subsidiary, F.A.M.E. UK, on Jan 1, 2001, to develop and produce English-language features.

  • Intertainment, Franchise talk terms

    19-Dec-2000

    Munich-based licence trader Intertainment is renegotiating its pan-European output deal with Elie Samaha's LA-based Franchise Pictures, which is thought to have soured after resulting in a string of flops.

  • Helkon subsidiary wins Heimatfilm contract

    19-Dec-2000

    Germany's home-grown genre, the Heimatfilm, which was popular in the 1950s with stirring tales of love and adventure set against the backdrop of Alpine landscapes, is to be dusted down and updated by Helkon Media's majority-owned TV production house, Sonne, Mond und Sterne.

  • Alsaska.de, England! among Max Ophuels nods

    18-Dec-2000

    Esther Gronenborn's Alaska.de, Achim von Boerries' England! and Philip Groening's L'Amour, L'Argent, L'Amour are among 19 features from German-speaking territories which have been nominated for the $27,500 (DM60,000) Max Ophuels Prize.

  • Advanced Medien chairman open to friendly takeover

    17-Dec-2000

    Further ownership changes could be on the cards for Germany's Advanced Medien according to executive board chairman Christophe Montague, who has said that he is not excluding the possibility of a friendly takeover of the company.

  • German internet provider joins Kinowelt in B.TV

    17-Dec-2000

    Leading German internet service provider Web.de has joined mini-major Kinowelt as a shareholder in regional broadcaster B.TV Television, by acquiring a 9.94% stake in the Baden-Wuerttemberg-based channel.

  • Munich prosecutor launches probe into EM.TV

    17-Dec-2000

    Brothers Thomas and Florian Haffa and other executives at troubled German media concern EM.TV & Merchandising are being investigated by Munich state prosecutor Manfred Wick for alleged breaches of securities law.

  • Das Werk buys into France's Mikros Images

    15-Dec-2000

    German post-production house Das Werk has added to its international network by acquiring a 15% stake in French digital post and effects house Mikros Images, with plans to extend this to a majority interest in future.

  • Helkon planning to buy Eagle, Tri Pictures stakes

    13-Dec-2000

    Germany's Helkon Media, which earlier this year acquired 51% of the UK's Redbus Films Distribution, is eyeing stakes in its two other European partners, Italy's Eagle Pictures and Spain's Tri Pictures, as part of its on-going strategy to create an international distribution network.

  • IN-motion's fifth fund to back Brosnan starrer

    11-Dec-2000

    Germany's aggressively acquisitive IN-motion has launched a private media fund, World Media Fonds V (WMF V), through which it plans to raise at least $45m (DM100m) for three projects including $46m Pierce Brosnan-starrer The Day After Tomorrow.

  • EM.TV CEO Thomas Haffa may step down

    11-Dec-2000

    EM.TV & Merchandising CEO Thomas Haffa has said that he would consider resigning if he fails to restore the confidence of analysts and investors in the troubled TV production and merchandising concern.

  • Kinepolis set to sell stake in CinemaxX

    10-Dec-2000

    Belgian multiplex operator Kinepolis has announced that it plans to give up its 25% stake in CinemaxX, after the German exhibitor issued a profit warning to shareholders at the end of last week.

  • Kinowelt magazine launch upset by injunction

    8-Dec-2000

    European film magazine Cinema has taken out an injunction to prevent German mini-studio Kinowelt distributing its new monthly publication, kinowelt.de, with a free DVD.

  • Berlin's Kinderfilmfest picks four UK titles

    8-Dec-2000

    The UK is already well represented in the line-up selected so far for the forthcoming Children's Film Festival (Kinderfilmfest) sidebar at the 51st Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-18, 2001).

  • CinemaxX hit by drop in admissions

    7-Dec-2000

    German exhibitor CinemaxX's shares plunged almost 40% to Euros4 on Thursday, in reaction to news that the company is being forced to issue a profit warning because of unexpectedly low cinema admissions over the last few months.

  • Apollo Media boards Kershner's Cecilia

    6-Dec-2000

    German financier Apollo Media is backing five high-profile US projects via its fourth film fund, including Irvin Kershner's $15m historical romantic drama Cecilia, which is set to star Virginia Ledoyen and Jeremy Irons.

