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Film und Medien Stiftung NRWNewsPressThree more Filmstiftung-backed films at the Cannes Film Festival

Three more Filmstiftung-backed films at the Cannes Film Festival

The Festival de Cannes has unveiled another raft of films for its 70th edition. Two more Filmstiftung-backed films – „Teheran Taboo“ by Ali Soozandeh (producer: Little Dream Entertainment, Cologne) and „Los Perros“ by Marcela Said (co-producer: augenschein Filmproduktion, Cologne) – will be presented as world premieres in the Semaine de la Critique sidebar. There had already been announcements about the backed Competition entries „In The Fade“ by Fatih Akin and „Jupiter’s Moon“ by Kornél Mundruczó, as well as the documentary „Nothingwood“ by Sonia Kronlund (co-producer: Made in Germany, Cologne), which can be seen in Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. So far, this year’s Festival de Cannes will be showing a total of five films made with support from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The 70th Festival de Cannes is being held from 17 to 28 May.

„Competition, Semaine de la Critique and Quinzaine: five Filmstiftung-backed productions in the renowned sections of the Festival de Cannes are an impressive acknowledgement of ambitious filmmaking by producers from NRW“, says Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. „We would like to congratulate all the film crews, and, in particular, those producers from Cologne who have been invited to the Croisette. Bonne chance for a successful festival!“

About the films:

„Teheran Taboo“ (Semaine de la Critique)
The animated social drama „Teheran Taboo“ by the Iranian director Ali Soozandeh tells the stories of a handful of people in Teheran, a city full of prohibitions and doctrines: Pari, who has to earn her livelihood to feed herself and her five-year-old son Elias by working as a prostitute; Babak, a music student, who is being  put under pressure by the girl Donya to finance her virginity operation; and Sara who is living the traditional Iranian life of an obedient housewife together with her husband and his parents. Life for all of them changes when their various fates start colliding. „Teheran Taboo“ is a production of Little Dream Entertainment in co-production with Coop99 Filmproduktion and in association with the broadcasters ZDF – Das Kleine Fernsehspiel, Arte and ORF; Camino Filmverleih is handling the theatrical release, with Celluloid Dreams overseeing international sales. The Filmstiftung NRW backed the film with 350,000 Euros, other funders are: Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI), DFFF, Vienna Film Fund, Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Filmstandort Austria (FISA), and HessenFilm und Medien.

„Los Perros“ (Semaine de la Critique)
Mariana is part of that Chilean upper class which takes privilege for granted. Despised by both her father and her husband, she feels attracted towards her enigmatic riding teacher, Juan, a former colonel suspected of being involved in human rights abuses during the dictatorship. But their unusual affair is now threatening to break down the invisible walls that have been protecting Mariana’s family from the past. „Los Perros“ by the Chilean director Marcela Said and starring Antonia Zegers and Alfredo Castro is a production by Cinéma Defacto (F) in co-production with Jirafa Films (CL), Rei Cine (ARG), augenschein Filmproduktion and Terratreme Films (PRT). The Filmstiftung NRW backed the film with 50,000 Euros, other funders are: Fondo Audiovisual Chile, Cinema du Monde, INCAA (Argentina) and ICA (Portugal), Creative Europe MEDIA, World Cinema Fund, among others.

„Nothingwood“ (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)
Salim Shaheen has shot 109 films. Inspired by Bollywood and Hollywood, they have all been produced in Kabul, in „Nothingwood“. „Nothingwood“ portrays the Afghan filmmaker Salim, and talks about more or less talented actors, shady investors and death threats.  Sonja Kronlund’s documentary shows a land divided between tradition, the Taliban and its violent, but sometimes poetic present. The film by Gloria Films Production was made in co-production with Made in Germany Filmproduktion. The Filmstiftung NRW backed the film with 70,000 Euros, further support came from the German-French Funding Committee and Eurimages.

Already announced on 13 April, 2017:

In The Fade“ (Competition)
Fatih Akin’s thriller centres on a woman’s love for her family beyond the grave. Her life suddenly implodes when her husband and son die in a bomb attack. The police arrests two suspects: a young couple from the Neo-Nazi scene. The young woman wants justice – there isn’t any alternative for her. Diane Kruger, Dennis Moschitto and Ulrich Tukur are cast in the leads. „In The Fade“ is a production by bombero international in co-production with Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany, Macassar Productions (F), Pathé (F) and corazón international. The Filmstiftung NRW backed the film with 250,000 Euros, other funding came from Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, FFA, BKM and DFFF. Warner will be releasing the film theatrically.

„Jupiter’s Moon“ (Competition)
An underage boy with a unique ability is interned in a Hungarian refugee camp. The boy can hover like an angel. A doctor helps the boy to escape. He wants to capitalise on the lad’s gift to make some money, but the boy soon captures his heart. On their run from the law, he remembers why he became a doctor in the first place and decides to use every means to protect the boy from his pursuers. Merab Ninidze, György Cserhalmi, Móni Balsai and Zsombor Jéger play the lead roles in this tragicomedy under the direction of the Hungarian film and theatre director Kornél Mundruczó. „Jupiter’s Moon“ is a co-production  between Match Factory Productions and Proton Cinema (HUN), KNM (CH) and Chimney (S), in association with the broadcasters ZDF and Arte. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW backed the film with 200,000 Euros, other backers are the Hungarian National Film Fund, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung. International sales are being handled by Cologne-based The Match Factory.

This year again sees the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW showcasing its activities in the German Pavilion at the umbrella stand of Focus Germany, an amalgamation of the eight German regional film funds and German Films, in the International Village of the Cannes Film Festival. The German Pavilion is a meeting place and contact point for those accredited at the film festival in Cannes from the German and international film industries. Focus Germany can be reached there on tel. 0033-4-92590004.