presents

A GÜNTER ROHRBACH / Production

Director Hermine Huntgeburth

Starring , , Mišel Mati čevi ć, Juliane Köhler

Screenplay by Volker Einrauch , based on the novel by Theodor Fontane

Producer Günter Rohrbach, Executive Producer Martin Moszkowicz

Berlinale 2009 Gala-Section

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CONTENT

Cast ...... 3

Press Notes ...... 4

Synopsis ...... 4

Long Synopsis ...... 4

Producer’s Notes from Günter Rohrbach ...... 5

Interview with Hermine Huntgeburth (director) ...... 6

Interview with Julia Jentsch (Lead Actess) ...... 8

The Historical Background for Fontane’s „“ ...... 8

Cast Julia Jentsch ...... 9 Sebastian Koch ...... 9 Mišel Mati čevi ć...... 10 Juliane Köhler ...... 10

Crew Hermine Huntgeburth ...... 10 Günter Rohrbach...... 11 Volker Einrauch...... 11 Martin Moszkowicz ...... 11

World Sales – Beta Cinema ...... 12

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THE CAST

Effi von Briest Julia Jentsch Geert von Innstetten Sebastian Koch Major von Crampas Mišel Mati čevi ć Luise von Briest Juliane Köhler Herr von Briest Thomas Thieme Gieshübler Rüdiger Vogler Johanna Barbara Auer Roswitha Margarita Broich Dagobert von Briest Mirko Lang Sidonie von Rasenapp Sunnyi Melles

THE CREW

Director Hermine Huntgeburth Producer Günter Rohrbach Screenplay by Volker Einrauch based on the novel "Effi Briest" by Theodor Fontane

Executive Producer Martin Moszkowicz Director of Photography Martin Langer Editor Eva Schnare Production Designer Thomas Freudenthal Costume Designer Lucie Bates Make-up & Hair Design Sabine Hehnen-Wild Sound Martin Steyer

A production of Constantin Film, with the support of Medienboard -Brandenburg, DFFF, FFF Bayern, FFA and Filmförderung Hamburg.

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PRESS NOTES

Theodor Fontane's "Effi Briest," a grand romance novel about adultery and one of the great German literary works of the 19th century, is unique and popular film material. Now for the first time a woman director is filming the story of Effi, and from a contemporary perspective: the director Hermine Huntgeburth has already filmed such love stories as "IM KREISE DER LIEBEN" or "THE WHITE MASAI" with a sensitive eye and her own very personal touch. In the film "EFFI BRIEST" she combines the enchantment of the historical material with an awareness of contemporary times, and she shows young Effi on her path towards emancipation.

Julia Jentsch, an actress who has won several awards ("SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS"), plays Effi Briest. Sebastian Koch ("") plays Effi's husband, Baron von Innstetten; Juliane Köhler ("DOWNFALL") plays her mother, Frau von Briest; Thomas Thieme ("THE LIVES OF OTHERS") plays her father, Herr von Briest; and Mišel Mati čevi ć ("A YEAR AGO IN WINTER ") plays Major Crampas, the romantic lead who seduces Effi. The film was produced by Günter Rohrbach ("A WOMAN IN BERLIN"; "THE WHITE MASAI"; "SCHTONK"; "THE BOAT").

SHORT SYNOPSIS

At her parents' urging, Effi Briest, a free-spirited 17-year-old girl, marries Baron von Innstetten, nearly 20 years her senior – and a former admirer of Effi's mother. The arranged marriage spells the beginning of a monotonous existence for Effi far away from her hometown: Innstetten is entirely preoccupied with his political career, and the sleepy artist town of Kessin on the Baltic Sea shore offers little excitement. Until Major Crampas arrives, one of Innstetten's military comrades and a charming womanizer. Effi starts a passionate affair with him and finally discovers what love is. But it comes at a steep price: the affair proves fatal for Crampas. Effi, on the other hand – unlike in Fontane's novel – deals with the consequences of her decisions and embarks on a new chapter in her life...

