EXPORT-UNION OF GERMAN CINEMA 2/2002 AT CANNES in Competition RUSSIAN ARK by Alexander Sokurov in Un Certain Regard TEN MINUTES OLDER by Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, et al GERMAN FILM AWARD … and the nominees are … SPECIAL REPORT Animation – Made in Germany Kino oduction) Charles Esten in Wim Wender’s episode of ”Ten Minutes Older“ episode of ”Ten Wender’s Wim Charles Esten in (an Odyssey Film London, Pr & Road Movies Matador Pictures GERMAN CINEMA German Films IN THE in Competition Russian Ark (Germany/Russia) by Alexander Sokurov World Sales: Celluloid Dreams, Paris/France phone +33-1-49 70 03 70 fax +33-1-49 70 03 71 in Competition The Man Without a Past (Finland/Germany/France) by Aki Kaurismaeki German co-producer: Pandora Film, Cologne/Germany phone +49-2 21-97 33 20 fax +49-2 21-97 33 29 World Sales: Bavaria Film International, Geiselgasteig/Germany phone +49-89-64 99 26 86 fax +49-89-64 99 37 20 in Competition The Pianist (Germany/France/Poland/United Kingdom) by Roman Polanski German co-producer: Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam/Germany phone +49-3 31-7 21 30 01 fax +49-3 31-7 21 25 25 in Competition Sweet Sixteen (United Kingdom/Germany/Spain) by Ken Loach German co-producer: Road Movies, Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-8 80 48 60 fax +49-30-88 04 86 11 OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE Cannes Festival in Un Certain Regard Ten Minutes Older by By Aki Kaurismaeki, Víctor Erice, Werner Herzog, Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders, Spike Lee, Chen Kaige, et al World Sales: Road Sales, Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-8 80 48 60 fax +49-30-88 04 86 11 in Directors’ Fortnight / En avant ! Phantom by Matthias Mueller World Sales: Matthias Mueller, Bielefeld/Germany phone/fax +49-5 21-17 83 67 in Directors’ Fortnight Deux (France/Germany) by Werner Schroeter German co-producer: Road Movies, Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-8 80 48 60 fax +49-30-88 04 86 11 (Credits not contractual) KINO 2/2002 6 Animation – Made in Germany 33 Der Laufbursche On the History and Current Situation of Yueksel Yavuz Animation Films in Germany 34 Nach Haus in die Fremde Andreas Kleinert 16 The Unbearable Lightness of Film 34 Olgas Sommer Director’s Portrait Andreas Dresen Nina Grosse 35 Die Paepstin Volker Schloendorff 17 ”I’m Interested in People Who 36 SimsalaGrimm – The Movie Cross Over Boundaries“ Gerhard Hahn Director’s Portrait Elfi Mikesch 36 Die Suenderin Sherry Hormann 37 Sugar Orange 20 Cinepool’s Dream Team Andreas Struck World Sales Portrait Cinepool 38 The 100 Most 22 Creating a Quality Brand Significant German Films (Part 5) Producers’ Portrait MTM Medien & Television Muenchen 38 Liebelei Max Ophuels 39 Wintergartenprogramm 24 KINO news Max Skladanowsky 40 Lola Montez Max Ophuels 30 In Production 41 Madame Dubarry PASSION 30 Der alte Affe Angst Ernst Lubitsch Oskar Roehler 30 Das fliegende Klassenzimmer Tomy Wigand 31 Gate to Heaven Veit Helmer 32 Gruesse aus Dachau! Bernd Fischer 32 Das Jesus Video Sebastian Niemann CONTENTS 42 New German Films AT CA N N E S 42 Anansi AT CA N N E S 55 Suche impotenten Mann Fritz Baumann MARKET SCREENINGS MARKET SCREENINGS fuers Leben 43 Annas Sommer IN SEARCH OF AN IMPOTENT MAN AT CA N N E S ANNA’S SUMMER John Henderson MARKET SCREENINGS Jeanine Meerapfel 56 Ten Minutes Older 44 Berlin – Sinfonie AT CA N N E S Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, et al einer Grossstadt UN CERTAIN REGARD AT CA N N E S 57 Verrueckt nach Paris BERLIN SYMPHONY CRAZY ABOUT PARIS MARKET SCREENINGS Thomas Schadt Pago Balke, Eike Besuden 45 Die Datsche 58 Westend HOME TRUTHS Markus Mischkowski, Kai Maria Steinkuehler Carsten Fiebeler 46 Dream Dream Dream Anne Alix 62 Film Exporters 47 Gold Cuts – eine poetische Reise durch die Gegensaetze GOLD CUTS – A POETIC TRAIL 66 Foreign Representatives THROUGH CONTRADICTION Ernst Handl, Team Gold Cuts 48 Grosse Maedchen weinen nicht 66 Imprint BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY Maria von Heland 49 Herz im Kopf AT CA N N E S HEART OVER HEAD MARKET SCREENINGS Michael Gutmann 50 Nichts Bereuen NO REGRETS AT CA N N E S Benjamin Quabeck MARKET SCREENINGS 51 Poem – ”Ich setzte den Fuss in die Luft, und sie trug“ POEM Ralf Schmerberg 52 Ein Produzent hat Seele oder er hat keine Volker Schloendorff 53 Russian Ark AT CA N N E S Alexander Sokurov IN COMPETITION 54 Sternzeichen ZODIAC SIGN Peter Patzak ”Ring of Hykade by Andreas Fire“ Key European Market Going back to the days of the silent movies, before the First World War, the first German animation films were made by If one wanted proof that the German animation industry has Julius Pinschewer (Corsets Gebr. Lewandowski, 1910) become a force to be reckoned with in Europe, this was and Guido Seeber (Die geheimnisvolle Streich- convincingly delivered last year when two of the industry’s holzdose, 