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.

The new company is headed up by Alfred Tolle, Executive Vice President, with ex-VIF International Films staffers Birgit Wilmes (Vice President), Alexandra Bauermeister (Legal Affairs) and Sylvia Koschorreck (Administration).

According to Tolle, VIF Distribution will concentrate its energies in future on 'a new positioning of the funds in the market and a more intensive handling of all productions. In particular, we will intensify the support for the sales activities and further develop long-term partnerships at all levels of exploitation.'

This latest development comes after the VIF 1 fund recently parted company with VIF International Films and its managing director Wolfram Tichy and appointed a new manager Kai-Roger Grueneke to restructure the fund.

VIF1 co-produced such films as Tomasz Wiszniewski's Bob Hoskins-starrer Where Eskimos Live and Dale Bradley's children's fantasy adventure Kids World .