LONG SYNOPSIS

A ball is being held in the Prussian mansion of Hohen-Cremmen, home to the von Briest family. In the festively decorated hall, 17-year-old Effi (Julia Jentsch) dances exuberantly with her cousin Dagobert (Mirko Lang). They are a perfect couple. Effi's mother, Luise von Briest (Juliane Köhler), is reunited with her former admirer Geert von Innstetten (Sebastian Koch) as her dancing partner, and Herr von Briest, a robust man in his fifties (Thomas Thieme), sways – slightly tipsy from alcohol – across the dance floor with Effi's girlfriend, Hulda. Everybody is having a good time. That evening Luise von Briest casually arranges for her daughter and Baron von Innstetten to meet for the first time.

A short time later Innstetten visits Hohen-Cremmen again and asks Effi's father for her hand in marriage. In the yard outside the mansion her girlfriend calls out, "Effi, come!" But Effi follows her mother inside to see Innstetten. "Do you want to become the wife of a district administrator?" asks Innstetten. Effi is perplexed. Should she really marry this man, who is twice her age and a complete stranger to her? Her mother, however, thinks that a smart girl like Effi should appreciate a marriage to a man like Innstetten, a man of principles with For further information and pictures: 4 Beta Cinema Press, Dorothee Stoewahse, + 49 89 67 34 69 15, + 49 170 63 84 627, [email protected] ; www.betacinema.com

excellent career opportunities. Effi (a wild girl but also an obedient daughter) respects the customs of her social class. After their wedding, Effi is now Baroness Innstetten, and she moves to Kessin, a town on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

In Kessin, a life awaits Effi that has nothing in common with the dreams and expectations of a young woman. Their house, which once belonged to an English captain, is gloomy and filled with monstrous furniture and dark secrets. Innstetten likes to make insinuations about the ghost of a Chinese man who drowned and is buried in the dunes. Does he really believe this himself, or does he just want to keep his wife docile? The housekeeper Johanna (Barbara Auer) observes her new mistress with latent aggressiveness, and her relationship with Innstetten does not seem as fitting as it should be, considering her social standing. Innstetten devotes himself completely to his career. The elderly pharmacist Gieshübler (Rüdiger Vogler) is the only person who treats Effi tenderly and attentively and can see she's unhappy. When Effi has a baby girl and names her Annie, she follows convention and more or less lets the nanny, Roswitha (Margarita Broich), raise her daughter.

One day Innstetten tells her "some good news": his old regimental comrade Major Crampas (Mišel Mati čvi ć) is moving to Kessin. The man is dangerous, because he's very popular with the ladies and has already been wounded once in a duel, but he's much more entertaining than the other residents of Kessin - which Effi will soon find out herself. Effi falls victim to his charms when they go horseback-riding together or act out theater scenes, not least because she can finally be a wild girl again, a wild girl who enjoys the taste of danger. For the first time, Effi feels passion for a man. But this secret love for Crampas can never be more than an affair. People are already becoming suspicious in the small town of Kessin. She's rescued when Innstetten moves up the career ladder and is called to Berlin to work in the ministry. Effi leaves Kessin with Innstetten and their daughter Annie, and thus she leaves Crampas, too.

A new life begins for Effi in Berlin. Crampas is far away. It's easier for her to live with Innstetten in the Berlin society. But Effi's health suffers. Six years after her affair, she visits her parents in Hohen-Cremmen after spending time at a health resort. Back in Berlin Innstetten accidentally discovers the letters Crampas had written to Effi. Innstetten, being a man of principles, challenges Crampas to a duel. Against the backdrop of the dunes of Kessin, Innstetten mortally wounds Crampas with one shot. Innstetten and Effi divorce, and Innstetten is granted custody of their daughter Annie. Effi's parents disown her. However, unlike in Fontane's book, this doesn't trigger Effi's downfall. Now she dares to lead her life the way she wants to...

PRODUCER'S NOTES FROM GÜNTER ROHRBACH

Theodor Fontane's "Effi Briest" is German literature's grand romance novel dealing with adultery; its significance in can be compared to works of world literature such as Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" or Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." It is ideal material for a film, and therefore naturally almost every generation of German filmmakers made a film out of the material. The young stars of their time immortalized themselves by playing this role. It started with Marianne Hoppe, on the eve of World War Two: entitled "THE FALSE STEPP," the film was directed by Gustaf Gründgens. In the mid-1950s it was Ruth Leuwerik in the film with a title that's typical for that period, "ROSES IN AUTUUM," directed by Rudolf Jugert. Then in the late 1960s and early 1970s there were two films, one in starring Angelica Domröse and directed by Wolfgang Luderer, and one in starring and directed by . Both films were released under the

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original title, "EFFI BRIEST." In the meantime, almost 40 years have passed, and it's time for a new version, told from a contemporary perspective.

