Quarterly 2 · 2005

Home , 2raumwohnung, Alexandra Maria Lara, Anno Saul, Coproduction Office, Das Experiment, Erwin Faber

German Films Quarterly 2 · 2005

AT CANNES In Competition DON'T COME KNOCKING by Wim Wenders Out of Competition CROSSING THE BRIDGE by Fatih Akin

PORTRAITS Oliver Hirschbiegel, Ilona Ziok, Neue Goldkind Film, Alexandra Maria Lara

SPECIAL REPORT Documentary Film in Germany German Films and

IN THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE Cannes

In Competition In Competition In Competition In Competition

Don’t Come Battle in Heaven Hidden Manderlay Knocking by Carlos Reygadas by Michael Haneke by Lars von Trier by Wim Wenders

Producer: German Co-Producer: German Co-Producer: German Co-Producer: Reverse Angle/Hamburg & Berlin Essential Film/Berlin Bavaria Film/Geiselgasteig Pain Unlimited/Cologne

World Sales: World Sales: World Sales: World Sales: HanWay Films/London The Coproduction Office/Paris Les Films du Losange/Paris Trust Film Sales/Hvidovre

Credits not contractual Co-Productions

Film Festival 2005

Out of Competition Out of Competition Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard

CROSSING Merry Falscher Johanna Schlaefer THE BRIDGE Christmas Bekenner by Kornél Mundruczó Sleeper – The Sound of Istanbul by Christian Carion Low Profile by Benjamin Heisenberg by Fatih Akin by Christoph Hochhaeusler

Producers: intervista digital media & German Co-Producer: Producer: German Co-Producer: German Co-Producers: corazón international/Hamburg Senator Film/Berlin Heimatfilm/Cologne Thermidor Film/Cologne Juicy Film & Academy of Television & Film (HFF/M)/Munich World Sales: Bavaria Film World Sales: World Sales: World Sales: International/Geiselgasteig Films Distribution/Paris Trust Film Sales/Hvidovre The Coproduction Office/Paris World Sales: Coop99/Vienna german films quarterly 2/2005

focus on 6 DOCUMENTARY FILM

directors’ portraits 16 PLEASURE IN STORYTELLING A portrait of Oliver Hirschbiegel 18 CHAMPION OF THE LIGHT TOUCH A portrait of Ilona Ziok

producers’ portrait 20 THE GOLDEN BOYS A portrait of Neue Goldkind Filmproduktion

actress’ portrait 22 A DREAM COME TRUE A portrait of Alexandra Maria Lara

24 news

in production 30 AUGUST Pia Marais 30 ELEMENTARTEILCHEN Oskar Roehler 31 EMMAS GLUECK Sven Taddicken 32 ES IST EIN ELCH ENTSPRUNGEN Ben Verbong 32 HOTEL VERY WELCOME Sonja Heiss 33 HUI BUH – DAS SCHLOSSGESPENST Sebastian Niemann 34 IM LICHT DER NACHT Vanessa Jopp 35 MADONNEN Maria Speth 35 MODIFICATIONS Frank Geiger 36 OFFSET Didi Danquart 37 RAUCHZEICHEN Rudolf Thome 38 SCHATTENSPIELE Aelrun Goette 38 VINETA Franziska Stuenkel

new german films 40 AM ENDE EINES TAGES AT THE END OF A DAY Marcus Schuster 41 AM TAG ALS BOBBY EWING STARB THE DAY BOBBY EWING DIED Lars Jessen 42 BARFUSS BAREFOOT Til Schweiger 43 DIE BLUTHOCHZEIT THE WEDDING PARTY Dominique Deruddere 44 CALLING HEDY LAMARR Georg Misch 45 CLOSE Markus Lenz 46 CROSSING THE BRIDGE – THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL Fatih Akin 47 DON’T COME KNOCKING Wim Wenders 48 DURCH DIESE NACHT SEHE ICH KEINEN EINZIGEN STERN THROUGH THIS NIGHT Dagmar Knoepfel 49 ESTLAND MON AMOUR ESTONIA MON AMOUR Sibylle Tiedemann 50 FATELESS Lajos Koltai 51 FREMDE HAUT UNVEILED Angelina Maccarone 52 FUER KURZE ZEIT NAPOLEON NAPOLEON FOR A WHILE Bart van Esch 53 DIE HOEHLE DES GELBEN HUNDES THE CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG Byambasuren Davaa 54 KLANG DER EWIGKEIT SOUND OF ETERNITY Bastian Clevé 55 DAS LAECHELN DER TIEFSEEFISCHE THE SMILE OF THE MONSTERFISH Till Endemann 56 LOST CHILDREN Ali Samadi Ahadi, Oliver Stoltz 57 MASSAKER MASSACRE Monika Borgmann, Lokman Slim, Hermann Theissen 58 MAX UND MORITZ RELOADED MAX AND MORITZ RELOADED Thomas Frydetzki 59 MEIN UEBERLEBEN IN KOLBUSZOWA COFFEE BEANS FOR A LIFE Helga Hirsch 60 MEINE FRAU, MEINE FREUNDE UND ICH MY WIFE, MY FRIENDS AND ME Detlef Bothe 61 PLAYA DEL FUTURO Peter Lichtefeld 62 DER SCHATZ DER WEISSEN FALKEN THE TREASURE OF THE WHITE FALCONS Christian Zuebert 63 SOLO Burkhard Feige 64 STADT ALS BEUTE BERLIN STORIES Irene von Alberti, Miriam Dehne, Esther Gronenborn 65 DER TAG DER BEFREIUNG LIBERATION DAY Martin Blankemeyer 66 UNKENRUFE CALL OF THE TOAD Robert Glinski 67 WHITE WEDDING RP Kahl, Anne Retzlaff 68 WILLENBROCK Andreas Dresen 69 WILLY SOMMERFELD – DER STUMMFILMPIANIST THE SOUNDS OF SILENTS Ilona Ziok

the 100 most significant german films (part 17) 70 ASPHALT Joe May 71 JEDER FUER SICH UND GOTT GEGEN ALLE THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER: EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD AGAINST ALL Werner Herzog 72 NACHTS, WENN DER TEUFEL KAM THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT Robert Siodmak 73 DIE MYSTERIEN EINES FRISIERSALONS THE MYSTERIES OF A HAIRDRESSER’S SHOP

79 film exporters

83 foreign representatives · imprint Scene from ”RhythmScene from Is It!“ DOCUMENTARY FILM IN GERMANY

Documentary film in Germany is alive and well. A survey made by the competition for attention. Nonetheless, those who are looking for German Documentary Association (Arbeitsgemeinschaft large-scale documentary films will find them several times each day on Dokumentarfilm – AG DOK) lists 147 new titles alone for the year German television, especially the cultural channels ARTE and 3Sat. 2004: from Allende to Weltmarktfuehrer, with locations ranging from the Carpathians to the primitive peoples of South America, However, documentary film in Germany is also experiencing consi- and stories from Borussia Dortmund to Chick Corea. The diversity of derable difficulties. The growing demand and the continuing desire for themes is remarkable, as is the number of differing artistic signatures. production are opposed by economic and media-political structures that hinder the development of the genre. This is due to the interplay Documentary film in Germany is also flourishing in cinemas, far more of several factors, all of which have emerged historically. There are than ever before. At least, one may claim that it is beginning to flour- three key aspects: the considerable dependence of documentary film ish. In comparison to previous times, large-scale international produc- on television, the long history of the documentary film as author film, tions in particular have been attracting big audiences. The films and – directly connected to this – its small-scale, financially weak pro- Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Colombine by Michael Moore were duction structure. both seen by more than a million viewers. And German documentaries also did well in the home market: for example, Thomas Grube and Enrique Sanchez Lansch’s Rhythm Is It! recently attracted SIGN OF THE TIMES some 421,000 viewers while Thomas Riedelsheimer’s Rivers and Tides was seen by over 100,000 viewers. From the very beginning, documentary film in Germany has been closely associated with television, at least in West Germany. A few of Documentary film in Germany also draws healthy audiences on TV. It the exceptions that made it into cinemas in earlier times include the is true that one often has to search for it there, and it can sometimes ecological films Strahlende Zukunft, Schade, dass Beton only be found at a late hour, since broadcasters have firmly-estab- nicht brennt, and Keine Startbahn West – eine Region lished program schemes, which limit time and space for documentary wehrt sich, which in 1981 lured more than 80,000 viewers into the formats. In many cases, the ”docu“, with its various forms from ”real cinema – quite a sensation at that time. In East Germany however, the life“ to docu-soap, has overtaken the classic documentary film in the genre was regarded as having considerable political significance and

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2 · 2005 6 was integrated into the DEFA state film studios. After reunification in 1989, the DEFA studio for documentary film was dissolved, meaning that eastern German filmmakers also had to adapt themselves to the conditions and demands of television.

Documentary film in Germany developed from two sources, television journalism and the classical cultural film, whose ”images of cities and landscapes“ contributed to its dominancy up until the late 1950s. It was not until the beginning of the sixties that the documentary film ”RiversScene from and Tides“ department of Sueddeutsche Rundfunk began to develop new forms, clearly differentiated from the culture film. Authors of the later so-called “Stuttgart School” turned to everyday political and social life in the Federal Republic. The most important films ran in a series entitled Zeichen der Zeit (”Signs of the Times“); and Polizei- staatsbesuch (”Visit to a Police State“) by Roman Brodmann is a key film from this period: a film about the Shah of Persia’s visit to Germany and the death of the student Benno Ohnesorg in 1967. The Stuttgart School also had great significance for the emergence of an independent documentary film language. Even today, documentary film retains an important status at Suedwestfunk, and this also applies to the promotion of young talents.

”Direct Cinema“ also exercised a valuable influence, and not only on the Stuttgart School. At Norddeutsche Rundfunk, Klaus Wildenhahn set aesthetic and political standards as an author and the editor of documentaries. Wildenhahn, who also produced theoretical writing on film, propagated the documentary film of observation, using long and careful takes to approach people who did not otherwise appear in the medium. Wildenhahn made an impres- sion on an entire generation of documentary filmmakers during the 1970s, and his influence can still be felt today. Thomas Schadt, one of the best-known current documentary filmmakers, still refers to Wildenhahn as his teacher. (Today, Schadt is artistic director at the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg). Wildenhahn was not only a film author, but often enough, he also paved the way for others with his work as an editor: younger filmmakers such as Hans-Dieter Grabe at ZDF or Ebbo Demant at SDR. Unfortunately however, the filmmaking editor or the permanently employed maker of documentaries no longer exists today.

The possibilities of Direct Cinema, politicization through the student movement, an operative attitude towards filmmaking, and a certain documentary rigor shaped the filmmaking of the seventies. After the decline of the revolt, many authors turned more to everyday events and an observation of society. Their films now bore stronger signatures of a more subjective character. Authors such as Hartmut Bitomski (Der VW-Komplex and B 52) and Harun Farocki (Auge/Maschine), developed the genre of essayistic documentary film. The political movements led to the development of a film workshop movement separate from television; here members used video for work primarily concerned with the ecological and peace movements. Authors like as Didi and Pepe Danquart or Thomas Giefer emerged from such traditions.

SOLITARY FIGHTERS (”The Second View“) was formed in 2001. They see themselves in the following way: ”We are not a collective. We are individuals capable of However, a shared characteristic of all documentary filmmakers working in a team, solitary fighters.“ remained their status as author filmmakers. As such, they developed a typical structure of production, via which they delivered work to Up until today, most documentary filmmakers in television have television for many years. Since television is now formatting docu- indeed remained solitary fighters. In artistic terms, this has been the mentary programs increasingly, this status and attitude to work is gra- precondition to a wide diversity of signatures. It has meant that out- dually coming into conflict with programming reality. In order to com- standing individual achievements have made it to our television bat this, an initiative of several authors entitled Der zweite Blick screens and – more so in recent years – also into the cinemas. german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 7 But men are not alone in the field. Important full-length documentary films have often been made by women: Helga Reidemeister examined the position of imprisoned women with her Gotteszell – Ein Frauengefaengnis and most recently compared women’s views on war in Texas-Kabul. Aelrun Goette’s film Die Kinder sind tot, which received several prizes, presents the background to a social tragedy. Karin Jurschik’s award-winning docu-

Filmposter ”Blackbox BRD“ Filmposter ”Blackbox mentary research Die Helfer und die Frauen deals with trade with women violently abducted from Kosovo and Bosnia Herzegovina. Nor should one forget Irene Langemann’s acclaimed portrait of the Brazilian pianist Joao Carlos Martin in Martin’s Passion (Die Martins Passion).

Any survey of successful German documentary films would be incomplete without social studies such as Sebastian Winkel’s for- mally exacting film 7 Brothers (7 Brueder), which reveals different perceptions of society and events experienced in individual life stories, or Champions by Christoph Huebner and Gabriele Voss, concerning the young generation of football players at Borussia-Dortmund. This is a film not only about sport, but also about dreams, the future, and life in general.

Contemporary history on television is firmly in the hands of the stan- dardized documentation and its editors, but unusual documentary films on the theme have also been made: examples include Eyal Sivan’s film Ein Spezialist about Adolf Eichmann or Romuald Karmakar’s Das Himmler-Projekt.

Of course one should not forget the great documentary studies of people and landscapes in the East by Volker Koepp (Herr Zwilling und Frau Zuckermann and Kalte Heimat) or the film descriptions of society in East Germany produced by Thomas Heise (Neustadt Stau – Stand der Dinge and Vaterland), and one of the most extraordinary East German projects in docu- Andres Veiel’s film Black Box BRD was as successful in cine- mentary film history: Winfried and Barbara Junge’s long-term mas as Pepe Danquart’s Hell on Wheels (Hoellentour) about observations in the many Golzow films. the Tour de France. Music has also become a well-received source of documentary inspiration: Wim Wender’s Buena Vista Social Finally, and this may be unique worldwide, German documentary Club was an international hit, as were Stefan Schwietert’s films have been made about the most important documentary film- Tickle in the Heart and Julian Benedikt’s Blue Note. And makers themselves. In the series Dokumentarisch arbeiten Thomas Schadt’s remake of the Ruttmann-classic Berlin (”Working in a Documentary Way“), the filmmakers Christoph Symphony also impressed audiences on a large scale. Huebner and Gabriele Voss have portrayed seventeen important Scene from ”Hell on Wheels“ Scene from

german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 8 Scenes from ”7 Brothers“ Scenes from

authors, not only from Germany. These portraits were broadcast in for example, but in practice they demonstrate little unity. The major three series on the cultural channel 3Sat. The working interviews are channels ARD and ZDF only show documentary features on special also available in book form (Dokumentarisch arbeiten, Dokumentarisch occasions. The newly created slots for documentation at prime time arbeiten 2, Vorwerk Publishers, Berlin), and offer an outstanding are predominantly filled documentary series. In a study dating from survey of the attitudes to work and aesthetic ideas embraced by the October 2002, ARD took the last place, having broadcast only one author filmmakers. single documentary film in the course of a month. If at all, the broadcasting slots for documentary film have depreciated to those around midnight. The much-acclaimed ZDF series Das kleine Fernsehspiel also NOT A BOOM, BUT AN UPWARD TREND broadcasts at this late hour.

Without television, certainly, very few of the films cited above – and The two cultural channels ARTE and 3Sat are very important and indi- they in their turn are but a small selection – would have been made at spensable for documentary broadcasting. ARTE even plays a signifi- all. The relationship remains a paradoxical one. Thomas Schadt de- cant role as a co-producer as well. The so-called ”third programs“ of scribes it in the following way: ”Television is the greatest customer ARD also keep slots available for documentary films. But with only a and simultaneously the greatest defeater of documentary film.“ few exceptions, the documentary film genre has very few established editorial departments; at one station it may be assigned to the editorial office of journalism, in another to the cultural office. ”It has an uncertain home and a crumbling lobby,“ says Thomas Schadt, ”and is reliant on the commitment of individual editors.“

Another important factor is the general structuring of broadcasting schemes and formatting – also of documentary programs. This disad- vantages individual signatures; instead, there is a demand for drama-

Scene from ”Champions “ Scene from turgy and narrative forms which suit calculated audiences and quotas exactly, in which case the author takes a back seat behind the product – a situation that appears particularly intolerable to author filmmakers.

However, the key aspect is that the dominant position of the television stations cements production conditions, making a healthy economic basis for medium-sized producers, for example, almost impossible. Thomas Frickel from the AG DOK estimates that around 1500 small to very small production companies are working to provide the broadcasters in Germany with documentary films, documentation and magazine contributions. Only a small proportion of these – around 70 producers – handles larger volumes of production and The paradox may be ascertained easily by checking the corresponding employs several people. And an even smaller proportion is in a posi- broadcasting slots. Private broadcasters play little or no role as pro- tion to produce for the international market. Many of these produc- ducers or broadcasters of documentary films or documentation. tion companies – known as ”backpack producers“ – can only survive Private channels only invest in documentation for special events. The financially due to a high level of economic self-exploitation. And the public channels, whose program assignment actually includes the cul- interests of these many individuals are represented to the broad- tivation of the genre of documentary film, maintained that documen- casters by the AG DOK. The AG DOK, with 750 members, is the tary genres were important in their declarations of intent for 2004, largest professional association for independent producers in

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2 · 2005 9 Scene from ”Martin’s Passion“ ”Martin’s Scene from

Germany and is open to representatives of all genres, but sees its According to a new study by the media researcher and documentary general focus in media and political lobby work for the documentary filmmaker Lutz Hachmeister (Dokumentarische Produktion in Film genre. und Fernsehen. Marktstudie Deutschland. HMR, Cologne, February 2005), the present structure makes it extremely difficult for medium- But the economic conditions for most producers are poor, and des- sized producers of classical documentary films to survive; they finance pite a growing interest in documentary programs in recent years, they their work primarily by means of mixed calculations and the provision have not improved. The payment structure at the broadcasting sta- of common television formats. For this reason, and against all tions has been enormously disadvantageous to producers for many expectations, only a small group of middle-sized producers has emer- years, and this also applies to the conditions for utilization. Costs for ged to date. They secure their work mainly through increased coope- research and the development of material generally fall back on the ration with the editorial offices of many broadcasting stations and producers themselves. with funds from the regional film funding institutions. Large, complex projects in particular could not be financed at all without these film subsidies. According to the HMR study, in 2003 around 11 million Euros in subsidies were granted to documentary works, which, although a significant contribution, is slightly less than 5 percent of the overall sum and considerably less than the year before. However, the new German Film Promotion Law Scene from ”Jochen – Ein Golzower“ Scene from has established not only a significant improvement for the funding of documentary films, but the best one ever: each film that achieves admissions of over 25,000 viewers will automatically receive reference funding. And as the figures show, more and more local documentaries are performing on this level in the cinemas.

german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 10 DOCU-CINEMA The reasons for this upward trend are diverse. Certainly, the desire for more reality is also a reaction to television’s failure, feeding view- In the case of large-scale productions entirely or partially funded by ers as it does with an increasing amount of escapist fiction and absurd television, a cinema launch before television broadcasting has become real-life formats. And the political documentary films by Michael the norm. The number of screens that show documentary films on a Moore have also strengthened the interest in the genre. They broke regular basis is still relatively small – around 200 from a total of more down past barriers to reach audiences in multiplex cinemas and have than 4000, according to Thomas Frickel. But an upward trend may be been seen by more than a million viewers. But even ”less spectacular“ discerned. German documentaries such as Rhythm Is It! and the OSCAR- nominated The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die Klaus Staniek, a documentary filmmaker and professor at the Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel) were seen by impressi- Academy of Film and Television Potsdam-Babelsberg (HFF/B), has ve audiences. been following the scene for many years. According to his investigations, the figures are continually rising. In 1980, for example, only one Finally, it may be the films themselves that explain the increase in documentary film was seen by more than 50,000 cinemagoers attention. After a long-lasting, purist phase of socially-oriented docu- Scene from ”The Story ofScene from Camel“ the Weeping

(Septemberweizen by Peter Krieg, with some 70,000 mentary films, the wide possibilities of film language and of opulent viewers), but in 2004 there were nine. While the three most success- film have been rediscovered. Today’s films have more narrative quali- ful documentary films in 2002 were seen by just over a million ties and have thus become more attractive. Pepe Danquart pulls out viewers, the figures for 2004 were already more than two million. all the stops with respect to dramatic narration and visual effects in And the proportion of documentary films among the most successful Hell on Wheels, and Andres Veiel used the dramatic means of the 100 German films has also increased: from four films in the year 1994 feature film to create his story of four student actors in Die to eighteen in 2004. The figures come from a previously unpublished, Spielwuetigen. long-term study by the HFF/B, which Staniek presented in a lecture at the Humboldt University in February 2005. According to the calculations of the HMR study and the German Federal Film Board (FFA), a ”significant increase in the status of documentary film in our cinemas“ could also be ascertained in the year 2004.

german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 11 INTEGRATION WITHIN STRUCTURES As well as the current competition, it offers various series and retrospective showings. The traditional awards given are the Golden Dove The documentary film scene in Germany is integrated into a complex and Silver Dove and the new director Claas Danielsen intends to and varied structure of institutions for training, promotion and pre- develop the festival into a meeting place for the documentary film sentation. Five large film academies, several private schools and the scene as a whole. media departments of various universities ensure that the next generation receives excellent training. A wealth of festivals and some The Duisburger Filmwoche is in its 29th year, and takes place on specialist television editorial offices create broadcasting slots and an annual basis. It is devoted to German-language documentary films, opportunities for presentation. Awards for film and television pro- and therefore includes productions from Austria and Switzerland as ductions generate acclaim, public attention, and often the basis for well from Germany. As a consequence of the financial crisis in public further films with their prize money. spending, the festival is now partially sponsored by the television channels 3Sat and ARTE. Juries from these two channels award prizes, There are also institutes promoting the genre, such as the Haus des the city of Duisburg contributes a promotional award, and recently Dokumentarfilms in Stuttgart, which was founded by the Goethe Institute has also presented its own award. The special Suedwestrundfunk as an independent institute in 1991. It serves as an feature of the Duisburg festival is its structure. Films are not shown encounter forum for all those interested in documentary film, con- parallel to one another, with the exception of the small competition ducts research on German and international documentary work for for children’s documentary film. All the festival visitors can thus see all television, organizes regular conferences, and publishes a series of the films and discuss them afterwards with the authors – most of texts, Close up. The Documentary Film Initiative at the which attend. Filmbuero North Rhine-Westphalia pursues similar aims. It offers the documentary scene a forum for information and discussion, organizes The Munich International Documentary Film Festival symposia, and publishes the book series Texte zum Dokumentarfilm. was founded in 1985 as a project by the Association for Documentary Scene from ”Berlin Symphony“ Scene from

CELEBRATING DOCUMENTARIES: Film Munich within the framework of Filmstadt Muenchen e.V. and concentrates on the artistic documentary film. The festival has developed FESTIVALS into an internationally acknowledged event now attended by all the important documentary film directors, and has met with increasing There are numerous festivals dedicated to documentary films in attention from a wider audience. However, like all the other festivals, Germany. The oldest of which, now in its 48th year, is the Leipzig it suffers from financial restraints. Several series have been developed Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. It was the in Munich over the course of time: an international competition, inter- central festival in East Germany, oriented on the international political national programs, Horizonte for films from countries where condi- film – primarily from the socialist countries. Despite its loss of state tions for documentary filming are (even more) difficult, and New Films subsidy, after the fall of the Wall it has been possible to maintain the from Bavaria, which presents a forum for media workshops, amateurs festival as a combination focusing on documentary film and animation. and up-and-coming authors in addition to those for the better-known

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2 · 2005 12 Scene from ”Buena Vista Social Club“ Scene from

authors. The awards include a documentary film prize from The German Film Award, organized by the German Film Academy in Bayerischer Rundfunk, a prize for specialist documentary film, and a Berlin, includes an award for one of two films nominated in the cate- promotional award from the local funder FilmFernsehFonds Bayern. gory “Best Documentary Film”. The acclaimed Adolf-Grimme Award for television productions also presents an award in the category At the Berlinale, documentary film also plays an important role, in the ”Information and Culture“, for which classical documentary films are Forum and Panorama sections in particular, which present the Planet also considered regularly. The German Television Award presents prizes Documentary Film Prize. At the renowned International Short Film in the two categories ”Report“ and ”Documentation“. Festival in Oberhausen, international short documentary films are also an important aspect of the program. The Documentary Film Prize of Baden-Wuerttemberg has been awarded since 2003, and is jointly endowed by Suedwestfunk (SWR) and the Some regional film festivals in Germany show documentary films as regional film funder MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg. The prize is pre- well as other genre in their programs. These include the Grenz- sented every two years at the Documentary Film Workshop landfilmtage in Selb, the Nordisches Filmfestival in Luebeck, the Tage Baden-Baden. des Unabhaengigen Films in Augsburg, the International Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, and the Biberach Film Festival, to name but a The Bavarian Film Award and Hessen Film Award also have well-en- few. dowed prizes in the documentary category, and on the national level, the German Federal Film Board promoted and supported its Documen- Beyond national borders, some of the numerous international festi- tary Tiger with three awards, totaling 100,000 Euros in support funds. vals also offer German documentary filmmakers opportunities to develop international connections. The leading festivals here are the Festival International du Cinéma Documentaire/Vision du Réel in SUPPORTING YOUNG TALENT Nyon, the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, the Festival International du Documentaire ”Fidmarseille“ in Support for young talent in the field of documentary film is available Marseille, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and the at festivals and through various promotional awards in Germany, but International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). is also offered by some editorial offices at various broadcasting stations.

AWARDING RECOGNITION In this context, a very important address in the television world is Das kleine Fernsehspiel at ZDF. This department promotes the first and Prizes for documentary films are awarded in relevant competitions second films made by young authors, both feature films and docu- within the fields of both film and television. mentaries. Forty broadcasting slots are available each year, and 23

german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 13 low-budget films are produced annually. In addition, there are series coming generation to the film world as a whole, and to simplify the such as Deutschland dokumentarisch and Ostwind – a collaborative pro- graduates’ ”first steps“ in their chosen careers. ject by ZDF and RBB – which also encompass documentary films. Here the editorial office also participates in the funding of material examining a specific, pre-defined theme. After it had become clear in TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE recent years that young authors were keen to investigate their own identity and stories, but less willing to approach larger, socially rele- Training for documentary filmmakers is available in several cities in vant topics, the editorial office selected the theme Absolute Beginners Germany. The five large film academies in Berlin, Potsdam, Munich, for films about young people’s first steps in their chosen professions. Ludwigsburg and Cologne are of course the leading institutions. In all And the project proved to be a success: from a large number of appli- the film schools, it is possible to observe a trend towards increased cations, nine projects were developed, produced and the films broad- orientation on the practical demands of media professions, whereby cast. A new theme, Agenda 2020 – How We Will Live in the Future has artistic pretensions and a solid, wide-ranging basic training are not currently been launched. neglected. Depending on their emphasis, all the film academies offer Scene from ”Kalte Heimat“ ”Kalte Scene from

Suedwestfunk also provides broadcasting slots for the promotion of training courses for documentary filmmakers. These are often taught young authors on its third television channel. The series Junger by filmmakers with practical experience, who work as authors as well. Dokumentarfilm has been in existence since 1999 (initiated by SWR in And in each case, there are also close links with local television sta- collaboration with the MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Film tions. Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg) and broadcasts a series of debut films each year in spring. At the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, for example, director Thomas Schadt has developed the department of First Steps is another newcomer’s award that also includes the cate- documentary film, where lecturers include Helga Reidemeister and gory of documentary film. It is presented annually to the best gradua- Ebbo Demant and there is close cooperation with Suedwestfunk. The tion films from film academies in the German-speaking countries by course ”Documentary Film and Television Journalism“ is offered at the production companies Constantin and teamWorx, the private the Academy of Television and Film in Munich, where the professor television stations SAT.1 and Spiegel-TV, and Mercedes-Benz. The of the department is the documentary filmmaker Heiner Stadler. prize aims to introduce the great creative potential of the up-and- Here extensive contacts with Bayerischer Rundfunk are cultivated.