1909/10). top international events – March’s CARTOON Movie and September’s CARTOON Forum – were both staged in In the 1920s, their involvement in abstract and dadaist art attrac- Germany. ted Walther Ruttmann (Der Sieger, 1921) and Hans Richter (Rhythmus series, 1921-1925) to make outings into In fact, it was the third time that the CARTOON Movie animation, but a unique figure from this time who built up an co-production market had assembled at the Babelsberg Studios unchallenged international reputation was the animator Lotte ANIMATION (returning for a fourth time this spring). And the Bavarian Reiniger, who became famous for her silhouette films created alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen was the latest stop in from back-lit paper cut-outs. CARTOON Forum’s trail across Europe, which brought more than 700 delegates together for the pitching of projects for She made her first animation film in 1919 (The Ornament of animated TV series and web-based productions. the Lovestruck Heart/Das Ornament des verliebten Herzens) and animated a dream sequence for Fritz Lang’s The significance of the German animation sector was also brought 1924 epic Die Nibelungen, which was widely screened despite out by the fact that 240 of the delegates accredited at the Forum being removed from the completed version of the film. Reiniger’s were from Germany, including 60 potential investors, with classic The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Die German animation production outfits involved as lead producer in Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, 1926) – which was 18 of the market’s 88 projects. credited by some as being the first feature-length animation film – consisted of 250,000 single images and had a ”multi-plane“ cam- While France is still the leading center for the production of ani- era specially designed and built for the production. mation in Europe, Germany has now developed in a matter of only a few years into the second largest European market, with In addition to shooting experimental shorts and silhouette films production said to be worth US$130 million annually and new from the late 20s to the mid 1930s, Reiniger also contributed sil- animation studios popping up in some corner of the country houette sequences for such live-action features as Georg every month. Wilhelm Pabst’s Don Quixote (Don Quichotte, 1933) and Jean Renoir’s La Marseillaise (1937). In 1936, Long Tradition in Animation Reiniger emigrated with her husband to Great Britain where she lived and worked (Hansel & Gretel, 1955) – among other However, before we look at the current situation of the anima- things, for the Crown Film Unit and General Post Office Unit – tion industry in Germany, let’s have a brief glance back at some of until 1980 before returning to her native country a year before the past highlights in German animation. her death. 6 Kino 2/2002 Animation During the Third Reich Any development of artistic dimensions to animation was nipped in the bud by the draconian measures of the Nazi regime from 1933 onwards even though there was a (failed) attempt in 1942 by the Film Ministry to establish an official Deutsche Zeichenfilm GmbH. The Film Ministry did command however the most distin- guished animators still in Germany to step up their production and concentrate on theatrically viable animation features. ”Hansel & Gretel“ by Lotte Reiniger ”Hansel & Gretel“ One figure working during the 30s was Wolfgang Kaskeline (Zwei Farben, 1933, and Der blaue Punkt, 1936), who, despite the general restriction of artistic freedom, was mainly active in the field of advertising and ran his own studios in Berlin and Bonn-Bad Godesberg after the war until his death in 1973. Short animated commercials were the focus of the work at this time by the three Diehl brothers – Paul, Hermann and Ferdinand Diehl – who initially started in classical animation and silhouette films before moving into puppet animation when Another important figure was the avant-garde animator and paint- they set up their studio in Graefelfing, near Munich, in 1929. er Oskar Fischinger who co-owned an animation company in Their film work specialized on fables and fairytales, but their Munich by the age of 22 and produced a number of experimental greatest success was with the tales spun around the figure of films. In an attempt to combine his two passions of music and ”Mecki“ (1937) who captured children’s (and adults’) hearts the graphic arts, Fischinger experimented with photographing from the 1950s onwards and spawned a veritable flood of toys multiple forms – melting wax, cardboard cutouts, swirling liquids. and books, even to this day. Until 1970, the Diehls made more According to Fischinger historian William Moritz, he devised than 60 films – some combining puppet animation with live- ”a machine that would slice very thin layers from a prepared block action – and over 100 commercials.