The three film versions made before Fassbinder's film were conventional in comparison and adhered to the novel without making their own artistic demands. Fassbinder was the first to raise the material to a new dimension with his strict stylization (in black and white!). By painstakingly dealing with Fontane, he moves beyond him at the same time. And yet Fassbinder's film is rooted in his era.

The American film industry and the British film industry in particular have been leading the way for years now in demonstrating how successful one can be filming classical literature (for example, "Sense and Sensibility," or "Pride and Prejudice"). There is a large receptive audience for this genre. Of course, one prerequisite is that the film succeeds in recreating the excitement of a historic situation, its scenery, interiors, and costumes, and combines its unique aura with a contemporary awareness. That was our goal when we decided to film "Effi Briest."

We strove to reinterpret Fontane, the events, the emotions, and to reveal the obsessions concealed between the lines. The novel is written, to a certain degree, with elisions - decisive moments are suppressed and disappear off-screen. The book literally vibrates with sexuality, but the text doesn't reveal it, it camouflages it with threatening images, with fear-inspiring hallucinations. The book is more or less pre-Freudian, and for that reason should be read with Freud in mind. We tried to do this, without moving too far away from Fontane.

Moreover, in the novel there are two themes – in view of our parallel societies – of almost acute contemporariness: forced marriages and honor killings. It wasn't that long ago that such conditions were part of our own world. The actual woman Fontane used as a model for Effi passed away only a few decades ago. She, a real woman, also encouraged us to depart from Fontane in one important aspect. There is a life afterwards, and that's why there's the liberation at the end.

One advantage of historical stories is that the conflicts in these stories are stronger than we would allow them to be today. In that era adultery was still an irremediable catastrophe, and people didn't argue, they dueled. It isn't the problems that separate us today from the problems back then, but rather the way we deal with them. Nothing was smoothed or polished over, everything is edgy and sharp.

Two strong women carry this film: the director Hermine Huntgeburth and the actress Julia Jentsch. Hermine Huntgeburth has demonstrated in her numerous feature films and TV movies that she can tell a story precisely, sensitively, and with a modern touch. And since her performance in "SOPHIE SCHOLL," Julia Jentsch has been one of the great young talents of the German film industry, the ideal actress for the role of Effi Briest.

INTERVIEW WITH HERMINE HUNTGEBURTH (Director)

Do you remember when you read "Effi Briest" for the first time?

It was in school, and I still remember that it wasn't exactly my favorite book...

What were the circumstances that led to making this film?

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If you read the book carefully and also examine the material, it is very suspenseful, and in principle also very modern, because it has to do with gender roles and the influence society has on relationships. I was very interested in that. Because basically, "Effi Briest" is also the story of a young woman's emancipation, a young woman who discovers her sexuality and her innermost self – and she discovers what makes her an individual.

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That doesn't necessarily sound like "poor Effi," like Fontane referred to her…

I think Effi is a person who seizes an opportunity. She's a powerful woman who reacts with her emotions as a guide, and she's very strong. She senses what she wants. She has an opportunity and she also uses it. To me that's a positive message, a powerful message.

Innstetten is a very Prussian character. Are there still men like him today?

I think so, yes. It has less to do with the era as with the question, how much do you see yourself as the center of the world? Innstetten has this mixture of egocentricity and oversensitivity – he's someone who has everything revolving around him. Of course you can find people like that today, too.

In regards to the cast: Was Julia Jentsch your obvious choice from the start for the role of Effi?

Yes, it very quickly was clear to me that Julia Jentsch had to play the role. The quality and especially the clarity Julia Jentsch brings to a role make her an absolutely ideal Effi Briest. What distinguishes Effi is a certain honesty, a quality of being genuine. She does – and can only do – what she feels. She's a person who can't pretend. Julia Jentsch carries the film with so much power and charm, and that means for me she's the ideal actress for the role.

