According to the DFFF, a total of $62m (Euros 43.7m) had been allocated to the end of August, generating a German spend of Euros 261m in the local economy. 70 German films or international co-productions (48 feature films, 20 documentaries and two animation films) have benefited from the fund so far in 2008.
DFFF project manager Christine Berg revealed that another 31 productions had submitted applications for support from the incentive programme. 'That means that we will have more than exhausted the funds at our disposal for this year,' Berg explained, 'New funding can therefore only be allocated again next year.'
The largest single amount awarded so far this year was $8.2m (Euros 5.78m) for James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin which was shot at the Babelsberg studios and in Berlin during the spring. The second largest sum was $5.2m (Euros 3.7m) for Christian Alvart's futuristic and claustrophobic thriller Pandorum, starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, which has been filming at the Babelsberg Studios for Constantin Film and Impact Pictures since mid-August.
Other international productions supported by DFFF included Stephen Daldry's The Reader, Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, Lars von Trier's Antichrist, Stephen Frears' Cheri and Marleen Gorris' Within The Whirlwind.
Meanwhile, Bettina Oberli's The Murder Farm, Kai Wessel's Hilde, Sven Taddicken's Zwolf Meter Ohne Kopf and Marie Reich's Summertime Blues are among the German films backed by DFFF.
Films likely to still benefit from the DFFF funding this year include Sonke Wortmann's medieval drama Pope Joan, Michael 'Bully' Herbig's family entertainment Vickie The Viking, and Quentin Tarantino's Second World War drama Inglorious Bastards which is set to begin principal photography in and around Berlin from mid-October.
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