  • D'Amico appointed to IN-motion board

    5-Dec-2000

    Kirk D'Amico, president of Myriad Pictures and J&M Entertainment, has been appointed a board member of Frankfurt-based entertainment concern IN-motion, which has acquired both Myriad and J&M since floating on Germany's Neuer Markt in August.

  • Epsilon acquires European rights to Franchise trio

    5-Dec-2000

    Kirch and Mediaset's joint venture for big-budget productions, Epsilon Motion Pictures (Emotion), has selected the first three projects to kick off its distribution pact with Franchise Pictures: Michael Caton-Jones' City By The Sea, Antonio Banderas-starrer Ecks vs. Sever and David Goyer's directorial debut Zigzag.

  • Kirk Douglas to be honoured at Berlin

    5-Dec-2000

    Veteran Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas will be honoured with a Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at next year's Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-18).

  • Germany's F.A.M.E. in talks to tap film funds

    4-Dec-2000

    Munich-based film and music production house F.A.M.E. Film & Music Entertainment, which floated on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt at the end of August, is in talks with two German media funds to support its push into international co-productions.

  • Kirch acquires blocking stake in EM.TV

    3-Dec-2000

    Germany's Kirch Group has taken a minority blocking stake in beleaguered family entertainment rights trader EM.TV & Merchandising, which has seen its share price plummet in the last week, in reaction to a profit warning and disappointing third quarter figures.

  • Von Trier, Wong score at European Film Awards

    3-Dec-2000

    Lars von Trier's Dancer In The Dark was the clear winner at this year's European Film Awards in Paris, taking away the top honour of Best European Film 2000, as well as the European Actress award for Bjork. The film, which has polarised critics ever since it was first seen in Cannes this year, also walked away with the prize for Best European Director and Best European Actress in the People's Choice Awards voted for by movie fans.

  • MTV Germany chief in talks to take helm of TM3

    1-Dec-2000

    Following weeks of speculation about her departure, MTV Germany chief Christiane zu Salm has confirmed that she is to leave her post, and is in "advanced negotiations" to head News Corp-owned channel TM3.

  • Sony Europe, Canal Plus pact for interactive TV

    30-Nov-2000

    Sony Europe expects to play a central role in the European market for interactive digital television after signing a strategic alliance with the Canal Plus subsidiary Canal Plus Technologies (CPT).

  • Kinowelt, Der Spiegel mull joint TV venture

    30-Nov-2000

    German mini-major Kinowelt is considering joining forces with the on-line arm of weekly magazine Der Spiegel and Alexander Kluge's Development Company for TV Programmes (DCTP) to set up an ad-financed TV channel, tentatively named IDE, in Berlin from next spring.

  • Dragotto re-teams with Hausfater at Intermedia

    30-Nov-2000

    Former Buena Vista Film Sales (BVFS) vice president Michael Dragotto is re-uniting with his erstwhile boss Jere Hausfater at sales, financing and production entity Intermedia.

  • E-M-S taps Jovy to advise on expansion

    27-Nov-2000

    German video and DVD distributor E-M-S New Media, which emerged as a major all-rights buyer at this year's autumn markets, has appointed former Advanced Medien board member Hanns-Arndt Jovy as a consultant to advise on its expansion into licence trading and production.

  • KC Medien unwraps alliances with Pathe, Lions Gate

    27-Nov-2000

    Film seasons from The Netherlands and Croatia have been scheduled in the US next month. Dutch Treats 2000: New Films From Holland presents ten recent films at the Quad Cinema in New York (Dec 1-7), while Wednesdays In Croatia (Nov 29-Dec 20) screens classic and new Croatian films kicking off with Oscar submission Marshal Tito's Spirit at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.Dutch Treats, presented by Holland Film in collaboration with American Premieres, a New York-based ...

  • Germany's Loonland on the prowl for UK sales agent

    6-Mar-2000

    The acquisition of a UK-based sales agent is on the 'to do' list of German animation powerhouse TV-Loonland when it joins the ranks of media companies listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt exchange on March 22.

  • Rudolph investigates sex for Germany's Gemini

    3-Mar-2000

    Cologne-based production outfit Gemini Film is lining up three international features for production this year including Investigating Sex, written and to be directed by Alan Rudolph, which has Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte and Neve Campbell attached to star.