Were the changes in the script, compared to the four previous adaptations, important for you?

Yes, I think if you go back and deal with the story again, then you have to show something completely new. I think just retelling the story, presenting a pure translation of the novel, is not contemporary anymore. However, the subjects the novel deals with can be transferred to contemporary times, and that's why I think it's exciting to show the things that were never shown, but that can be read indirectly and between the lines.

Did you go back and examine the true story to prepare for the film?

A little. The model for Effi Briest, Elisabeth von Ardenne, lived for a long time afterward and had more than one child. Fontane took the basic foundation of this story to talk about the morals of those times, about the double standards and the bigotry of that society. We were able to use parts of the original story for the film; for example, the character of Crampas, who's a very athletic, very physical person – just like the original character.

Would you describe Effi as a modern young woman who was born in the wrong era?

Definitely. What's modern about her is that she – like young women today – does things she likes to do and feels like doing. The time for women and girls is just starting. For a long time people just talked about equal rights, but today young women are raised with a feeling of self-awareness and this enables them to go out into the world and make their way, without being forced to deny their femininity. And Effi is just such a young woman – she knows who she is and has both feet on the ground, and she has landed in the wrong time period.

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INTERVIEW WITH JULIA JENTSCH (Lead Actress)

Do you still remember when you read "Effi Briest" for the first time?

In school – I remember that I really liked reading the book. I thought the story was gripping, and I really immersed myself in it. Of course most of all, Effi's fate moved me, but I was also fascinated because all of the persons in the novel have a certain contradiction – and they express their feelings, too. That meant for me the material had something very contemporary! In the end, it has to do with completely ageless emotions and conflicts, which could just as easily take place nowadays.

What was it exactly that moved you about Effi's fate?

At the beginning of the story Effi is just starting the transition from child to young woman. The first feelings of love are stirring inside of her, but at the same time she still plays with her girlfriends – and then she suddenly wakes up and finds herself married to a man she didn't know before, a man who's much older than she is and even has a very special relationship with her mother. Effi suddenly finds herself in a world she doesn't know how to deal with, a world that frightens her. On the one hand, this fear is, naturally, caused by the external circumstances – the unfamiliar town, the haunted house… But the biggest nightmare and biggest anxiety are created by the coldness she encounters.

How would you describe Baron von Innstetten?

Innstetten is a person who has been disappointed in love and in his yearnings, and he never managed to get over these disappointments. So actually he's also a very tragic figure. But at the same time he's a careerist and you ask yourself, how did he end up like this? Did his ambition perhaps come from a disappointment on a different, personal level? Effi's mother, whom he was very much in love with, turned him down years ago, when he was low-level officer of the guards, and she decided to marry someone who had a lot of money and could take care of her. And now Innstetten is looking for something Effi can't give to him at all. And the only thing Effi sees in him is a man who's unable to give her love or tenderness.

What was special about working with the director Hermine Huntgeburth?

To me, her method of directing was something totally new – and therefore it was also very fascinating. Sometimes Hermine completely stepped back away from what was happening in front of the camera and just let the situation run its course – and this created a very intense atmosphere. But at the same time she always watched very closely and made sure the impulses she's looking for are really there.

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR FONTANE'S "EFFI BRIEST"

Elisabeth (nicknamed "Else") Freiin von Plotho was born on October 26, 1853, on her parent's estate Zerben an der Elbe. She was the youngest of five children, and grew up as a wild girl with a strong will. She married the officer cadet Armand Leon von Ardenne when she was twenty years old, after first turning down his proposal. At first the couple lived in Berlin. In 1881 Ardenne, by now a cavalry captain and squadron leader, was transferred to Düsseldorf. It was there that Else met Judge Emil Hartwich, an amateur painter and fanatical advocate of physical training. Armand von Ardenne uncovered Else's and Hartwich's love

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affair when he grew suspicious and, using a skeleton key, found the letters Hartwich had written to Else. On November 27, 1886, a duel between Ardenne and Hartwich took place. Hartwich fired in the air, and Ardenne shot Hartwich in the abdomen. Hartwich died on December 1, 1886. It was the last recorded duel in Germany.

