08.12.2009 - 13:30 Uhr

Film year 2009 in NRW: The best is yet to come

Filmstiftung NRW takes stock: 136 films supported with 29.4 million euros

“The Reader” and “Pope Joan” attract more than 2 million viewers, “Desert Flower” more than 1 million / “Grand slam” at the major festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Venice / Oscar for Kate Winslet for her role in “The Reader” / 13 million viewers see NRW-supported films / State of NRW and ZDF increase support budget

Kate Winslet with Oscar for her role in "The Reader" © Academy of Motion Pictures

A Silver Bear in Berlin for “Gigante”, an Oscar in Hollywood for Kate Winslet in “The Reader”, a Palm in Cannes for Charlotte Gainsbourg in “Antichrist”, and two Lions in Venice for “Lebanon” and “Women without Men”: the film year now drawing to a close was one of the most successful in its history for the Filmstiftung NRW, but the best event is yet to come for the film region. The European Film Awards will be presented in the Century Hall, Bochum on 12th December. It is the first time that the ceremony for the most important European film award has taken place in North Rhine-Westphalia, and two productions supported by the Filmstiftung NRW have been nominated “Antichrist” and “The Reader”.

Scheck is back:"Desert Flower" / CEO Michael Schmid-Ospach

“The European Film Award represents an outstanding finish to a year in which the Filmstiftung NRW has been successful with its supported productions at festivals and cinema box-offices alike. It is rare for quality and quantity to go hand in hand, at least to the extent that we have experienced with our films this year, ranging from The Reader to Pope Joan or Desert Flower,” as the Filmstiftungs CEO Michael Schmid-Ospach said at the foundations annual press conference in Düsseldorf on 8th December. “And it goes on: taking a look at the first films realised this year in a total of around 1,000 shooting days in North Rhine-Westphalia, it is possible to predict with absolute certainty that the film year 2010 will be a good one as well. And everyone can see just what I mean in our cinemas during the coming year.”

So that the Filmstiftung NRW can provide even better backing for German and European film in 2010, our partners, the State of NRW and ZDF, plan to increase their contributions to film support in Düsseldorf by 500,000 respectively 250,000 euros.

2009: 136 films supported with a total of around 30 million euros

The basis for most of the films made in NRW in 2009 is production support from the Filmstiftung NRW. In 2009, it supported 136 productions for cinema and television in this way, providing a total of almost 29.4 million euros and so achieving an overall production volume of 230 million euros.

A producer must spend at least 1.50 euros in North Rhine-Westphalia for every euro support he gets from NRW. In 2009 the NRW-effect in Production 1 thus amounted to 228 per cent (62 million euros) and reached its top level, well above the results of the previous year (2008 =192 per cent). The promotion effect enables the Filmstiftung NRW to direct more cash far beyond its own budget into the film industry in NRW.

Regarding the repayment of support funds, the Filmstiftung NRW was able to record a plus of 1.2 million euros this year. Here, returns due to the successful utilisation of supported films came primarily from “The Edge of Heaven”, “Perfume”, “Barefoot” and “Lauras Star”. Once paid back, the support financing can be made re-available to producers and distributors as reference funds.

1,321 shooting days in NRW: young generation directors play a major part

Films were made in North Rhine-Westphalia on 1,321 shooting days this year, a number of production days similar to those in 2008. A quarter of those days (353) were allotted to young generation directors making graduation films in NRW.

Major cinema projects made in 2009 include, amongst many others:

• “Jew Suss Rise and Fall” by Oskar Roehler withTobias Moretti, Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu and Justus von Dohnanyi;
• “Satte Farben vor Schwarz” by Sophie Heldmann with Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz;
• “Unter dir die Stadt” by Christoph Hochhäusler with Nicolette Krebitz, Robert Hunger-Bühler and Mark Waschke;
• “Pigeons on the Roof” by Otto Alexander Jahrreiss with Olli Dietrich and Katja Riemann;
• “Days to Come” by Lars Kraume with Johanna Wokalek, Bernadette Heerwagen, Daniel Brühl and August Diehl;
• “The Crocodiles 2” by Christian Ditter witht Nora Tschirner, Smudo, Maria Schrader;
• “Teufelskicker” by Granz Henman with Henry Horn, Benno Fürmann, Diana Amft, and Armin Rohde;
• “At Ellens Age” by Pia Marais with Jeanne Balibar;
• “Hochzeitspolka” by Lars Jessen with Christian Ulmen, Kasia Maciag and Fabian Hinrichs;
• “Brownian Movement” by Nanouk Leopold with Sandra Hüller and Sabine Timoteo;
• and of course “Pina” Wim Wenders 3D-homage to Pina Bausch, who died this year.

