It has been nearly two years since Brazil and Germany forged a co production agreement but nothing much has emerged from it. To revive the dormant accord, the Goethe Institute of Sao Paolo and production and sales company for Brazilian films, Levine Film have organized a co production workshop slated to run from October 29 to 31.

The agreement signed during the Rio International Film Festival on September 23, 1999 replaced an old treaty signed in 1975. According to Hank Levine of Levine Film, who runs offices in both Berlin and Sao Paolo, the latest accord will be officially ratified this coming October.

In a bid to identify new projects for film and Television co productions, the organizers have invited professionals from both countries to participate in the workshop, to be held at the Goethe Institute in Sao Paolo. Among the participating German panelists are Professor Klaus Keil, director of Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg; Hans-Robert Eisenhauer, commissioning editor of ARTE TV; Uli Felsberg of Road Movies, Berlin; Ernst Szebedits of Pegasos-Film, Cologne and Dr. Max Dehmel, former coordinator of the Film division of the Ministry of Economy, Berlin.

The festival organizers are calling for co production project proposals to be submitted for either film or television. The search is mainly geared towards contemporary local stories with an international appeal.