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.

New features by Wim Wenders, Petra Katherina Wagner and Hannes Stoehr have also received backing.

Euros 1.3m was awarded to Berlin-based Cartoon Film for the new adventures of the polar bear Lars, which will again be produced with broadcaster WDR and the German outpost of Warner Bros. and directed by Piet de Rycker and Thilo Rothkirch.

Euros 400,000 was allocated to the animation feature Little Big Panda, which is being structured as a German-Luxembourg-Chinese co-production between Benchmark Entertainment Picture Productions, Melusine Productions and Hong Ying Universe with broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and will be distributed theatrically in Germany by Universum Film.

Euros 320,000 project funding was granted to a animated feature film based on Der Kleine Koenig Macius TV series, which will be produced by Leipzig-based Saxonia Media with Poland's Orange Studio Reklamy, France's Home Made Movies and children's broadcaster Kika and be distributed by MFA Verleih Projektforderung.

On the live action front, nearly Euros 1m is being invested in Petra Katherina Wagner's German-French co-production Maria An Callas, starring Martina Gedeck (Mostly Martha) and Vadim Glowna (Mein Name Ist Bach), produced by BB Film, Moonfilm and CH Media with France's Les Histoires Weba.

Wim Wenders' Reverse Angle Production has picked up Euros 650,000 for his Don't Come Knockin', which now has X-Filme creative pool and X Verleih onboard as co-producer and distributor. Berlin Is In Germany director Hannes Stoehr has received Euros 200,000 for his German-Spanish co-production Galatasaray - Depor between moneypenny filmproduktion and Spain's Filmanova.

Other features backed include Torsten Wacker's comedy Superseks, Pan Nalin's Valley Of Flowers, and Gandulf Hennig's documentary Fallen Angel - Gram Parsons