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2 · 2005 14 shops. The Bavarian Academy of Television trains students primarily for everyday practice at the broadcasting stations and for television journalism.

A third group consists of the universities, which also offer courses in subjects such as Media Science, Journalism and Communications Science. Here, depending on the various curricula, it is also possi-

Scene from ”Touch the Sound“ ”Touch Scene from ble to find practical forms of media training.

Each year, hundreds of graduates leave these schools and seek a position on the job market. There they encounter rapidly changing conditions. For example, the new mobile technology with small DV cameras, DVD as a medium of distribution, and beamers as the projection surface currently offer authors the opportunity to escape production conditions that had begun to stagnate. Seen from a different perspective, traditional television has also found a new way to produce cheaper programs in collaboration with the one-man company, video journalist – whether this is a better way, remains to be seen.

Above all, however, it is foreseeable that – along- side the mass medium of television – new modes of distribution will open up for the genre of documentary film, via Internet and DVD, and that this will lead to new narrative and aesthetic possibilities. Conditions are fluid and they will remain so. The large number of documentary films made each year demonstrates many young filmmakers’ great, unbroken interest in capturing and processing reality with the camera. Documentary film is very much alive, and it will remain so.

Fritz Wolf, freelance print and radio journalist, Das Medienbuero/Duesseldorf

The German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) offers no specialist training for documentary filmmakers, but documentary film is taught as part of its foundation courses. The teachers at the dffb are almost exclusively guest lecturers, and all work practically in the field. The Academy of Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg does not offer a specific course on documentary film, either, but Helke Misselwitz and Klaus Staniek – two acknowledged documentary filmmakers – are among the lecturers for the course in ”Film and Television Direction“. The Academy of Media Arts in Cologne offers the group of subjects ”Film / Television“ in the study course on ”Audiovisual Media“, where there are a number of professors spe- cializing in documentary film work, including: Janine Meerapfel, Hans Beller, Horst Koenigstein, Dietrich Leder and Thomas Schmitt.

In addition to these academies, there are private schools such as the International Film School Cologne, which was founded by the state government of NRW and the Filmstiftung NRW and trains its students directly for the film business. There are various possibilities for documentary filmmakers among its numerous courses and work-

german films quarterly focus on documentary film

2 · 2005 15 Oliver Hirschbiegel (photo © Joe Fish) DIRECTOR’S PORTRAIT DIRECTOR’S storyboard of the film. I wanted to find outhowyou using tellastory Iwantedtofind thefilm. storyboard of Northwest throughHuston andAlfred way Hitchcock:”I drew my from intheprofession, from thegreatest Howard Hawks, John hiscraftasanautodidact andhe learned storytelling, enjoyment of Oliver Hirschbiegel combinedintheworkof –are quitenaturally opposites inGermany pretension andanartistic –stilltreatedEntertainment asincompatible Oliver Hirschbiegel A portrait of STORYTELLING IN PLEASURE 2 ·2005 films quarterlygerman from the first to the very lasttake tothevery andproduced areal from thefirst . First and foremost, he is motivated byhis . Firstandforemost, heismotivated North by North lm h etso theconditionhumaine,sounding outthedarker plumb thedepthsof Experiment Television suchas andcinemafilms school!“ film Whendoyou to cut,andwhat?Itwasamarvelous have journey? acar aman?Howdoyou anairplanethat’s attacking film do you film images: Howdoyou make someonecomeinthrough adoor?How email: [email protected] ·www.players.de 86 16 85 +49-30-2 80·fax 16 85 phone +49-30-2 Sophienstrasse 21·10178Berlin/Germany PLAYERS GmbH AgenturManagement Agent: Jude monologue: a small,intimate,film after year the for regime, theHitler of thelastdays Eichinger, versionof healsomadeafilm ed inthecinemas. Inclosecollaborationwiththeproducer Bernd waslaterlaunch- thefilm produced television, for Originally Kirchhoff. Hannelore Elsner, basedonascreenplay bytheauthorBodo for theTVcrimeseries for aswell14episodes thrillersandcrimestories–followed, mainly hisdebutasadirector, – more TVfilms criticismof After positive Go! Projekt writing–thestory Gabor Body. pieceof In1986,hesoldhisfirst the videomagazine projects,work viaspatialinstallationandperformance anddeveloped SigmarPolke. Heapproached direction and Filmunderthetuitionof Photography, Video of onthefields where increasingly hefocused inHamburg, Arts dies inPainting attheCollegeof andGraphicArt to goseaasanapprentice ship’s cook.Subsequently, hebeganstu- thatheleftschoolearly its criticalapproach toauthoritysoseriously Oliver Hirschbiegel of onthelife influence SteinerSchoolhadapowerful A Rudolf fession fession con- life toacellarprison,hewentonmake thefictive confined and abroad. Bycontrasttothislarge-scaleproduction about20men Experiment Todfeinde Urteil Awards numerouswhich received prizes. Hewasalsoawarded The Experiment , starring BenBecker., starring Downfall My LastFilm and (1997), aswellthe – toZDF, ontheconditionthathecoulddirect ithimself. OSCAR Emmy (1998). In the year 2000, his feature film debut (1998). Intheyear 2000,hisfeature film are exciting atthesametime,they entertainment; ( Das Experiment Infermental ( as BestForeign LanguageFilm.Ashehaddone nominations for nominations for Der Untergang , who was born inHamburg1957;hetook , whowasborn Kommissar Rex , he followed thisimmenseproduction, hefollowed with ( Mein letzterFilm together with the video and film artist together withthevideoandfilm Trickser Bavarian TelevisionBavarian Award Ein ganz gewoehnlicher Ein ganz ) causedasensationathome Trickser ), whichwasnominatedthis and twoepisodesof , director’s portrait Todfeinde (1996) and ) togetherwith dl Grimme Adolf or Tatort The The Das Das for , 16 sides that lurk in every one of us, but that few of us acknowledge. Without raising a warning finger or lecturing us at all, Hirschbiegel’s This was also true of his most recent large-scale project Downfall, films aim directly for our senses; the Sueddeutsche Zeitung attests him about which El Pais wrote: ”Hirschbiegel’s film confronts us with the a ”thoroughly American sense of tension and drama“, referring to monster that we are as well." Long before this spectacular history film The Experiment ”as the only film for miles around that can keep about the last twelve days in Hitler’s Fuehrer bunker, his work was up with the American competition“; this was reflected by impressive repeatedly concerned with the major, dark German theme of audience figures both at home and abroad. Together with his camera- National Socialism: for example, in the TV film Das Urteil, Klaus man Reiner Klausmann, the director loves the challenge of narrow, Loewitsch played a witness to murder whose perception was colored enclosed spaces. Together, they find both elegant and dynamic solu- by his own experiences as a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. In the tions to difficult situations: whether in Trickser’s empty, derelict oppressive psycho-thriller The Experiment, 20 men – all respec- house, where a seriously injured bank robber struggles to save his table, normal citizens – who voluntarily participate in a research pro- life and his spoils; in the airport lounge of Das Urteil, where a ject on aggression, adopt inhuman forms of behavior remarkably passenger is compelled to face his own demons; in the model prison quickly when confronted with an artificial prison situation. And in his of The Experiment, where 20 men turn into bitter opponents; in latest television film, Ben Becker – as Ein ganz gewoehnlicher the apartment of My Last Film, where an ageing actress makes her Jude – talks himself into a rage over the hypocritical treatment of confession before the cameras; or in the Fuehrer’s bunker of Down- Jews. fall. Hirschbiegel demonstrates a particularly sensitive hand when it comes to sensing the finest vibrations from his actors, whether they ”Even before the Downfall project, I had made a deep investigation are working in the complex constellation of an ensemble or facing the of this period, for as Germans we bear a responsibility for it. To my cameras entirely alone. mind, the handling of it was always only a technical description, without any real proximity to people. I had always recoiled from any Even before the OSCAR nomination for Downfall, his films had demonizing of evil. The blood of those who were a million times res- aroused interest in Hollywood, but he views the offers with mixed ponsible flows in our veins, whether we like it or not, and a civilized feelings: ”Cocteau once said that you should always sing up your own people needs to analyze the past critically.“ family tree. Geographically, my family tree is Germany, or at least Europe, while my method of working is based on a rather American The construction of an experimental set-up in The Experiment starting point. And at the moment, German film is in a great position. and the reconstruction of history in Downfall have more similarity We are now seeing a spectrum wider than it has been since before than may first appear, therefore. Rather than keeping evil at a the war". distance, as something alien or foreign, in both films Hirschbiegel makes sure that it gets under the viewer’s skin: ”We all carry vio- Anke Sterneborg (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Focus, lence within us, even if we desperately try to defend ourselves against rbb Radio Kultur, epd) spoke with Oliver Hirschbiegel it!“ Leaving the cinema after these films, we can no longer be quite sure of ourselves. In Germany they probe open wounds, and so of course they are an object of great controversy here, whereas abroad they are viewed with less inhibition and more euphoria. The Wall Street Journal, for example, wrote: ”Do we need to know this hu- manized Hitler? The answer has to be an unequivocal yes. Casting Hitler merely as a megalomaniacal lunatic or evil incarnate leaches his crimes of their most disturbing aspect – human motivation.“

german films quarterly director’s portrait

2 · 2005 17 Ilona Ziok DIRECTOR’S PORTRAIT DIRECTOR’S otato Ilona Ziok A portrait of TOUCH LIGHT THE OF CHAMPION death, Ziok says: ”I was told that one simply doesnotmixthat.“But ”Iwastoldthat onesimply death, Zioksays: Gerrons Karussell her Of light.“ but thetouchisalways Thethemesmightbeheavy andforemost entertaining: are first films Lubitsch’s isErnst film tome,“shesays. ”Myfavorite important ”Humor isvery humorous withaseriousstreak? lady She’s both! Is 2 ·2005 films quarterlygerman Ilona Ziok OSCAR To BeorNotTo Be -nominated and international award-winning -nominated andinternational sasrosld ihagetsneo humorora senseof withagreat is aseriouslady , her powerful mixture of music, cabaret music, and mixture of , herpowerful n oeteEgihsneo humor. My senseof and IlovetheEnglish Kurt ”I want a story that can be entertaining and also accessible,“ says Ziok. andalsoaccessible,“says thatcanbeentertaining ”I wantastory toherdocumentaries. film afiction andappliesthethree actstructure of filmmaking Hollywood withthestructures of accident, Ziokhassinceimbued herself lovewasthetheater,For awomanwhosefirst by whocametofilm people stillcry.“ too, shesays, ”butitentertains andattheend, course it’s asadfilm,“ andreact. itwillwatch,listen,learn ”Of audience isentertained the thatif Ziok’s reaction belief andviewer confirmed the reviews email: [email protected] ·www.ashra.comemail: [email protected] 77 59 13 +49-30-2 67·fax 71 62 phone +49-30-23 Fuggerstrasse 24·10777Berlin/Germany Contact: (2004). Buehnenrepublik through MikhailKalatozov’sfilm theaterinMoscowthatshediscoveredagain studying themediumof itwaswhile grant, government withaGerman Armed Frankfurt. she studied,duringvariousperiods, inMoscow, York New and andbuildonherchildhoodinterestContinuing todevelop intheater, inthe 1970s. whenshecametoGermany German learning Polish hadtocopewith ashertwolanguages, andEnglish shefirst while stillayoung girl,where shewenttoboarding school.With Ilona Ziok ( ViktorRosov’s 1956play, adaptationof 1957), afilmed Tochter nachSchlesien Strasse, Wo –EineReise istdasHaus mitmeiner Minneapolis includes: awarded films internationally her aswellfeatures. cinemaandtelevision Aselectionof ries for York, filmmaker, sheisaprolific directing andproducing documenta- from MEDIAEurope teachingandlecturingfor andinNew Apart the production CVFilmsandthemusiclabel,MG.ART. company mal musicianandcomposer, ManuelGoettsching.Together, run they moved toBerlin,where herhusband,themini- shemetandmarried and amomentdecision,sheleftFrankfurt departments. Onaspurof intheCulture asajournalist andPolitics/SocietyHessischer Rundfunk (1995), Silents Sounds of (1999), Forever Alive The Count and theComradeThe Countand CV Films La LegionEtrangere ). Back in Germany in1989,sheworked until1991at ). BackinGermany was born inGliwice/Polandwas born toEngland, andemigrated (1991), (2003), (2005). Shehasalso(co)-produced: Journey toTunesia Salvador Allende (1993), Letyat Zhuravli (1997), themini-series Kurt Gerrons Karussell (2004), and Special Olympicsin director’s portrait (1992), ( (2005), and Cranes AreFlying The NomiSong Vechno Zhivye Wo istdie Corridorius The Die , 18 ”I use a feature structure because I like documentaries, or whatever She is also quick and generous with her praise for those who have I’m producing or directing, to lead somewhere. If I’m watching some- contributed to her success. thing and not knowing where it’s going, what the point of it is, then I get bored quickly and I don’t want to do that to my audience. The ”I’ve been saved by Eurimages. Ms. Renate Roginas is a wonderful Americans understand this, few Germans do. And as long as there are person and understands films, as does my sales agent, Transit Film,“ still contemporary witnesses I find interesting then, as a director, I’d she says. ”I’ve had very good experience with them. I really appreciate rather make documentaries even if I’ve studied fiction.“ Loy Arnold and Susanne Schumann’s work!“

Purists will look at her style and some will say it disqualifies her from An accomplished and respected filmmaker, Ziok has won a great calling herself a ”documentarymaker“. But life is not all Discovery many awards – and didn’t want to talk about them! Suffice to say, the Channel or finger-waving public broadcaster pontificating. Besides, list includes an OSCAR nomination, Banff ’s Rocky Award, awards at says Ziok, ”I’m always interested in new forms, and not just in film. Telluride and numerous critics’ awards. I’ve had interest from Broadway to turn Karussell into a musical.“ A self-proclaimed ”master of smalltalk“ who ”can only deal with Ziok has a unique perspective. Her father, a German aristocrat, was tough themes through film, I could never talk about them“, her list of a member of the anti-Nazi resistance, she was raised in England, and upcoming projects is, well, typically Ziok-eclectic. is equally at home in the United States. She’s polyglot and poly- national. First out of the film gate will be The Sounds of Silents, a look at 101-year old Willy Sommerfield, the world’s last surviving silent film Her sense of differentiation also leads her to striking a balance, as accompanist from the 1920s. best exemplified in The Count and the Comrade about a German aristocrat and a Communist in the resistance. ”It’s my first film which has been generously subsidized,“ says Ziok. ”By Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and, of course, ”I showed the rough cut to both sides at the same time,“ says Ziok. MEDIA and Eurimages, like all my features.“ ”They both found it so balanced yet so neutral. I didn’t want to inter- pret them, I just let them portray themselves. I wanted to find the She is also working with US colleague and author Shareen Brizac on a balance even though the film shows they can never be friends. Class film about Mildred Harnack and Martha Dodd, two Americans with comes between them.“ the anti-Nazi resistance, and a musical about Fillmore West-founder and famous rock impressario Bill Graham who discovered Hendrix, There’s a seminal moment in the film when the aristocrat talks with Santana, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. He was a Jew who the Communists at the gates of the mansion. ”This is so beautiful,“ emigrated from Berlin in 1933, otherwise he’d have shared Gerron’s says one. The aristocrat answers, ”If you had this, you wouldn’t be a fate. Communist.“ As Ziok herself says, ”some things cannot be recon- ciled.“ Her other projects include ballet in Moscow and Tokyo and her husband’s concerts in the US, England and Japan, while for ARTE France Ziok already has interest from the US about making a feature on the she’s working on a Jules Verne theme evening. same subject and she has been asked to write the script. In pre-production is the fiction Lilly (a Polish-German co-production Like any decent filmmaker, she is fired up by certain subjects and has with Jacek Blawut directing) and her own feature Sing a Song of the burning desire to realize them. One of these is the life and never Socialism, which tells the origins of the German Democratic properly explained 1968 death of state prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who Republic through songs. A comedy about her husband, ”Killing brought the Auschwitz trial to Frankfurt, just before he was to shine Manuel“ (sic), will follow, Ziok says, ”Goethe’s motto of ’The spi- a doubtlessly unwelcome light on Germany’s legal and medical pro- rits I summon I can never be rid of ’.“ Billy Wilder used this principle fession during the Nazi years. with 1,2,3. I’m co-writing with an Englishwoman, Alison Hindhaugh, who is also very funny.“ ”This will be a real crime film,“ says Ziok, ”because I’m examining his death and so narrating his life – simple, but effective!“ And we’re back to humor again.

”Nonetheless, or perhaps because of this, it’s very hard to finance,“ Simon Kingsley spoke with Ilona Ziok agrees Ziok. ”The BKM has rejected it twice.“

But the financing is coming together, including from the Bundespresseamt (”The first film they’ve financed,“ says Ziok proudly), the Hessen Film Fund, and Saarlandischer Rundfunk, Germany’s smallest public broadcaster. Ziok has produced some successful films with the commissioning editor of SR, Dr. Michael Meyer, and loves to work with him. Sadly, this collaboration is their last due to his early retirement.

Apropos money, the bane of every filmmaker, Ziok is perhaps a bles- sed exception to the rule: ”I always get money,“ she laughs, ”but never enough! That’s why my films take so long to be realized!“

german films quarterly director’s portrait

2 · 2005 19 PRODUCERS’ PORTRAIT In 2001, Christoph Mueller founded the production company Goldkind Film together with Hofmann & Voges Entertainment and served as line producer on the comedies Feuer, Eis & Dosenbier and Erkan & Stefan II in 2002. A year later, Mueller brought a new partner – TV60Film and producer Sven Burgemeister – onboard and they produced Gregor Schnitzler’s Soloalbum, based on the novel by Benjamin Stuckrad-Barre. In 2004, Mueller and Burgemeister produced Florian Gaag’s feature debut Wholetrain and Marc Rothe- mund’s Silver Bear-winner Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage).

Contact: Neue Goldkind Film- produktion GmbH & Co. KG Rambergstrasse 5 80799 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-36 04 91 20 fax +49-89-36 04 91 22 email: [email protected] www.goldkindfilm.com Christoph Mueller, Sven Burgemeister Christoph Mueller, THE GOLDEN BOYS A portrait of Neue Goldkind Filmproduktion

After having met during their studies at Munich’s Academy of lot about my father’s work whilst growing up, I just liked going to see Television & Film (HFF/M) when they worked on a short film films and that’s what made me want to have a go at it myself.“ together, it seems that it would just be a matter of time before Christoph Mueller and Sven Burgemeister would join forces Burgemeister was one of the first students in the HFF/M’s new to run a production company, Goldkind Film, together. Production & Media Economy course and initially worked as a freelancer on feature films and commercials before he became a junior But, before that, they were each busy building up impressive track producer at TV60 Film in 1993. ”I had several offers from other com- records in the field of production over the past 12 years. panies, but decided to work for TV60 because I have such a lot of freedom there,“ recalls Sven who became a producer and co-share- On the face of it, Sven Burgemeister had something of a head- holder in his father’s company from 1999. start with a family background in the industry (his mother is a film editor and father Bernd the head of the leading German production His most well-known productions include Marc Rothemund’s prize- house TV60 Film), but Sven stresses that, ”although I got to know a winning TV film Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt, the ZDF crime series Das

german films quarterly producers’ portrait

2 · 2005 20 Duo, the three-parter Deutschlandlied, the Christmas film Der In the first four weeks of release to late March, Sophie Scholl grossed Weihnachtswolf, and the European co-production of Stijn Coninx’s Die over $4.5 million at the German box office, and world sales agent Stunde des Lichts. Together with his father and Marc Rothemund, Sven Bavaria Film International signed distribution deals with Japan was awarded the Golden Camera 2003 for Best German TV Film (Die (Kinetique), Spain (Lola Films), Scandinavia (Future Films), Mexico Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt) and the VFF TV Movie Award 2003 Producer (Quality Films), Portugal (Ecofilmes), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Prize for Das Duo – Der Liebhaber. Italy (Istituto Luce) and Peru (Gateno Films), and further deals are pending. Meanwhile, Christoph Mueller initially worked after film school as a location and production manager for various productions before At the same time, Goldkind has another project completed – Florian becoming a producer at FFP in 1996 where he was responsible for Gaag’s feature debut Wholetrain about the subculture of graffiti two ProSieben thrillers directed by Sigi Rothemund. He followed this taggers – which couldn’t be more different from Rothemund’s drama with a stint at MTM Medien & Television Muenchen where he devised of the World War II resistance figures. Wholetrain will be releas- the ideas and treatments for Dominik Graf ’s thriller Der Skorpion and ed into the cinemas later this year. the Veronica Ferres comedy Die Chaos-Queen (NDF). Then, between 1997 and 2000, Christoph worked at Helmut Dietl’s Diana Film, serv- Away from all of the excitement surrounding the Berlinale, Sven and ing as producer on Jan-Josef Liefers’ directorial debut Jack’s Baby and Christoph are keeping level-headed about their future strategy for the co-writing Late Show with Dietl, and also acting as the associate choice of projects and filmmakers they will work with. ”Our goal is to producer for Constantin Film on Marc Rothemund’s feature Harte develop the scripts or ideas to such a point that we can then offer Jungs. them to the best directors,“ Christoph explains. ”With one of our projects in development, Young Goethe, for example, we have In 2001, Christoph then took the step of setting up his own produc- been three years in development with writer Jens Otto (Solo- tion outfit – Goldkind Film – with partners Hofmann & Voges album). Director Detlev Buck is attached to this project. Entertainment and was executive producer on the two comedies Feuer, Eis & Dosenbier and Erkan & Stefan II in 2002. Among the other projects on Goldkind’s drawing board at the moment are an adaptation of the novel Vollidiot by Tommy Jaud (one A year later, he brought TV60 Film onboard as a new partner, with of the writers on the TV comedy series Ladykracher) and a classic Burgemeister as a joint managing director. breakdance film Fresh Kids being written by Christian Zuebert (Lammbock) which is described as ”a coming-of-age story about iden- ”Our principle has been only to produce feature films,“ Christoph tity and dancing.“ explains, ”and, after the wave of teen comedies, we wanted to have a go at making a sophisticated comedy.“ The result was Gregor For the moment, both partners want to concentrate on producing Schnitzler’s Soloalbum, based on the cult novel by Benjamin films ”made in Germany“ rather than branch out into English-lan- Stuckrad-Barre, which introduced Matthias Schweighoefer and Nora guage projects for the sake of it, although they could imagine that the Tschirner to a larger audience for the first time. Young Goethe film might attract financing from outside of Germany. Moreover, participation in one of the pan-European train- ”Goldkind wants to be varied in what it makes,“ he adds. ”We are ing programs such as EAVE or ACE ”might make sense and be useful open to everything which means that, after a film like Sophie Scholl, we for the right kind of project.“ could then work on a fast, cheeky young comedy. Like everyone else, we are hunting for quality, for that project which is unique. But a com- ”But our guiding principle at the company will be to stay small and pany like Working Title which can make both a Billy Elliot and Mr. Bean flexible,“ Sven notes. ”The thing is that we have TV60 with a strong is something we aspire to.“ structure in the background and so Goldkind Film can always draw on their pool of staff and know-how if we need to.“ Meanwhile, Goldkind’s second production Sophie Scholl – The Final Days was a case of events coming full circle for Christoph and Martin Blaney spoke to Christoph Mueller and Sven Burgemeister Sven: Christoph first met Marc Rothemund during the shooting of the ProSieben thrillers by father Sigi, while Sven became acquainted with his work when Rothemund directed episodes of the ZDF Anwalt Abel series for TV60 in 1997. Their collaboration on the TV film Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt brought them together with Christoph and subsequently provided the basis for all of them to work together on Sophie Scholl.

