Locarno Film Festival: NRW Represented by Four Films
- Two NRW‐supported documentary films in the Semaine de la Critique:
- “Camp 14 – Total Control Zone” by Marc Wiese and “Forget me not” by David Sieveking
- Pandora with two productions in homage to director Leos Carax
Two films supported by the Film‐ und Medienstiftung NRW have been invited to take part in the official programme of the 65th International Film Festival in Locarno. In the acclaimed Semaine de la Critique, which is regarded as an important platform for independent international documentary films, it will be possible to see “Camp 14 – Total Control Zone” by Marc Wiese and “Forget me not” by David Sieveking.
A delighted Petra Müller, CEO of Film‐ und Medienstiftung NRW, commented: “The two productions’ invitation to an important European A‐festival is further evidence of the quality that documentary films from North Rhine-Westphalia have shown, impressing audiences for many years. Congratulations to David Sieveking and Marc Wiese on this success.”
“Camp 14 – Total Control Zone” by Marc Wiese tells the story of a man who was born and brought up in a North Korean gulag, succeeding in escaping only after 23 years. The production by Cologne-based Engstfeld Film (coproducers: WDR, BR, Arte Deutschland) received 175,000 Euros support from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.
In his film “Forget me not”, David Sieveking describes his time as a home carer to his mother, who was suffering from dementia, and shows how the illness altered the family’s mutual relationships in conflict situations. Lichtblick Media made the film in coproduction with Lichtblick Film, BR, HR and Arte; also with support from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (60,000 Euros).
This year the festival’s honorary award, the Pardo d’Onore, goes to French director Leos Carax. In his honour, the festival will be showing five of his full-length features. The two latest, “Pola X” from 1999 (supported by the Film‐ und Medienstiftung NRW) and the movie premiered this year in Cannes, “Holy Motors”, were coproduced by Cologne-based Pandora Film. Distributors Arsenal Filmverleih will be launching “Holy Motors” in German cinemas on 30th August 2012.
Together with Cannes, Berlin, Venice and San Sebastian, the Festival del Film Locarno is among the most important of European film festivals. NRW productions have often seen their world premieres here; and among others, audience awards have been presented to “The Miracle of Bern” and “The Syrian Bride”, while a Golden Leopard went to Burghart Klaußner (“The Man from the Embassy”) and a Silver Leopard to director Malgoska Szumowska (“33 Scenes from Life”).