  • RTL buys stake in sister channel Vox

    28-Feb-2000

    Germany's leading commercial broadcaster RTL is making its biggest ever investment by acquiring a 49.9% stake in sister channel Vox, according to RTL chief executive Gerhard Zieler in an interview with German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

  • Callahan set to acquire Deutsche cable assets

    22-Feb-2000

    Deutsche Telekom is expected to confirm today the sale of a 55% stake in its cable television network in North Rhine-Westphalia, for about $3bn to Denver investment company Callahan Associates International (CAI).

  • Suzhou racks up sales at quiet Berlin market

    22-Feb-2000

    Philippe Bober's Berlin-based The Coproduction Office could claim the accolade of "buzz title" at last week's European Film Market (EFM) for Chinese director Lou Ye's Suzhou (pictured) which has sold to 12 territories and is expected to clean up the rest of the key territories at this week's AFM.

  • US, German titles take top honours at Berlin

    20-Feb-2000

  • Moreau to be patron for Berlin's Shooting Stars

    18-Feb-2000

  • Splendid/IEG direct Searchlight's Traffic overseas

    18-Feb-2000

    Aggressive German player Splendid Medien and its subsidiary Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) are putting up between $35m-$45m of the $60m-$65m budget for Fox Searchlight's Traffic, set to star Harrison Ford and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

  • Becker lines up comedy for Miramax

    17-Feb-2000

    X-Filme Creative Pool's Wolfgang Becker is developing comedy Hamstrung (Schinken), which could be the first project to go through the company's first-look deal with Miramax.

  • Wenders rockumentary to roll in March

    17-Feb-2000

    A March 11 start has been scheduled for Wim Wenders' next film, Vill Passiert, a feature-length documentary about veteran German rockers BAP (Screendaily, Feb 11).

  • X-Filme launches German distribution label

    16-Feb-2000

    X Filme Creative Pool, the production company behind German hit Run Lola Run, has launched a distribution label along with a new development slate that includes its first non-German production.

  • CineMedia strikes co-prod deal with UK's Own2Feet

    15-Feb-2000

    Following its entry into licence trading last month (Screendaily, Jan 26), expansionist German post-production entity CineMedia Film is becoming involved in international co-production through a strategic partnership with UK producer Own2Feet Productions.

  • Wachs set to exit Babelsberg post

    14-Feb-2000

    Studio Babelsberg chairman Friedrich-Carl Wachs has shocked the German film industry by announcing that he plans to quit his position at the end of the month.

  • German admissions break records as revenues fall

    14-Feb-2000

    Cinema admissions in Germany reached a new record last year, climbing from 148.9m to 149m, according to statistics from Berlin-based German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • KCMedien, CineArtists board Stone's Beyond Borders

    11-Feb-2000

    German film fund KC Medien and Munich-based film finance packager CineArtists are backing Oliver Stone's next feature Beyond Borders, which will be partly shot on location in Europe.

  • Le Studio to run with Tykwer's Princess

    11-Feb-2000

    French production and distribution giant Le Studio Canal Plus has picked up international sales rights to The Princess And The Warrior (Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin), the latest project from Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer.

  • Wenders changes tune with German rockumentary

    11-Feb-2000

    Wim Wenders, whose latest film The Million Dollar Hotel opened this year's Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday night (Feb 9), has acquired a taste for music documentaries after his success with Buena Vista Social Club.

  • Naumann opens new bag of funding measures

    10-Feb-2000

    German culture minister Michael Naumann has unveiled a package of measures to strengthen the federal government's culturally-oriented film funding programme.

  • Lisowsky jumps from DreamWorks to Universal

    10-Feb-2000

    Dirk Lisowsky has been appointed managing director of Universal Pictures Video Germany, replacing Haig Balian who headed up both theatrical and video operations for Universal in Germany before the decision to channel theatrical product through UIP.

  • MTM to shoot biopic of student leader Dutschke

    10-Feb-2000

    Munich-based production outfit MTM cineteve has successfully bid for the film rights to the biography of legendary student movement leader Rudi Dutschke.

  • ProSieben, Sat1 mull collaboration options

    9-Feb-2000

    German commercial broadcasters Sat1 and the ProSieben Media Group are considering forming a joint family of channels according to ProSieben's new chief Urs Rohner.