The invitation for Sophie Scholl to screen in the Official Competition at this year’s Berlinale was naturally a great honor for the young producers and director Rothemund. The festival platform cast a spotlight on Goldkind as ’a production company to watch’ and was an ideal launch-pad for the international sales campaign for the film. In addition, the awarding of two prizes – Silver Bear for Best Actress to Julia Jentsch and Silver Bear for Best Direction to Marc Rothemund – were the cherry on the cake in X Verleih’s publicity drive ahead of the film’s theatrical release in Germany on 24 February 2005.

german films quarterly producers’ portrait

2 · 2005 21 Alexandra Maria Lara ACTRESS’ PORTRAIT ACTRESS’ eaetedrco fadramaschoolinBerlin. became thedirector of in1983,andhelater movedtoGermany Romania before thefamily andstage actorinhisnative Platareanu hadbeenaleadingfilm Valentin sinceherfather theacting fraternity to becomeamemberof beenpredestined tohave But, the26-year-old ways seemedinmany afterlittlemorema’s thantenyears inthebusiness. firmament Maria Lara Joseph Vilsmaier, Hirschbiegel, HelmutDietlandOliver asDorisDoerrie, asdiverse byfilmmakers After appearinginfilms Alexandra Maria Lara A portrait of TRUE COME A DREAM · 2005 2 films quarterlygerman has become a permanent fixture in the German cine- intheGerman fixture has becomeapermanent Alexandra in the when sheappeared andGérard oppositeChristian Clavier Depardieu lateron inFrench useful plays (anexperience which wasprobably in (TheaterAG)Alexandra joinedthedramagroup andperformed school studiesatBerlin’sDuring hersecondary French Lycée, fession.“ teaching hisstudents,“ bytheactingpro- sherecalls. ”Iwasfascinated and Icanremember himasasmallgirlwhenhewas accompanying ”Naturally, Iwenttothetheater andthecinema through father my Napoléon Napoléon Thomas Bahmann’s asJochenKuhn’sto suchfeature films movie Story Roland SusoRichterTVtwo-parters productions andtelevision rangingfrom the credits infilm listof 16.Shehassincebuiltupanimpressive the ageof series theleadinZDFfamily playing cametoAlexandrawhenshewasstillaschoolgirl, parts film of offers Charlottenburg from 1997to2000.Thefirst studied tobecomeanactress attheTheaterwerkstatt from theFrench Shegraduated Lycéehalf. inBerlinandthen anda four attheageof came withherparents toGermany inBucharestBorn in1978, email: [email protected] ·www.players.de 86 16 85 +49-30-2 80·fax 16 85 phone +49-30-2 Sophienstrasse 21·10178Berlin/Germany Agent: melodrama lead inDidiDanquart’s thefemale Romaniatoplay of country tohernative turned nie genugbekommen Der FischerundseineFrau –Warum Frauen Liebe Dietl’s romantic drama then, shehasplayed alongsideMoritzBleibtreu inHelmut fAofHitler’s secretary Traudl JungeinOliver Hirschbiegl’s Adolf of with SamNeillandKeira Knightley. Shethenplayed therole versionof theleadsinanew one of mini-series television international Clavier, Gérard Depardieu andIsabella Rossellini,inthe appearing asDuchessMariaWaleska, oppositeChristian after Germany knownoutsideof became more widely Doerrie’s gemacht Thorwath’s Liebe undVerratLiebe PLAYERS GmbH AgenturManagement and and joinedDorisDoerrie’s film hernew castfor Nackt , JosephVilsmaier’s mini-series). Then, the first film offers started offers film mini-series). Then,thefirst Der Tunnel OSCAR Was nichtpasst,wird passend and MarkSchlichter’s -nominated Suedsee, eigeneInsel Suedsee, Vom SuchenundFindender . Early thisyear,. Early Alexandrare- through MarkSchlichter’s TV and the two-parter and thetwo-parter Alexandra Maria Lara Der Untergang Leo &Claire Offset Napoléon Die BubiScholz Doctor Zhivago actress’ portrait Mensch, Pia Fisimatenten . Cowgirl and took Trenck , Doris , Peter . Since . She at , 22 coming her way whilst she was still at school and she was cast in the ”I have had the great luck to be able act in some big, significant fea- lead role for the television family series Mensch, Pia at the tender ture films,“ Alexandra declares. ”That’s the greatest dream for any age of 16. actor – and this dream has certainly been fulfilled for me.“

When it came to deciding what to do after school, Alexandra was On the tricky question of which project to accept or reject, she sug- initially undecided. Languages could have been an option, she says, gests that ”many factors come into play such as who is the director but the world of acting won out. and whether you know their previous work. With Helmut Dietl and Oliver Hirschbiegel, for example, I knew their other films and was ”It was the best decision I made and they were three super years,“ overjoyed that they had cast me. Then there is the screenplay and Alexandra says about her studies at the Theaterwerkstatt Charlotten- whether you have played someone like this before, who the other burg, which was founded by her father and Dr. Henner Oft with two colleagues are in the cast, and one’s gut feeling.“ other German colleagues in 1992. Alexandra is loathe to say that any specific one of her roles has been ”I learned a lot and still profit from this time, and many of my fellow a particular challenge, preferring instead to argue that ”each role is a students are still close friends,“ she notes. challenge. If you have the opportunity to be able to act in good films, then the challenge is to maintain the quality whether you have nine Speaking recently in an interview with a Romanian radio station, her days or 40 days shooting. So, my ambition is always to do and give my father recalled that film acting had infected Alexandra like a virus: ”I best in every role.“ asked an experienced cameraman what he thought about Alexandra. And this professional told me something that I will never forget: ’The Similarly, she is cautious about the moniker of ”star“ which is increas- camera really falls in love with her’.“ ingly bandied about in connection with her name. ”I would tend not to see myself in those terms,“ she suggests. ”Nowadays, there are so Her father adds that ”Alexandra possesses a naturalness which can- many people who are regarded as stars that it leaves me with mixed not be learned; she completed drama school to have a solid basis like feelings. At the same time, I know it is important for some people, but all great actors. She worked a lot, all alone, she didn’t want me to help I am not a typical ’star’. It wasn’t the case that I had always dreamed her, she didn’t even give me her texts to read. She always wanted to of becoming one as a child.“ (Nevertheless, she admits to having do everything on her own, by her own efforts, both in private as well initiated a fan website – www.alexandra-maria-lara.com – which as professional matters. And I could only just follow the development keeps her fan following up-to-date with her every move as an of this child with amazement, a child that I had held in my arms as a actress). baby, and now she has become such a big star that it takes my breath away.“ However, Alexandra does seem to be much more in the public eye following all of the excitement around the release of Der Alexandra became a regular feature in German TV productions and Untergang last September. feature films even during her acting studies: she was cast in two of Roland Suso Richter’s ”TV events“ – Die Bubi Scholz Story At the end of 2004, she was voted the ”Best Dressed German (1997) and Der Tunnel (2000) as well as Thomas Bahmann’s tra- Woman“ in a survey by users of the Bunte magazine’s online service gicomedy Suedsee, eigene Insel (1998) and Jochen Kuhn’s as well as named ”Superwoman of the Year“ by the readers of the Fisimatenten (1999). German lifestyle magazine Maxim. These honors were followed in February with the DIVA for Best Actress and the Golden Camera for She followed these with roles in Florian Gallenberger’s contribution Best German Actress in recognition of her performance as Traudl to the omnibus film Honolulu (2000), Joseph Vislmaier’s World Junge in Der Untergang. War II drama Leo & Claire (2001), Peter Thorwarth’s Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (2001), Doris Doerrie’s ro- ”Like everyone, one is pleased about every kind of award and distinc- mantic comedy Nackt (2002) and Mark Schlichter’s comedy thriller tion,“ she explains. ”I don’t place too much weight on these prizes, Cowgirl (2003). but it is a great feeling to have recognition for one’s work.“

Thanks to her linguistic skills, Alexandra had no qualms about taking Meanwhile, this spring saw her working on a film project which had a on roles in international productions and became more widely known special personal significance: her part as a young interpreter in Didi outside of Germany after her performance in French as Duchess Danquart’s Offset was the first time she had worked in her native Maria Waleska in the TV mini-series Napoléon. She subsequently country of Romania since leaving. turned her hand at playing in English for a new television version of Doctor Zhivago. Moreover, it was a homecoming for Alexandra’s father who – in an inspired piece of casting – plays her father in the film. The two of One of the highlights of her acting career so far was undoubtedly them had worked together in the past in Germany, but Offset was being cast in the role of Adolf Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge for the first time that they were both cast in major parts. Oliver Hirschbiegl’s Der Untergang which was shot on location in Germany and Russia in 2003. Since then, she appeared opposite Alexandra Maria Lara spoke with Martin Blaney Moritz Bleibtreu in Helmut Dietl’s romantic comedy Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe and was reunited with Doris Doerrie last autumn for her new film Der Fischer und seine Frau – Warum Frauen nie genug bekommen.

german films quarterly actress’ portrait

2 · 2005 23 NEWS 2/2005 Party in L.A. (photo © Andreas Fuchs) in L.A. (photo © Andreas Party OSCAR

GERMAN ”OSCAR“ BASH IN L.A. dicating a special sidebar to German cinema. A total of 21 German films were shown. Despite mudslides at the Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades, German Films and its partners continued their traditional pre-OSCAR bash ”Fantasporto“ is considered to be the most important festival in and celebrated the Academy nominations for Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Portugal, with over 100,000 spectators visiting the event this year. Downfall and Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni’s The Story More information on the festival is available at: www.fantasporto.com. of the Weeping Camel at the private residence of the German Consul General Dr. Hans-Juergen Wendler in Los Feliz/California. Five hundred industry professionals attended, among them Oliver Hirschbiegel, Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni, Tobias Siebert, Dr. MEDIENBOARD BERLIN-BRANDENBURG Klaus Schaefer, Alexandra Maria Lara, Goetz Otto, Thomas AND LAZIO FILM COMMISSION SIGN Kretschman, Hannes Jaenicke, and former Minster of Culture and the COOPERATION AGREEMENT Media Julian Nida-Ruemelin, among others. Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Lazio Film Commission have signed a cooperation agreement in Rome between ”VINZENT“ WINS IN PORTO the Italian and German capital regions. This accord further extends the network of European film metropoles, which includes Rome, Paris, Vinzent by Ayassi received the top award at the 25th ”Fantasporto“ Madrid and Berlin. In February 2005, an agreement between – Festival of Fantastic Cinema, held in Porto from 21 February to 6 Medienboard and Ile de France Film Commission was signed during March 2005. The film, which was shown in the competition for fea- the Berlinale in the Kaisersaal on Potsdamer Platz. ture-length films, was selected by the ’Critics Jury’ as the festival’s best film. The network aims to consolidate the creative potential of Europe's capitals and create better basic conditions for cooperative efforts and Overall, Germany was very well represented in Porto this year: apart co-productions. Medienboard managing director Kirsten Niehuus: from showing numerous shorts and feature-length films in the various ”Creativity is the film industry's main asset. By networking Europe's sections, the festival also collaborated with German Films on de- film production centers we are making life easier for producers, in-

german films quarterly news

2 · 2005 24 vestors and distributors and nurturing cultural and creative exchange BAVARIA GOES HOLLYWOOD across national borders.“ Spring 2005 offered a few important dates for the Bavarian Film Carlo Fuscagni (president of Cinecittà Holding) and Kirsten Niehuus Fund (FFF). In February, two FFF-supported films were nominated attended the ceremony in the Sala Incontri at Cinecittà Holding in for an Academy Award: Downfall by Oliver Hirschbiegel as Best Foreign Rome, along with Alex Voglino (regional director of Culture, Sport, Language Film and the documentary The Story of the Weeping Camel and Tourism for Lazio), Luigi Rossini (director of the Lazio Film by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni, which already had been Commission) und Olivier-René Veillon (director of Ile de France). given an award from the Director’s Guild of America. Manuel Soria and Jesus Gutierrez from the Madrid Film Commission also participated in the meeting. The next step is an accord between Berlin-Brandenburg and Madrid. The cooperation agreements were initiated in summer 2004 when Olivier-René Veillon visited the region for the Medienwoche Berlin-Brandenburg. Medienboard's Petra Mueller: ”The agreements are part of a series of bilateral agreements that will link Rome, Paris, Madrid and Berlin in a network of leading European film and media metropoles. We plan to continually develop these ties.“ E. Stoiber, R. Meyer (Universal R. Meyer Studios) E. Stoiber, K. Schaefer (FFF), T. Limberger (GE Central Europe), K. Schaefer (FFF), T. Kirsten Niehuus, Carlo Fuscagni Kirsten Niehuus,

In March, a delegation headed by Bavaria’s prime minister Dr. Edmund Stoiber traveled to California in order to intensify contacts with important economic partners. The visit’s program included a meeting with California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and an encounter with representatives of the Bavarian and American film industries at the Universal Film Studios in Hollywood. Topics of the discussion round, which was attended by Universal-President Ron Meyer, Marc Palotay (Vice President NBC Universal), Brandon Burgess (Executive The Lazio Film Commission was formed as part of an agreement bet- Vice President Digital Media) and Susan Fleishman (Senior Vice ween Cinecittà Holding S.p.A. and the capital region Lazio in order to President Communication/PA), were internationally relevant copy- combine the experiences and competences of both institutions. It right issues, the interaction of cinema, DVD and Video releasing as offers cinematic and audio-visual services to national and international well as global film financing. moviemakers working in the region. For further information please visit: www.medienboard.de or www.laziofilmcommission.it. INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY PRODUCERS AT MIPDOC AND MIPTV MDM AND MEDIENBOARD BACK CINELINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET IN SARAJEVO Twenty-one ”independents“ from the German documentary scene took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the world's largest Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung (MDM) and Medien- programming market: MIPTV. This year, the AG DOK’s initiative board Berlin-Brandenburg will serve as partners at this year’s ”German Documentaries“ shared a common stand with other CineLink co-production market during the Sarajevo Film Festival from German film exporters and the Association of German Television 19 – 27 August 2005. CineLink is the Sarajevo Film Festival's annual Producers. script development program and co-production market for feature- length fiction films with the potential for theatrical distribution. It is And during the MIPDOC, 18 independent German documentary pro- open for film projects created by authors from Albania, Bosnia and ductions were shown. At this important event, the AG DOK offers Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and the often lesser financially equipped producers the possibility to pre- Serbia and Montenegro. sent their films at the AG DOK video library to some 350 international buyers. In cooperation with MDM and Medienboard, CineLink will organize the participation of interested German producers, distributors and But German documentaries can also be seen beyond the Cannes city sales agents to have meetings with authors and filmmakers from South limits. The AG DOK is already in cooperation with various festivals for Eastern Europe whose projects have been selected to be pitched at the presentation of special German documentary showcases, inclu- CineLink 2005. ding the festivals in Cairo and the new documentary festival in Guangzhou/China. Even Russian festivals are interested in showing German documentaries in their programs again this year, particularly

german films quarterly news

2 · 2005 25 new films about the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. And part- die Wand) were more than satisfied with the results: the 750,000 ners in Japan have signalized interested in including German docu- points the film received for its participation at festivals and prizes cata- mentaries in this year's German-Japanese Year of Cultural Exchange. pulted it to the unchallenged number one position. Head-On was the only film that attained the highest possible amount of points of 1,200,000. In the production list, the film ranked in fifth place, among NEW ”GERMAN DOCUMENTARIES“ the group of other ”million sellers.“ But also for the films which have CATALOGUE yet to attain high-level admissions, their festival successes significantly increased the level of support promised by the FFA. German Documentaries is the name of the new English-language catalogue of independently produced documentary films, which the In addition to ”festival points“, the number of tickets sold per film also German Documentary Association (AG DOK) has been served as an indicator of a film’s success. The producers HerbX Film publishing on an annual basis since 1997. The catalogue presents and Wueste Film came in second and third place behind Constantin documentary feature and television productions of different per- Film Produktion. Among the distributors, X Verleih and Timebandits spectives, forms and lengths, all with international potential. This Films filed in behind Constantin Film Verleih. €20.6 million flowed into year's new 68-page edition, with details and contact information for production support, with 84 films considered. Eighty-five cents were some 300 documentaries, was presented during the Berlinale and will paid per point, and three films – (T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1, 7 accompany the AG DOK during the year to international festivals, Zwerge – Maenner allein im Wald, and Der Untergang – reached the documentary markets and other events. Pre-requisites for inclusion in highest sum of €2 million, while four others made it over the one mil- the catalogue are the international license and exploitation rights and lion hurdle. the availability of at least one English version of the film. German Documentaries can be obtained from German Films or the AG DOK ([email protected]). 10 YEARS OF FILMFOERDERUNG HAMBURG GMBH – 25 YEARS OF FILM SUPPORT IN HAMBURG INDUSTRY TIGERS 2005 Film support has a long tradition in Hamburg. The dual system estab- For the third year in a row, there was lished 25 years ago in the Hanseatic a double winner at the Industry Tigers. city with self-administrative film sup- Munich-based Constantin Film domi- port under cultural and economic nated in the areas of production and aspects had a national impact. And on distribution during the cinema year 1 July 2005 the FilmFoerderung 2004. Peter Dinges, CEO of the Hamburg GmbH will celebrate German Federal Film Board its 10 year anniversary. In 1995 the (FFA), congratulated Constantin- Film Office, Film Fonds and the managing directors Martin Moszkowicz and Thomas Friedl with two Distribution Office were united new ”trophies“ during a ceremony in Berlin. under a state-run limited company (GmbH). The work and projects of the former institution have been Both Industry Tigers come along with quite a few euros and cents for carried on since 1997 under the guidance of Eva Hubert as executive the top address in German film. Constantin will receive just over €4 director. In the last 10 years, the FilmFoerderung Hamburg has gran- million from the FFA in support funds – amounting to over 16% of the ted some €93.5 million in support for a total of 1,283 projects, whose total reference funds available, some €24,9 million. total production budgets amounted to €696 million. The spectrum of support ranges from national to international features to ambitious The producers and distributors attending the ceremony were particu- documentaries and elaborate television productions. larly interested to find out just how the consideration of festival participation influenced the allocation of the reference funding. The producers and distributors of the 2004 Berlinale winner Head-On (Gegen FILM CONGRESS AND CO-PRODUCTION MEETING IN COLOGNE

2005 Growth rates of over 30% are a rarity among German industries these days. But DVD sales can claim such. In the first half of 2004, the silver discs’ turnover rates in Germany increased by 32% in comparison with the same time frame in 2003 and attained a total volume of €527

Industry Tigers million. What this change means for the exploitation of films is just one of the topics that will be covered during the Filmstiftung NRW’s International Film Congress at the Cologne Exhibition Center from 4-6 July 2005. Within the framework of the Medienforum NRW, filmmakers will discuss digital production as well as new visions for the cinema and film financing. An International Co-Production Meeting will

Peter Dinges with the Peter also take place once again this year, giving producers from various countries the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss case studies on common projects (this year’s focus will be on Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

german films quarterly news

2 · 2005 26 For registration information for the International Film Congress, ”GERMAN SHORT FILMS 2005“ please contact [email protected] or call +49-2 11-93 05 00 CATALOGUE NOW ONLINE or check out www.filmstiftung.de. Registrations for the International Co-Production Meeting should be directed to: [email protected]. The second edition of GERMAN SHORT FILMS is now available online. After the great success of last year’s issue, the members of the German Short Film Association (AG Kurzfilm) have once VISION KINO – NETWORK FOR FILM & again selected 100 outstanding shorts from the last two production MEDIA COMPETENCE years – including numerous festival highlights and prize winners. The catalogue is intended for the targeted international promotion of In Germany a new institution has been launched in February: ”Vision German short films and their makers and is available at www.ag-kurz- Kino GmbH – Netzwerk fuer Film- und Medien- film.de. kompetenz“. Its founders and shareholders are the German Federal Film Board (FFA), Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek and ”Kino macht Schule GbR“, a federation of five associations of cinema ope- rators in Germany and the German Association of Film Distributors.

The institution’s main goals are to build up a network and support the large number and various existing and newly installed institutions, initiatives, movie theaters, students and adults, that are involved in the area of film education. The financing of ”Vision Kino“ will be submit- ted by the German Federal Film Board and the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The new institution began operations in April in close collaboration with the Bundeszentrale fuer Politische Bildung (bpb) and is located in Potsdam-Babelsberg near Berlin. For further information please contact: [email protected].

NEW TELEVISION MUSEUM IN BERLIN

The new Television Museum will be inaugurated under the responsibility and in partnership with the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek and will be opened in Spring 2006 as a department of by Stephan-Flint Mueller ”Bowtie Duty for Squareheads“ Scene from the Filmmuseum Berlin. In the middle of Berlin, a lively forum for the history and presence of German television will emerge and complement the Filmhaus on Potsdamer Platz to become a “House of Moving Images” – a unique project for Germany and Europe.

”ARGENKINO“ SHOWS GERMAN SHORTS IN BUENOS AIRES

Argentina has long been interested in German culture and particularly enthusiastic about German cinema. For this reason, the organizers of ”argenKINO“ are presenting a selection of current German short films from 20 - 23 May 2005 in Buenos Aires. Academic and independent productions are making their way to South America, among them Bowtie Duty for Squareheads (Fliegenpflicht fuer Quadratkoepfe) by Stephan-Flint Mueller, which is also represented in exhibit. Design: Hans Dieter Schaal the German Short Films catalogue.

Draft for a special study for the permanent Further information about German and international short film events is available at www.shortfilm.de, the international short film online magazine.

With the opening of the Television Museum, the Filmmuseum Berlin GERMAN FILMS THRIVING IN is expanding its offer to include the history of moving pictures in a NORTH AMERICA medium that has shaped and influenced society like no other in the 20th century, and continues to do so. The museum does not intend to German features and documentaries are continuing to gain standing fixate television history, but rather to offer new angles of perception and recognition in North America. From 19 April – 1 May 2005, the with individual exhibits, events and retrospectives, thus recreating 4th Tribeca International Film Festival invited ten German television history anew. films and co-productions to New York to screen in its program, including: The Devil’s Miner by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, Deep Blue by Andy Byatt and Alastair Fothergill, the shorts Bob’s Place by Goetz Schauder and Rain is Falling by Holger Ernst, as well as Volker

german films quarterly news

2 · 2005 27 Schloendorff ’s The Ninth Day, Thomas Riedelsheimer’s Touch the ”German Films is delighted that Laurence Kardish has been honored Sound, Arash T. Riahi’s The Souvenirs of Herr X, Sven Unterwaldt’s for his lifetime commitment to films from Germany with this excep- comedy Seven Dwarves, Christian Alvart’s thriller Antibodies, and a spe- tional award“ said Oliver Mahrdt, US Representative of German Films cial presentation of Paul Czinner’s 1928 silent classic Miss Ellie. in New York, after the ceremony.

Over on the west coast, the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (21 April – 5 May 2005) presented a total of nine 6TH FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS IN ROME German films and German-international co-productions. One of the oldest and most respected festivals in the U.S., the program included: The sixth annual Festival of German Films took place from 7 – the highly-acclaimed The Forest for the Trees by Maren Ade, The White 11 April 2005 in Rome. Following the initial difficult situation in Diamond by Werner Herzog, Touch the Sound, Mouth to Mouth by Rome due to the massive crowds, traffic chaos and general still stand Alison Murray, Dear Enemy by Gjergj Xhuvani, the shorts Rain is Falling associated with Pope John Paul II’s funeral, everyday life normalized and Susanne Seidel’s Slippery Tale, the documentary Facing the Dead by over the weekend. The festival opened with Marc Rothemund’s Sophie Gabrielle Pfeiffer, Night by Gloriana Severdija, and Till Passow’s Scholl – Die letzten Tage, with the director, screenwriter Fred Breiners- Ecstatic. dorfer and leading actress Julia Jentsch in attendance. Two of the film’s screenings were sold-out and the film was voted ”Audience Favorite“. And continuing on its streak of success, eight German films traveled further north to Toronto for the famous Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival from 22 April - 1 May 2005. Some 1,600 professional delegates were offered a very diverse German documentary program, including: Stroke by Katarina Peters, Calling the Shots by Sacha Mirzoeff and Bettina Borgfeld, The Devil’s Miner, Frauke Sandig and Eric Black’s Frozen Angels, Bart van Esch’s Napoleon for a While, Rick Minnich’s Homemade Hillbilly Jam, Lost Children by Ali Samadi Ahadi and Oliver Stoltz, and Monica Treut’s Didn’t Do It For Love.

MOMA’S LAURENCE KARDISH HONORED WITH GERMANY’S ORDER OF MERIT

Uwe Carsten Heye, Consul General of Germany in New York, has bestowed upon Laurence Kardish the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, in the name of the former German President, Johannes Rau. Christoph von Schoenburg, sound designer for ”Touch the Sound“ Christoph von Schoenburg, sound designer for ”Touch

German comedies made a comeback in Rome with sold-out screenings too: Producer Manuela Stehr and leading actress Hannelore Elsner presented Alles auf Zucker! and director Anno Saul was on hand with his Kebab Connection. Producer Johannes Schmid also came to the Eternal City with his football film Aus der Tiefe des Raumes.

While directors Niko von Glasow and Marco Kreuzpaintner couldn’t

Oliver Kardish Laurence Mahrdt, make it for the presentation of their films Die Edelweisspiraten and Uwe Carsten Heye, Sabine Haack, Uwe Carsten Heye, Sommersturm, Christoph von Schoenburg, sound designer for Thomas Riedelsheimer’s Touch the Sound was in town and answered audience questions.

The festival program also included German Films’ own Next Generation 2004 short film showcase and the shorts Die Strafe Gottes by Louis Zoller and Weichei by Bernd Lange. And Next Generation director Ulrike Grote (Himmelfahrt) received the RAI-SAT Best Short Kardish started his amazing career as a curatorial assistant, and since Film award. 2000 he has been senior-curator of the film and video department at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where he became the leading expert on German film in America. For more than 25 years, Kardish has introduced contemporary German films to New York and opened doors and helped more than just one generation of German filmmakers to find their way to America and perhaps even their own American dream. The spectacular Rainer Werner Fassbinder retrospective he organized in 1997 has been called the most successful retrospective ever devoted to a European filmmaker in the United States.

german films quarterly news

2 · 2005 28 Film und Video Untertitelung Gerhard Lehmann AG

NEED WE SAY MORE?

• Laser Subtitling on Film • Video Subtitling in Broadcast Quality • DVD Subtitling with specially developed fonts, such as DVD Script HardyTM • Subtitling for all Computer Programmes (or other disc-based systems) • Translation to and from all Languages • Final Check and In-House Editing of all Subtitles and Translations • Voice-overs • Digital Editing in PAL and NTSC • Standard Conversions • 3D Graphics in PAL and NTSC • Telecine • Video Transfer into all Standard Formats • Inspection of Broadcast Material • Audio and Video for the Internet and Multimedia …and many other services!

