New films by Semih Kaplanoglu, Seyfi Teoman and Asli Özge are among the first supported by the German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund with a total of €100,000.

13 projects were submitted after the fund’s launch at this year’s Berlinale by Istanbul International Film Festival’s Meetings on the Bridge, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH).

Seven projects were unanimously selected for funding of between €10,000 and €20,000 and announced during this year’s edition of Meetings on the Bridge in Istanbul.

€20,000 development support was awarded to Kaplanoglu for Late Summer (Yaz Sonu), another collaboration with the German co-producer Heimatfilm of his 2010 Golden Bear-winner Honey (Bal) and the 2008 film Milk (Süt), while Bulut Film and Berlin-based Unafilm were allocated € 15,000 to work together again on Saints (Evliya), the new project by Seyfi Teoman whose last feature Our Grand Despair screened in the Official Competition at the Berlinale this year.

Teoman’s political thriller had been pitched at this year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market.

€15,000 funding was also allocated to Asli Özge’s Auf einmal (Ansizin) which will be developed by Özge’s Berlin-based EEE Film with Istanbul’s Liman Film. Özge’s previous film Men On The Bridge was named “Best Turkish Film” at the Istanbul International Film Festival in 2009.

Moreover, €10,000 is going to the following three projects:

  • A Road Named Desire by Martina Priessener (prod cos: Inselfilm and Kaplan Film
  • Ballad of Yemen (Yemen Türküsü) by Tunç Sahin (prod cos: Yenı Bır Fılm and Looks Filmproduktion)
  • The Fifth Colour (Fünfte Farbe) by Heiko Aufdermauer (prod cos: City West and Anka Film).

At the same time, €20,000 production support was given to Hüseyin Karabey’s Come To My Voice which is to be produced by ASI Film with Germany’s Neue Mediopolis and France’s EY Films.

Karabey, whose feature debut My Marlon And Brando (Gitmek) travelled the festival circuit a couple of years ago, had pitched this second feature at the Sofia Meetings co-production market in 2009. The film is set to go into production in the second half of 2011.

Gulin Ustin of Meetings On The Bridge, Medienboard co-managing director Kirsten Niehuus and FFHSH’s managing director Eva Hubert noted that “the quality of the projects we received was excellent and we are very excited about what the future may bring in terms of new Turkish-German co-productions.”

The next call for applications is now open with a deadline of November 1, 2011.

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