german documentaries 2012 German Films is the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide. In association and cooperation with its shareholders, German Films works to promote feature, documentary, television and short films. The work of German Films concentrates on information services, as well as PR and marketing measures to increase the awareness and visibility of German films abroad. German Films also has foreign representatives in Eastern Europe, China and the USA. Shareholders are the Association of German Film Producers, the German Producers Alliance, the Association of German Film Exporters, the German Federal Film Board (FFA), the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, the German Documentary Association, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg, and the German Short Film Association. Range of activities • Close cooperation with major international film festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, San Sebastian, Locarno, Rome, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Toronto, New York and Shanghai as well as with the documentary film festivals in Amsterdam, Sheffield, Toronto and Nyon • Organization of umbrella stands for German sales companies and producers at international television and film markets (Berlin, Cannes, AFM Los Angeles, Shanghai) • Staging of Festivals of German Films in selected international territories • Staging of the German Premieres industry screenings in New York and Tokyo • Providing advice and information for representatives of the international press and buyers from the fields of cinema, video, and television • Providing advice and information for German filmmakers and press on international festivals, conditions of participation, and German films being shown • Organization of the annual Next Generation/Short Tiger short film program, which presents a selection of shorts and is internationally premiered at Cannes • Publication of informational literature about current German films and the German film industry, as well as international market analyses and special festival brochures • A website (www.german-films.de) offering information about new German films, a film archive, in formation and links to German and international film festivals and institutions, and a VOD platform for buyers and festival delegates • Organization of the selection procedure for the German entry for the Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film • Collaboration with Deutsche Welle’s DW-TV KINO program which features the latest German film releases and international productions in Germany • Organization of the German Films Previews geared toward arthouse distributors and buyers of German films as well as documentary film screenings • Selective financial Distribution Support for the foreign releases of German films • Organization with Unifrance of the annual German-French film meeting German Films Service + Marketing GmbH Herzog-Wilhelm-Str. 16 • 80331 Munich • Germany phone +49 89 59 97 87 0 • fax +49 89 59 97 87 30 [email protected] • www.german-films.de Dear Readers of This Catalogue, The marketplace for project proposals is vast, colourful and multi- This is, of course, nonsense as those of you can attest who know the faceted. Co-financing forums and ‘pitching sessions’ have become quality of German documentaries and what your audiences want a favourite pastime in the international festival scene. Over the past to see. Previous users of this catalogue have surely already gained several years, international documentary co-productions have be- a glimpse into the fascinating and multi-faceted world of German come a core element of film financing. Projects which have passed documentary filmmaking. Now the ‘german documentaries’ cata- through this system during the development phase enjoy a consider- logue is also available to download as PDF online at our website able boost in exposure once they are finished. In this way, the system www.german-documentaries.de. Here you will also find all the comes full circle. latest information about new films, prizes and festivals in the German documentary film scene. All ‘german documentaries’ But what about all the other interesting films which are worth seeing activities are made possible with the financial support of the service that are produced outside the traditional financing system? Many of and marketing organization ‘german films’. An initiative of the film them come from Germany, where a unique wealth of public broad- branch itself, they are in tune with all the latest events and are your casters is involved in the creation of a great breadth of documentary direct gateway into the multi-layered German documentary film productions, many with international appeal. But does anyone give scene. them the attention they deserve? Here’s wishing