FILM UND VIDEO UNTERTITELUNG GERHARD LEHMANN AG WETZLARER STR. 30 . D-14482 POTSDAM-BABELSBERG . TEL: +49 331 704 74-0 . FAX: +49 331 704 74-99 EMAIL: [email protected] IN PRODUCTION

Marais explains, ”we are looking for people who aren’t really very well known because I think that would take the credibility away from the characters. The main character of Stevie should be about 15 or 16 and a strange little character. The parents are not really settled in society

Director Pia Marais Director and one has to believe that the girl we cast is the daughter of these particular parents.“

”The mother has to be German as she comes from the Cologne area where she has inherited the house they move to, and the father speaks German although he doesn’t have to be German. Strangely enough, it is easier to find men in Germany to be the father than it is to find the mother. I find that the actresses around 40-45 have something very settled about them. But we do have some ideas.“

”Initially, I wanted to set the film in the early 80s,“ Marais says. ”But August when we won the treatment award, a commissioning editor who became involved in the project said it would be better to be in the Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Coming-of-Age present. I think that makes more sense because the story does indeed Story Production Company Pandora Film/Cologne With reflect the problems of young people growing up today with those backing from WDR, SWR Producers Christoph Friedel, Claudia kinds of parents.“ Steffen Director Pia Marais Screenplay Pia Marais Casting MB Geraldine Bajard Format Super 16 mm, color, 1:1.85, Dolby SR Shooting Language German Shooting in Cologne and Brussels and surroundings, August – September 2005 German Distri- butor Pandora Film Verleih/Cologne

Contact Pandora Film Produktion GmbH · Christoph Friedel Ebertplatz 21 · 50668 Cologne/Germany phone +49-2 21-97 33 20 · fax +49-2 21-97 33 29 email: [email protected] Oskar Roehler and his ”mascot“

”I have had the idea for the film for some time because the story is based on the experiences I had with my own parents,“ says Pia Marais, a student of Berlin’s German Film & Television Academy (dffb), about her feature-length debut August (working title) which is set to go into production this summer. August centers on the 15-year-old teenage girl Stevie who has to Elementarteilchen cope with the unconventional ways of her restless hippie parents. When the family settles into a house inherited by her mother in a Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Drama small town near Cologne, Stevie hopes that she will now finally find Production Company Constantin Film Produktion/Munich, in the stability she has been looking for … co-production with Moovie – The Art of Entertainment/Berlin Pro- ducers Bernd Eichinger, Oliver Berben Director Oskar Roehler ”It has been a very long process writing the screenplay,“ recalls Marais Screenplay Oskar Roehler, from the novel by Michel Houellebecq who is of South African-Swedish parentage and spent her childhood Director of Photography Carl-Friedrich Koschnick Pro- in South Africa, Sweden and Spain. ”I won a treatment award for it at duction Design Ingrid Henn Principal Cast Moritz Bleibtreu, the Ophuels Festival in Saarbruecken and started working on the Christian Ulmen, Franka Potente, Nina Hoss, Martina Gedeck script with a novelist. But I later decided it was better to work with a Casting Ann-Dorthe Braker Format Super 35 mm, color, cs, screenwriter, which was important as I can understand and speak Dolby Stereo Shooting Language German Shooting in Berlin, German, but I can’t write it.“ Brandenburg, Baltic Sea coast, Ireland, Thuringia, May - July 2005

Marais attracted the attention of Cologne-based Pandora Film in the project after she worked as a casting and dialogue coach on their Contact co-production of M.X. Oberg’s The Stratosphere Girl, which premiered Constantin Film Produktion GmbH at the Berlinale in 2004. This spring, she has been busy with casting the Herstellungsleitung / Production Department key roles of Stevie and her parents. ”It’s a very interesting process Kaiserstrasse 39 · 80801 Munich/Germany because the characters we are looking for are so difficult to find,“ phone +49-89-3 86 09-204/205 · fax +49-89-3 86 09-272 german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 30 Elementarteilchen follows two half-brothers, Michael and Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85, Dolby Digital Shooting Bruno, through the second half of the 20th century. Michael, a reclu- Language German Shooting in North-Rhine Westphalia, May - sive molecular biologist, is on the threshold of cloning a new kind of June 2005 German Distributor Timebandits Film/Potsdam human being, free of the conflicts that go hand in hand with sexual desires. Bruno, a high school teacher, is a frustrated sexaholic with a Contact penchant for young girls. The mother they barely knew was a guru Wueste Film West GmbH · Kristina Loebbert groupie, a self-indulgent ’liberated’ hippie mama who abandoned Luetticherstrasse 38 · 50674 Cologne/Germany them to different grandmothers and boarding schools, each unaware phone +49-2 21-5 10 50 67 · fax +49-2 21-5 69 14 99 of the other’s existence until their teenage years. Buffeted by disap- email: [email protected] pointments and alienation, the two men struggle to come to terms www.wuestefilm.de with the malaise of modern existence and love. Based on the novel of the same title by co-author Claudia Elementarteilchen (“Elementary Particles”) is the French liter- Schreiber, Emmas Glueck (Emma’s Fortune) looks set to ary sensation that caused an uproar in France before it became an do for Wueste Film West what Kebab Connection is going to do international phenomenon and made its author, Michel for their Hamburg-based sister company: namely, scoop out a super- Houellebecq, world famous. The provocative novel is a radical sized helping of healthy box office bounty! vision of the human condition and the values of contemporary society. Houellebecq is one of France’s most controversial novelists. Buyers looking for some bittersweet melodrama of the despite- everything-life-is-still-wonderful variety should snap up this tale of the Producer Bernd Eichinger: ”A drastic account of Europe’s emo- terminally ill Max who decides to spend his last days in Mexico. One tional state at the close of the twentieth century. For that reason stolen car full of money and an accident later, he lands up at the bank- alone, well worth making a movie of. “ rupt pig farm run by the naive and sheltered Emma and discovers that true happiness lies much, much closer to home. Director Oskar Roehler was born in Germany in 1959 and grew up in London, Rome and Nuremberg. He has been living in Berlin ”We picked up on the book before it was even published,“ says pro- since 1981 where he works as a journalist, writer and director. In ducer Ralph Schwingel. ”We spoke with Sven Taddicken and 2000, Roehler won 10 international awards for his feature film No clicked. Then we worked hard and fast to get the option.“ Place To Go (Die Unberuehrbare), a bio-pic about his suicidal mother, an eccentric and flamboyant writer unable to cope with re- ”Emma’s Fortune,“ says Schwingel ”is more about life than death. unified Germany. Roehler’s other films include: Silvester The two figures meet by chance. Neither has any perspective. She’s Countdown (1996), Greedy (Gierig, 1998), Suck My Dick about to lose the farm due to debt. He’s dying. The car’s owner wants (2001), Angst (Der alte Affe Angst, 2003) and Agnes and his vehicle and money back, but the greatest antagonist is Max’s ill- his brothers (Agnes und seine Brueder, 2004). ness. But he and Emma realize there is more to life and set out to discover it. They want happiness and that’s bigger than the problems they face. Emma goes into life equipped now to face it. The funeral becomes a starting point for happiness. There’s no way the film’s depressing: it’s life affirming.“

Additional to Schreiber, Wueste brought in the experienced hand of Ruth Toma (Erbsen auf halb 6, Solino, co-writer of Kebab Connection) to shorten and simplify what is a much more polyphonic novel with its more detailed backstory and inner monologue. of la gente/Jan Rieckers)

Director Sven Taddicken (who also directed Mein Bruder der Sven Taddicken (photo courtesy Sven Taddicken Vampir – which won, among others, the Critics’ Award at Rotterdam 2002) was ”very touched by the novel and astonished how it’s been reinvented for the film. I like scripts where they play with the drama. But they must be accessible, even if the subject is serious, and not use a heavy hand or tip into the grotesque.“ As for the cast, Taddicken has ”a very good feeling about Juergen Vogel who’s a well-known actor (Mein Name ist Bach, Rosenstrasse, Der Freie Wille). For Joerdis Emmas Glueck Triebel it’s her first film role. We discovered her and she’s going to do it wonderfully. I’m very happy we’re to have the right Emma with Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Melodrama a new face.“ Production Company Wueste Film West/Cologne, in co-production with Wueste Film/Hamburg, SWR/Baden-Baden With Emma’s Fortune provides not only more proof that Wueste Film backing from Filmstiftung NRW, FilmFoerderung Hamburg, BKM can bloom but is just part of what Schwingel calls ”a full pipeline.“ Producers Hejo Emons, Ralph Schwingel, Stefan Schubert Coming up are Making FC Venus, a remake of a Finnish film where a Director Sven Taddicken Screenplay Ruth Toma, Claudia group of football widows form their own team to take on their footy- Schreiber Director of Photography Daniela Knapp mad husbands; a new project with Buket Alakus, Baba Oglu and an- Production Design Peter Menne Principal Cast Joerdis other with Kebab Connection’s director Anno Saul. Triebel, Juergen Vogel, Hinnerk Schoenemann Casting Simone Baer SK german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 31 It would be a dream come true for Bertil were it not for the rude and shabby landlord, Mr. Pannecke, who, instead, sees his dream come true – the opportunity to hunt moose at last! And if that wasn’t enough, Father Christmas himself arrives, and he wants Mr. Moose back. What’s Bertil to do?

(photo © JAT/J.Olczyk) ”What is so thrilling about this project,“ says producer Ewa Karlstroem, ”is that it’s a European Christmas movie, told from the German/North European perspective. We only get the American view here in cinemas and, the way children see it, their way of celebrating is different to ours.“ Director Ben Verbong knows Scene from ”Es ist ein Elch entsprungen“ Scene from what makes family entertainment tick. Following on from Das Sams (2001) and its sequel, Sams in Gefahr (2003), he has turned his talents to the children’s bestseller by Andreas Steinhoefel. ”It’s not just the fact that Es ist ein Elch entsprungen is a rollercoaster of a Christmas tale,“ says Verbong, ”it’s that at its core is a wonderful Es ist ein Elch mixture of humor, fun and great emotion.“ entsprungen And, as Steinhoeffel himself says, ”What links my books together is the look behind the façade. I’m not interested in normality but rather Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Family in revealing what is hidden.“ Voicing our hoofed hero is Armin Entertainment Production Company SamFilm/Munich With Rhode while Father Christmas is played by none other than one of backing from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Filmfoerderungsanstalt the greats of European cinema, Mario Adorf. Among the other (FFA), BKM, Cinetirol, Bayerischer BankenFonds Producers Ewa cast members, Anja Kling was last seen in the Michael ”Bully“ Karlstroem, Andreas Ulmke-Smeaton Co-Producers Wolf-Armin Herbig Star Trek-spoof (T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1 while Lange, Michael Heukrodt Director Ben Verbong Screenplay Raban Bieling featured in SamFilm’s soccer hit, Die Wilden Kerle Andreas Steinhoeffel, Andreas Bradler, Ulli Stephan, Ben Verbong and its sequel, Die Wilden Kerle II. Director of Photography Jan Fehse Production Design Benedikt Herforth Editor Alexander Dittner Principal Cast With German films gaining a reputation for the sophistication of their Mario Adorf, Anja Kling, Raban Bieling, Sarah Beck, Juergen Tarrach special effects, a complicated animatronic model that, says producer Casting Nessi Nesslauer Special Effects Joachim Grueniger Andreas Ulmke-Smeaton, ”is seamlessly integrated with the (Supervisor), Chris Creatures (Moose Animatronic) Format 35 live actors in a totally life-like manner,“ plays Mr. Moose. mm, color, 1:1.85, Dolby Digital Shooting Language German SK Shooting in Fuessen, Munich, Tannheim/Tirol, February - April 2005 German Distributor Buena Vista International (Germany)/Munich

World Sales TELEPOOL GmbH Wolfram Skowronnek, Carlos Hertel Sonnenstrasse 21 · 80331 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-55 87 60 · fax +49-89-55 87 62 29 email: [email protected] · www.telepool.de

If you’re looking for some choice Christmas fun for the family then Scene from “Hotel Very Welcome” “Hotel Very Scene from take a look at Es ist ein Elch entsprungen (A Christmoose Carol). Ninety minutes (or there abouts) of antlered antics for all ages as only family entertainment specialists SamFilm know how!

There’s young Bertil, sitting in the lounge, minding his own business when a fully grown moose (or elk, same difference!) crashes through the roof and lands right in front of him! Not only is it a fully-grown Hotel Very Welcome Alces alces, a member of the Cervidae family of the order of arti- odactyla (even-toed ungulates), but one that can talk and fly! Type of Project TV Movie Genre Fictional Documentary Pro- duction Company Komplizen Film/Munich, in co-production Answering to the name of Mr. Moose, our animated hero claims he with ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel/Mainz With backing from was on a test flight with Santa when he lost control of the sleigh and FilmFernsehFonds Bayern Producers Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade crashed. Young Bertil is ecstatic, even if he’s really long since stopped Co-Producer Christian Cloos Director Sonja Heiss Screen- believing in Santa. He’s finally found a friend with whom he can get up play Sonja Heiss, Nikolai von Graevenitz Director of Photog- to all sorts of crazy stunts, someone who can protect him from the raphy Nikolai von Graevenitz Principal Cast Eva Loebau, other kids at school and, most importantly, understands him. Carsten Strauch, Chris O’Dowd, Gareth Llewelyn, Ricky Champ, Svenja Steinfelder Casting Candid Casting/London Format DV, german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 32 color, Dolby SR Shooting Languages German and English Shooting in India and Thailand, February – June 2005

Contact Komplizen Film GbR · Janine Jackowski Schleissheimer Strasse 122 · 80797 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-44 11 89 99 · fax +49-89-1 21 14 87 77 email: [email protected]

Hotel Very Welcome, Sonja Heiss’ Munich film school gra- duation project, is a fictional documentary which takes a bird’s-eye view and fly-on-the-wall approach to backpackers tramping the well- trodden paths of individual tourism in India and Thailand. (photo © 2005 Constantin Film, Muenchen) Hans Clarin in ”Hui-Buh – Das Schlossgespenst“ The camera accompanies five “typical” travelers as they search for the life exotic and themselves. Some seek their spiritual center, others the next extreme sporting adventure, the best dope, the nearest Hui Buh – Das open keg and the hippest beach party.

“They follow their desires,” says Heiss. “They have hopes and expec- Schlossgespenst tations they want fulfilled. But the obstacles that arise are something Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Comedy, Family they can’t calculate. It’s not so much the external limits they come up Production Company Rat Pack Film/Munich, in co-production against but their own, internal ones.” with Constantin Film/Munich, GFP I & II Filmfonds/Berlin With backing from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Bayerischer BankenFonds, Marion, for example, is in India, seeking spirituality. Her greatest Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA) Producers Christian Becker, Anita obstacle is herself. Bernhard has a detailed itinerary and little time to Schneider Co-Producer David Groenewold Director Sebastian lose. Frank is in Thailand, looking for fun. He has the island, the palm Niemann Screenplay Sebastian Niemann, Dirk Ahner Director trees and the ocean. He just needs the perfect woman. of Photography Gerhard Schirlo Editor Moure Barius Music by Egon Riedel Production Design Matthias Muesse Principal How the travelers deal, or fail to deal, with their limits is, of course, Cast Michael ”Bully“ Herbig, Christoph Maria Herbst, Ellenie Salvo all part of the fun. “It’s exciting,” says producer and Komplizen Gonzalez, Heike Makatsch, Rick Kavanian, Hans Clarin Casting Film co-founder Janine Jackowski, “to watch how they behave Emrah Ertem Format Super 35 mm color, cs, Dolby Digital in these adverse situations. Some face the problem head on, whether Shooting Language German Shooting in Munich and Prague, it’s understanding the culture, getting used to the food or even being February - April 2005 German Distributor Constantin Film Ver- ill. Some remain true to themselves, like walking an extra two kilo- leih/Munich meters to save five cents for a Coke.” What Hotel Very Welcome shows all too clearly is that you can never leave your ori- Contact gins behind. Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH · Cathrin Werths Jagdstrasse 3 · 80639 Munich/Germany And the irony of searching for that indefinable something is that, says phone +49-89-1 21 14 87 00 · fax +49-89-1 21 14 87 77 Heiss, “so few backpackers travel off the beaten path. The infrastruc- email: [email protected] · www.ratpack-film.de ture is close to perfect: cheap accommodation, restaurants, bars, Internet cafés, tours. Everything can be found in even the smallest vil- Buyers in Cannes on the lookout for family entertainment take note! lage. So much for individual tourism.” Hui Bui – Das Schlossgespenst is Family Entertainment with capital letters! And at the end, does the traveler go home, refreshed and empow- ered, or stay? Does he marry? Break a leg and get stuck in Bangkok? Producer Christian Becker and his company Rat Pack Film Land in prison for drug dealing or become a diving instructor? The have taken the man who has brought more laughs to more Germans vast majority gets into the aircraft and returns to what they never than anyone in recent film history, Michael ”Bully“ Herbig, and, really left behind. in a piece of casting so inspired it makes you wonder why nobody did it before, signed him to bring Eberhard Alexander-Burgh’s classic Founded by Janine Jackowski and Maren Ade in 2000, children’s series (more than 20 million records, cassettes and books Komplizen Film specializes in the development of commercial sold over 30 years) to visual life. arthouse films, promoting and establishing local talent on the local market. Previous productions include Karma Cowboy (winner of the As the only officially licensed ghost (Well, this IS Germany!), Hui Buh Bavarian Documentary Film Award) and the feature, Der Wald vor lauter lives the high (or should that be ”after“?) life, haunting Castle Burgeck. Baeumen, which won the Special Jury Award in Sundance 2005. His one problem: He isn’t scary. But he does his best and the castle’s residents play along. SK Things go horribly wrong, though, when Hui Buh disrupts the wedding of King Julius III (Christoph Maria Herbst) to the fair lady Leonora, Countess Etepetete (Heike Makatsch). Furious, Julius german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 33 revokes Hui’s license. At which point the ghostly bureaucracy Principal Cast Meret Becker, Stefanie Stappenbeck, Fritz Roth, (Germany, remember!) kicks in and Hui Buh has just two days to win Hinnerk Schoenemann, Marie-Luise Schramm, Barbara Neuffer, it back or end up in the ”Spook Soup.“ Marek Harloff Format DV, blow-up to 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Shooting Language German Shooting in Berlin, February – Meanwhile, Julius discovers he’s bankrupt and even his adjutant March 2005 (Herbig’s long-time sidekick, Rick Kavanian) skedaddles. There’s nothing for it but to join forces with Hui Buh and solve their problems World Sales together. A hair-raising adventure in the mysterious ghost town BavariaFilm International · Dept.ofBavariaMedia GmbH awaits them … Thorsten Schaumann Bavariafilmplatz 8 · 82031 Geiselgasteig/Germany ”The film’s going to have everything that makes the audio plays such phone +49-89-64 99 26 86 · fax +49-89-64 99 37 20 great, international, family entertainment,“ says director Sebastian email: [email protected] Niemann (Jesus Video). "An exciting story, emotion, fairytale pic- www.bavaria-film-international.de tures and, above all, a lot of fun and humor." If all goes according to plan for the Munich-based production outfit Of his lead actors, Niemann is ”convinced they’re not only going to K5 Film, Vanessa Jopp, the award-winning director of Vergiss live up to the script, but also give life to the roles in their own unique Amerika and Engel + Joe, should start shooting in August on her film way.“ version of Andreas Steinhoefel’s novel Die Mitte der Welt.

Look out for some hauntingly good production values, too, because But, before that, she embarked with producer Oliver Simon on a whereas many German films are made on a budget which wouldn’t voyage of discovery this winter by directing a digitally-shot low-budget a Hollywood honeywagon driver out of a burning bed, ”We have get project – Im Licht der Nacht – ”in the improvisational style a budget of more than $10m,“ says producer Christian Becker. of Andreas Dresen or Mike Leigh.“ ”That means, thanks to the latest computer animation, Hui Buh’s going to come to the big screen in a spectacular way.“ According to the film’s makers, the project ”crosses the paths of various characters in their search for a way out of their loneliness. Director Niemann concurs. ”We are integrating Hui Buh as a compu- Although their points of contact are only tender, sometimes tragic, ter generated character. The possibilities this offers are, of course, but just as often comic, they leave behind traces in everyone’s story.“ fantastic and will make Hui Buh into a unique character.“ ”There was a lot of input from the actors who developed their cha- Among the producers’ previous hits are Bang Boom Bang, Kanak racters with Vanessa,“ producer Simon recalls. ”They were each Attack, If It Don’t Fit – Use A Bigger Hammer, 7 Days To Live and, most asked to take four figures and fuse them into one character.“ recently, the Edgar Wallace satire, Der Wixxer. The improvisation in the film was the result of extensive rehearsals Hui Buh. He’s going to haunt you if you don’t acquire him! with the actors when the film’s screenwriter took notes on the dis- SK cussions about the storyline and dialogues and developed an extensive treatment as a basis for the shoot.

”We went all over the place in Berlin to pick locations for the film,“ Simon notes, ”and we tried to find places that hadn’t been overfilmed. So, there are some really new locations like the hotel next to [the alternative arts venue] Tacheles; in fact, quite a variety – from an apartment in Charlottenburg to an architect’s studio in Prenzlauer Berg.“

In spite of the project’s limited budget, Jopp and Simon were never- Scene from ”Im Licht der Nacht“ Scene from theless able to attract an impressive array of Germany’s young acting talent to appear in the film. Meret Becker is no stranger to international audiences from her roles in such productions as Comedian Harmonists and Das Leben ist eine Baustelle, while Stefanie Stappenbeck’s credits include the TV mini-series Die Manns and Margarethe von Trotta’s Dunkle Tage. Fritz Roth became etched in cinema audiences’ memories last year as the ever-hungry cameraman Im Licht der Nacht in Muxmaeuschenstill, while Hinnerk Schoenemann and Marie-Luise Schramm had previously appeared together – as Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Drama brother and sister – in Sven Taddicken’s feature debut Mein Bruder der Production Company K5 Film/Munich, in co-production with Vampir. And Marek Harloff had been one of the leads in Jopp’s Cine Plus Media Project/Berlin, in cooperation with Radio Bremen, first feature Vergiss Amerika. WDR/Cologne, ARTE/Strasbourg Producer Oliver Simon MB Director Vanessa Jopp Screenplay Adrienne Bortoli Director of Photography Rainer Klausmann Editor Brigitta Tauchner Music by Loy Wesselburg Production Design Thomas Stark german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 34 focus on three generations of women – Rita, her daughter Fanny, and Rita’s mother Isabella.

Maria Speth ”She was never a mother for me“ is what Rita says about Isabella. Rita then brings one child after the other into this world, pushing them upon her mother and, in doing so, forces her mother into the role that Rita was herself denied as a child.

Thus, Rita’s story will mirror the destinies of those generations before her and those that are to follow, creating a cycle of mothers and daughters. What will Fanny, Rita’s eldest daughter, eventually have to say about her mother?

Speth intends to shoot her film in the prison in Hessen which featured in her documentary and has already found an actress, Sandra Hueller, who had her first major film part in Hans-Christian Madonnen Schmid’s Requiem, to play the key role of Rita. ”I looked for a very long time when casting this part because what is maintained in the film Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Drama isn’t easy: a mother of five children with a very criminal past who has Production Company Pandora Film/Cologne, in co-production spent some time in prison,“ Speth explains. ”I knew Sandra from her with Cineworx/Basle With backing from Filmstiftung NRW, time at the Ernst Busch Drama Academy when I had cast for her a Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), Investitionsbank Hessen, Hessische short film and I think that she is just right for the part.“ Filmfoerderung, Hessisches Ministerium, Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg Producer Christoph Friedel Director Maria Speth MB Screenplay Maria Speth Director of Photography Reinhold Vorschneider Casting Nina Hahn, Jacqueline Rietz Principal Cast Sandra Hueller Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85, Dolby Shooting Language German Shooting in July-August and November-December 2005 German Distributor Pandora Film Verleih/Cologne

Contact

Pandora Film Produktion GmbH · Christoph Friedel ”Modifications“Scene from Ebertplatz 21 · 50668 Cologne/Germany phone +49-2 21-97 33 20 · fax +49-2 21-97 33 29 email: [email protected]

The seeds for Maria Speth’s second feature film Madonnen were sown during her studies at the ”Konrad Wolf“ Academy of Film & Television (HFF) in Babelsberg when she made the documentary Knastmuetter (1997) about mothers with their babies in the Frankfurt- Preungesheim prison. Modifications

”I researched in the prison and had a chance to spend several days Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Thriller and get to know the biographies of several of the women,“ recalls Production Company brave new work filmproductions/ Speth who subsequently graduated from film school with the award- Hamburg & Munich Producers Mohammad Farokhmanesh, Armin winning In den Tag hinein in 2001. Hofmann Director Frank Geiger Screenplay Matthew Giaquinto Director of Photography Ingo Dannecker Production ”One of the mothers in this film lingered on in my mind: Judith. A Design Iris Trescher Editor Henning Weick Principal Cast woman who looks like an angel, yet has a devil tattooed on her arm. Jodie Leslie Ahlborn, Nick Wilder, Gil Ofarim Casting Jana Wich One who is in no way a victim and who doesn’t tolerate anything. She Format HD video, transfer to 35 mm, 1:1.85, color Shooting is astoundingly charming, yet quite ruthless and prone to brutally stri- Language English Shooting in Munich, February – March 2005 king out,“ Speth said when Madonnen was pitched at Rotterdam’s German Distributor brave new work filmproductions/ CineMart co-production market in 2004. ”She is of the sort who Hamburg wants freedom. Freedom from the fear of being left; therefore, she will not allow herself to become bound by anything. She is free of Contact moral principles: to steal and betray are acts for which she naturally brave new work filmproductions GmbH feels neither guilt nor remorse. Within this freedom, she refuses to Alexandra Fischer take on any responsibility: not for her children, nor for her mother Charlottenstrasse 26-28 · 20257 Hamburg/Germany and, finally, not even for herself …“ phone +49-40-48 40 19 00 · fax +49-40-48 40 19 29 email: [email protected] · www.bravenewwork.de As the project developed, Judith became Rita and the film came to german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 35 The young psychology student Sam believes she’s leading a normal life, until she is suddenly confronted by haunting visions … And with a single sentence we are off on brave new work’s rollercoaster ride of mental mind games that is Modifications! in ”Offset“

Marking producer Frank Geiger’s directorial debut and written by Matthew Giaquinto, Modifications is, says Geiger, ”a moody and tense thriller which will keep the audience riveted with its interesting characters, unpredictable turns and a fascinating as well as disturbing atmosphere.“

Unashamedly a genre picture, Modifications, says Geiger, ”is Platareanu Alexandra Maria Lara, Valentin aimed at a young audience, at passionate cinemagoers, who are keen to see new cinematic visions and who love a good surprise when they go to the movies.“ This is reflected by the choice of Frankfurt-based Laser Paradise Offset for the German DVD release. Among the label’s previous titles are Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone), Meet The Feebles (Peter Jackson), Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Melodrama From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez), Dune (David Lynch) and Production Company Noirfilm/Karlsruhe, in co-production Army of Darkness (Sam Raimi). All genre films to be sure, but among with Integral Film/Berg, Unlimited/Strasbourg & Paris, C Films/Zurich some of the best. Take a look around the Cannes 2005 film market With backing from MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, BKM, and you’ll see genre films are as, if not more so, popular than ever Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), CNC, Region Alsace, Bundesamt fuer before. The reason is simple: there’s always an audience for them, Kultur, MEDIA i2i Audiovisuell, ARTE/Strasbourg, ZDF/Mainz, especially the good ones, and they sell worldwide. SWR/Stuttgart, ARTE France Cinema/Paris, SF DRS/Zurich Producer Boris Michalski Director Didi Danquart Screenplay Modification’s cast is itself of note, especially given the film’s Cristi Puiu, Razvan Radulescu Director of Photography Johann modest budget. Feindt Production Design Urs Beuter Principal Cast Alexandra Maria Lara, Felix Klare, Razvan Vasilescu, Katharina Gil Ofraim, soon to be seen in RTL’s epic Hamburg true flood Thalbach, Manfred Zapatka, Bruno Cathomas, Anna Stieblich, story, Die Sturmflut, also happens to be a musician whose first three Valentin Platareanu Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85, Dolby SRD albums have garnered more than thirty gold and platinum discs. Shooting Languages German, Romanian, English, French Shooting in Bucharest and Romania, February – March 2005 Jodie Leslie Ahlborn is equally at home on the stage and the big German Distributor Timebandits Films/Berlin screen, her last theatrical outing being Erbsen auf halb 6 (2003, director Lars Buechel). World Sales BavariaFilm International · Dept.ofBavariaMedia GmbH brave new work itself was founded in 2000 by Mohammad Thorsten Schaumann Farokhmanesh (an Iranian who studied film in Hamburg), Frank Bavariafilmplatz 8 · 82031 Geiselgasteig/Germany Geiger and Armin Hofmann. Since 2004 the company has also phone +49-89-64 99 26 86 · fax +49-89-64 99 37 20 had an office in Munich and has recently opened an equipment hire email: [email protected] business in Iran, a country where between seventy and one hundred www.bavaria-film-international.de films are produced a year; tendency upwards. ”It is very much a film about the Europe of today, very topical,“ says brave new work, says Farokhmanesh, ”is mostly concerned with director Didi Danquart about his first feature film – Offset – developing and producing features and documentaries of various since his 1998 German Film Award-nominated drama Viehjud Levi. lengths and genres. But the emphasis is on high quality entertainment as well as films for the international market.“ Danquart, who worked in the theater, directed two Tatort episodes SK and a handful of documentaries and taught at the State College for Design in Karlsruhe in the intervening period, had originally planned to adapt one of the French writer Leo Malet’s series of noir novels for the cinema – hence the name of his production company – Noirfilm – which he founded in September 2002 with Boris Michalski.

