A new-year greeting to all friends, partners, followers and supporters of the Foundation, Berlin and THE FASSBINDER FOUNDATION Inc., New York.

New Year Newsletter 2002

We would like to wish all our friends and partners a happy and successful new year 2002. May the events of 2001, which have shaken us all, so badly not deter us from continuing to focus on positive developments.

Here is just one example:

In collaboration with Basis Film Verleih, Clara Burckner, on August 2, 2001, to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the death of RWF on June 10, 2002, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation launched a Fassbinder film selection under the heading:

FASSBINDER TODAY: 15 + 2 CINEMA OR LIFE

The selection is still touring Germany, with huge success.

Since August 2001 it has visited 12 cities, and 12 more cities have scheduled the entire series of movies between now and June 2002. The high attendance figures are evidence that Fassbinder films rank as classics and for some time now have resonated with a younger audience too.

New prints have been made for this retrospective, supported by the Berlin- Brandenburg Film Board and the Bavarian Film and Television Fund.

Further information about the tour may be found at: www.basis-film.de

THE FASSBINDER DVD COLLECTION

An upcoming event for the spring of 2002:

From the spring of 2002, in collaboration with e.m.s. new-media AG, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation will be launching the release of DVDs for international distribution.

The initial titles in the FASSBINDER DVD COLLECTION will be:

KATZELMACHER THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS ALI-FEAR EATS THE SOUL

A further 22 titles are to follow by the fall of 2003.

All the films have been mastered directly from the original negatives, and sound and image have been meticulously restored. The new DVD releases will contain extensive additional material, some of it previously unpublished.

For more information, visit: www.ems-newmedia.com

BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ

The high point of our future activities will be the fully restored version of BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, Fassbinder’s masterpiece with a running time of 15 1/2 hours shot in 1979/80.

We hope that this major and costly enterprise will receive all financial support.

During 2001, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation embarked on the first stages in the restoration process. Through the German Federal Ministry for Culture and the Media, the Foundation received a subsidy for the new version and production of new English subtitles.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York not only wishes to purchase a new 35-mm blow-up print for its Fassbinder collection, but in 2004 is aiming to open a new building at 11 West 53rd Street - currently undergoing conversion - with a special presentation of the film.

THE FASSBINDER FOUNDATION in New York will be organizing a fund-raising event in New York in collaboration with the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation, Berlin and the Museum of Modern Art,. A leading sponsor with an interest in the restoration work will be formally presented.

We should be delighted if you were interested in supporting this enterprise too. For more information, please contact us after January 15, 2002 at the following address: [email protected] (Reference: "An evening for Berlin Alexanderplatz").

FASSBINDER FOREVER

Neither do we intend to miss this opportunity to thank all old and new Fassbinder fans who have repeatedly shown their interest over recent years through film and video rentals and inquiries regarding academic studies on RWF, his theater and film work.

In 2001, for instance, this interest resulted in a highly-acclaimed translation project by Thomas Elsaesser, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, published by the Bertz-Verlag, Berlin, and significantly supported by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation. The work originally appeared in English in the USA and UK in 1997 under the title FASSBINDER'S GERMANY. The German version is accompanied by numerous photos, some of which are film stills taken from original prints. An excellent bibliography completes the book, making it the most up-to-date reference work available.

Thus, Fassbinder's work continues to be in demand and provokes continued interest. Twenty years after Fassbinder's premature death in 1982, and three years before what would have been his 60th birthday on May 31, 2005, we are in the fortunate position of being able to say that, in 2001 too, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation has continued to make a vital contribution to keeping RWF and his work alive and accessible throughout the world.

Here, we also wish to express special thanks to the Goethe-Institut-Inter Nationes, whose events abroad have also contributed to the support and further international promotion of Fassbinder's oeuvre.

We also wish to extend renewed thanks to the Museum of Modern Art, Department of Film & Media, Mary-Lea Bandy and Laurence Kardish. Their untiring commitment continues to ensure that Fassbinder's work will have a future presence in the USA.

DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR - FASSBINDER AWARD

On December 1, 2001, on the occasion of the European Film Award ceremonies in Berlin, the 5th DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR - FASSBINDER AWARD was presented in collaboration with the European Film Academy. This time, it went to the film EL BOLA by the young Spanish director Achero Mañas.

WELLSPRING MEDIA INC.

And one more piece of good news: our US partner, which in 2000 acquired our Fassbinder film package for cinema, TV, video and DVD exploitation in the USA and English-speaking Canada, and whose parent company, Winstar Communications, was forced to cease business operations before the end of the year, has succeeded in establishing itself on an independent footing under the leadership of its President and CEO, Al Cattabiani. We wish the continuing team of Wellspring Media Inc. all the best for the future and, of course, the very best of distribution programs!

For more information, go to: www.wellspring.com

WIM WENDERS

Last but not least, a very special and personal thank you to Wim Wenders. Not only did he advise the Fassbinder Foundation and myself over preparations for remastering work, and put us in touch with outstanding color grader Peter Deinas of ScanWerk in Munich, but he also interrupted his own restoration work in order that the Fassbinder Foundation could meet contractual deadlines for its new masters. This unconditional dedication and active assistance from Wim is an invaluable gift to the Foundation, and one which we do not take for granted.

I trust that this Newsletter has provided you with a brief insight into recent developments.

Wishing you all the best for the new year 2002.

Sincerely,

Juliane Lorenz Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation The Fassbinder Foundation, Inc. Berlin/New York, December 2001