But top-quality television productions were also made by the Rhine and Ruhr in 2009. TV films produced in NRW that we can all look forward to in 2010 include “Hindenburg” (RTL), “Vom Glück nur ein Schatten” (ZDF), “Gottes mächtige Dienerin” (Das Erste) “Die letzten 30 Jahre” (Das Erste), “Undercover Love” (RTL), “Die Jagd nach der heiligen Lanze” (RTL) and the new Wedel, “Gier” (Das Erste).

Samuel Maoz with Golden Lion for "Lebanon" © La Biennale di Venezia

We should not forget those projects that were not made in NRW, but given the final polish in a post-production phase in North Rhine-Westphalia. One outstanding example is “Lebanon”, the winner of the Golden Lion in Venice. This film by Samuel Maoz (German co-producer: Ariel Films, Cologne) was filmed almost completely inside a tank and provided with its impressive sound design at Torus Studios in Cologne; the animation experts of Industriesauger TV, also based in Cologne, created the “digital” gun sights through which the tank crew perceive their environment a stylistic technique making the experience of war immediately tangible.

Box office & audience statistics: 13.2 million viewers watched supported films

2,2 million saw "Pope Joan" in Ger- man cinemas / © Constantin

2.2 million viewers saw Stephen Daldrys “The Reader” in German cinemas in 2009. This means that the film version of the bestseller also made in NRW is top of the foundations internal box office list. Up until now, a total of more than 13 million viewers bought cinema tickets for a film supported by the Filmstiftung NRW. As well as “The Reader”, the million target was cracked by Sönke Wortmanns “Pope Joan” (2.2 million viewers), “Maria ihm schmeckts nicht” (1.3 million) by Nele Leana Vollmar and “Desert Flower” by Sherry Hormann.

Many films for children and young people also contributed to the positive audience statistics, winning points at the box office. These included “Wild Chicks and Life” (968,000 viewers), “Princess Lillifee” (875,000), “The Crocodiles” (644,000) or “Mullewapp” (492,000). The “Buddenbrooks” gathered three-quarters (965,000) of its excellent viewing statistics (a total of 1.2 million) in 2009.

The success achieved by three major portraits of women is also remarkable: Margarethe von Trottas film about Hildegard von Bingen, “Vision”, was seen by 467,000 cinema viewers, the portrait of Hildegard Knef, “Hilde”, captivated 404,000 viewers, and “Among Farmers Saviours in the Night”, the story of Marga Spiegel and the farmers of Westphalia who hid her from the Nazis, was seen by audiences totalling 111,000.

TV-highlights 2009: the Krupps, Reich-Ranicki, Romy and a volcano

Three part TV-film "Krupp - Eine deutsche Familie" / © ZDF

Productions supported by the Filmstiftung NRW in 2009 have not only made their mark in the cinemas, but have also delighted television viewers. Here, the start was made by Carlo Rolas three-part film “Krupp eine deutsche Familie” in March. Between 6.4 and 7 million TV viewers followed the story of the industrial dynasty in ZDF. In April, Das Erste broadcast the film version of the biography of Marcel Reich-Ranicki, “Mein Leben”: 3.76 million viewers saw Matthias Schweighöfer in the role of the young Reich-Ranicki. Director Uwe Janson showed us what to expect if a sleeping volcano in the Eifel erupted in the spectacular two-part RTL film “Volcano” in November. This TV-event was seen by 5.8 and 6.6 million viewers. Only a few weeks later, Jessica Schwarz was much quieter but no less rousing in the role of “Romy”. The bio-pic by Torsten C. Fischer was broadcast in Das Erste and attracted 5.25 million viewers.

New companies in the state

The good production conditions by the Rhine and Ruhr led to more new companies settling in NRW in 2009. Jürgen Vogel, Matthias Glasner, Lars Kraume and Frank Döhmann have founded a branch of their Berlin company, Badlands Film, in Cologne Goodlands (Anja Uhland). Since the spring, Dor Film, which realised film versions of the Wolf Haas crime novels in the past, for example, has been represented in NRW by Dor Film Köln in Cologne. As from January 2010, Senator Entertainment AG will also have its own branch in the cathedral city. Managing directors of Senator Köln are Ulf Israel and Helge Sasse.

The young generation in NRW: long-term support and ties to the region

Films by young generation filmmakers were made in North Rhine-Westphalia on 353 days in 2009. That is a positive statistic for the future. Young filmmakers from the Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, the ifs internationale filmschule köln and the FH Dortmund realise their films here and thus establish contacts which they will continue to exploit in the future. This ensures that the young, talented students develop firm ties to the region. In 2009, the Filmstiftung NRW promoted a total of 39 debut and graduation projects with a total budget of around 1.5 million euros.