During the long development of the project, Danquart made the acquaintance of two young Romanian authors Cristi Puiu and Razvan Radulescu who co-wrote Puiu’s feature debut Stuff & Dough (Marfa Si Banii) in 2001. "Bucharest is the Paris of the East, a bit like the Paris of the 1940s, and they proposed that we move the idea to Romania and set the story in Bucharest," Danquart recalls.

german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 36 Offset focuses on a young German engineer Stefan who comes to Veteran director Rudolf Thome is a busy man: in April, he was still Romania to install an offset printing press. Whilst there, he falls in love shooting his latest feature Du hast gesagt, dass du mich liebst in Berlin with Brindusa, the interpreter of his Romanian partner Iorga who had and, at the same time, preparing the production of the next project an affair with the young woman. When the couple make plans to Rauchzeichen, which is set to roll on the island of Sardinia in May marry and go back to Germany together, the jealous Iorga takes a of this year. fateful step which will change everything... Originally, Thome had planned to shoot what will be the third and last The film marks the first time that the lead actress Alexandra part of his ”A Journey Through Time“ trilogy after Rot und Blau and Maria Lara (Der Untergang, Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe), who Frau faehrt, Mann schlaeft on ”the future“ on Sardinia a year ago. But plays Brindusa, had returned to her native Romania after having left his sudden hospitalization due to a burst appendix in the final stages with her parents 22 years ago at the age of four. In the past, she had of pre-production delayed these plans and the film had to be post- worked on productions in Germany with her actor-teacher father poned until this year. Valentin Platareanu, who was a leading actor on stage and in films in Romania before his emigration to the West, but this is the first As with his other projects, Thome has kept an online diary on his time that he has a leading role opposite his daughter – appropriately company’s website – www.moana.de – about the progress of the as Brindusa’s father! project: from the first handwritten notes in autumn 2003 through scouting locations on Sardinia last November to pre-production. ”Naturally, there are differences in the way the Romanian actors work compared to the Westerners, but it was fun to discover these and for Thome describes Rauchzeichen, which sees him working with the others to learn from them," notes Danquart who has nothing but Hannelore Elsner for the fourth time in a row as well as with praise for the mixed German-Romanian crew and the production ”regular“ Adriana Altaras and Karl Kranzkowski from Rot conditions in Bucharest. "In the main, the film addresses East-West und Blau, as "a fairytale, for everything is possible in fairytales. Above conflicts and cultural differences. At the moment, you have problems all, love which leads us directly from the present to the future." associated with the arrival of capitalism and people’s longings for Western standards of living vs. their own culture.“ Jonathan Fischer (Kranzkowski) arrives on Sardinia after a long jour- MB ney from America and takes a room in a guesthouse run by Annabella Silberstein (Altaras) and his ex-wife Isabella Goldberg (Elsner). Over the next few days, Jonathan gets to know his teenager daughter and falls in love with Annabella. As Thome says, ”it is – how should it be any different in paradise – love at first sight.“

But this idyllic atmosphere is disturbed when one of the guests, an Arabian princess, is killed and another guest, who had been madly in love with her, shoots himself. Isabella and Annabella decide to use the pond Jonathan has been digging out as a final resting place for the two fated lovers …

According to Thome, Rauchzeichen will have to be told quite dif-

Location scene from ”Rauchzeichen“Location scene from ferently from the previous two parts of the trilogy: ”I know it will be a tightrope walk between emotionalism and understatement. What I am describing is an absolute idyll, almost unreal in its beauty – paradise! Where life then breaks in and changes everything, albeit in two directions: firstly, into a drama and then into an even more fantastic Rauchzeichen paradise.“ ”How do I want to shoot the film? As slow as the last two or fast?,“ Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Drama Thome asks. ”I think a bit faster, otherwise people will think that I can Production Company Moana-Film/Berlin Producer Rudolf really only make slow films.“ Thome Director Rudolf Thome Screenplay Rudolf Thome Principal Cast Hannelore Elsner, Karl Kranzkowski, Adriana MB Altaras Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Shooting Language German Shooting in Sardinia, May – June 2005

Contact Cine-International Filmvertrieb GmbH & Co. KG Lilli Tyc-Holm, Susanne Groh Leopoldstrasse 18 · 80802 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-39 10 25 · fax +49-89-33 10 89 email: [email protected] www.cine-international.de

german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 37 Merten (Halbe Treppe) as Luzi’s parents.

”The plot in the first draft by Thomas Stiller was outstanding, but went rather more in the direction of the horror genre,“ recalls Goette who then worked with Stiller (Die Wunde, Die brennende

in ”Schattenspiele“ Schnecke) on a screenplay that developed more into a psychological drama.

”That is what interests me: the question of how people change when

Bibiana Beglau and Adrian Wahlen such a tragedy happens,“ Goette explains. “And naturally the question of guilt. That has always been my subject, of addressing an incredible guilt and people’s ways of dealing with it. You come to a point at the end where the system of values we live in has been so shattered that one can no longer easily say one person is guilty and the other innocent. At the end of the film there are people who have lost and are destroyed. Each one could have a chance at a certain stage in the Schattenspiele story to steer the tragedy in another direction. But none of them managed to do it.“ Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Psychological Drama Production Company Eikon Media/Berlin, in co-produc- Apart from the greater organizational apparatus associated with fea- tion with SWR Debuet im Dritten/Stuttgart, RBB/Potsdam-Babels- ture films, Goette does not see any major difference between her berg With backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG work on documentaries and the new experience of directing a fiction Baden-Wuerttemberg Producer Dr. Ernst Ludwig Ganzert film. "What I have brought to this project is myself and my view of the Commissioning Editors Sabine Holtgreve (SWR), Justus world," the Berlin-born director observes. ”In my documentaries, I Boehncke (RBB) Director Aelrun Goette Screenplay Thomas always want to be very, very close to the people and really try to Stiller Director of Photography Jens Harant Editor Andreas cross borders. Our work was such that I arranged the camera com- Zitzmann Music by Martin Todsharow Principal Cast Bibiana pletely around the actors. We mainly worked with a hand camera and Beglau, Dirk Borchardt, Adrian Wahlen, Sandra Borgmann, Thorsten I constructed situations where the actors could move very freely. But Merten, Nicole Mercedes Mueller, Susanne Lothar Format 35 mm, that doesn’t mean it was all improvisation. We rehearsed beforehand color, 1:1.85 Shooting Language German Shooting in Berlin- and there were clear goals of what we wanted to reach.“ Gatow, February - March 2005 MB Contact EIKON MEDIA GmbH · Dr. Ernst Ludwig Ganzert Bergmannstrasse 102 · 10961 Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-6 95 37 20 · fax +49-30-69 53 72 99 email: [email protected] · www.eikon-film.de

Two years ago, Aelrun Goette’s documentary Die Kinder sind tot premiered at the Hof Film Days and went on to win a German Film (photo © Udo Weger) Award, the Baden-Wuerttemberg Documentary Award and the Prix Regards Neufs at the Visions du Reel Festival in Nyon/Switzerland.

The graduate of the ”Konrad Wolf“ Academy of Film & Television Peter Lohmeyer and Franziska Stuenkel Lohmeyer Peter (HFF) in Babelsberg has now made the switch from documentary to feature fiction with the film Schattenspiele, which wrapped in mid-March on the outskirts of Berlin.

Described by Goette as ”a film about the fear of the truth,“ Schattenspiele tells the story of the Niemeyer family, living a Vineta totally normal life in a leafy estate on the edge of a big city. When their seven-year-old son Tim goes to play with the new neighbor’s Type of Project Feature Film Cinema Genre Drama, Thriller daughter Luzi in the woods, the little girl has a fatal accident. The sub- Production Companies Kaminski Stiehm Film/Berlin, Jumping sequent decision by the boy’s mother to hush up his involvement in Horse Film/Hanover, in co-production, NDR/Hamburg, Creado Luzi’s death draws the family into a fateful whirl of lies, self-deception Film/Kreuzlingen With backing from Medienboard Berlin- and suppression … Brandenburg, Nordmedia, Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), FilmFoerderung Hamburg Producers Frank Kaminski, Ulrich Stiehm The extremely demanding role of Tim is played by Berlin-born Co-Producer Dirk Hamm Director Franziska Stuenkel Adrian Wahlen – in his second lead role after Bettina Woernle’s Screenplay Franziska Stuenkel, based on the play by Moritz Rinke Unser Kindermaedchen ist ein Millionaer – with Bibiana Beglau (Die Director of Photography Carsten Thiele Editor Sarah Clara Stille nach dem Schuss) and Dirk Borchardt (Berlin is in Germany) Weber Production Design Bader El Hindi Principal Cast as his parents and Sandra Borgmann (Im Juli) and Thorsten Peter Lohmeyer, Ulrich Matthes, Justus von Dohnányi, Matthias german films quarterly in production

2 · 2005 38 Brandt, Susanne Wolff Casting Ingeborg Molitoris Format 35 Few can play laconic like Peter Lohmeyer (Zugvoegel – einmal mm, color, cs, Dolby Digital Shooting Language German nach Inari, Das Wunder von Bern, Cowgirl) while Ulrich Matthes Shooting in Hanover and Bremen, March - May 2005 (Aimée & Jaguar, Der Neunte Tag) and Justus von Dohnányi (Das Experiment, Napola, Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe) are both fresh World Sales from the OSCAR-nominated Der Untergang. ValueFilms Licensing GmbH · Dirk Hamm Remisbergstrasse 47 · 8280 Kreuzlingen/Switzerland As producer Ulrich Stiehm says, ”If you don’t have the money to phone +41-71-6 70 16 30 · fax +41-71-6 70 16 20 buy the cast, you have to win them with the material!“ email: [email protected] Frank Kaminski and Ulrich Stiehm both studied at film school Top architect and workaholic Sebastian Faerber is summoned to an in Potsdam-Babelsberg. While Kaminski went on to work as a produ- out-of-the-way villa to work on a mysterious project. Here, six men cer on more than one hundred commercials and music videos for the have gathered, lead by the mysterious Dr. Leonhard and his assistant, now defunct DoRo Film, Stiehm studied and worked in the United Nina, to develop the perfect city of tomorrow. But Faerber soon States for, among others, New Line Cinema. becomes suspicious that Dr. Leonhard is keeping them in the dark about his true intentions. In 1998 they re-teamed and created for DoRo a fiction film arm, DoRo Fiction Film, with which, until the end of 2002, they produced If that doesn’t sound excitingly mysterious and mysteriously exciting, six theatrical features and TV-movies, including the critical and com- what does? mercial success Baby, the directorial debut of Madonna video director Philip Stoelzl, and the TV-movie, Meine Tochter ist keine Moerderin, ”I saw the play three years ago,“ says writer-director Franziska directed by Sherry Hormann. Since 2003, they have worked together Stuenkel. ”I optioned the rights and then looked for a young, brave under the Kaminski Stiehm Film shingle. company that understood the actuality of the content. I’d also worked with Peter Lohmeyer on my last short and he was in my head ”We aim for genre films with a special twist and crossover potential,“ while I wrote. Given it’s a low budget film, I am so happy to have won says Stiehm, ”ones that can reach as wide an audience as possible. this cast.“ Both Frank and I are involved with selection and development. I tend to do more of the finance and back office once production starts, but And what a cast: Vineta features some of the finest names in con- content and development, we do intensively together.“ temporary German cinema. SK GmbH worldwide transport solutions Int. Medienspedition FILMTRANSPORTS . FIRST CLASS SERVICE ! AIRFREIGHT WORLDWIDE: EXPORT . IMPORT . WAREHOUSE INTERNATIONAL COURIERSERVICE: WORLDWIDE „DOOR TO DOOR“ TRUCKING SERVICE . OVERNIGHT FESTIVALS . FILMPRODUCTION-HANDLING

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Airport Offices: München Frankfurt Berlin Hamburg ( 089/97 58 07-0 ( 069/69 52 36-0 ( 030/412 20 34 ( 040/50 75 15 73 Fax 089/97 59 52 82 Fax 069/69 52 36 15 Fax 030/412 20 94 Fax 040/50 75 25 36 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Am Ende eines Tages AT THE END OF A DAY Scene from ”At the End ofScene from a Day“

On a fateful weekend’s night, a boy is sitting in a Burger DigiBeta, color, 1:1.66 Original Version German Subtitled King: deaf from the club sound, lonesome, hungry and out Version English Festival Screenings Biberach 2004, Sulzbach- of money. All of a sudden, the mysterious girl from the Rosenberg 2004 club enters the restaurant. He has seen her before but did not dare to talk to her. Now he’s got his second and his Marcus Schuster is from the small German town of Nuertingen. last chance. After graduating from school, he worked at several film production companies and attended classes in Directing, Writing and Cine- Not in the best conditions, he has to decide quick: First – matography. Following work as a reporter for a television news get her to sit down at his table. Second – talk to her. But channel, he studied Screenwriting at the Stuttgart Screenwriting how the hell can you make a girl sit down at your table in School, TV Journalism & TV Production at the Bavarian Television a deserted, lonesome Burger King at three in the morning? Academy (BAF) near Munich, and Media & Communication Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Calw. A selec- With the clerk as an unwilling helper, the boy starts his tion of his films includes the shorts imagine. (2001), The Truth grand mission on the battle field of Burger King. Then an- (Alles anders, 2003), Hamburg Petrol (St. Pauli Super other guy shows up, easily doing what everybody would Plus – Die Tankstelle vom Kiez, 2003), and At the End do: just talk to her. of a Day (Am Ende eines Tages, 2004). He has also written the screenplay to The Call (Der Anruf, 2003) and produced Dude, Genre Coming-of-Age Story, Romantic Comedy Category Where Are My Pants? (Sven and Thomas oder Die Jagd nach der Hose, Short Year of Production 2004 Director Marcus Schuster 2003). Screenplay Marcus Schuster Director of Photography Marcus Schwemin Editor Franziska-Marie Reinhardt Music by Nicolai Tomás, Poems for Laila Producer Marcus Schuster Production Company goodloufilm/Grafenberg Principal Cast Annett Renneberg, Richard Kropf Length 17 min Format

World Sales (please contact) goodloufilm · Marcus Schuster Albstrasse 13 · 72661 Grafenberg/Germany phone +49-1 62-6 82 28 05 · fax +49-12 12-5 38 49 61 35 email: [email protected] · www.goodloufilm.com german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 40 Am Tag als Bobby Ewing starb THE DAY BOBBY EWING DIED Scene from ”The Day Bobby Ewing Died“ Scene from (photo © Joerg Landsberg + Neue Mira Film/Bremen)

Following his parents’ divorce, Niels (17) moves with his co-production with Radio Bremen, NDR/Hamburg, ARTE/ mother, Hanne (39), from their middle-class way of life in Strasbourg Principal Cast Peter Lohmeyer, Franz Dinda, Bremen to Schleswig-Holstein in 1986 – to a commune in Gabriela Maria Schmeide Casting Gitta Uhlig Length 88 min, the ”Wilster Marsch“ not far from the nuclear power plant 2,830 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version construction site. For Hanne, this is a step into a new German Subtitled Version English Sound Technology world. Niels, however, does not feel happy in this un- Dolby SR Festival Screenings Ophuels Festival Saarbruecken familiar environment. When Hanne also revives a love 2005, Berlin 2005 (Perspectives German Cinema) Awards Max- affair with the commune guru, Peter, he rebels. Ophuels Award Saarbruecken 2005 With backing from MSH, BiA, Kultur Filmfoerderung Schleswig-Holstein, Nordmedia Together with the mayor’s daughter, Martina, Niels joins a German Distributor Jetfilm Verleih/Berlin resistance movement against the nuclear power plant ready to use violence and thus gets into a clinch with Lars Jessen was born in 1969 in Kiel and studied History, Politics Peter. Following the news of the reactor catastrophe in and Philosophy at the University of Cologne, followed by Film and Chernobyl, however, the nuclear threat suddenly becomes Television at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. A selection of a reality. Niels realizes that he was not born to be a revo- his films includes: Dunkles Land am Meeresstrand (short, lutionary and confronts Hanne eye-to-eye in order to fi- 1989), Not an Inch (documentary, 1992), FlughafenWahn nally free himself from her. (documentary, 1995), Luebke – In Search of the President of the Federal Republic Heinrich Luebke (TV, 1997), epi- Genre Comedy, Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year sodes of the series Die Wache (1998-1999), Titanic TV (TV, 1999), of Production 2005 Director Lars Jessen Screenplay Ingo Grossstadtrevier, Aus gutem Haus, and Soko Wismar (2000-2003), and Haeb, Kai Hensel, Lars Jessen Director of Photography The Day Bobby Ewing Died (Am Tag als Bobby Ewing Andreas Hoefer (bvk) Editor Elke Schloo Music by Paul Rabiger, starb, 2005). Jakob Ilja Production Design Heike Lauer-Schnurr Producer Elke Peters Production Company Neue Mira Film/Bremen, in

World Sales Transit Film GmbH · Loy W. Arnold, Susanne Schumann Dachauer Strasse 35 · 80335 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-5 99 88 50 · fax +49-89-59 98 85 20 email: [email protected]; [email protected] · www.transitfilm.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 41 Barfuss BAREFOOT Scene from ”Barefoot“ (photo ”Barefoot“ © BerndScene from Spauke)

Nick Keller is the black sheep of his family. He loses one Berlin, in co-production with Buena Vista International (Ger- job after another. His step-father Heinrich and his brother many)/Munich, Mr. Brown Entertainment/Berlin Principal Cast Viktor consider him a looser. Only his mother really be- Til Schweiger, Johanna Wokalek, Nadja Tiller, Michael Mendl, lieves in him. Steffen Wink, Eric Judor Length 115 min, 3,142 m Format 35 mm, color, cs Original Version German Subtitled Version At his new job in a psychiatric clinic, Nick prevents a English Sound Technology Dolby SRD Festival Screenings young woman, Leila, from committing suicide at the last Shanghai 2005 With backing from Filmstiftung NRW, minute. When Nick leaves the clinic that evening, she FilmFoerderung Hamburg, Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA) German secretly follows him and shows up in his kitchen in the Distributor Buena Vista International (Germany)/Munich middle of the night: wearing a nightgown and barefoot. Til Schweiger was born in 1963 in Freiburg. An acting, directing, Nick doesn’t know what to do, Leila refuses to go back to writing and producing multi-talent, he served as co-director with the clinic. She has decided to stay with him. Nick, who has Granz Henman on Der Eisbaer, which his production company never taken on responsibility for anyone in his whole life, Mr. Brown Entertainment co-produced with ena Film. Schweiger’s and Leila, who grew up completely isolated from the out- films as an actor include some of the most successful German (and side world, take off on a trip together: one that will international) films of recent years: Der bewegte Mann, change their lives … Maennerpension, Das Superweib, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Der Grosse Bagarozy, Driven, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Genre Romantic Comedy Category Feature Film Cinema Year (T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1, Agnes und seine Brueder, and The of Production 2005 Director Til Schweiger Screenplay Til Daltons. For Barefoot (Barfuss), he took on the roles of leading Schweiger, Jann Preuss, Steven Zotnowsky, Dina Marie Chapman, actor, producer, director, writer, and editor. Nika von Altenstadt Director of Photography Christof Wahl Editors Constantin von Seld, Til Schweiger Music by Dirk Reichardt, Stefan Hansen, Max Berghaus Producers Til Schweiger, Tom Zickler Production Company Barefoot Film/

World Sales TELEPOOL GmbH · Wolfram Skowronnek, Carlos Hertel Sonnenstrasse 21 · 80331 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-55 87 60 · fax +49-89-55 87 62 29 email: [email protected] · www.telepool.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 42 Die Bluthochzeit THE WEDDING PARTY Scene from”The Wedding Party“ (photo © Constantin Film) Party“ Wedding Scene from”The

For bride Sophie and groom Mark, the words ”till death do Lisa Maria Potthoff, Fabian Hinrichs, Sandra Borgmann, Josef us part“ take on menacing significance on their wedding Heynert, Nadeshda Brennicke, Nand Buyl, Hilde van Mieghem day. Mark’s self-conceited father Hermann is on his worst Casting An Dorthe Braker Special Effects CA Scanline behavior and picks a fight about the appetizer with the Production/Geiselgasteig Length 92 min, 2,636 m Format 35 financially troubled gourmet cook Franz, in whose elegant mm, color, cs Original Version German Subtitled Version country inn the wedding party is to take place. Slowly but English Sound Technology Dolby Digital SRD/SR With surely the party runs out of control. The idyllic country inn backing from Filmstiftung NRW, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, turns into a besieged stronghold, and the aggressions on Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), BKM, Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds, both sides escalate ever further. Hermann doesn’t give a MEDIA Plus, Eurimages damn about the fact that innocent bystanders are entan- gled in the whole mess. And even Franz, cool-headed at Born in 1957, at the young age of 14 Dominique Deruddere the beginning, begins to lose his nerves. All efforts to had already won a prize at the International Film Festival in Brussels placate the stubborn men fail, and the wedding party for his short film Orange Light. After his film studies, he made heads for a surprising end … his feature-film debut in 1987 with Crazy Love. In 1989, he directed Faye Dunaway and Joe Mantegna in the film Wait Until Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Pro- Spring, Bandini. His next project was Suite 16 in 1994, with duction 2005 Director Dominique Deruddere Screenplay Pete Postlethwaite, followed by Hombres Complicados Jean van Hamme, Dominique Deruddere Director of (1997) with Josse de Pauw, Dirk Roofthooft and Hilde van Mieghem. Photography Danny Elsen Editor Philippe Ravoet Music by For Everybody’s Famous (2000), Deruddere was nominated Klaus Badelt, Wolfram de Marco Production Design Hubert for the OSCAR in the category Best Foreign Film. His most recent Pouille Producers Marc Conrad, Norbert Preuss, Hilde De Laere, project before The Wedding Party was Pour le plaisir, Erwin Provoost Production Companies Typhoon Films/ which was filmed in France in 2004. Cologne, Fanes Film/Munich, MMG/Asse, in co-production with GFP Medienfonds/Berlin, Erfttal Film/Cologne, Diana Film/Munich Principal Cast Armin Rohde, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Arne Lenk,

World Sales Beta Cinema / Dept. of Beta Film GmbH · Andreas Rothbauer Gruenwalder Weg 28 d · 82041 Oberhaching/Germany phone +49-89-6 73 46 90 · fax +49-89-67 34 69 20 email: [email protected] · www.betacinema.com german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 43 Calling Hedy Lamarr Scene from ”Calling Hedy Lamarr“Scene from

Calling Hedy Lamarr is a film about the legendary Ophuels Festival Saarbruecken 2005, Goteborg 2005, INPUT San Hollywood diva and so-called ”most beautiful woman of Francisco 2005 Awards Special Mention Locarno 2004 With the world“ Hedy Lamarr (alias: Hedwig Maria Kiessler). backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmfonds It is hardly known that the famous actress was also a vi- Vienna, Austrian Film Institute sionary inventor. Hollywood didn’t provide opportunities for female smart minds and so her invention was kept a Georg Misch was born in 1970 in Esslingen and studied Film and military secret. Her electronic technology enabled allied Media Studies at the National Film and Television School in London torpedoes in WWII to hardly ever be detected and is still and at the University of Stirling. Since 1997, he has been working as used today. While her patent on frequency hopping is also a freelance director for documentaries, features and commercials. A the basis of all modern mobile communication, Hedy selection of his films includes: Insight (short, 1997), Lifestories: Lamarr never made a single penny with this mind-break- Douglas Bryson (short, 1997), It’s About Time (1998), Ere ing technology. We Go (documentary, 1999), Lines (short, 1999), Style Tribes – Fashion (2000), I am from Nowhere (documen- Genre Biopic, Tragicomedy Category Documentary Cinema tary, 2002), and Calling Hedy Lamarr (2004). Year of Production 2004 Director Georg Misch Screenplay Georg Misch Director of Photography Jon Sayers Editor Michel Palm Producers Gunter Hanfgarn, Ralph Wieser, Martin Rosenbaum Production Company Hanfgarn & Ufer Film/Berlin, in co-production with Mischief Films/Vienna, Lone Star Productions/London Length 72 min Format HD, color Original Version English Subtitled Version German Sound Technology Dolby NR Festival Screenings Locarno 2004, Hamptons 2004, Vienna 2004, Kassel 2004, Seville 2004,

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2 · 2005 44 Close Scene from ”Close“ (photo © DAX-Fotodesign, Christian Riefling) ”Close“ (photo © DAX-Fotodesign, Scene from

Jost roams through the streets of Berlin. He opposes the Length 89 min, 2,537 m Format Super 16 mm Blow-up 35 world enraged, aggressively and furiously in a self-destruc- mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled tive way. He continuously provokes situations proving to Version English Sound Technology Dolby SR Festival himself that everybody hates him. He is convinced he Screenings Munich 2004, Goteborg 2005, Shanghai 2005 With does not need anybody and does not let anyone get close backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg to him. Marcus Lenz was born in the Ruhr Basin in 1969. After comple- Anna is walled in her fear and unable to leave her apart- ting his studies in Essen, he worked as a communications designer ment. She manages to keep this situation from all the before discovering his love for storytelling. In 1995 he began studies others in a system of lies. Her reserves draw to a close. She at the German Film & Television Academy in Berlin and founded the heads for a catastrophe. production company irrlicht-film in 2001. He also works as an ani- mal film director and director of photography. Among other films, One day, Jost shows up at her door. he shot Das Wunder von Kaufbeuren (by Gerald Maas and Tine Kugler), as well as the Portuguese features Esquece tudo o que te Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Pro- disse and Respirar (by Antonio Ferreira) and won the award for Best duction 2004 Director Marcus Lenz Screenplay Dagmar Cinematography at the Festival Ibérico de Cine in Badajoz/Spain in Gabler, Marcus Lenz Director of Photography Reinhold 2001. His films as a director include: immer und immer (short, Vorschneider Editor Bettina Boehler Music by Tarwater Pro- 1997), alles ist nie (short, 1998), Der gelbe Fluss – Leben duction Design Reinhild Blaschke Producers Martin Cichy, und Sterben in Hongkong (documentary, 2000), Deutsche Karsten Aurich Production Company sabotage films/Berlin, in Angst (2001), and Close (2004). co-production with Deutsche Film- & Fernsehakademie (dffb)/ Berlin, ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel/Mainz Principal Cast Christoph Bach, Jule Boewe, Julia Richter, Julia Jaeger, Joachim Paul Assboeck, Torsten Michaelis, Hermann Beyer, Falk Rockstroh

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2 · 2005 45 CROSSING THE BRIDGE – The Sound of Istanbul Scenes from ”CROSSING THE BRIDGE – The Sound of ”CROSSING Scenes from Istanbul“

CROSSING THE BRIDGE deals with a director’s love national/Hamburg, in co-production with NDR/Hamburg for a city. It is Fatih Akin who is in love with the city and Principal Cast Alexander Hacke, Baba Zula, Orient Expressions, about to explore its sound. Duman, Replikas, Erkin Koray, Ceza, Mercan Dede, Brenna MacCrimmon, Selim Sesler, Siyasiyabend, Aynur, Orhan Gencebay, The film describes a western point of view, a view from Sezen Aksu, Muezeyyen Senar Length 92 min, 2,530 Format 35 the distance, in a foreign, tense, erotic, dangerous, temp- mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version Turkish/English/German ting city. It is a seeking, an odyssey, undertaken by the pro- Subtitled Versions English, French, German Sound tagonist to explore the musical sources, influences and Technology Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Festival Screenings perspectives of the city. Cannes 2005 (Out of Competition) With backing from FilmFoerderung Hamburg, Nordmedia, BKM German Distri- Istanbul is burning. If Berlin was the hippest city in the butor Pictorion Pictures/Huerth, in cooperation with NFP early 90s, Havana at the end of the 90s, it might be the Marketing & Distribution/Berlin beginning of the new millennium that gives Istanbul the role to represent Europe’s ultimate megacity – you have to Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage experience it! But does Istanbul belong to Europe anyway? and began studying Visual Communications at Hamburg’s College of Fine Arts in 1994. In 1995, he wrote and directed his first short, These days plenty of DJ’s, musicians and artists from all Sensin – You’re The One! (Sensin – Du bist es!, Audience over the world come to Istanbul. They are looking for Award Hamburg), followed by Weed (Getuerkt, 1996). His first inspiration, driven to lift the veil of the graceful beauty’s full-length feature film, Short Sharp Shock (Kurz und secret. schmerzlos, 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award (Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films Genre Music Category Documentary Cinema Year of include: In July (Im Juli, 2000), Wir haben vergessen Production 2005 Director Fatih Akin Screenplay Fatih Akin zurueckzukehren (2001), Solino (2002), the Berlinale Golden Director of Photography Hervé Dieu Editor Andrew Bird Bear-winner and winner of the German and European Film Awards Producers Sandra Harzer-Kux, Christian Kux, Fatih Akin, Andreas Head-On (Gegen die Wand, 2003), and CROSSING THE Thiel, Klaus Maeck Line Producer Tina Mersmann Production BRIDGE – The Sound of Istanbul (2005). Companies intervista digital media/Hamburg, corazón inter-

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2 · 2005 46 Don’t Come Knocking Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard (photo © ReverseJessica Lange, Sam Shepard Angle Production)

Howard Spence has seen better days. He has acted in Lombardi Length 122 min, 3,300 m Format 35 mm, color, cs many Westerns, but today he’s just living off his former Original Version English Dubbed Versions German, Italian glory. After another night of debauchery, he flees the set Subtitled Version French Sound Technology Dolby SRD of his latest movie riding away into the open prairie, like Festival Screenings Cannes 2005 (In Competition) With one of the heroes he so often portrayed. Seeking refuge at backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FilmFoerderung his mother’s place, he soon learns that he might have a Hamburg, Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA) child somewhere that he never knew about. The very idea seems like a ray of hope that his life wasn’t all in vain. Wim Wenders was born in Duesseldorf, shortly after the war, Maybe there is even a place out there where he belongs! in 1945. He abandoned studies in Medicine and Philosophy to be- So Howard sets out to search for that son, or daughter, come a painter, but in Paris discovered cinema instead. He attended whoever it is, only to discover an entire life that he has film school in Munich from 1967 to 1970, and then started to direct missed so far, and a love he thought lost. and produce his own films. He received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion (1982), the Golden Palm (1984), the European Film Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Award (1988), an Academy nomination and a Silver Bear (2000). He’s Production 2005 Director Wim Wenders Screenplay Sam a professor at the Hamburg Academy of Arts, and lives partly in Shepard, based on a story by Sam Shepard and Wim Wenders America, partly in Berlin. A selection of his films includes: The Director of Photography Franz Lustig Editors Peter Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty (1971), Alice in the Przygodda, Oliver Weiss Music by T-Bone Burnett Production Cities (1973), Kings of the Road (1976), The American Design Nathan Amondson Producer Peter Schwartzkopff Friend (1977), Hammett (1982), The State of Things Production Company Reverse Angle Production/Hamburg, in (1982), Paris, Texas (1984), Wings of Desire (1987), Until co-production with Reverse Angle International/Berlin, ARTE the End of the World (1991), Faraway, So Close! (1993), France Cinema/Issy les Moulineaux Principal Cast Sam Shepard, Lisbon Story (1994), The End of Violence (1997), Buena Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, Fairuza Balk, Vista Social Club (1998),The Million Dollar Hotel (2000), Eva Marie Saint Casting Heidi Levitt Special Effects Paul The Soul of a Man (2003), Land of Plenty (2004), and Don’t Come Knocking (2005), among others.