  • Horror scores in German market

    8-Feb-2000

    As Scream 3 breaks records in the US, the horror genre is making its mark in Germany - and this time for a locally produced film. Anatomie, written and directed by hot young Austrian Stefan Ruzowitzky, attracted 320,000 cinema-goers over its opening four-day weekend. Making almost $2m (DM4m) from 386 screens, this beats previous opening highs for the original Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Ruzowitzky wrote and directed the 1998 international ...

  • Fox to release Prokino slate in Germany

    8-Feb-2000

    German independent distributor Prokino and 20th Century Fox have entered into an exclusive strategic cooperative alliance which will see all of Prokino's future releases being distributed by the US major, starting with Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labours Lost.

  • Kinowelt picks up two from Checkpoint Berlin

    8-Feb-2000

    Kinowelt International, the foreign sales arm of German media concern Kinowelt Medien, has acquired international rights to Hansjoerg Thurn's Love Never Fails (Marmor,) and Peter Keglevic's Falling Rocks (Stein Und Eisen).

  • Muratova to receive Wajda Freedom Prize in Berlin

    8-Feb-2000

    Russian director Kira Muratova, whose credits include the 1990 Berlin Special Jury prize winner The Asthenic Syndrome, will receive the first Andrzej Wajda/Philip Morris Freedom Prize at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13.

  • Parallax, Road Movies' Princesa cranks up in Milan

    8-Feb-2000

    Production has started in Milan on Henrique Goldman's Princesa, a three-way co-production between the UK's Parallax Pictures, Germany's Road Movies Filmproduktion and Italian distributor BIM.

  • Apollo Media lines up Beresford, Cookson projects

    8-Feb-2000

    German film fund Apollo Media, launched last November (Screen International, Nov 19, 1999), has unveiled its debut slate which includes new projects from Bruce Beresford, Stephen Cookson, Christine Lahti and Tomy Wigand.

  • Clooney, Wenders in frame for Golden Cameras

    4-Feb-2000

    Actor George Clooney and German director Wim Wenders are among the names who will be honoured at the 25th Golden Camera Awards (Feb 8), on the eve of the Berlin Film Festival (Feb 9-20).

  • Deutsche Telekom, Kirch plan Internet alliance

    4-Feb-2000

    Deutsche Telekom and the KirchGroup are planning an alliance for cable television and the Internet, according to a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

  • Christmas Carol, High Times join MBP slate

    4-Feb-2000

    Hot German finance house MBP has revealed further projects on its extensive development slate, being financed in a two-step process that involves an initial private placement followed by an IPO (Screendaily Feb 3).

  • Kinowelt, IAC join expanding Berlin Film Market

    3-Feb-2000

    Several established sales agents have confirmed their participation in the European Film Market (EFM) - to take place during the Berlin Film Festival (Feb 9-20) - for the first time this year.

  • MBP to go public with top-flight slate

    3-Feb-2000

    MBP, one of Germany's hottest film finance houses, is set to offer the public a slice of films by directors including Bruce Beresford, Iain Softley, Bob Rafelson and Andre Bonzel. The outfit, which controls a spread of tax efficient funds, plans a flotation within the next 18 months.

  • Lehmann Brothers to acquire stake in Kirch PayTV

    2-Feb-2000

    New York-based investment bank Lehman Brothers is planning to acquire a 3% stake in Leo Kirch's pay-TV holding Kirch PayTV. The holding controls the digital platform Premiere World and Swiss pay channel Teleclub, among others.

  • Highlight to fire with Newell's Fifty Cannon

    27-Jan-2000

    Swiss distributor and rights trader Highlight Communications has boosted its international profile by signing a three-year output deal with UK director Mike Newell's start-up outfit Fifty Cannon Entertainment.

  • France, Germany team up for promotional activity

    27-Jan-2000

    French state film body CNC will support the activities of Hamburg-based pan-European promotion agency European Film Promotion (EFP) in the second half of 2000 when France has the presidency of the European Commission.

  • EFP unveils Shooting Stars line-up

    26-Jan-2000

    Pan-European promotion agency, European Film Promotion (EFP), has revealed this year's line-up of 18 European "Shooting Stars" who will be introduced to the public and international film industry at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb 12/13. (see list below)

  • American Beauty opens well in Germany

    26-Jan-2000

    Even before it scooped three top prizes at the Golden Globe awards last Sunday, Sam Mendes' American Beauty benefited from favourable word-of-mouth in Germany to rack up an impressive screen average of $16,720 over the four-day weekend (January 20-23). The film, which distributor UIP is now sure to widen following its Globes success, was released on 44 prints.