In order to support the young generation in an enduring way, it is important to offer the young talents perspectives in NRW after they have finished studying. To this purpose, a centre for those founding their own businesses, the AV-Gründerzentrum NRW, was established in Cologne with support from the Filmstiftung NRW in 2006. This year it awarded a further ten grants for the first time in the field of games as well. The joint success of the film academies and the founders centre is demonstrated by graduates who have already made films with their new companies.

One good example is eastart pictures, run by Ewa Borowski and Dennis Todorovic. The two ifs-graduates belong to the current group at the AV-Gründerzentrum and have already realised the cinema film “Sascha” this year.

M. Schmid-Ospach, K. Slesicka, J. Rüttgers, S. Stewens, M. Shagrir und M. Schneider presenting "A Triangle Dialogue"

The supported documentary film project “A Triangle Dialogue” also celebrated its premiere in 2009. Initiated by the Filmstiftung NRW, the cooperative project made by the ifs, the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing in Warsaw and the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem was shown for the first time at the medienforum.nrw and could also be seen at the German Currents in Santa Monica. The Filmstiftung NRW is a partner of the ifs, which will continue its international collaboration in the coming year by initiating cooperation with the University of California (UCLA).

Festival successes 2009: grand slam and Oscar for NRW

The year began well for the Filmstiftung NRW: Kate Winslet was able to celebrate a Golden Globe for her role in “The Reader” in January. But the award was only a foretaste of what was to come when she received the Oscar for Best Leading Actress on 22nd February. In all, the film version of the bestseller supported by the Filmstiftung and also made in NRW was nominated for the Oscar in five categories.

Adrian Biniez with Silver Bear for "Gigante" / © Berlinale

If there were a grand slam title for festival successes, the Filmstiftung NRW would have won it with its supported films this year: a Silver Bear at the Berlinale went to “Gigante” by Adrian Biniez, Charlotte Gainsbourg won a Palm at the film festival in Cannes for her role in Lars von Triers “Antichrist”, and at the Venice Film Festival there were even two Lions: the Golden Lion for “Lebanon” by Samuel Maoz and the Silver Lion for the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, who was invited to by the Lido with her film “Women without Men”.

“Gigante” also received the Alfred Bauer Prize in Berlin and the prize for the Best Film Debut. Hans-Christian Schmids “Storm” also ran in the competition of the Berlinale and won the Amnesty International Film Prize, the Gilde Prize, and the Audience Award from the Berliner Morgenpost. In addition to “Lebanon” and “Women without Men”, the third supported competition entry in Venice, “Lourdes” by Jessica Hausner, also made a convincing appearance. “Lourdes” won three prizes by the Lido, including the FIPRESCI Prize from international film critics.

The prize for the best documentary film at the German Film Awards, which were presented in Berlin at the end of April, went to Niko von Glasows Film “NoBodys Perfect”, about which the American specialist magazine Variety wrote: “This film is as far from a downer as can be”. The team of “North Face” celebrated two Lolas: cameraman Kolja Brandt received the award as well as the team of sound designers.

Supported TV-productions also managed to win several prizes in 2009. In April, five Grimme-Prizes went to Hermine Huntgeburths literary adaptation “Teufelsbraten” and to the documentary films “Losers and Winners”, “Der große Ausverkauf”, “Brinkmanns Zorn” and “Djangos Erben”.

Films for children and young people: an early love of the cinema

Almost a million saw "Wild Chicks in Love" / © Constantin

Among the ten most successful cinema films supported by the Filmstiftung NRW in 2009 were five productions “Wild Chicks in Love”, “Princess Lillifee”, “The Crocodiles”, “Mullewapp” and “Lauras Stern und der Drache Nian” targeting children and young people. It is important to trigger young peoples interest in the cinema early on, so that they develop a strong affinity to film as a medium. Therefore, the Filmstiftung NRW consistently supports films for young viewers. In 2009 it backed a total of 5 productions, which were supported with a total of 3.1 million euros. They included “The Crocodiles 2” and “Teufelskicker”, both of which have already been made and will be coming to our cinemas in 2010.

In order to bolster documentary films for children as well, the Filmstiftung NRW participates in the project dok you. Here, experienced documentary filmmakers developed documentary films together with the pupils at ten schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Four sets of material have already been realised, some with support from the Filmstiftung NRW, and were premiered in the context of the Duisburg Film Week in November.