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2 · 2005 47 Durch diese Nacht sehe ich keinen einzigen Stern

THROUGH THIS NIGHT Scene from ”Through This Night“ (photo © AVISTA Film) This Night“ (photo © AVISTA ”Through Scene from

Through This Night follows the last days of the writer Dagmar Knoepfel was born in Heilbronn in 1956 and studied Bozena Nemcová, who dared to live her life freely, and Art History, Archaeology and Sociology in Munich. After graduating that in the 19th century. She fights for love, for her family with a Master’s degree, she studied at the Academy of Television & and for her life. And as long as she writes, she has the Film (HFF) in Munich. She made a total six shorts there, most of power and the will to live. them literary adaptations, followed by work as an assistant director, film editor, and author for Bavarian Television. After study visits to Truth, hallucination, dreams and memories entangle to India and Italy, she received an artist’s grant for Venice in 1991 and create a unique film reality. made her first feature film Brigitta in 1994, followed by Requiem for a Romantic Woman (Requiem fuer eine Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Pro- romantische Frau) in 1998 and Through This Night duction 2004 Director Dagmar Knoepfel Screenplay Dagmar (Durch diese Nacht sehe ich keinen einzigen Stern, Knoepfel Director of Photography Jan Malír Editor 2004). Christian Lonk Music by Ales Brezina Production Design Zdenek Lstibrek Producers Alena Rimbach, Herbert Rimbach Production Company AVISTA Film/Munich, in co-production with BR/Munich, ARTE/Strasbourg, Daniel Zuta Filmproduktion/ Frankfurt Principal Cast Corinna Harfouch, Boleslav Polívka, Petr Forman, Ondrey Vetchy, Anna Polívková Length 109 min, 2,982 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Version English Sound Technology Dolby SRD With backing from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, BKM, Kulturelle Filmfoerderung Hessen, Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA) German Distributor Movienet Film/Munich

2 · 2005 48 Estland Mon Amour ESTONIA MON AMOUR Scene from ”Estonia Mon Amour“ (photo © MA.JA.DE) Scene from

”Come with me, I’ll show you my summer land. Do you mm Blow-up 35 mm, color, 1:1.66 Original Version even know where Estonia is? Right bang in the center of German/English/Estonian Subtitled Versions English, German life!“, big brother said to little sister. Many years ago, Klaus Sound Technology Dolby SR Festival Screenings Hof Tiedemann set off to the Baltic states in search of his roots 2004, Nyon 2005 (In Competition) With backing from and the path to self-determination. He came to find his Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung, MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, paradise in a small fishing village in the north east of BKM German Distributor Ventura Film/Berlin Estonia. It was here that he also came to an early death of unknown causes and under bizarre circumstances. His Sibylle Tiedemann was born in 1951 in New Ulm. She studied sister makes her own way to Estonia following in her bro- at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kassel and at the German Film & ther’s footsteps in search of answers. Television Academy (dffb) in Berlin. Since 1986, she has been working as a director, writer and producer for feature and documentary Estonia Mon Amour is a moving film about the encoun- films. A selection of her films includes: Aqua Maria (short, 1983), ter with a mysterious corner of the earth called Estonia, Es war ganz einfach (1986), La Colonna Sonora (TV about the search for a meaning in life, about bidding fare- documentary, 1988-1990), Lautlinie (documentary, 1992), well – and the smile of a new beginning. Frauen sind keine Maenner (documentary, 1994), Jazzfocus (documentary, 1994), Genius Loci (documentary, Genre Biography, Personal Journey Category Documentary 1996), Kinderland ist abgebrannt (1998), Vom Schloss Cinema Year of Production 2004 Director Sibylle zur Huette (portrait, 1999), Verraeter der Nation (TV Tiedemann Screenplay Sibylle Tiedemann Directors of documentary, 2000), Hainsfarth hatte einen Rabbi (TV Photography Lars Barthel, Rainer Hoffmann, Kornel Miglus documentary, 2001), and Estonia Mon Amour (Estland Editor Inge Schneider Music by Villu Veski & Tiit Kalluste, Siri Mon Amour, documentary, 2004). Sisask & Kristjan Randula Producer Heino Deckert Production Company MA.JA.DE. Film/Leipzig, in co-production with Sibylle Tiedemann Film/Berlin, MDR/Leipzig, SWR/Baden-Baden, ARTE/Strasbourg Length 94 min, 2,677 m Format Super 16

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2 · 2005 49 Fateless Scene from ”Fateless“ (photo © Buda Gulyas)Scene from

Imre Kertész was a teenager when he survived the con- Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of centration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald. Production 2004 Director Lajos Koltai Screenplay Imre The ordeal of a fifteen-year-old boy who survived the Kertész Director of Photography Gyula Pados Editor Sello German death camps is also the subject of this Hungarian Haynal Music by Ennio Morricone Production Design Tibor Nobel Prize-winner’s major literary work. Told from the Lazar Producers Andras Hamori, Jonathan Olsberg, Ildiko point of view of this adolescent boy, the meticulous Kemeny Production Companies Hungarian Motion Picture/ screen adaptation tells the story of the experiences of the Budapest, Magic Media/Budapest, in co-production with EuroArts/ Jewish population in Budapest during the Second World Stuttgart & Berlin, Renegade Films/London Principal Cast War: from the compulsory purchase and sewing of a yel- Marcell Nagy, Tibor Mertz, Ildiko Tóth, Daniel Craig Casting low Star of David onto their clothing, to deportation and Tamás Zilahy, Heta Mantscheff Length 130 min, 3,556 m their ordeal at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Zeitz, as well Format 35 mm, color, cs Original Version Hungarian as the liberation of the camps and the return of survivors Subtitled Versions English, German Sound Technology to post-war Budapest. Dolby Surround Festival Screenings Berlin 2005 (In Competition) With backing from MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, ”In this way, the film adopts a completely different per- Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung, MDR, Eurimages, Magyar spective to the one so familiar to us from many other films Mozgókép Kozalapitvány, Nemzeti Kulturális, Orokség made about the Holocaust. Instead of looking at things Minisztériuma, Magyar Torténelmi Film Alapitvány German from the outside in a way that has characterized our per- Distributor NFP Marketing & Distribution/Berlin ception of the Holocaust for the past forty years, it shows events from the point of view of those directly affected by Lajos Koltai has worked as a director of photography with some it.” of the world's most well-known directors on their films, including: Max (Menno Meyjes), Taking Sides, Sunshine, Colonel Redl, and Mephisto (István Szabó), Malena (Guiseppe Tornatore), and Mario and the Magician (Klaus Maria Brandauer). Fateless marks his directorial debut.

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2 · 2005 50 Fremde Haut UNVEILED Scene from ”Unveiled“ (photoScene from © MMM Film GmbH)

Fariba, prosecuted in Iran because of her love for a Production Company MMM Film/Hamburg, in co-production woman, flees to Germany. But her application for asylum with Fischer Film/Vienna Principal Cast Jasmin Tabatabai, is turned down. Her desperate prospects are improved by Anneke Kim Sarnau, Hinnerk Schoenemann, Navid Akhavan, Jens the suicide of her fellow-inmate Siamak: she assumes his Muenchow Casting Tina Boeckenhauer Length 97 min, 2,750 m identity and using his temporary permit of sojourn, is sent Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German/Farsi to a provincial village. Subtitled Version English Sound Technology Dolby Digital With backing from MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, FilmFoerder- At first glance, her survival seems to be assured, but in the ung Hamburg, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmstiftung NRW, refugee home she is obliged to uphold her male disguise Hessische Filmfoerderung, BKM, Foerderung des Hessischen in cramped quarters and a single mistake could blow her Rundfunks, Filmfonds Wien, Oesterreichisches Filminstitut cover. Angelina Maccarone was born in Cologne in 1965 and studied In order to pay for forged documents, she takes an illegal German and American Literature and Film at the University of job in a factory, where she meets Anne, who is very soli- Hamburg. She made her directorial debut in 1994 with the coming- citous about Siamak’s well-being and derives some kind of out comedy Kommt Mausi raus? (script/co-direction) and pleasure from the strange foreigner. While spending more followed this with Everything Will Be Fine (Alles wird gut, and more time together, they become dangerously close 1997), which received Audience Awards in New York, Toronto and and Anne begins to suspect Fariba’s true identity. Los Angeles, An Angel’s Revenge (Ein Engel schlaegt zurueck, 1997, Cologne Conference Award), and her latest feature Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Unveiled (Fremde Haut, 2005). Production 2005 Director Angelina Maccarone Screenplay Angelina Maccarone, Judith Kaufmann Director of Photog- raphy Judith Kaufmann Editor Bettina Boehler Production Design Thomas Stromberger Producer Ulrike Zimmermann

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2 · 2005 51 Fuer kurze Zeit Napoleon NAPOLEON FOR A WHILE Scene from ”Napoleon for a While“ (photoScene from © maxim film/M. Kind)

He is creative and full of ideas and can’t be stopped. He Genre Tragicomedy Category Documentary Cinema Year of has been unemployed for 15 years … And he was Production 2004 Director Bart van Esch Screenplay Bart Napoleon. van Esch Director of Photography Adri Schrover (NSC) Editor Katja Dringenberg Music by Wolfgang Krone Producer Napoleon for a While chronicles the epic attempts of an Peter Roloff Production Company maxim film/Bremen & individual to solve life’s problems by becoming famous. Berlin, in co-production with Metropolitan Pictures/Amsterdam Twenty years ago, when Wolfgang Krone worked in a Length 90 min, 2,556 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.66 Original German truck factory, he embarked on a project to pro- Version German Subtitled Versions Dutch, English Sound duce a feature film epic about Napoleon’s campaign in Technology Dolby SR Festival Screenings Ophuels Festival Russia. Krone realized his cinematographic dreams on Saarbruecken 2005, HotDocs Toronto 2005 With backing super-8: horses galloping, mock-up cannons smoking – from Nordmedia, Dutch Film Fund German Distributor Krone himself playing Napoleon. Slowly, Krone became a Salzgeber & Co. Medien/Berlin local hero. Afterwards, no one wanted to see the film. But for Krone one thing remained clear, he would become an Bart van Esch was born in 1964 in The Hague/The Netherlands. artist. Wolfgang Krone tried his luck as a playwright, a gar- After studying Film at the Free Academy of the Arts in The Hague, den architect, a musical producer and as a singer. While all he co-founded the production company Video Persgroep his projects failed, this didn’t stop him. The motto of this Amsterdam (VPA) and was its chairman until 1993. His films include: modern Don Quixote is: He who fights won’t sink. You Can’t Go Home Again (1998) about the Amsterdam exile of Klaus Mann and Napoleon for a While (Fuer kurze Napoleon for a While is about modern man’s thirst for Zeit Napoleon, 2004). celebrity. About the loneliness and the simple need to be loved that feeds the thirst.

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2 · 2005 52 Die Hoehle des gelben Hundes THE CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG Scene from ”The Cave ofScene from Dog“ (photo © Schesch Film) the Yellow

Nansal (6), the oldest daughter of a Mongolian nomad 93 min, 2,547 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original family finds a small dog one day while out in the fields. Version Mongolian Subtitled Versions English, German When she brings him home, her father is afraid he could Sound Technology Dolby SRD With backing from bring bad luck and demands that she immediately get rid Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), BKM, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern of him. Despite her father’s orders, she keeps the puppy German Distributor X Verleih/Berlin and tries to hide him from her skeptical father. When the family uproots to move to another camp, the father leaves Byambasuren Davaa was born in 1971 in Ulaanbaatar/ the puppy behind, tied up to a post. Only when the dog Mongolia. From 1989 to 1994 she worked as a speaker and assistant proves himself to the father by protecting the family’s baby director for Mongolia’s Public TV. From 1995 to 1998 she attended boy from a flock of threatening vultures does the father the Film Academy in Ulaanbaatar. Since October 2000 she has been accept him and welcome him into their family. studying at Munich’s Academy of Television & Film (HFF/M) in the Documentary department. Her films include: the documentaries The Cave of the Yellow Dog tells the story of the age- One World, Two Economies (1993), Das orange Pferd old bond between man and dog, a bond which ex- (1999), Wunsch (2001), Unterwegs, Portrait of a Girl periences a new twist through the eternal cycle of re- (2003), The Story of the Weeping Camel (Die incarnation in Mongolia. Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel, 2003, in co-direction with Luigi Falorni) which was nominated for an Academy Award in Genre Family, Society Category Semi-Fictional Documentary 2005 for Best Documentary Feature, and The Cave of the Year of Production 2005 Director Byambasuren Davaa Yellow Dog (Die Hoehle des gelben Hundes, 2005). Screenplay Byambasuren Davaa Director of Photography Daniel Schoenauer Editor Sarah Clara Weber Music by Dagvan Ganpurev Producer Stephan Schesch Production Company Schesch Film/Munich, in co-production with Hochschule fuer Fernsehen und Film Muenchen (HFF/M)/Munich Principal Cast Urjindorj Batchuluun, Buyandulam Daramdadi Batchuluun, Nansal Batchuluun, Nansalmaa Batchuluun, Batbayar Batchuluun Length

2 · 2005 53 Klang der Ewigkeit SOUND OF ETERNITY Scene from ”Sound ofScene from Eternity“

A dialogue free – and therefore universally understand- Genre Art, Music Category Feature Film Cinema Year of able – meditation about existence, the cycles of life, about Production 2005 Director Bastian Clevé Screenplay Bastian secularism, spirituality and the unexplainable; reverence Clevé Director of Photography Thomas Ch. Weber and respect, inspiration and emotionality – stimulated by Editors Bastian Clevé, Martin Kuhnert, Michael Braeuninger Johann Sebastian Bach's timeless treasure: the Mass in B Original Music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Internationale minor, BWV 232. Each of the individual 27 short films is Bachakademie Stuttgart (Hellmuth Rilling) Production Design a completed work, in and of itself: in form and content Karina Lange Production Company JSB232 Film/Ludwigsburg, perfected like a small jewel; and in its entirety and flow of in co-production with CP Medien/Ludwigsburg, B & C Film/ events, it all meaningfully melts together into an inspira- Remseck Principal Cast Philipp Denzel, Axel Ganz, Barbara tional journey through creation, presents existential co- Stoll, Irene Kugler, Sabine Schromm Special Effects Artus herences and evokes reflection, to hear and to see … Postproduktion/Ludwigsburg Length 110 min Format HD 24p Precise, highly creative complexity in the utmost of tech- Transfer to 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version no dia- nical perfection. logue Sound Technology Dolby Digital 5.1 With backing from Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), FilmFernsehFonds Bayern The imagery leads us over alpine mountains and glaciers into peaceful valleys, to pulsating metropolitan cities, Bastian Clevé began his filmmaking career in 1969, at first with recounts the course of mankind in search of the meaning over 40 acclaimed short films including Lichtblick, Empor, and of life, existence and the gaining of knowledge and aware- Am Wegerand. He then started directing award-winning fea- ness. Stories about what life has been about over the past tures, including: San Francisco Zephyr (1977), Der centuries, from birth to death, of families, of individual and Deutschlandfahrer (1978), Exit Sunset Boulevard collective fates, of the history of time and the world, of art (1979), Der Sheriff aus Altona (1983), Das blinde Glueck and science, intuition and mysticism. The endless pilgri- (1986), Die Reise aus dem 23. Jahrhundert (1988), mage of mankind in its search for perfection, spiritual and Winterreise im Jahre Eins (1992), and eight episodes of the mental peace, in sacral references in European cloisters series Melodie einer Stadt. Also active as a producer (So weit and churches, in art – all in harmony with the hypnotically die Fuesse tragen, 2001, among others), he worked in various func- gripping and transcendental music of the Mass in B minor. tions for Eagle Rock Film & TV Production in Los Angeles from 1983-1990.

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2 · 2005 54 Das Laecheln der Tiefseefische THE SMILE OF THE MONSTERFISH Scene from ”The Smile ofScene from the Monsterfish“ (photo © Zieglerfilm Bajo) Koeln/Rainer

17-year-old Malte wants to leave his hometown of Till Endemann was born in Hamburg in 1976. After a trainee- Ahlbeck, a vacation resort near the Polish border on the ship at the broadcaster NDR and the newspaper Hamburger Baltic Sea island of Usedom. The sooner the better. But Morgenpost, he took up studies at the Film Academy Baden- two things are holding him back: his father, an alcoholic, Wuerttemberg from 1997-2002. His films include: Im gruenen and the return of his sister with his nephew – all of them Bereich (short, 1998), Strandnaehe (1999), Die alten demanding his attention and help. And there’s Annika, a Maenner und das Meer (documentary, 2000), Salzfische beautiful girl vacationing on the island, who Malte would (short, 2001), Rueckkehr in den Dschungel (2002), Moon like to devote his attention to … Landing (Mondlandung, 2003), Spritztour (short, 2004), Vergissmeinnicht (short, 2004), The Smile of the Genre Coming-of-Age Story, Drama, Family Category Feature Monsterfish (Das Laecheln der Tiefseefische, 2005), and Film Cinema Year of Production 2005 Director Till Kometen (2005). Endemann Screenplay Till Endemann Director of Photog- raphy Felix Cramer Editor Rebecca Khanide Music by Enis Rotthoff Production Design Stefan Schoenberg Producers Elke Ried, Thorsten Flassnoecker Production Company Zieglerfilm Koeln/Cologne, in co-production WDR/Cologne, ARTE/Strasbourg Principal Cast Jacob Matschenz, Alice Dwyer, Adrian Topol, Peter Kurth, Victoria Mayer, Benjamin Meyer Length 88 min, 2,420 m Format Super 16 mm Blow-up 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Version English Sound Technology Stereo Festival Screenings Ophuels Festival Saarbruecken 2005 (In Com- petition), Berlin 2005 (Perspectives German Cinema), Shanghai 2005 Awards Best Newcomer Actor Saarbruecken 2005 With backing from Filmstiftung NRW

2 · 2005 55 Lost Children Scene from ”Lost Children“ (photo © David ”Lost Children“ Baltzer/Zenit) Scene from

Almost unknown to the worldwide public, Northern Ali Samadi Ahadi was born in 1972 in Iran and took his final Uganda has been suffering for 18 years in the longest war school examinations in Hanover where he also studied Sociology in Africa. The rebels of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) and Electronic Media Design followed by Film in Kassel. He has been are fighting against the government of Uganda. They working as an independent director and editor since 2000. A selec- abduct children and force them to kill among their own tion of his films includes the documentaries: Africa-Mayibuye people. (2002), Culture Clan (2003), and Lost Children (2004, in co- direction with Oliver Stoltz). Lost Children is a portrait of four children between the ages of 8 and 14 who escaped the rebels and just want to Oliver Stoltz was born in 1969 in Bonn and studied Film in be children again. But they return home to be branded as Potsdam-Babelsberg and Los Angeles. Active as an independent killers. producer, he founded the production company Dreamer Joint Venture in 1997. He has (co-)produced a number of films, including: Genre Society Category Documentary Cinema Year of Eclipse Rave (1994), Rache (TV, 1995), Herr, Frau und Hund (1995), Production 2004 Directors Ali Samadi Ahadi, Oliver Stoltz Knockin' on Heaven’s Door (1996), Herzbeben (TV, 1997), Kai Rabe Screenplay Ali Samadi Ahadi, Oliver Stoltz Director of gegen die Vatikankiller (1998), Schluss mit lustig! (TV, 2001), Wie man Photography Maik Behres Editor Ali Samadi Ahadi Music by seinen Ex verlaesst (TV, 2003), and directed Lost Children (2004, Max Richter Producer Oliver Stoltz Production Company together with Ali Samadi Ahadi). Dreamer Joint Venture Filmproduktion/Berlin, in co-production with ARTE/Strasbourg, WDR/Cologne Length 98 min, 2,793 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version Ancholi/ English Subtitled Version English Sound Technology Dolby Digital SR Festival Screenings Berlin 2005 (Panorama), Chicago 2005, Toronto HotDocs 2005 Awards Third Panorama Audience Award Berlin 2005 With backing from Nordmedia

2 · 2005 56 Massaker MASSACRE Scene from ”Massacre“ (photo © Lichtblick) ”Massacre“ Scene from

Between 16 and 18 September 1982, for two nights and 2,500 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version Arabic three days, the killers of Sabra and Shatila went about their Subtitled Versions English, French, German Sound heinous crimes. In the end, they had murdered between Technology Dolby SR Festival Screenings Berlin 2005 1,000 and 3,000 Palestinian civilians, predominantly (Panorama), Nyon 2005, Vienna 2005 Awards FIPRESCI Award women, children and old people. The precise number of Berlin 2005 With backing from Filmstiftung NRW, MEDIA, victims – both those killed and those missing – is not Communauté Urbaine de Strasbourg known to this very day. The perpetrators primarily origi- nated from the ranks of the Forces Libanaises. Monika Borgmann was born in 1963 and studied Arab Philology and Political Sciences in Bonn and Damascus. Since 1999, Massacre is – both in contents and aesthetically – a she has been working as a freelance journalist for radio and press. In psycho-political study of perpetrators, who participated in 2001, she co-founded the production company Umam Production, the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, both on orders and on together with Lokman Slim. their own personal initiative. The film intertwines the mental dispositions of the killers with their political en- Lokman Slim was born in 1962 in Lebanon and studied vironment and broaches the phenomenon of collective Philosophy in Paris. In 1990, he founded the Arab-language pub- violence through their accounts. lishing house Dar al Jadid.

