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.

The Alliance, at the Bavaria Film Studios in Munich, will be attended by representatives from all sections of the film industry, broadcasters and public funding bodies as well as directors, screenwriters and actors.

Ahead of the gathering, minister Nida-Ruemelin has already held special meetings with small groups of producers and distributors on aninformal basis, and invited 15 film directors, including Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schloendorff, to his home on Monday for a more intimate tete-a-tete on how to improve the status of German cinema both at home and abroad.