NRW with 25 films at the Berlinale
- 25 films in the official festival sections of the 2013 Berlinale
- In competition: „Layla Fourie“ by Pia Marais with Rayna Campbell and August Diehl
- Panorama Special, opening film: „It’s All So Quiet“ by Nanouk Leopold
- Panorama: „Lose Your Head“ by Stefan Westerwelle
- Forum: „Everyday Objects“ by Nicolas Wackerbarth
- Perspektive Deutsches Kino: „Dancing With Bellies“ by Carolin Genreith and „End Of Time“ by Sebastian Fritzsch
- Berlinale Special: „My Way To Olympia“ by Niko von Glasow
- NRW@EFM „TV Series – The New Cinema?“ – Jane Campion and her first TV series
- Lola@Berlinale: 18 films supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
25 films screening at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival (7-17 February) were made with participation from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.
North Rhine-Westphalia is presenting itself in Berlin in young and adventurous form: Pia Marais will be competing for the Golden Bear for the first time with her third feature film, the Competition entry „Layla Fourie“. „It’s All So Quiet“ by Nanouk Leopold will be opening Panorama Special, and „Lose Your Head“ by Patrick Schuckmann and Stefan Westerwelle is screening in the Panorama. Nicolas Wackerbarth's first feature film „Everyday Objects“ will be shown in the Forum, and Niko von Glasow's documentary „My Way To Olympia“ will celebrate its world premiere in Berlinale Special. The Perspektive features „Dancing With Bellies“ by Carolin Genreith and „End Of Time“ by Sebastian Fritzsch and Georg Tiefenbach.
In addition, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and the European Film Market (EFM) are hosting two discussions about topical issues on Monday, 11 February, entitled „Arthouse on Demand“ and „TV Series – The New Cinema?“ in the Gropius Mirror Restaurant opposite the Martin Gropius Bau.
„NRW will be represented once again with strong films at the 2013 Berlinale. We are very pleased about the invitation for „Layla Fourie“ to screen in the Competition – another highlight in our long-standing collaboration with Pia Marais and Cologne’s Pandora Film. And, as in previous years, young and innovative cinema from NRW can be found in all of the festival sections,“ says Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. „With our panel discussions at the EFM, we want to work with the Berlinale on addressing new issues. This year will see us looking, among other things, at international TV series which are since among the peaks of audiovisual narrative. So, we are looking forward to seeing the film director Jane Campion who will be presenting her first series 'Top of the Lake'.“
Competition: „Layla Fourie“
Pia Marais, who has now been living in Germany for some time, will be presenting her third feature film „Layla Fourie“. The lead roles in the drama, which sees Pia Marais returning to South Africa to the place of her childhood, are played by Rayna Campbell and August Diehl. The film tells the story of a single mother in Johannesburg, who gets a job as a lie-detector technician. In the constant presence of mistrust, lies and fear, she soon becomes a suspect herself. „Layla Fourie“ was made as a co-production by Pandora Film with Spier Films & DV8 Films (South Africa), Topkapi Films (Netherlands) and Cinéma Defacto (France). WDR/Arte participated as broadcasters, and the Cologne-based The Match Factory took on the world sales. The film was partly shot in Cologne and supported by NRW with 550,000 Euros. Marais' previous award-winning films „The Unpolished“ and „At Ellen’s Age“ were made by Pandora Film with support from the Filmstiftung.
Panorama Special, opening film: „It’s All So Quiet“
2011 had already seen the Dutch director Nanouk Leopold invited to the Berlinale’s Forum with her film „Brownian Movement“. Her new film „It’s All So Quiet“ will now show in the festival’s Panorama Special this year. Based on the eponymous novel by Gerbrand Bakker, „It’s All So Quiet“ tells the story of a farmer who can only accept his homosexuality after he has consigned his sick father to the loft. The Netherlands' Circe Films and Isabella Films produced together with Coin Film and participation from 3sat. The film was shot near to Borken, among other places, and the lead roles were played by the recently deceased Jeroen Willems and Wim Opbrouck. The Filmstiftung supported „It’s All So Quiet“ with 200,000 Euros.
Panorama: „Lose Your Head“
Natives of the Lippe region, film-makers Patrick Schuckmann and Stefan Westerwelle are presenting their new film „Lose Your Head“ as a world premiere in the festival’s Panorama where KHM graduate Westerwelle had shown his film „Detlef“ last year. It tells the story of the young Spaniard Luis, who travels to the pulsating Berlin in summer for a weekend of parties. He dives into the nightlife and, due to a mix-up, gets sucked into a chain of mysterious events. Julia Daschner, also a graduate of the KHM, was responsible for the camerawork. „Lose Your Head“ is the first film from Hamburg’s Mutter-Film and its postproduction was supported by the Filmstiftung with 25,000 Euros.
Forum: „Everyday Objects“
Nicolas Wackerbarth's first feature film „Everyday Objects (Halbschatten)“ celebrates its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Forum. At the centre of „Halbschatten“ is Merle, who follows Romuald to the south of France. However, she only finds his children Emma und Felix when she arrives at the holiday home. Merle initially decides to just have a nice time in the villa overlooking the sea. But Romuald’s absence cannot be ignored. Wackerbarth follows an uncertain summer with free days that slip away as if in a dream. The cast includes Anne Ratte-Polle, Emma Bading, Leonard Proxauf, Maren Kroymann and Lou Castel. „Everyday Objects“ is a production by Unafilm, supported by the Filmstiftung with 400,000 Euros, and in co-production with Les Films d’Antoine (France), in association with WDR and Arte.