Else von Ardenne died on February 5, 1952, in Lindau, a city on the shores of Lake Constance. Her death was reported in the newspaper Lindauer Zeitung on February 6, 1952, with the words: "On Monday, the oldest citizen of Lindau, Elisabeth von Ardenne, died aged 99."

From a letter written by Theodor Fontane, dated November 13, 1895: "It is a story based on life, and the heroine is still living. I often am frightened by the thought the book could fall into her hands – even though the characterization in the book is rather flattering."

Heinrich Theodor Fontane was born in 1819 in Neuruppin, Germany, and he died in 1898 in Berlin.

CAST

Julia Jentsch (Effi) Born in 1978, Jentsch studied at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch" in Berlin and began her career in the theater. She has been an ensemble member of the Kammerspiele since 2001. She made her movie debut in 2000 in Judith Kennel's much acclaimed feature "ANGRY KISSES." She starred in Christoph Stark's "JULIETTA" in 2001 and in Sven Taddicken's "GETTING MY BROTHER LAID" in 2002. For her performance in Hans Weingartner's "" (nominated at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004) she received the Bavarian Film Award for Best Newcomer Actress and the German Film Critics Award for Best Actress 2004. She was seen in Oliver Hirschbiegel's Oscar® nominated "DOWNFALL" (2003) and Hans W. Geissendörfer's "SNOWLAND" at Sundance in 2005. She received the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival and was awarded in the Best Female Lead category at the German Film Awards for her performance in "SOPHIE SCHOLL – THE FINAL DAYS," which made its way onto the Oscar® shortlist in 2006.

Sebastian Koch (Baron von Innstetten) Born in in 1962, Koch studied at the renowned Otto Falckenberg School of Acting in Munich and took his first steps as an actor in the theater before making his film and TV debuts. He has gone on to win several awards for his television roles and has become one of the most sought-after character actors for the depiction of historical figures, such as Count Stauffenberg in Jo Baier's film "Operation Valkyrie" in 2004. In 2005 Koch worked for the third time with director in "Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Advocate," garnering him again the German Grimme award and the Bavarian Television Award for Best Actor. His most recent theatrical credit includes his stunning performance as East German dramatist/playwright Georg Dreymann in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar® award-winning Stasi drama "THE LIVES OF OTHERS." Furthermore, he played one of the lead roles in 's critically acclaimed "BLACK BOOK" (2007).

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Mišel Mati čevi ć (Major von Crampas) After appearing on various theater stages, Mišel Mati čevi ć made a name for himself in front of the camera. He appeared in such feature films as, to name a few, "PATHS IN THE NIGHT" (directed by Andreas Kleinert, 1998); "GOING HOME" (directed by Damir Lukacevic, 2002); and most recently "A YEAR AGO IN WINTER " (directed by Oscar-nominee , 2008). In 2000 he received the Best Actor Award at the International Film Festival Thessaloniki for his role in "LOST KILLERS" (directed by Dito Tzinsadze). Mišel Mati čevi ć's numerous roles in television films include roles in "Sehnsucht" (directed by Ciro Capellari, 2003); "Kalter Frühling" (directed by Dominik Graf, 2003); and "Eine Stadt wird erpresst" (directed by Dominik Graf, 2006). In 2005 Mišel Mati čevi ć was nominated as Best Actor for the German Television Award for his role in "Hotte im Paradies" (directed by Dominik Graf). Recently he appeared for the fourth time in a film by Dominik Graf, in the role of Clemens Brentano in Graf's television film "The Vow"; for this role and his roles in the television productions "Die dunkle Seite" and "Die Todesautomatik" he received the German Television Award in 2008. In his first international production, Mati čevi ć performed in the star-studded, three-part television film "The Company" alongside Chris O'Donnell and Alfred Molina in 2006.