Documentary films: premiere for the Phoenix Documentary Film Award

The documentary films realised in NRW this year include e.g. “Gerhard Richter Ohne Titel” by Corinna Belz, “Arbeit Entheiligt werde dein Name” by Konstantin Faigle, “Jedem Kind ein Instrument” by Oliver Rauch or the new project by Grimme Prize winners Ulrike Franke and Michael Loeken, “See der Träume”, about a steelworks site in the Ruhr region that is being transformed into a recreational paradise.

Among the most remarkable documentaries for the cinema that were supported by the Filmstiftung NRW and shown in our cinemas in 2009 were “Fräulein Stinnes fährt um die Welt” by Erica von Moeller and Petra Seegers impressive portrait of the neuroscientist Eric Kandel, who made a special journey to the International Film Conference in Cologne for the premiere of “In Search of Memory”.

Gerd Ruge Project Grant was given in August in Düsseldorf

The Filmstiftung NRW has been a champion of documentary film since its foundation. Besides support for the production of documentary material in 2009 the Filmstiftung NRW supported 29 documentary films the Gerd Ruge Project Grant is an important instrument to help promote documentaries. At the award ceremony in August, the Filmstiftung NRW presented two project grants and four incentives to young filmmakers. Making a total of 100,000 euros, the grants represent the biggest financial support for the young generation of documentary filmmakers in Germany. The new Phoenix Documentary Film Award was presented for the first time at the medienforum.nrw; the Filmstiftung NRW presents this award together with the broadcasting company Phoenix. The prize is endowed with 10,000 euros and went to filmmakers Jens Schanze and Judith Malek-Mahdavi for their long-term project “Otzenrath 3 Grad kälter”. The Phoenix Promotional Award, endowed with 25,000 euros and linked to production support of 75,000 euros, went to the ifs-graduate and AV-Gründerzentrum grantee Marcel Ahrenholz for his project “14 Arten, den Regen zu beschreiben” about young people who attempt to escape the pressures of society through isolation.

Cinema support: help in difficult times

As in the previous year, approaching digitalisation remained the dominant topic in the cinema world this year; all the more so after the failure of negotiations between the Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA) and the Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater HDF (Association of German Cinemas).

NRW Media Minister Andreas Krautscheid has already undertaken to provide assistance with digitalisation to committed film theatres by the Rhine and Ruhr. Details of how to realise this assistance are currently being clarified by the State of NRW and the Filmstiftung NRW.

Annual film programme awards: Ceremony in Düsseldorf

The Filmstiftung NRW provides consistent aid to cinemas by the Rhine and Ruhr with its cinema support. Above all, this includes the annual film programme awards, which it conveys on film theatres showing an outstanding screen programme. In 2009 the Filmstiftung NRW awarded a total of 429,000 euros to 58 cinemas in the Savoy Theater Düsseldorf on 4th November. On this occasion, the Innovation Award Cinema was also presented for the second time. Endowed with 20,000 euros, the award was shared by the Lichtburg in Essen and Filmpalette in Cologne this year.

Cinemas receiving awards also saw a two per cent increase in audience figures over the past year. In total, there are 893 cinemas in NRW more than in any other federal state. So that the number of cinemas in NRW remains stable, the Filmstiftung NRW also provides help with necessary modernisation and conversion measures. In 2009 it helped nine cinemas in this way, spending a total of 133,000 euros. They included the historic Filmstudio Glückauf in Essen, which will be reopened on 18th December after extensive restoration measures.

German Currents: NRW visits Hollywood

Michael Schmid-Ospach (CEO Film- stiftung NRW) with Benno Fürmann at German Currents Festival in Los Angeles

Over a period of five days, the film state NRW presented some current productions in California. This time around, the film week German Currents organised by the Goethe Institute Los Angeles and the Filmstiftung NRW focused on films from NRW. Ten cinema productions were shown, each one introduced by the director in person. They included “Buddenbrooks” by Heinrich Breloer, “Krabat” by Marco Kreuzpaintner, and “NoBodys Perfect” by Niko von Glasow. The films were shown in the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and accompanied by a show of exhibits from the Film Museum Düsseldorf and photographs by Konrad Rufus Müller, which were taken during the shooting of “Clara” and “Klimt”.

NRW Media Minister Andreas Krautscheid also travelled to the USA with his own delegation in order to present the state as a media location in San Francisco and Los Angeles. During the German Currents, the state and the Filmstiftung NRW worked together to inform interested individuals about production conditions and the possibilities of production support by the Rhine and Ruhr.

International Film Conference under the motto “Crisis Rises Cinema Remains?”

