New feature films fromAustria's Michael Glawogger, theatre/film director Leander Hausmann and the directorialduo Marcus Mittermeier and Jan Henrik Stahlberg are among seven projectsawarded a total of $2.8m (Euros 2.25m) production support by the German FederalFilm Board (FFA).

Glawogger received $313,937(Euros 250,000) for Contact High, thesequel to his comedy Nacktschnecken, which will be produced by Lotus Filmwith Berlin-based Boje Buck Produktion, while the same amount was also allocatedto Mittermeier and Stahlberg's comedy ShortcutTo Hollywood which will also be produced bySchiwago Film in Berlin.

In addition, $502,300 (Euros400,000) production backing went to Hausmann's adaptation of Allan and BarbaraPease's bestseller Why MenDon't Listen And Women Can't Read Maps, which will mark his firstcollaboration with Constantin Film Produktion.

The FFA awarded its largest sum at this session - $1m (Euros 800,000) - toOscar-winning German filmmaker Florian Gallenlarger's John Rabe project aboutthe so-called 'Oskar Schindler of China', a German Siemensmanager who saved 250,000 Chinese people from certain death during thesiege of Nanking by the Japanese in the Second World War. Theproject has been in development for several years at Munich-basedHofmann & Voges Entertainment and will later be released theatrically in Germany by the new as-yet-unnamed distribution companyfounded by Benjamin Herrmann and David Groenewold in the summer.

Topics