Following the sealing of a distribution co-operation with the German office of UIP at the end of August, new theatrical distributor ottfilm has reached a further agreement with the Munich-based Filmwelt Verleih Agentur.

Filmwelt, which also handles films on an agency basis for TiMe Medienvertrieb, Advanced Filmverleih and zoomfilm.de, will be responsible for the billing and booking to the cinemas, while the acquisition of films and press and marketing activities will remain in the hands of ottfilm.

The first film to be released under this co-operation with Filmwelt will be documentary filmmaker Clemens Kuby's new film Unterwegs Zur Naechsten Dimension, which will open in German cinemas on January 24, 2002.

Future ottfilm releases via Filmwelt may then include Stefanie Sycholt's Malunde and Albert Venzago's documentary on the ancient African religion of Voodoo, Mounted By The Gods, which will have its world premiere at the Hof International Film Days.

ottfilm's managing director Christoph Ott stresses, though, that "we will decide on a film-by-film basis which films are released through Filmwelt or through UIP".