German Films Quarterly 2 · 2006 AT CANNES Directors' Fortnight SOMMER '04 AN DER SCHLEI by Stefan Krohmer Critics' Week PINGPONG by Matthias Luthardt Cinéfondation MR. SCHWARTZ, MR. HAZEN & MR. HORLOCKER by Stefan Mueller PORTRAITS Bernd Neumann, Valeska Grisebach, Philip Groening, Nadja Uhl, Razor Film, Atrix Film, The Match Factory SPECIAL REPORT Location Germany German Films and Co-Productions IN THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM In Competition In Competition In Competition Lights in the Dusk Summer Palace The Wind that by Aki Kaurismaeki by Lou Ye Shakes the Barley by Ken Loach German Co-Producer: Pandora Film/Cologne German Co-Producer: Flying Moon Film/Potsdam German Co-Producer: EMC Produktion/Berlin World Sales: The Match Factory/Cologne World Sales: Wild Bunch/Paris World Sales: Pathé Pictures International/London Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Paris, je t’aime: To Get to You Am I Place des Fetes Heaven First by Kristijonas Vidlziunas by Oliver Schmitz & You Have to Die True by Tom Tykwer by Djamshed Usmonov World Sales: German Co-Producer: Pandora Film/Cologne German Co-Producer: Pandora Film/Cologne Victoires International/Paris World Sales: Celluloid Dreams/Paris World Sales: Studio Uljana Kim/Vilnius Directors’ Fortnight Directors’ Fortnight Directors’ Fortnight Sommer ’04 an Day Night Day Princess der Schlei Summer ’04 Night by Anders Morgenthaler by Stefan Krohmer by Julia Loktev Producer: Oe Film/Berlin German Co-Producer: ZDF/Mainz German Co-Producer: Shotgun Pictures/Stuttgart World Sales: Bavaria Film International/Geiselgasteig World Sales: FaceFilm/New York World Sales: Trust Film Sales/Hvidovre OF THE Cannes Film Festival 2006 Special Screening Special Screening Un Certain Regard Chambre 666 Room 666 The House is Hamaca Paraguaya by Wim Wenders Burning by Paz Encina by Holger Ernst Producer: Wim Wenders Production/Berlin Producer/World Sales: German Co-Producer: World Sales: Hanway Films/London Reverse Angle International/Berlin CMW Film Company/Berlin World Sales: Scalpel Films/Paris Cinéfondation Cinéfondation Cinéfondation Firn Jaba Mr. Schwartz, Mr. by Axel Koenzen by Andreas Bolm Hazen & Mr. Horlocker by Stefan Mueller Producer/World Sales: German Film & Producer/World Sales: Weltfilm/Berlin Producer/World Sales: Basementpictures/Elz Television Academy (dffb)/Berlin Critics’ Week Critics’ Week Tous les Cinémas du Monde Kristall PINGPONG Straehl by Manuel Flurin Hendry by Christoph Girardet by Matthias Luthardt German Co-Producer: ZDF/Mainz & Matthias Mueller World Sales: Telepool/Zurich Love in Concrete Producers/World Sales: Producer: JUNIFILM/Berlin Christoph Girardet & Matthias Mueller/Bielefeld World Sales: Media Luna Entertainment/Cologne by Franco de Pena German Co-Producers/World Sales: Cameo Film/Cologne & ZDF/Mainz Credits not contractual german films quarterly 2/2006 focus on 6 LOCATION GERMANY portrait Bernd Neumann 16 A FILM-FREAK IN THE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICES directors’ portraits 18 BENEATH THE MAGNIFYING GLASS A portrait of Valeska Grisebach 20 THE TEMPERAMENT OF IMAGES A portrait of Philip Groening producers’ portrait 22 AT THE CUTTING EDGE A portrait of Razor Film actress’ portrait 24 TAKING IT IN HER STRIDE A portrait of Nadja Uhl world sales portraits 26 MOVING PICTURES A portrait of Atrix Films 28 PLAYING THE MATCHMAKER A portrait of The Match Factory 30 news in production 36 8 MILES HIGH Achim Bornhak 36 ABSURDISTAN Veit Helmer 37 THE AFRICAN TWINTOWERS Christoph Schlingensief 38 DER FAELSCHER Stefan Ruzowitzky 39 DIE FRAU VOM CHECKPOINT CHARLIE Miguel Alexandre 40 JAGDHUNDE Ann-Kristin Reyels 41 NICHTS ALS GESPENSTER Martin Gypkens 41 OFFENE WUNDEN Carsten Strauch 42 SCHWESTERHERZ Ed Herzog 43 EINE STADT WIRD ERPRESST Dominik Graf 44 VALERIE Birgit Moeller 44 VIVERE Angelina Maccarone new german films 46 ALS DER FREMDE KAM STRANGER Andreas Kleinert 47 DIE BESSERE SEITE THE BETTER SIDE Janek Romero 48 BIS ZUM ANFANG DER WELT – SPURENSUCHE IN AFRIKA TO WHERE THE WORLD BEGAN – SEARCH AND DISCOVERY IN AFRICA Roman Teufel 49 BYE BYE HARRY Robert Young 50 CAPRI, YOU LOVE? Alexander Oppersdorff 51 EDEN Michael Hofmann 52 FC VENUS – WOMEN WITH BALLS Ute Wieland 53 FRANZOESISCH FUER ANFAENGER FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS Christian Ditter 54 FUSSBALLGOETTINNEN GODDESSES OF SOCCER Nina Erfle, Frédérique Veith 55 HAENSEL UND GRETEL HANSEL AND GRETEL Anne Wild 56 HEDY LAMARR – SECRETS OF A HOLLYWOOD STAR Donatello & Fosco Dubini, Barbara Obermaier 57 DIE HIMMELSWIESE. DIE KLEINEN WUNDER VON BAAN GERDA HEAVEN’S MEADOW. THE SMALL WONDERS OF BAAN GERDA Detlev F. Neufert 58 HISTORIAS DE ARRIBA Y ABAJO STORIES FROM ABOVE AND BELOW Thomas Boeltken 59 IM SCHWITZKASTEN NO SWEAT Eoin Moore 60 KNALLHART TOUGH ENOUGH Detlev Buck 61 LAPISLAZULI – IM AUGE DES BAEREN LAPIS LAZULI Wolfgang Murnberger 62 LITTLE SPOON Régine Provvedi 63 MAÑANA AL MAR Ines Thomsen 64 DIE MISSION – FREIWILLIGE HELFER BEIM UNHCR THE MISSION – UNHCR REFUGEE AID WORKERS Stefan Eberlein 65 MORE THAN 1000 WORDS Solo Avital 66 MOTODROM