  • CineMedia enters rights arena with Icon title

    25-Jan-2000

    Germany witnessed the entrance of another aggressive rights buyer this week as leading post-production concern CineMedia unveiled a raft of acquisitions headed by Icon Entertainment International's What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson.

  • IBB pumps $15m into Berlin Animation Fund

    25-Jan-2000

    Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) has become the latest German bank to get involved in Germany's private media fund sector by investing DM30m ($15.4m) in the DM168m ($86m) Berlin Animation Film (BAF) fund, launched at the end of last year by London-based Kleinwort Benson.

  • Igel, Xilam join forces for Gaumont library

    25-Jan-2000

    German family entertainment rights trader Igel Media and the French production studio Xilam have joined forces to acquire more than 200 animation episodes from the Gaumont Multimedia library.

  • Berlin to pay tribute to De Niro

    25-Jan-2000

    This year's Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 9-20) will pay tribute to actor Robert De Niro with a special screening of The Deer Hunter on Feb 17 and a selection of eleven other films in which he stars including Bloody Mama (1970), Raging Bull (1980) and Ronin (1998).

  • CLT-Ufa signs five-year output deal with Fox

    23-Jan-2000

    Luxembourg-based broadcaster CLT-Ufa has signed a five-year output deal with 20th Century Fox as part of an on-going strategy to consolidate its position in the German free TV market as a competitor to Leo Kirch's family of channels.

  • Berlin line-up takes shape

    20-Jan-2000

    Berlin International Film Festival chief Moritz de Hadeln appears to be rapidly firming up the Official Competition section for the festival's fiftieth anniversary edition (Feb 9-20).

  • Helkon acquires share in Newmarket

    20-Jan-2000

  • Vivendi mulls Babelsberg sale

    19-Jan-2000

    French utilities and media giant Vivendi is considering a complete or partial withdrawal from running the Babelsberg Film Studios which it successfully bid for in 1992 under its previous name CGE.

  • Kinowelt moves East

    19-Jan-2000

    German mini-studio Kinowelt has moved into Eastern Europe by setting up Kinowelt Hungary and is aiming to have distribution operations in Poland, Estonia and Lithuania. It is also positioning itself to capitalise on the growing DVD market.

  • Berlin confirms Forum titles

    18-Jan-2000

    Films confirmed for the International Forum of Young Cinema at this year's Berlin Film Festival (Feb 9-20) include James Benning's Californian-set El Valley Centro, Austrian filmmaker Ruth Beckermann's Ein Fluechtiger Zug Nach Dem Orient, Yuji Nakae's Nabbe No Koi (Nabbie's Love), German documentary filmmaker Ebbo Demant's journey through deserts on three continents Wueste and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's love triangle drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Straight ...

  • German exhibition duo mull alliance

    18-Jan-2000

    The German exhibition landscape is set to undergo radical and far-reaching changes if Germany's two biggest cinema operators - CinemaxX and UFA - decide to embark on a proposed strategic alliance after conducting "a speedy analysis" of their individual operations.

  • Enlightenment shines at Bavarian Film Awards

    18-Jan-2000

    The producers of Doris Doerrie comedy Enlightenment Guaranteed and Peter Schamoni's documentary Majestat Brauchen Sonne shared the DM500,000 ($260,000) producer prize at the Bavarian Film Awards (Jan 17).

  • LenLinas, Nighthawks pact with Megaview

    17-Jan-2000

    German private film fund LenLinas and fledgling theatrical distributor Nighthawks Pictures have sealed a video distribution deal with Hanover-based video wholesaler Megaview Entertainment Cooperation (MEC).

newsletter+promo

Job of the week

HanWay Films

HEAD OF BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS

Salary and benefits are dependent on experience

Jobs

SENIOR LECTURER, DIGITAL FILM PRODUCTION

£41,017.33 p.a. + benefits

Kit Room Manager

Competitive

Head of Festival Operations

Competitive

Head of Industry

Competitive

Festival Deputy Director

Competitive

VISION ENGINEER

Competitive

Start your new career today

Search

Editorial Image

The Web Today

Film industry news from around the world

International box office

May 18-20

More box-office charts