Juliane Köhler (Luise von Briest) Juliane Köhler studied acting in New York and has been a regular on German theater stages since 1988. In 1993 she made her feature film debut in Lars Becker's "Schattenboxer," but her real breakthrough came in 1999 in director Max Färberböck's love story "AIMÉE & JAGUAR." For this role the character actress won the Silver Bear together with at the Berlin International Film Festival; she also won the and the Bavarian Film Award for this role. After appearing in Caroline Link's Kästner film "ANNALUISE & ANTON" in 1999, she worked again with Caroline Link in 2001 in the Oscar® award-winning "." Her other feature film credits include "MY FIRST MIRACLE" (2002) by Anne Wild; Oliver Hirschbiegel's Oscar® nominated "DOWNFALL" (2005); and "Mondkalb" (directed by Sylke Enders, 2007). Most recently, she starred in Max Färberböck's feature "A WOMAN IN BERLIN," which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008.

CREW

Hermine Huntgeburth (Director) Born in Paderborn, Germany, Hermine Huntgeburth was one of nine siblings in a family of doctors. She began studying film at the Hamburger Hochschule für Bildende Künste in 1977. Upon obtaining a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in 1983, she continued her film studies in Sydney. After working on a few short films and documentary films, she was awarded the German Film Award in Gold for Best New Director in 1991 for her directorial feature film debut "IM KREIS DER LIEBEN." There followed television films such as "Ein falscher Schritt" (1994); "Gefährliche Freundin" (1996); "Und alles wegen Mama" (1998); "Der Hahn ist tot" (1999); and "Die Stunde des Wolfs" (1999). Her television movie "Romeo" earned the prestigious Adolf Grimme Award. Her more recent television projects include "Eva Blond und der Zwerg im Schliessfach" (2003); and "Der Boxer und die Friseuse" (2004), which won the 2005 German Television Award for Best Director. Her two-part television series "The Hidden Word," based on Ulla Hahn's novel, was awarded the VFF TV Movie Award at the 2007 Munich Film Festival and the Bavarian TV Award for Best Director. Among her feature film credits are popular hits such as "THE TRIO" (1998); "BIBI

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BLOCKSBERG" (2002); and most recently, "THE WHITE MASAI" (2005), which was shown at a gala screening at the International Toronto Film Festival.

Günter Rohrbach (Producer) After studying German and philosophy and receiving his doctorate, Günter Rohrbach worked as a film critic. In 1961 he started working at the German broadcaster WDR, where he was named head of television film production (1965) as well as head of entertainment shows (1972). From 1979 to 1994 he was managing director of Bavaria Film in Munich, and since 1992 he has been department head and honorary professor at the School of Film and Television (HFF) in Munich. Two years later he started his own company as a freelance producer. In addition to numerous television movie productions, Günter Rohrbach has produced over 40 theatrical films and received a multitude of awards for these films, including several German Film Awards and Bavarian Film Prizes; the Adolf Grimme Award; and two Golden Cameras. He has also received nominations for the Oscar® and the Golden Globe.

Among his productions are films such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" (1980); Wolfgang Petersen's "THE BOAT" (1981); Peter Zadek's "THE ROARING FIFTIES" (1982); Hajo Gies' "Schimanski" – Zahn um Zahn" (1985); Dominik Graf's "THE CAT" (1987) and "THE INVINCIBLES" (1994); Peter Timm's "GO, TRABI, GO" (1991); Helmut Dietl's "SCHTONK!" (1992); Rainer Kaufmann's "THE PHARMACIST" (1997) and "COLD IS THE BREATH OF EVENING" (1999); Jan Schuette's "FAT WORLD" (1998); Max Faerberboeck's "AIMÉE & JAGUAR" (1999) and "A WOMAN IN BERLIN" (2008); and Hermine Huntgeburth's "THE WHITE MASAI" (2005) and "EFFI BRIEST" (2008). He has shared the presidency of the German Film Academy with since 2003.

Volker Einrauch (screenplay) Volker Einrauch studied philosophy, German literature, political science, and history in Marburg. Starting in 1977 he worked at radio stations and in the print media. In 1984 he founded the production company "Josefine" with Lothar Kurzawa. He has been working as an author and director since this time. He directed several television films, and then in 1994 Einrauch started to collaborate with Hermine Huntgeburth. He wrote the screenplays for the films "Ein falscher Schritt" (1994); "Und alles wegen Mama" (1998); "Das verflixte 17. Jahr" (2001); and "The Hidden Word" (2007). His debut as a film director, "Die Mutter des Killers," won him the Bayerische Hypo Bank Award for Best New Director in 1996. In 2007 Volker Einrauch directed the film "Der andere Junge" (2007), and his leading actress in the film, Andrea Sawatzki, received the Best Actress Award in Montreal in 2007.