you inspiring reading! Several years ago, Germany’s professional association for independ- ent film, the German Documentary Association, asked itself this very Sincerely, question. Since then, we have been publishing the annual ‘german documentaries’ catalogue, which has been growing from year to Thomas Frickel year. Now in its sixteenth edition, the eighty-four page catalogue Chair and Managing Director presents 209 new titles – including not only television productions German Documentary Association / AG DOK but also large, theatrical documentaries which enjoyed great success Schweizer Straße 6 at the German arthouse box office. Some of these films have since 60594 Frankfurt / Main made a name for themselves at home and abroad in terms of both Tel.: +49 (0) 69-62 37 00 festival success and sales figures, disproving the prejudice still preva- Fax: +49 (0) 6142-96 64 24 lent among German broadcasters that there are not enough good [email protected] documentaries to fill regular television slots. www.agdok.de german documentaries 2012 731 20 VIOLINS FOR ST. PAULI by Alexandra Gramatke, Barbara Metzlaff YOUTH | CULTURE | SOCIAL | MIGRATION | MUSIC | PORTRAIT | CITIES VIOLINS FOR ST. PAULI tells the moving story of an elementary school class in the district of St. Pauli, Production: Thede Filmproduktion one of the deprived neighbourhoods in the city of Hamburg. Thanks to the unique commitment of the Bluecherstr. 7 musician Gino Romero-Ramirez, children begin playing the violin at the age of seven. 22767 Hamburg, Germany www.diethede.de It is a difficult instrument, but Ramirez is so inspiring, that his pupils keep playing with surprising zeal Contact: for three years. This requires a lot of teaching experience in addition to steady nerves, patience and a Doris Bandhold good sense of humour. The film accompanies the class from the first wrong notes to the final concert. tel.: +49 (0) 40-30033701 [email protected] German title: 20 GEIGEN AUF ST. PAULI Festivals: Hamburg, Lübeck 76min | BetaSP | original German version with English subtitles available 517 FüWATON by Jakob Schmidt COMING OF AGE | CONFLICTS | MUSIC Romano has to make a decision. Either love or music. Actually he wants to become a famous rapper, Contact: HFF "Konrad Wolf" along with his friends, the Micsoldiers. But his girlfriend is pregnant and she is not in the mood for University of Film and Television sharing: “Either me or your music – it’s your choice, Romano!” Christina Marx, Festivals & Distribution Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 11 Festivals/Awards: blicke, Bochum; up-and-coming, Hannover; IF Filmhochschulen, Munich; Unlimited, Cologne; 14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany Weiterstadt, Oberhausen/nominated best short; achtung berlin, Flensburg / upcomingAward, Kassel; tel.: +49 (0) 331-6202564 WDR short&beautyfu/best short; [email protected] 12min 13sec | HDcam | color | original German version with English subtitles available www.hff-potsdam.de [email protected] ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER by Johanna Ickert ECONOMY | CONFLICT | GERMAN-REUNIFICATION | ENVIRONMENT | POLITICS The power company Vattenfall wants to capture emissions from a coal-fired power station and bury Contact: HFF "Konrad Wolf" them underground – in order to save the world climate. The opponents of the ‘CCS-technology’ fear University of Film and Television not only the risks of this compression but also that the existing power system would be cemented. Christina Marx, Festivals & Distribution Marlene-Dietrich-Allee 11 A film about the challenges of the energy turnaround. 14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany German title: ENERGIELAND tel.: +49 (0) 331-6202564 Festivals: Cottbus, DOK Leipzig / nominated for ‘peaceful revolution award‘ [email protected] 86min | HDcam | DigiBeta | DVD | 16:9 | Dolby 5.1 | German or English version www.hff-potsdam.de [email protected] 732 german documentaries 2012 ALFRED & CO. A documentary about art, psychiatry, life and death by Andrea Rothenburg PORTRAIT | ARTS | MUSIC | THEATRE | SOCIAL | HUMAN-INTEREST Alfred has been in a psychiatric hospital for more than 35 years and does not believe he will leave it in his lifetime. He started painting in the psychiatric clinic and is painting monsters on blankets. Painting alleviates his anxieties and helps him to get rid off his anger. Anger about what he experienced. Alfred is one of the 16 psychiatric patients who are portrayed in this documentary. All patients are artistically ambitious and show a wide variety of talents. They are sculptors, painters, musicians, a photographer and an actor. Production: DIADOK Schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, depression, burnout and borderline syndromes as well as drug and Dokumentarfilm- & Featureprod.