MOTO DROME Joerg Wagner 67 MR. SCHWARTZ, MR. HAZEN & MR. HORLOCKER Stefan Mueller 68 MYTHOS HEILIGER GRAL THE GRAIL’S TRACES IN FRANCE Erik Borner 69 NEUN SZENEN NINE TAKES Dietrich Brueggemann 70 NUR EIN LAECHELN JUST A SMILE Eva Demmler 71 OPEN Charlotte Siebenrock 72 OUR MAN IN NIRVANA Jan Koester 73 PINGPONG Matthias Luthardt 74 PRINZESSIN PRINCESS Birgit Grosskopf 75 ROTES HOLZ RED WOOD Agnes Karow 76 SIEGFRIED Sven Unterwaldt 77 SOMMER ’04 AN DER SCHLEI SUMMER ’04 Stefan Krohmer 78 SONJA Kirsi Marie Liimatainen 79 DER UNBEKANNTE SOLDAT THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER – WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR, DAD? Michael Verhoeven 80 VERFOLGT HOUNDED Angelina Maccarone 81 VIER MINUTEN FOUR MINUTES Chris Kraus 82 DIE WILDEN KERLE 3 THE WILD SOCCER BUNCH 3 Joachim Masannek 83 WINTERREISE WINTER JOURNEY Hans Steinbichler 89 film exporters 91 foreign representatives · imprint Entrance hall Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich (photo courtesy of Film Commission Bavaria) LOCATION GERMANY When you think of Germany, images of fairytale castles, oompah Since then, the AFCI has a total of seven members in Germany, in- bands and mountains of sauerkraut might inevitably come to mind, cluding Film Commission Region Stuttgart, Hamburg Film but there’s much more to the nation between Flensburg in the far Commission, Film Commission Nordrhein-Westfalen, and the Film north and Mittenwald in the deep south on the border with Austria. Commission Cologne. Indeed, as producers and filmmakers are increasingly discovering, The development of this network of location offices was made easier locations in Germany can stand in for places as far apart as Paris, by the fact that Germany is structured federally and by the existence Naples, Las Vegas, Turkey, New York’s Bronx and Queens districts, or of an ongoing competition between the Laender (States) to promote even war-torn Kabul. their respective region as the best place to shoot a film. Usually, the location offices were established as a subsidiary of one of the existing And it’s the job of the film commissions and location offices dotted public regional film funds such as Filmstiftung NRW, around the country to spread this good news! FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, Mittel- deutsche Medienfoerderung or FilmFoerderung Hamburg. Based on the North American model of film commissions as or- ganized under the umbrella of the Association of Film Commissioners BUT WHAT DOES A International (AFCI), a number of information offices or film commis- FILM COMMISSION ACTUALLY DO? sions sprang up throughout Germany from the end of the 1980s, with the Bavarian capital of Munich being the first in 1989 with its Film To begin with, they are non-profit organizations so the service costs Information Office as well as becoming the first German AFCI mem- nothing, it is absolutely free. Unlike a funding body, they don’t have ber. money to give to productions, but their advice can often be worth its german films quarterly focus on location germany 2 · 2006 6 weight in gold to a production and can save valuable time in the pre- Most local location managers and production managers are likely to paration of a project. know from experience who the responsible officials are in the diffe- rent public and private institutions of their city or region and so do “Film commissions are contact and information points for producers, not have to call on the services of the location office or film commis- line producers and production managers as well for writers and direc- sion. But, at the same time, it is always reassuring to know that one tors,” explains Anja Metzger of the Film Commission Bavaria in can call on the services of the film commissioners – who in Germany Munich. “This is where you can get information about the responsible are, interestingly, all women! – should the red tape become too authorities, location scouts, studios, labs, rentals, etc. They are char- unwieldy or an unforeseen “emergency” crops up. ged with improving the shooting conditions in the production location and of simplifying permit procedures. We advise and inform about In fact, the Film Commission Bavaria established a unique instrument the production possibilities in Bavaria and are the contact point for two years ago – the Shooting in Munich Task Force (“AG Drehen in questions during a project’s preparation and shoot.” Muenchen”) – to kick in when the going gets tough on a shoot. “We work very closely with the authorities, producers and often the “For example, you are in town for a shooting and problems arise with location managers as well as location providers to promote mutual the local authorities because it’s a huge project and you need more understanding of one another’s interests,” adds Christiane Raab of parking space than they want to give you,” Anja Metzger describes a the Film Commission Berlin Brandenburg. “It is about bringing people possible worst case scenario. “Or there are changes to your shooting into a dialogue and informing about the respective needs.