Martin Moszkowicz (Executive Producer) Born in 1958, Martin Moszkowicz is a graduate of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. After graduating in 1980, he worked as production manager, line producer, and producer on numerous productions around the globe. In 1985, he was hired by M P Film GmbH in Munich as producer and managing director. He joined Constantin Film Produktion GmbH as a producer in 1991, and also served as the company’s managing director from 1996 until its IPO in 1999. Since then, Martin Moszkowicz has been a member of the board in charge of production at Constantin Film AG. As producer, he has worked on over 100 feature films including many German film hits. Among his credits are: DIE VENUSFALLE (1988), MANTA MANTA (1991), ’s SALT ON OUR SKIN (1992) and THE CEMENT GARDEN (1992). Together with , he produced a number of Soenke Wortmann’s films, including the comedy hits DER BEWEGTE MANN (1994) and DAS SUPERWEIB (1996), and ’s THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS (1993) and For further information and pictures: 12 Beta Cinema Press, Dorothee Stoewahse, + 49 89 67 34 69 15, + 49 170 63 84 627, [email protected] ; www.betacinema.com

SMILLA’S SENSE OF SNOW (1996). As producer, executive producer or managing director of the production company, he was also in charge of the following projects: Doris Doerrie’s AM I BEAUTIFUL? (1997), Bernd Eichinger’s THE DEVIL AND MS. D (1998), ’s HARTE JUNGS (1999) and its sequel KNALLHARTE JUNGS (2002), Michael Herbig’s ERKAN & STEFAN (1999), MANITOU’S SHOE (2000) and HUI BUH (2006), Paul W. S. Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL (2002), as well as RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (2004), Oliver Hirschbiegel’s DOWNFALL (2004), Vivian Naefe’s THE WILD CHICKS (2005), Oskar Roehler’s THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES (2006), Tom Tykwers PERFUME – THE STORY OF A MURDERER (2006), and Ben Verbong’s HERR BELLO (2007), Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s HEAVYWEIGHTS (2007), RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION (2007), WHY MEN DON’T LISTEN AND WOMEN CAN’T READ MAPS (2007), THE WAVE (2008), Max Färberböcks A WOMAN IN BERLIN (2008), Caroline Link’s A YEAR AGO IN WINTER (2008), as well as POPE JOAN, , WICKIE AND THE MIGHTY VIKINGS (all 2009). Following THE WHITE MASAI (2005), EFFI BRIEST (2009) his second collaboration with Hermine Huntgeburth.

WORLD SALES – Beta Cinema

Beta Cinema is the theatrical division of Beta Film. Launched in 2001, Beta Cinema has established itself as a "boutique operation" for independent feature films with strong theatrical potential. Beta Cinema's philosophy is to keep its selective acquisition policy of 10 to 15 titles per year in order to fully develop the theatrical potential of each title according to its individual character. Beta Cinema’s portfolio includes outstanding productions like Berlinale 2009 Gala-entries “JOHN RABE”, “HILDE” and “EFFI BRIEST”, Sundance 2009 competition entry "LULU & JIMI"; Cannes 2008 Jury Prize winning "IL DIVO"; Oscar 2008 award-winning "THE COUNTERFEITERS"; Oscar® 2008 nominated "MONGOL"; Oscar® 2007 award-winning "THE LIVES OF OTHERS"; and Oscar® 2005 nominated "DOWNFALL." Beta Cinema will continue to pick the most promising German films as well as to offer its service and expertise to other European producers looking for individual handling of their productions. Beta Cinema's strength lies in its focus on a carefully selected line-up and development of individual sales strategies with the perfect mix of marketing and festival platforms. Beta Cinema is the alterative address for established and up-and-coming independent producers and directors looking for individual international handling of their projects.

For further information and pictures: 13 Beta Cinema Press, Dorothee Stoewahse, + 49 89 67 34 69 15, + 49 170 63 84 627, [email protected] ; www.betacinema.com