Genre History Category Documentary Cinema Year of Pro- Hermann Theissen was born in 1954 and studied Germanic duction 2004 Directors Monika Borgmann, Lokman Slim, Studies, Social Science, Theater, Film and Television Sciences. Since Hermann Theissen Screenplay Monika Borgmann, Lokman Slim, 1987, he has been a senior editor in the features department of Hermann Theissen Director of Photography Nina Menkes Deutschlandfunk and has directed the television features Das war Editors Anne De Mo, Bernd Euscher Producer Joachim doch Utopie fuer uns – Vom Berber zum Ortmanns Production Company Lichtblick Film/Cologne, in Unternehmer (1986) and Eisenhuettenstadt – Eine co-production with Umam Production/Beirut, Dschoint Ventschr sozialistische Stadt im Umbruch (1991). Filmproduktion/Zurich, Unlimited/Schiltigheim Length 98 min,

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2 · 2005 57 Max und Moritz Reloaded MAX AND MORITZ RELOADED Scene from ”Max and Moritz Reloaded“ (photo @ Nextfilm)Scene from

Based on Wilhelm Busch’s classic tale, Max and Moritz are Genre Comedy Category Feature Film Cinema Year of two underage brothers living an adventurous life of petty- Production 2005 Director Thomas Frydetzki Screenplay crime in Hamburg. Their mother Rita, an anarchist with a Eckhard Theophil, Thomas Frydetzki, Laurens Straub Directors love for life, has nothing on her mind but making music, of Photography Dany Schelby, Jens Harant Editor Ines Maria drinking and messing around, and she doesn’t really care Mueller Music by Beckmann, Tony Krahl, Sebastian Krumbiegel, what her boys are up to. Only Paula, the angel-like social Katy Karrenbauer, Jana Pallaske and Band Production Design worker with a helper syndrome and very good intentions, Ulrich Maechtle, Stephanie Schlienz Producers Clementina tries to save what is beyond saving. The two boys cause a Hegewisch, Laurens Straub, Rainer Koelmel Production crash in a stolen car, and in the passenger seat sit the Companies Next Film/Berlin, Kinowelt Filmproduktion/Munich adolescent daughters of a Hamburg senator. Enough is Principal Cast Willy Gerk, Kai Michael Mueller, Katy enough! The two scoundrels are packed up and sent to Karrenbauer, Franziska Petri, Sebastian Krumbiegel, Tony Krahl, Ben boot camp. Becker Length 87 min, 2,450 m Format 35 mm, color, cs Original Version German Subtitled Version English This camp is run by Axel and Henry, two former East Sound Technology Dolby SRD With backing from German soldiers with a tendency to sing and who still Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Mitteldeutsche Medien- strongly believe in Communism. Secretly they are gay and foerderung, FilmFoerderung Hamburg, BKM, Filmfoerderungs- have been a couple for a long time. But with Max and anstalt (FFA) German Distributor Kinowelt Filmverleih/Leipzig Moritz nothing is a secret for long and after a very short time, they too surrender to the mischievous boys. Every- Thomas Frydetzki was born in 1963 in Leizpig. He studied thing could be fine now if Max and Moritz hadn’t stolen Visual Communication in Berlin, followed by studies in Script small-town pimp Murder Hanne’s red Ferrari. The Writing and Directing at the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg. nationalistic sadist teaches the boys a painful lesson. But Since then, he has been working for various production companies Max and Moritz wouldn’t be Max and Moritz if they let as a freelance producer and author. Max and Moritz this weekend-fascist get them down … and when they Reloaded (2005) marks his directorial debut. steal the key to their military school’s depot, things start to change... And when mama Rita and angel Paula come to visit, things climax in every possible way …

World Sales (please contact) Next Film Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. KG · Laurens Straub, Clementina Hegewisch Wrangelstrasse 4 · 10997 Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-61 78 91 60 · fax +49-30-6 17 89 16 19 email: [email protected] · www.nextfilm.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 58 Mein Ueberleben in Kolbuszowa COFFEE BEANS FOR A LIFE Scene from ”CoffeeScene from Beans for a Life“

Norman Salsitz was born 84 years ago as Naftali Film/Berlin, in co-production with RBB/Potsdam-Babelsberg, Saleschuetz, the youngest son of a large Jewish family. In Maysles Film/New York Principal Cast Naftali Saleschuetz and 1945 he immigrated to the US and only now he returns others Length 90 min, 987 m Format 16 mm, color, 1:1.85 to Kolbuszowa, the town he still calls ”Heimat“ in his heart, Original Version English/Polish Subtitled Version English together with his daughter and grandsons. He sees the Sound Technology Stereo With backing from BKM concentration camp Belzec where nearly his whole family was murdered; he visits his former home, now a shop run Helga Hirsch was born in 1948 near Hanover and studied by Poles; he shows the place where his father was shot German Philology and Political Science at the Free University in and the graveyard where he was buried. He remembers Berlin. From 1989-1995, she worked as a correspondent for the and shares his memories – also of how he became guilty, German weekly Die Zeit in Warsaw and since 1996 has been active how he survived and how he took revenge. He still feels as a freelancer for various newspapers and television and radio anger, with God – why did he let it happen? – and with broadcasters. Her films include the documentaries: Spaete his Polish neighbors – why didn’t we fight the Germans Opfer: Ueber die Internierungslager fuer Deutsche in together? Norman’s honest character and precise memory, Polen (TV, 1998), Der Erbfeind – Preussen aus polni- his curiosity and his frankness create an unusual picture of scher Sicht (TV, 2001), Schoenes Land – armes Land. cruelty and sympathy, fear and hope, yearning, disap- Bulgarien im Aufbruch (TV, 2003), and Coffee Beans for pointment and love. a Life (Mein Ueberleben in Kolbuszowa, 2005).

Genre Personal History Category Documentary Cinema Year of Production 2005 Director Helga Hirsch Screenplay Helga Hirsch Directors of Photography Albert Maysles, Piotr Lenar Editor Kararzyna Maciejko Music by Jossif Gofenberg Producer Andreas Goldstein Production Company Next

World Sales Kinowelt International GmbH · Stelios Ziannis Karl-Tauchnitz-Strasse 10 · 04107 Leipzig/Germany phone +49-3 41-35 59 60 · fax +49-3 41-35 59 61 19 email: [email protected] · www.kinowelt.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 59 Meine Frau, meine Freunde und ich MY WIFE, MY FRIENDS AND ME Scene from ”My Wife, Productions) My Friends and Me“ (photoScene from © Stromberg

My Wife, My Friends and Me is a story about the ab- Dominic Raacke Length 90 min, 2,480 m Format 35 mm, color, surdity of fate and its consequences. Fate as the central 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Version English element of the movie, linked with the figures and the Sound Technology Dolby SRD Festival Screenings Munich chaos principle applied, a single move can cause a chain 2004, Oldenburg 2004 With backing from FilmFernsehFonds reaction. One step aside and it has already happened … Bayern German Distributor ZORRO Filmverleih/Munich unfortunate accidents! Detlef Bothe was born in 1965 in Braunschweig and trained as Through a chain of unfortunate circumstances, the soap an actor from 1989-1992. Since 1990, he has been acting for film, actor Richard loses his family, his job, his friends, and all of television and theater and debuted as a director in 2002 with his livelihood. Richard leads us through the story and Feiertag, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Filmfest Munich shows how he is fighting against resistance and finally, in the same year. Also active as a writer for film, television and the severely crippled, takes his old position back again. theater, My Wife, My Friends and Me (Meine Frau, meine Freunde und ich, 2004) is his second feature. Genre Tragicomedy Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Production 2004 Director Detlef Bothe Screenplay Detlef Bothe Director of Photography Lars R. Liebold Editor Markus Herm Music by Azhar Kamal Production Design Claudia Mahringer, Joerg Springfeld Producers Hannes Stromberg, Benjamin von Mallinckrodt Production Company Stromberg Productions/Munich, in co-production with Reich & Gluecklich Film/Munich, SWR/Stuttgart, MDR/Leipzig, FGV Schmidle/Munich Principal Cast Catherine Flemming, Detlef Bothe, Gabrielle Scharnitzky, Oliver Korittke, Juergen Tarrach,

World Sales (please contact) Stromberg Productions · Hannes Stromberg Rumfordstrasse 36 · 80469 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-21 57 85 83 · fax +49-89-21 57 85 84 email: [email protected] · www.stromberg-productions.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 60 Playa del Futuro Scene from”Playa del Futuro“ Scene from”Playa

Jan, Rudi and Kati have been friends for many years and Production Company BOSKO BIATI Film/Berlin, in co-pro- work together in Rudi’s pub in a small German town. duction with Kinowelt Filmproduktion/Munich, EuroArts/Berlin When Rudi follows Rosa, the lady of his dreams, to Spain, Principal Cast Peter Lohmeyer, Nina Petri, Outi Maeenpaeae, Jan takes over Rudi’s pub and Kati agrees to be his part- Hilmi Soezer, Kati Outinen Length 91 min, 2,496 m Format 35 ner. They redecorate the place and Kati falls in love with mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Jan. When the couple is about to reopen for business, the Version English Sound Technology Dolby SR With bailiff turns up. Rudi forgot to mention the pile of debt he backing from BKM, Filmstiftung NRW, Filmfoerderungsanstalt left behind. Kati turns away from Jan and contemplates (FFA) German Distributor Kinowelt Filmverleih/Leipzig giving up and going back to Finland, but Jan decides to stay. He can postpone disaster for three days, resolving to Peter Lichtefeld was born in Dortmund in 1956. After studies settle Rudi’s debt, for that seems to be the only way he can in Geography and Political Science, he worked as a set and produc- get back his restaurant and Kati’s heart. tion manager on films like Die Blaue Stunde (1990, Marcel Gisler), Der Erdnussmann (1991, Dietmar Klein) and Deadly Maria (Die toed- The paths of those three and the Hungarian Lázló, the liche Maria, 1993, Tom Tykwer). A selection of his films includes: Spanish Ana and the Cuban Rosa cross on the dusty plains Without Comparison (Ohne Vergleich, 1986), The of Andalusia and their lives take a new turn. Sardine Journey (Sardinienfahrt, 1987), World of Stone (Worte aus Stein, documentary short, 1988), Playa del Futuro’s message is one that appeals instantly Moscow (Moskau, short, 1989), Kissah (short, 1996), to audiences: happiness is not bound by age or nationality Trains ’n’ Roses (Zugvoegel, 1997), Damned and sometimes it lies well off the beaten track. Sensations (Verdammte Gefuehle, 2001), Wilsberg and the Silent Witness (Wilsberg und der stumme Zeuge, Genre Drama, Road Movie, Tragicomedy Category Feature Film TV, 2002), 16 episodes of Die Camper (1999-2003), and Playa del Cinema Year of Production 2005 Director Peter Lichtefeld Futuro (2005). Screenplay Peter Lichtefeld Director of Photography Stefan Wachner Editor Bernd Euscher Producer Joern Rettig

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2 · 2005 61 Der Schatz der weissen Falken THE TREASURE OF THE WHITE FALCONS Scene from ”The Treasure of ”The Treasure Scene from the White Falcons“ (photo © Falcom Media)

Summer 1981. Jan’s last summer holidays in a little first time. He has also grown up a bit more, and has learn- Franconian village are about to begin, before he has to ed that the magic of childhood cannot last forever. move away with his parents. There are just a few weeks left to spend with his best friends Stevie and Basti. To mark Genre Adventure, Children and Youth Category Feature Film his farewell with honor, the friends plan an adventure that Cinema Year of Production 2005 Director Christian Zuebert is the most dangerous test of courage in the village: to Screenplay Christian Zuebert Director of Photography break into the notorious, half rotten Kattlervilla. Jules van den Steenhoven Editor Ueli Christen Production Design Uli Hanisch Producers Tom Spiess, Soenke Wortmann Inside, they find an old, coded map that leads to a trea- Production Company Little Shark Entertainment/Cologne, in sure. It has been put there by the White Falcons, a legen- co-production with GFP Medienfonds/Berlin Principal Cast dary children’s gang from the 70s. The trail leads to Peter David Bode, Kevin Koeppe, Tamino-Turgay zum Felde, Victoria Laux, the leader of the ‘White Falcons’, and his sad story. Scherer, Cornelia Schmaus, Thomas Sarbacher, Brigitte Beyeler, Jan learns that Peter mysteriously disappeared after the Sibylle Schedwill Casting Sabine Schwedhelm Length 87 min break up of the gang 10 years ago, and still no one knows Format Super 35, color, cs Original Version German Sound what happened to him. Following the map further, it leads Technology Dolby Digital With backing from Filmstiftung to an as yet unexplored cave. This is where the ”Treasure NRW, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, BKM, Filmfoerderungsanstalt of the White Falcons“ must be. (FFA) German Distributor Falcom Media Group/Berlin

The children set off on their adventure. Fired by the desire Christian Zuebert was born in 1973 in Wuerzburg. Since 1997, to achieve something special, they walk through unknown he has concentrated on scriptwriting and has written numerous forests, build a bonfire beneath the stars, electrify fish screenplays for film and television. Soenke Wortmann took up ponds, learn a lot about themselves and their courage, and contact with him upon recommendation, and after receiving put their friendship to the test. In the end, they must over- Zuebert’s script for Lammbock – Shit Happens (Lamm- come their greatest fears and climb deep into an unknown bock – Alles in Handarbeit, 2001), convinced him to take cave, where they will face Peter Laux and his secret. When over direction of the film, making it his directorial debut. He has also Jan has to say goodbye to his friends after their last adven- co-written the scripts for the films Fandango (1998), Girls on Top ture, he has not only seen death and kissed a girl for the (Maedchen Maedchen, 2001), and Die rote Zora (to be directed by Marc Rothemund), among others. World Sales SevenOne International · Dr. Stefan Gaertner Medienallee 7 · 85774 Unterfoehring/Germany phone +49-89-95 07 11 25 · fax +49-89-95 07 11 36 email: [email protected] german films quarterly new german films

The 19-year-old Tobi is doing alternative civilian service in Burkhard Feige was born in 1972 in Hechingen and studied a nursing home. Ms. Lichtenberg, an old and lonely Philosophy, Law and Rhetoric before taking up studies at the woman who needs constant attention, lives in the home. Academy of Television & Film in Munich. From 1997-2000, he Tobi is planing a big party for this 20th birthday, but the worked as a freelancer for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, acted in tele- night nurse doesn’t show up for work. Since it is also co- vision and advertising films, and was active as an Avid editor. From incidentally Ms. Lichtenberg's birthday, Tobi decides to 2000-2002, he instructed Dramaturgy and Editing and has been take her with him to the party, unaware that she too has working as a freelance editor, author and director since 2002. A some plans of her own … selection of his films includes: wenn Traeume (Koenigs- walzer) (1997), Der elektrische Reiter (1998), Das Genre Coming-of-Age Story Category Short Year of Fenster (1999), Weihnachtsbier (2001), and Solo (2005). Production 2005 Director Burkhard Feige Screenplay Burkhard Feige Director of Photography Ralf Leistl Editors Mona Braeuer, Burkhard Feige Music by Julian Heidenreich Production Design Eva Stiebler Producers Martin Blankemeyer, Mario Stefan, Clarens Grollmann Production Company Muenchner Filmwerkstatt/Munich, for fieber.film/ Munich, in co-production with FGV Schmidle/Munich, in cooperation with Hochschule fuer Fernsehen und Film Muenchen (HFF/M)/Munich Principal Cast Florian Jahr, Eva Ebner, Bo Hansen, Hannah Herzsprung, Kerstin Reimann Casting Uwe Buenker, Buenker Casting/Berlin Length 29 min, 796 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Sound Technology Dolby Digital SRD Festival Screenings Ophuels Festival Saarbruecken 2005 (Short Competition) With backing from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA)

World Sales (please contact) Muenchner Filmwerkstatt e.V. · Martin Blankemeyer P.O. Box 860 525 · 81632 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-4 20 95 89 82 · fax +49-7 21-1 51 37 76 29 email: [email protected] · www.muenchner-filmwerkstatt.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 63 Stadt als Beute BERLIN STORIES Julia Hummer, Stipe Erceg in ”Berlin Stories“ (photo © Filmgalerie 451, Thomas Aurin) Stipe Erceg Julia Hummer,

Berlin Stories was shot in Berlin and is inspired by the English Sound Technology Dolby Digital Festival theater: three directors developed three astounding tales Screenings Berlin 2005 (Forum), Femme Totale 2005 With about the German capital based on rehearsals of a play by backing from MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, Medienboard Berlin- Volksbuehne-playwright René Pollesch. The film com- Brandenburg German Distributor Neue Visionen Film- ments on the relationship between art and life in a tongue- verleih/Berlin in-cheek way. Marlon has to forget the rules of acting he has just learned before he can flesh out his role. He plun- Irene von Alberti studied Media Technology in Stuttgart and ges into the vortex of the city for two days and nights. Film at the Munich Academy of Television & Film (HFF/M). Her Lizzy constantly stages herself, but it always goes wrong: other films as a director include: Call at Corazón (Zwischen- no money, no agency, no red carpet. She meets the cute halt in Corazón, 1993), Halfmoon (Paul Bowles – Halb- callboy Julian in a bar and turns his biography into her mond, 1995, in co-direction with Frieder Schlaich), and story. Ohboy, a flaneur, is afraid of the theater rehearsals, Petenera (1998). so he does not attend them. In a long walk down Potsdamer Strasse, which unites all of Berlin’s facets, he Miriam Dehne studied Design at the Berlin University of the faces his fear of the script, and above all himself. Arts and also works as a costume designer and assistant director in theater and film. A selection of her films includes: Barbie Lives Genre Tragicomedy Category Feature Film Cinema Year of (Barbie lebt, 1992), Cinderella’s Dress (Cinderellas Production 2005 Directors Irene von Alberti, Miriam Dehne, Kleid, 1996), Urban Style Mutation (1997), Spacy Tracy, Esther Gronenborn Screenplay Irene von Alberti, Miriam Dehne, Betty Bondage (2000), Vivi Kiss (2000), and 99euro- Esther Gronenborn Directors of Photography Dirk Heuer, films: Loreley S. (2002). Felix Leiberg, Patrick Waldmann Editors Robert Kummer, Daniela Kinateder Music by Don Philippe and others Producer Frieder Esther Gronenborn also studied at the HFF/Munich. Her films Schlaich Production Company Filmgalerie 451/Stuttgart & include: I Wonder in Pornoland (1990), The Road to Berlin, in co-production with ZDF/Mainz Principal Cast Inga Happiness (Die Strasse zum Glueck, 1995), alaska.de Busch, Richard Kropf, David Scheller, Julia Hummer, Stipe Erceg, RP (2000), an episode of the omnibus project 99euro films, and Adil Kahl, René Pollesch Length 93 min, 2,554 m Format 35 mm, geht (2005), as well as numerous music videos. color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Version

World Sales (please contact) Filmgalerie 451 Filmproduktion OHG · Frieder Schlaich Esplanade 21 · 13187 Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-43 72 08 89 · fax +49-30-43 72 08 90 email: [email protected] · www.filmgalerie451.de · www.stadt-als-beute.de german films quarterly new german films

Liberation Day is about three residents of a retirement Martin Blankemeyer was born in 1971 in Landau/Pfalz. He home. Former orchestra conductor Kirchhoff illegally studied Media Sciences at the Fachhochschule Wiesbaden and keeps a little dog, which is why he is being emotionally Directing at the Ecole Supérieure d’Audio Visuel of the University terrorized by his neighbor Mr. Foerster. Nobody seems to of Toulouse. He then completed the Masterclass of the Film notice, until one day, Mr. Bender intervenes … Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg and the La Fémis and participated in the Berlinale’s Talent Campus 2004. Liberation Day (Der Genre Drama Category Short Year of Production 2004 Tag der Befreiung, 2004) is his first film as a director. Director Martin Blankemeyer Screenplay Martin Oestreicher Director of Photography Luy Briechle Editor Inge Kuhnert Music by Oliver Gunia Production Design Gert B. Venzky Producer Martin Blankemeyer Production Company Muenchner Filmwerkstatt/Munich, in co-production with FGV Schmidle/Munich Principal Cast Dieter Schaad, Horst Richter, Joseph Saxinger, Michaela Schaffrath Length 15 min, 426 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.66 Original Version German Subtitled Versions English, French Sound Technology Dolby SR Festival Screenings Lille 2004, Toulouse 2004, San Sebastian 2004, VGIK Festival Moscow 2004, Lichtspiele Adelaide 2004, Tiburon 2005 Awards Jury Award shortmoves Halle/Saale With backing from Hessische Filmfoerderung, Hessisches Ministerium fuer Wissenschaft und Kunst, Ministerium fuer Wissenschaft, Weiterbildung, Forschung und Kultur Rheinland-Pfalz German Distributor Muenchner Filmwerkstatt/Munich

The art historian Alexander Reschke meets the energetic novel by Guenter Grass Director of Photography Jacek Polish restorer Aleksandra Piatowska in 1989 on one of Petrycki Editor Krzysztof Szeptmanski Music by Gregor Voigt his visits to Gdansk, the city of his childhood. Just like Production Design Jochen Schumacher Producers Regina Alexander, Aleksandra is also widowed and had to leave Ziegler, Elke Ried, Henryk Romanowski, Mike Downey Pro- her hometown at a very early age. She is originally from duction Companies Zieglerfilm/Cologne, Ziegler Film/Berlin, Vilnius in Lithuania. During a dinner together, they come Filmcontract/Warsaw, Killerpic/London Principal Cast Matthias upon an inspiration: what if they both established a Habich, Krystyna Janda, Dorothea Walda, Bhasker Patel, Udo foundation that would provide for burials in one’s home- Samel, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Mareike Carrière, Krzysztof town? A sort of reconciliation cemetery for Germans in Globisz, Joachim Król Casting Sigrid Emmerich Special Effects Gdansk and for Poles in Vilnius. Flash Art/Bielefeld Length 94 min Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German/Polish Subtitled Version English Months later their idea becomes reality and they become With backing from Filmstiftung NRW, Eurimages, Polish a couple. Together they set up a foundation with Polish Cultural Ministry, City of Gdansk German Distributor NFP and German partners. But when the first funeral takes Marketing & Distribution/Berlin place at the Gdansk cemetery, they are both moved to tears, even though there is still one downer: the Russians Robert Glinski was born in 1952 in Warsaw. After studying in Vilnius have not taken to their idea. Architecture in Warsaw, he studied Directing at the National Film School in Lodz. Also active in television and the theater, a selection Before long, the reconciliation cemetery becomes more of his films includes: We Are Not Afraid (documentary, 1981), and more commercial, while Aleksandra and Alexander’s Coxless Pair (documentary, 1982), Sunday Pranks (1983), original hope of international understanding is cast by the Nr. 94287 Nr. 181970 (documentary, 1986), Me Jew (docu- wayside. The powers of capitalism are stronger, and hard mentary, 1987), Swan Song (1988), Supervision (1990), All currency prevails over idealistic intentions. That Really Matters (1992), One Daughter, Two Mothers (1995), Love and Do What You Want (1998), Genre Drama, Literature Category Feature Film Cinema Year Hi, Tereska (2001), and Call of the Toad (Unkenrufe, of Production 2005 Director Robert Glinski Screenplay 2005), based on Guenter Grass’ novel of the same name. Klaus Richter, Pawel Huelle, Cezary Harasimowicz, based on the

White Wedding is a modern fantasy based on the classic- Paul Gerwien, Manuela Bress Casting Silke Holzbog Length 10 al ballet Giselle. It is about mysterious young women, who min, 285 m Format Super 16 mm Blow-up 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 dance themselves to death on their wedding night, and Original Version no dialogue Sound Technology Dolby from then on rise every midnight, infatuating men with Digital With backing from BKM, Hessische Filmfoerderung, their bewitched dancing to draw them to the ”other Fonds darstellende Kuenste world“. RP Kahl was born in 1970 and studied Acting at the Ernst Busch White Wedding carries the love-story of Jeane and Alex School of Dramatic Art in Berlin/Rostock. He then founded the into a modern day city. Jeane is dancing herself to death in production company ERDBEERMUNDfilm and made his first short a club and Alex falls in love with her at that very moment. Ausgespielt (1995). In 1997, he produced and starred in Silvester Later, Jeane appears to Alex and tempts him to follow her Countdown, directed by Oskar Roehler. Angel Express was his into the realm of the dead. feature debut as a director. In 2002, he produced (and directed episodes of) the cycle of shorts 99euro-films, followed by Europe – White Wedding is a modern dance art-film without dia- 99euro-films 2 in 2003. He has also created several commercials and logue, displaying it strengths by a perfectly balanced com- music clips, including the video to Freie Liebe for the band bination of dance, imagery and music, avoiding the 2raumwohnung, together with Anne Retzlaff restraints of a feature film or a music clip. Anne Retzlaff studied Dance and Choreography at the Palucca Genre Art, Dance Category Short Year of Production School in Dresden. She created several dance-theater-plays for the 2005 Directors RP Kahl, Anne Retzlaff Choreography Anne TIF/Staatsschauspiel Dresden and the festival ”Tanztage Berlin“. In Retzlaff Director of Photography Felix Leiberg Editor Olaf 2001, her play Most was presented within the prestigious ”Dance- Tischbier Music by Tom Weitemeier, Sissimetall, Gustav Mahler, Platform Germany“ in Leipzig. She is also the lead singer of the band Friedrich Rueckert Producer RP Kahl Production Company Sissimetall. ERDBEERMUNDfilm/Berlin Principal Cast Caroline Krause,

World Sales (please contact) ERDBEERMUNDfilm · Anne-Kathrin Lewerenz Gipsstrasse 23 b · 10119 Berlin/Germany phone +49-30-2 83 18 22 · fax +49-30-23 45 57 35 email: [email protected] · www.erdbeermundfilm.de german films quarterly new german films

2 · 2005 67 Willenbrock Axel Prahl in ”Willenbrock“ (photo © UFA Filmproduktion/Andreas Giesecke) Filmproduktion/Andreas (photo © UFA Prahl in ”Willenbrock“ Axel

Bernd Willenbrock is a pretty lucky guy. He’s got a production with WDR/Cologne, MDR/Leipzig, SWR/Stuttgart, flourishing used-car dealership, a lovely wife, a patient girl- ARTE/Strasbourg, TPI Trebitsch Produktion International/Ham- friend, a new house in the suburbs and a quaint old one burg, Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures/Potsdam Principal in the country. But he’s also got something that makes him Cast Axel Prahl, Inka Friedrich, Anne Ratte-Polle, Dagmar Manzel, uniquely likable: a pragmatic sense of his own value, a self- Tilo Prueckner, Andrzej Szopa, Wladimir Tarasjonz Length 108 confidence that makes him feel he can overcome every min, 2,932 m Format 35 mm, color, cs Original Version setback. His courtship of a pretty, young university student German Subtitled Version English Sound Technology is brash and ultimately hopeless, yet it’s somehow en- Dolby SRD Festival Screenings Berlin 2005 (Panorama), dearing. And when four cars are stolen from his lot, his re- Infinity Alba 2005, VW Festival Argentina 2005, Shanghai 2005 action is admirably even-tempered. But his grip on life With backing from Filmfoerderungsanstalt (FFA), begins to slip when he and his wife are viciously attacked Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung, Medienboard Berlin-Branden- by burglars in their home, and the police let the presumed burg German Distributor Delphi Filmverleih/Berlin assailants go free. Willenbrock feels vulnerable, perhaps for the first time in his life. Even as he forces himself to go on Born in 1963, Andreas Dresen started shooting amateur films in as before, nothing is as it was. His marriage begins to crack 1979. From 1984 to 1985 he worked as a sound technician at the under the tension, especially since his wife is terrified by theater in Schwerin, and then apprenticed at the DEFA studios, the thought that the criminals might return. A revolver working as an assistant director with Guenter Reisch. He studied gives him a sense of security – but as fear begins to take Direction at the ”Konrad Wolf“ Academy of Film & Television in hold of him, the revolver turns into a time bomb waiting Potsdam. Since 1992, he has been working as a writer and director to go off … for television, cinema and theater. His award-winning films include: Silent Country (Stilles Land, 1992, German Critics’ Award), Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Pro- Night Shapes (Nachtgestalten, 1998, Silver Bear Best Actor duction 2004 Director Andreas Dresen Screenplay Laila Michael Gwisdek, German Film Award in Silver), The Stieler, based on a novel by Christoph Hein Director of Policewoman (Die Polizistin, 2000, Grimme Award in Gold), Photography Michael Hammon Editor Joerg Hauschild Grill Point (Halbe Treppe, 2001, Silver Bear Best Director, Production Design Susanne Hopf Producer Norbert Sauer German Film Award in Silver), Vote for Henryk! (Herr Production Company UFA Filmproduktion/Potsdam, in co- Wichmann von der CDU, 2003), and Willenbrock (2004), among others. World Sales Bavaria Film International / Dept. of Bavaria Media GmbH · Thorsten Schaumann Bavariafilmplatz 8 · 82031 Geiselgasteig/Germany phone +49-89-64 99 26 86 · fax +49-89-64 99 37 20 email: [email protected] · www.bavaria-film-international.de german films quarterly new german films