Perspektive Deutsches Kino: „Dancing With Bellies“ and „End Of Time“
The Berlinale’s section for up-and-coming film-makers will feature the premieres of „Dancing With Bellies“ and „End Of Time“. „Dancing With Bellies“ is a documentary which Carolin Genreith shot between Aachen’s cathedral and Monschauer Burg in the heart of NRW. The film shows her accompanying a group of women between 40 and 69, who meet once a week for a session of belly dancing and then head off for the sensuous highlight of their year: a journey together to Paris to appear on stage in Montmartre. It is a story about the attempt to break out of one’s own shell, about the difficulties of the menopause and about the art of being able to dispel fear of growing old with a skilful swivel of the hips. Cologne’s Hupe Film produced the WDR commissioned production with 7,000 Euros funding for its festival presentation.
Sebastian Fritzsch and Georg Tiefenbach's jointly produced feature film „End of Time“ is a love story in a post-apocalyptic world. The film tells the story of a little girl who has survived a comet’s impact which has wiped out a large part of humanity and all of civilisation. Alone, the girl flees from the ruins of the cities into a nature which has become hostile to life. It is here that she grows up as a loner who defies her fate and fights for bare survival against the harsh environment. On her odyssey through forests and ravines, she comes across four other people. „End of Time“ qualifies at the Berlinale for the Best First Feature Award and received postproduction funding amounting to 10,000 Euros from NRW (production company: Fritzsch & Tiefenbach Filmproduktion).
Berlinale Special: „My Way To Olympia“
The Berlinale Special regularly presents extraordinary cinematic formats as well as the latest works by contemporary film-makers. Director Niko von Glasow will show the world premiere of his documentary „My Way To Olympia“ here. He tells the moving story of international participants at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Backed by the Filmstiftung with 180,000 Euros, the film was made as a co-production by Munich’s if…Productions with Niko von Glasow’s Palladio Film and Senator Filmproduktion.
LOLA@Berlinale
The section of LOLA@Berlinale sees the Berlin Film Festival presenting productions which are in the long-list for the German Film Awards. This year’s lineup includes 18 NRW-funded films:
„Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn” by Hermine Huntgeburth
„Alles wird gut“ von Niko von Glasow
„Berg Fidel – Eine Schule für alle“ by Hella Wenders
„Cloud Atlas“ by Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer
„Fraktus“ by Lars Jessen
„Hannah Arendt“ by Margarethe von Trotta
„Invasion” by Dito Tsintsadze
„Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge” by André Erkau
„Das Lied des Lebens“ by Irene Langemann
„Quellen des Lebens“ by Oskar Roehler
„Revision“ by Philip Scheffner
„Ritter Rost“ by Thomas Bodenstein
„Sofias letzte Ambulanz“ by Ilian Metev
„Sound of Heimat“ by Arne Birkenstock and Jan Tengeler
„Die Vampirschwestern“ by Wolfgang Groos
„Vergiss mein nicht“ by David Sieveking
„Die Vermissten“ by Jan Speckenbach
„Was bleibt“ by Hans-Christian Schmid
NRW@EFM: Filmstiftung NRW and EFM presenting top issues with VOD and TV series
Together with the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the European Film Market is now continuing last year’s successfully introduced programme of industry discussions with international experts from film, TV and media, this year with two top-notch events.
On 11 February, 16.00 – 17.00, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has joined forces with the European Film Market of the Berlinale to host a discussion on Video on Demand (VOD), which continues unabated to occupy the industry in Germany. While in some countries like the USA films are distributed without any kind of restrictions, there is still a lot of catching up to do in Central Europe. The panel will address successful VoD business models, particularly for small and medium-sized distributors and producers, and discusses the consequences of reduced release windows. The discussion will also analyse promising strategies of VoD platforms and the associated chances for rights-holders.
A second discussion will follow from 17.30 – 18.30: “TV Series – The New Cinema?”. High quality TV series are increasingly surging onto the market and achieving an ever wider acceptance with the audience. Around the globe, they are not only becoming flagships for TV channels due to the high ratings. Their quality has also risen enormously and this can be traced back to first-class teams who were previously successful with feature films. At the same time, the film industry is faced with the challenge of continuing to reach a large audience for international films. The potential of highly praised TV series and their consequences for the development of feature films will be discussed by representatives of TV channels and producers with the Golden Palm winner Jane Campion, who will be introducing her first series „Top of the Lake“ with co-director Garth Davis at the Berlinale.
The discussion events take place in the „Gropius Mirror“ opposite the Martin Gropius Bau. The entrance is free for EFM and accredited festival delegates as well as for a limited number of participants on prior registration at .
Film- und Medienstiftung NRW at the European Film Market
During the Berlinale, staff of the Filmstiftung NRW will provide information about funding possibilities in NRW at the European Film Market in the Gropius Bau, Ground Floor. You can find the Filmstiftung at Stand 16 of FOCUS Germany, the amalgamation of German film funders (Telephone, Stand 030-609027-422).
MEDIA at the Berlinale
During the Berlinale, the German MEDIA team and experts from Brussels will be available for a consultancy service at the MEDIA stand of the European Film Market. The team can be reached by telephone at 030-609027- 428. At the MEDIA Info Day on 11 February from 10.30 – 17.00, professionals will have the opportunity to get information about the future Creative Europe programme (2014-2020) and the current MEDIA funding programmes. The event will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Potsdamer Platz. Further information at www.mediadesk-deutschland.eu