Arthur Coen and Michael Schmid- Ospach at International Film Conference organized by Filmstif- tung NRW

In 2009, the International Film Conference organised by the Filmstiftung NRW under the heading “Crisis Rises Cinema Remains?” in the context of the medienforum.nrw in Cologne focused on the financial crisis. The insight after the discussions that the crisis has not yet made a major impact on the German film industry was all the more reassuring as a result. On the contrary: the box-office figures in 2009 were better than they had been for a long time. Guests at the conference included directors Tom Tykwer, Michael Glawogger and Hans-Christian Schmid. The latter two presented their films “Storm” and “Kill Daddy Good Night” during the accompanying film screenings. In addition, there were previews of Lars von Triers “Antichrist” and the documentary film “In Search of Memory” about Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel, which was attended by the protagonist.

Additional highlights of 2009:

• During the Berlinale, the Filmstiftung NRW invited guests to participate in the second of its German-Polish round tables. After Andrzej Wajdas introduction, Hans-Christian Schmid, Jan Bonny, Sandra Hüller, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Filip Marczewski, Maciej Sobieszczanski and Micha³ Kwiecinski discussed differences and similarities in the handling of taboos.
• During the medienforum.nrw, the Filmstiftung NRW and broadcaster Tele 5 presented the winner of their new promotional award for young generation directors “Wir lieben Kino”. Johannes Disselhoffs short film “Flucht in Betten” was shown as a supporting film at the KinoSpecials.
• At the award ceremony of the German Cinematography Awards in Cologne in June, cameraman Ingo Scheel won the Filmstiftung NRWs promotional award for cinematography with his graduation film “Loose Connection”.
• In July, the series German Films Previews took place for the third successive time in Cologne. German Films and the Filmstiftung NRW invited 80 film buyers from 30 countries to the Rhine in order to view new German productions for the cinema.
  3,000 visitors came to the FilmSchauPlätzen NRW this summer; in this series, cinema films thematically suited to the open-air settings are shown in unusual places. The biggest number of viewers came to Gütersloh, where the mountaineering drama “North Face” was shown in Mohns Park.
• During the Cologne Conference, Roman Polanski was supposed to receive the Filmpreis Köln, endowed with 25,000 euros by the Filmstiftung NRW and the City of Cologne. Due to his arrest, he was unable to attend the prize-giving.
  During the Venice film festival, the Filmstiftung NRW received guests at the traditional reception in Palazzo Zenobio.
• This year, Paul Plamper received the Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden/Preis für Radiokunst for his work “Ruhe1”; the prize is awarded by the Filmstiftung NRW in conjunction with the Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V.
• In 2009, the Deutsche Kinderhörspielpreis, which is awarded by the Filmstiftung NRW and ARD with support from the City of Wuppertal, went to “Feldpost für Pauline” by Maja Nielsen.
• At the award ceremony of the annual film programme awards, the Filmstiftung NRW and the HDF KINO e.V. also presented the Herbert Strate Prize, an award for individuals who have made a particular contribution to the German film business and film culture. In 2009, the prize endowed with 20,000 euros was shared by Senta Berger and Michael Verhoeven.
• At the end of September, a coproduction meeting was held in Zurich with producers from NRW and Switzerland; invitations were sent out by the Filmstiftung Zürich and the Filmstiftung NRW.
• The KunstfilmBiennale took place in Cologne and Bonn from 28th October to 1st November; it was opened by Samuel Maoz film “Lebanon”, which also received the audience award.
• At the 20th Cinema Festival Lünen, the Filmstiftung NRW raised the audience award Lüdia to 15,000 euros. Viewers awarded the prize to Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis for their documentary film “Pianomania”.
• At the Bambi award ceremony at the end of November, Jessica Schwarz received the prize for Best National Actress following her performance in “Romy”.

A look ahead to 2010: Berlinale, Henri 4 and Sundance

"Henri 4" will start in March in Ger- man cinemas / © Ziegler Film

The Berlinale celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2010 and is already dominating the scene; information about the first films likely to be shown is gradually emerging. One film highlight of the coming year is a certainty already: the lavish historical drama “Henri 4” will be launched in German cinemas on 18th March. Jo Baier shot the Ziegler Film production in locations including NRW; his film version of the novel by Heinrich Mann promises to be a major cinema experience.

The supported documentary film “Kick in Iran” by Fatima Geza, a Gerd Ruge project supported by the Filmstiftung, and “Contracorriente” by Javier Fuentes-Leon will be shown at the film festival in Sundance from 21st-31st January 2010.

For further information, please contact:
Filmstiftung NRW, Tanja Güß
tel.: 0211-930500, fax: 0211-93050-85, presse@filmstiftung.de