He’s treated like a rock star by audiences young and old, Willy Sommerfeld, Doris Sommerfeld, Sebastian Sommerfeld adored by film lovers and housewives alike, venerated by Length 78 min (TV: 58 min) Format Betacam Blow-up 35 scholars and punks: Willy Sommerfeld, born in 1904, is a mm, color/b&w, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled silent movie pianist – the last of his kind, a living legend Versions English, French Sound Technology Digital Stereo with a musical memory reaching back more than a cen- With backing from MEDIA, Stiftung Kulturfonds, MSH, tury. FilmFoerderung Hamburg, NDR, Lower Saxony Cultural Film Fund, Eurimages He first performed in the Roaring Twenties. Today, at age 100, he is still going strong – still accompanying film live Ilona Ziok was born in Gliwice/Poland. She studied in New York, on piano and spontaneously composing the ”soundtrack“ Moscow and Frankfurt from 1975-1982. Also active as a writer and to movies. producer, her films include the documentaries: Der zweite Sieg des Jurij Vlasov (1989), Du mein Kazimierz, Shalom The Sounds of Silents takes us on an unforgettable jour- (1990), Wo ist die Strasse, wo ist das Haus (1993), Die ney through the life and music of Willy Sommerfeld and Reise nach Tunesien: Psychisch Kranke machen into the world of movies as it was when cinema was born. Urlaub (1993), Kurt Gerrons Karussell (1999), The Count and the Comrade (Der Junker und der Genre History, Love Story, Music Category Feature Film Kommunist, 2003-2005), and The Sounds of Silents Cinema Year of Production 2005 Director Ilona Ziok (Willy Sommerfeld – Der Stummfilmpianist, 2005). Screenplay Ilona Ziok Directors of Photography Sergey Jurisditskiy, Wojciech Szepel, Erik Krambeck, Peter Domsch Editors Dietmar Kraus, Ludmilla Korb-Mann, Peter Domsch Music by Willy Sommerfeld Producers Manuel Goettsching, Ilona Ziok Production Company CV Films/Berlin, in co-production with Vera Vista/Prag, Matti Film/Suelfeld Principal Cast

2 · 2005 69 Asphalt Scene from ”Asphalt“ Scene from (photo courtesy of Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek/Filmmuseum Berlin)

Asphalt belongs to the genre ”street movies“ of the 1920s Joe May was born in 1880 in Vienna and died in 1954 in and tells the story of a young woman arrested because of Hollywood. He began his film career in 1912 with In der Tiefe theft. A young police officer, overcome by her charm, lets des Schachtes. In 1915 he founded his own production company her escape. After murdering her lover, he is filled with in Berlin, May Film, and started the ”Joe Deebs“ detective series remorse and turns to his father, a veteran police officer Das Gesetz der Mine. Like so many artists at the time, May himself, and confesses everything. The police officer hands emigrated via London to Hollywood in 1933. A selection of his over his own son to justice. other films includes: Der Man im Keller (1914), Hilde Warren und der Tod (1917), Verita vincit (1919), Das Genre Drama Category Feature Film Cinema, Silent Year of wandernde Bild (1920), Tragoedie der Liebe (1923), Die Production 1929 Director Joe May Screenplay Joe May, letzte Kompagnie (1930), Ihre Majestaet die Liebe Hans Székely, Rolf E. Vanloo Director of Photography (1930), Ein Lied fuer Dich (1933), and Johnny Doesn’t Guenther Rittau Music by Willy Schmidt-Genter Production Live Here Anymore (1944), among others. Design Erich Kettelhut, Robert Herlth, Walter Roehrig Producer Erich Pommer Production Company Universum- Film (Ufa)/Berlin Principal Cast Gustav Froehlich, Betty Amann, Albert Steinrueck, Else Heller, Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Hans Albers, Rosa Valetti, Paul Hoerbiger, Karl Platen, Hermann Vallentin Length 95 min, 2,575 m Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.37 Original Version Silent with German intertitles Rights Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation/Wiesbaden German Distributor Transit Film/Munich

World Sales Transit Film GmbH · Loy W. Arnold, Mark Gruenthal Dachauer Strasse 35 · 80335 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-5 99 88 50 · fax +49-89-59 98 85 20 email: [email protected]; [email protected] · www.transitfilm.de german films quarterly the 100 most significant german films – no. 86

2 · 2005 70 Jeder fuer sich und Gott gegen alle

THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER: EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD AGAINST ALL photo courtesy of Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek/Filmmuseum Berlin) Scene from ”The Enigma ofScene from Film, Herzog Hauser“ (photo © Werner Kaspar

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is based upon the true the Jury & OCIC Award Cannes 1975, Interfilm Prize Chicago 1975, and mysterious story of a young man who suddenly Silver Hugo Cocteau Award 1975 German Distributor Kinowelt appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to speak or Filmverleih/Leipzig walk, and bearing a strange note. He later explained that he had been held captive in a dungeon of some sort for Werner Herzog was born in 1942 and has produced, written his entire life and had only just been released, for reasons and directed more than forty films, published more than a dozen unknown. His benefactor attempts to integrate him into books of prose, and directed as many operas. A selection of his society, with intriguing results. films includes: Even Dwarfs Started Small (Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen, 1971), Land of Silence and Genre Drama, History Category Feature Film Cinema Year of Darkness (Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit, Production 1974 Director Werner Herzog Screenplay 1971), Fata Morgana (1971), Aguirre: The Wrath of God Werner Herzog Director of Photography Joerg Schmidt (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, 1972), Every Man for Reitwein Editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus Music by Johann Himself and God Against All (Jeder fuer sich und Pachebel, Orlando di Lasso, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Popol Vuh Gott gegen alle, 1974), Heart of Glass (Herz aus Glas, Production Design Henning von Gierke Producer Werner 1976), La Soufrière (1977), Stroszek (1977), Woyzeck Herzog Production Company Werner Herzog Film/Munich, in (1979), Nosferatu the Vampire (Nosferatu: Phantom cooperation with ZDF/Mainz Principal Cast Bruno S., Walter der Nacht, 1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Where the Green Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Hans Musaeus, Willy Semmelrogge, Ants Dream (Wo die gruenen Ameisen traeumen, Michael Kroecher, Henry van Lyck, Enno Patalas, Elis Pilgrim, Volker 1984), Cobra Verde (1988), Echoes from a Sombre Prechtl, Gloria Doer, Helmut Doering, Kidlat Tahimik, Andi Empire (Echos aus einem duesteren Reich, 1990), Gottwald, Herbert Achternbusch, Wolfgang Bauer, Walter Steiner, Scream of Stone (Schrei aus Stein, 1991), Lessons of Florian Fricke, Clemens Schlitz, Johannes Buzalski, Willy Meyer- Darkness (Lektionen in Finsternis, 1992), Bells from Fuerst Length 109 min, 2,992 m Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.66 the Deep (Glocken aus der Tiefe, 1993), My Best Fiend Original Version German Subtitled Versions English, (Mein liebster Feind – Klaus Kinski, 1999), Invincible Greek, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish Sound (2001), Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (short, 2002), Technology Mono Festival Screenings Cannes 1975, Wheel of Time (Rad der Zeit, 2003), and Grizzly Man Chicago 1975 Awards 3 German Film Awards 1975, Special Prize of (2005).

World Sales Werner Herzog Filmproduktion · Lucki Stipetic Tuerkenstrasse 91 · 80799 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-33 04 07 67 · fax +49-89-33 04 07 68 email: [email protected] · www.wernerherzog.com german films quarterly the 100 most significant german films – no. 88*

2 · 2005 71 (*no. 87 Jakob der Luegner was already presented within the framework of the former series "German Classics" in KINO 1/1999) Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam

THE DEVIL STRIKES AT NIGHT Scene from ”The Devil Strikes at Night“ ”The Devil Strikes Scene from (photo courtesy Stiftung Deutsche Kinemthek/Filmmuseum Berlin)

Berlin, 1944. A series of unsolved murder cases arouses Editor Walter Boos Music by Siegfried Franz Production the interest of chief inspector Axel Kersten. He’s the first Design Rolf Zehetbauer, Gottfried Will Producers Walter to realize that more than 80 women over the last twelve Traut, Robert Siodmak Production Company Divina years have been slain by the same person. In his search for Film/Munich Principal Cast Claus Holm, Mario Adorf, Peter the brutal serial killer he’s assisted by the SS Group Leader Carsten, Carl Lange, Hannes Messemer, Werner Peters, Annemarie Rossdorf. The SS sees a show trial against a mass mur- Dueringer, Monika John, Rosel Schaefer Length 104 min, 2,854 m derer as their chance to be able to come down harder on Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.37 Original Version German people with hereditary diseases who are ”unworthy of Subtitled Version English Festival Screenings Karlovy life.“ Then Axel’s colleagues from Hamburg present him a Vary 1958 Awards Bambi 1957, 10 German Film Awards 1958, 2 prime suspect on a silver platter: the shady small-time German Film Critics’ Awards 1958 German Distributor Stiftung criminal Willi. Axel, however, doesn’t believe that Willi is Deutsche Kinemathek/Berlin guilty. He continues his investigations and finds proof that the real killer is the mentally ill Bruno. But it seems that Robert Siodmak was born in 1900 in Dresden and died in 1973 Nazi leadership has no use for the truth. The last thing in Locarno. In the 1920s, he worked as an actor for the Ufa, a film Hitler wants in this difficult phase of the war is a scandal, translator and editor. In 1940, he went to the United States and a show trial or proof that his police apparatus is incompe- made a name for himself with his psychologically accentuated crime tent. Willi is convicted on the basis of construed evidence, story films. He was a representative of the humanistic-realism of Axel transferred to the front and Bruno inconspicuously German films prior to 1933 and one of the most important liquidated. The case of the serial killer Bruno never existed American directors of the ”Black Series“. His films include: Ab- in Nationalist-Socialist Germany … schied (1930), Voruntersuchung (1931) – which was black- listed in 1933, Brennendes Geheimnis (1933), The Suspect Genre Crime, Drama, History Category Feature Film Cinema (Unter Verdacht, 1944), The Spiral Staircase (Die Year of Production 1957 Director Robert Siodmak Wendeltreppe, 1945), The Devil Strikes at Night Screenplay Werner Joerg Lueddecke, based on the original work (Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam, 1957) – which was nomina- by Will Berthold Director of Photography Georg Krause ted for an Academy Award in 1958, and many more.

2 · 2005 72 Die Mysterien eines Frisiersalons

THE MYSTERIES OF A HAIRDRESSER’S SHOP (photo courtesy of Filmmuseum Muenchen) Scene from ”The Mysteries ofScene from Shop“ a Hairdresser’s

The Mysteries of a Hairdresser’s Shop describes the The background and realization of The Mysteries of a absurd goings-on of a by no means ordinary hair salon, Hairdresser’s Shop are also something of a mystery in film where men with great beards wait in vain for a shave history. While Erich Engel, Karl Valentin and Bertolt Brecht certain- while the barber takes a nap. ly helped to form and create the scene for the film’s development, the realization was more so due to the spontaneous, cooperative One customer, wanting a pimple removed from his chin, efforts of the entire "team". Staged in the storage loft of a private is treated with a hammer and chisel. The head of a distin- house in Munich, legend has it that the real motive for the film gag guished professor is shaven bald. Panic stricken, he grabs was to create an acting role for the brother of the film’s unknown for his hat, getting into a fight with another guest. The patron. quarrel ends in a sword fight, but while sharpening their weapons, the barber inadvertently cuts off the professor’s head. So that the sword fight may go on, the man’s head is stuck back on. The professor is eventually victorious, but only thanks to the energetic support of the barber, who robs his opponent’s head with a fishing hook.

Genre Comedy Category Short Year of Production 1923 Principal Cast Blandine Ebinger, Karl Valentin, Erwin Faber, Annemarie Hase, Kurt Horwitz, Hans Leibelt, Carola Neher, Otto Wernicke, Max Schreck, Josef Eichheim, Liesl Karlstadt Length 25 min, 654 m Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.33 Original Version Silent

World Sales Gunter Fette Beethovenstrasse 14 · 80336 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-5 44 79 60 · fax +49-89-54 47 96 67 email: [email protected] · www.ra-schoepe.de german films quarterly the 100 most significant german films – no. 90

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SHIP – Studio Hamburg International Production – proudly presents THE CONCLAVE, the real behind-the-scenes story of the famous conclave following the death of the ﬁrst Borgia pope in 1458. A story of intrigue, politics and personal sacriﬁce. Please contact: Paul Donovan, email: [email protected], phone: +49 172 31 48 453 or +1 902 209 0110.

Studio Hamburg produced films like GLOOMY SUNDAY and Margarethe von Trotta’s ROSENSTRASSE, films like RESIDENT EVIL and the Diane Krueger-starrer MERRY CHRISTMAS were shot at its first-class Berlin stages. SHIP also performed German production services on the Jodie Foster-starrer FLIGHT PLAN.

SHIP, 5225 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 626, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USA, phone: +1 323 52500 -23, fax: -21, email: [email protected] GERMAN FILMS SHAREHOLDERS & SUPPORTERS

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung Neuer Deutscher Spielfilmproduzenten fuer Kultur und Medien Association of New Feature Film Producers Referat K 35, Graurheindorfer Strasse 198 Agnesstrasse 14, 80798 Munich/Germany 53117 Bonn/Germany phone +49-89-2 71 74 30, fax +49-89-2 71 97 28 phone +49-18 88-6 81 36 43, fax +49-18 88-68 15 36 43 email: [email protected], www.ag-spielfilm.de email: [email protected]

Filmfoerderungsanstalt FilmFernsehFonds Bayern German Federal Film Board Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Medien Grosse Praesidentenstrasse 9, 10178 Berlin/Germany in Bayern GmbH phone +49-30-27 57 70, fax +49-30-27 57 71 11 Sonnenstrasse 21, 80331 Munich/Germany email: [email protected], www.ffa.de phone +49-89-5 44 60 20, fax +49-89-54 46 02 21 email: [email protected], www.fff-bayern.de

Verband Deutscher Filmexporteure e.V. (VDFE) FilmFoerderung Hamburg GmbH Association of German Film Exporters Friedensallee 14–16, 22765 Hamburg/Germany Tegernseer Landstrasse 75, 81539 Munich/Germany phone +49-40-39 83 70, fax +49-40-3 98 37 10 phone +49- 89-6 42 49 70, fax +49-89-6 92 09 10 email: [email protected], www.ffhh.de email: [email protected], www.vdfe.de

Verband Deutscher Spielfilmproduzenten e.V. Filmstiftung NRW GmbH Association of German Feature Film Producers Kaistrasse 14, 40221 Duesseldorf/Germany Beichstrasse 8, 80802 Munich/Germany phone +49-2 11-93 05 00, fax +49-2 11-93 05 05 phone +49-89-39 11 23, fax +49-89-33 74 32 email: [email protected], www.filmstiftung.de

Bundesverband Deutscher Fernsehproduzenten e.V. Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH Association of German Television Producers August-Bebel-Strasse 26-53, 14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg/Germany Brienner Strasse 26 · 80333 Munich/Germany phone +49-3 31-74 38 70, fax +49-3 31-7 43 87 99 phone +49-89-28 62 83 85 · fax +49-89-28 62 82 47 email: [email protected], www.medienboard.de email: [email protected] · www.tv-produzenten.de

Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Potsdamer Strasse 2 · 10785 Berlin/Germany Baden-Wuerttemberg mbH phone +49-30-30 09 03-0 · fax +49-30-30 09 03-13 Breitscheidstrasse 4, 70174 Stuttgart/Germany email: [email protected] · www.filmmuseum-berlin.de phone +49-7 11-90 71 54 00, fax +49-7 11-90 71 54 50 email: [email protected], www.mfg.de/film

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dokumentarfilm e.V. Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung GmbH German Documentary Association Hainstrasse 17-19, 04109 Leipzig/Germany Schweizer Strasse 6 · 60594 Frankfurt am Main/Germany phone +49-3 41-26 98 70, fax +49-3 41-2 69 87 65 phone +49-69-62 37 00 · fax +49-61 42-96 64 24 email: [email protected], www.mdm-online.de email: [email protected] · www.agdok.de

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kurzfilm e.V. nordmedia – Die Mediengesellschaft German Short Film Association Niedersachsen/Bremen mbH Kamenzer Strasse 60 · 01099 Dresden/Germany Expo Plaza 1, 30539 Hanover/Germany phone +49-3 51-4 04 55 75 · fax +49-3 51-4 04 55 76 phone +49-5 11-1 23 45 60, fax +49-5 11-12 34 56 29 email: [email protected] · www.ag-kurzfilm.de email: [email protected], www.nordmedia.de

german films quarterly shareholders & supporters

2 · 2005 77 VGF INFORMATION

REMUNERATION in GERMANY for PRIVATE REPRODUCTION – RENTAL OF VIDEOGRAMS – CABLE RETRANSMISSION

VGF, a collecting society under German law, has been founded in 1981 when private reproduction of TV programs (in particular feature films) by means of videorecording equipment started to become commercially important.

Since 1982 VGF collects video levy monies due to German and foreign filmproducers under Art. 54 of the German Copyright Act (GCA) for blank tape, VCRs, CD-Rs and CD-writers and distributes them to the respective rightowners. The German Collecting Societies Act obliges VGF to make sure that all authors/rightowners and owners of neighbouring rights of motion pictures including foreign right receive an equitable share of the monies collected for all rightowners. Since it is virtually impossible for the individual rightowners to control the use of property and to make claims individually. Art. 54 GCA provides that the respective rights must be administered collectively and claims can be made through a collection society only.

VGF activities are under the supervision of the German Patent Office( Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt). It is safe- guarded that a fair division of monies among all rightowners concerned take place and that producers and rightowners receive an equitable share of the video levy revenues in Germany.

VGF fiduciarily administers the rights under Art. 54, 27, 20b GCA:

Art. 54 GCA Blank Tape Levy

Art. 54 provides a remuneration for private reproduction. As the rightowner cannot stop private copying manu- facturers and importers of blank tapes, VCRs, CD-Rs and CD-writers are charged with a levy. The claim can be made by a collecting society only. VGF as a trustee administer the rights for film- and TV-producers and distributes the respective amounts to the rightowners, licensing of television rights does not imply transfer of the above mentioned right.

Art. 27 GCA Video Rental Levy

Art. 27 GCA entitles rightowners to a supplementary remuneration for the rental and lending of videograms by video retailers. The money has to be paid by the video-retailer it is provides by law that claims can be made by collecting societies only.

Art. 20b Cable Retransmission Levy

Rightowners whose programs are broadcasted by TV-stations and retransmitted via cable are also entitled to a remuneration for such cable retransmissions VGF is also active in collecting this fees

Administration of the above mentioned fees by VGF causes no costs for the rightowners. For settlement of a legal relationship between VGF and the rightowner, an agreement of administration is necessary. If your company is interested in collecting these remunerations we suggest to ask VGF for more detailed information

VGF – Verwertungsgesellschaft für Nutzungsrechte an Filmwerken mbH Kreuzberger Ring 56, D-65205 Wiesbaden, Germany Phone: +49 (0)6 11-7 78 92 22 · Fax: +49 (0)6 11-7 78 92 14 e-mail: vgfint@com

Beichstrasse 8 · D-80802 Muenchen Germany Phone: +49 (0)89-39 14 25 · Fax: +49 (0)89-3 40 12 91 ASSOCIATION OF GERMAN FILM EXPORTERS

Verband deutscher Filmexporteure e.V. (VDFE) · please contact Lothar Wedel Tegernseer Landstrasse 75 · 81539 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-6 42 49 70 · fax +49-89-6 92 09 10 · email: [email protected] · www.vdfe.de

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Cine-International Filmvertrieb Road Sales GmbH GmbH & Co. KG Mediadistribution please contact Lilli Tyc-Holm, Susanne Groh please contact Frank Graf Leopoldstrasse 18 Clausewitzstrasse 4 80802 Munich/Germany 10629 Berlin/Germany phone +49-89-39 10 25 phone +49-30-8 80 48 60 fax +49-89-33 10 89 fax +49-30-88 04 86 11 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] www.cine-international.de www.road-movies.de german films quarterly association of german film exporters

2 · 2005 79 We’re on a roll...

features · television · documentaries · shorts

Sonnenstrasse 21 · 80331 Munich/Germany phone +49-89-5 99 78 70 · fax +49-89-59 97 87 30 [email protected] · www.german-films.de Next Generation 2005

A Selection of Short Films by Students of German Film Schools GERMAN FILMS: A PROFILE

German Films is the national information and advisory center for German Films’ range of activities includes: the promotion of German films worldwide. It was established in 1954 under the name Export-Union of German Cinema as the umbrella Close cooperation with major international film festivals, in- association for the Association of German Feature Film Producers, the cluding Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Locarno, San Association of New German Feature Film Producers and the Sebastian, Montreal, New York, Karlovy Vary, Moscow, Association of German Film Exporters, and operates today in the legal Tribeca, AFI, Rotterdam, Sydney, Goteborg, Warsaw, form of a limited company. In 2004, new shareholders came on board Thessaloniki, and Turin the Export-Union which from then on operated under its new name: German Films. Organization of umbrella stands for German sales companies and producers at international television and film markets Shareholders are the Association of German Feature Film Producers, the Association of New German Feature Film Producers, Staging of ”Festivals of German Films“ worldwide (Rome, the Association of German Film Exporters, the German Federal Film Madrid, Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Board (FFA), the Association of German Television Producers, the Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Cracow, Moscow, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, the German Documentary Scandinavia, Tokyo) Association, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern and Filmstiftung NRW re- presenting the seven main regional film funds, and the German Short Providing advice and information for representatives of the Film Association. international press and buyers from the fields of cinema, video, and television Members of the advisory board are: Alfred Huermer (chairman), Peter Dinges, Antonio Exacoustos, Dr. Hermann Scharnhoop, Michael Providing advice and information for German filmmakers and Schmid-Ospach, and Michael Weber. press on international festivals, conditions of participation, and German films being shown German Films itself has twelve permanent members of staff: Christian Dorsch, managing director Organization of the annual ”Next Generation“ short film pro- Mariette Rissenbeek, public relations gram, which presents a selection of shorts by students of Petra Bader, office manager German film schools and is premiered every year at Cannes Julia Basler, project coordinator Andrea Gruber, accounts Publication of informational literature about current German Angela Hawkins, publications & website editor films and the German film industry (German Films Quarterly and Nicole Kaufmann, project coordinator German Films Yearbook), as well as international market analy- Cornelia Klimkeit, project coordinator & PR assistant ses and special festival brochures Andrea Rings, assistant to the managing director Martin Scheuring, project coordinator An Internet website (www.german-films.de) offering informa- Konstanze Welz, project coordinator tion about new German films, a film archive, as well as in- Stephanie Wimmer, project coordinator formation and links to German and international film festivals and institutions In addition, German Films has nine foreign representatives in eight countries. Organization of the selection procedure for the German entry for the OSCAR for Best Foreign Language Film German Films’ budget of presently €5.7 million comes from film export levies, the office of the Federal Government Commissioner Collaboration with Deutsche Welle’s DW-TV KINO program for Culture and the Media, and the FFA. In addition, the seven main which features the latest German film releases and inter- regional film funds (FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, FilmFoerderung national productions in Germany Hamburg, Filmstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung, and Organization of the ”Munich Previews“ geared toward Nordmedia) make a financial contribution, currently amounting to European arthouse distributors and buyers of German films €300,000, towards the work of German Films. Selective financial support for the foreign releases of German German Films is a founding member of the European Film Promotion, films an amalgamation of 23 national film PR agencies (including Unifrance, Swiss Films, Austrian Film Commission, Holland Film, among others) On behalf of the association Rendez-vous franco-allemands du with similar responsibilities to those of German Films. The organiza- cinéma, organization with Unifrance of the annual German- tion, with its headquarters in Hamburg, aims to develop and realize French film meeting joint projects for the presentation of European films on an international level. In association and cooperation with its shareholders, German Films works to promote feature, documentary, television and short films.

german films quarterly german films: a profile

2 · 2005 82 FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVES

Argentina Italy United Kingdom Gustav Wilhelmi Alessia Ratzenberger Iris Ordonez Ayacucho 495, 2º ”3“ Angeli Movie Service Top Floor C1026AAA Buenos Aires/Argentina Piazza San Bernardo 108a 113-117 Charing Cross Road phone +54-11-49 52 15 37 00187 Rome/Italy London WC2H ODT/Great Britain phone/fax +54-11-49 51 19 10 phone +39-06-48 90 22 30 phone +44-20-74 37 20 47 email: [email protected] fax +39-06-4 88 57 97 fax +44-20-74 39 29 47 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] Eastern Europe Simone Baumann Japan USA/East Coast & Canada L.E. Vision Film- und Tomosuke Suzuki Oliver Mahrdt Fernsehproduktion GmbH Nippon Cine TV Corporation c/o Hanns Wolters International Inc. Koernerstrasse 56 Suite 123, Gaien House 211 E 43rd Street, #505 04107 Leipzig/Germany 2-2-39 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku New York, NY 10017/USA phone +49-3 41-96 36 80 Tokyo/Japan phone +1-2 12-7 14 01 00 fax +49-3 41-9 63 68 44 phone +81-3-34 05 09 16 fax +1-2 12-6 43 14 12 email: [email protected] fax +81-3-34 79 08 69 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] France USA/West Coast Cristina Hoffman Spain Corina Danckwerts 33, rue L. Gaillet Stefan Schmitz Capture Film International, LLC 94250 Gentilly/France C/ Atocha 43, bajo 1a 1726 N. Whitley Avenue phone/fax +33-1-49 8644 18 28012 Madrid/Spain Los Angeles, CA 90028/USA email: [email protected] phone +34-91-3 66 43 64 phone +1-3 23-9 62 67 10 fax +34-91-3 65 93 01 fax +1-3 23-9 62 67 22 email: [email protected] email: [email protected]

IMPRINT published by: Editors Angela Hawkins, Mariette Rissenbeek

German Films Production Reports Martin Blaney, Simon Kingsley Service + Marketing GmbH Sonnenstrasse 21 Contributors for this issue Martin Blaney, Simon Kingsley, Anke Sterneborg, 80331 Munich/Germany Fritz Wolf phone +49-89-5 99 78 70 fax +49-89-59 97 87 30 Translations Lucinda Rennison email: [email protected] www.german-films.de Design Group triptychon · agentur fuer design und kulturkommunikation, Munich/Germany ISSN 0948-2547 Art Direction Werner Schauer Credits are not contractual for any of the films mentioned in this publication. Printing Office ESTA DRUCK GMBH, Obermuehlstrasse 90, 82398 Polling/Germany

© German Films Service + Marketing GmbH Financed by the office of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. Printed on ecological, unchlorinated paper.

german films quarterly foreign representatives · imprint

2 · 2005 83 G ERMAN FILMS features · television · documentaries · shorts

at Cannes 2005

International Village International Village German Pavilion German Pavilion phone 04-93 94 26 96 phone 04-93 94 02 37 fax 04-93 94 01 88 fax 04-93 94 02 38