19/09/2006

The independent expert jury, appointed by German Films to select the German entry to compete for the 79th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film, has - under the chairmanship of Antonio Exacoustos - chosen The Lives of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florian Henckel von Donners…
interview: Ulrich Muehe
film profile] (Das Leben der Anderen) by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

The jury on its decision: "The film intensely describes not only a chapter of the history of divided Germany, but also a man who finds his own life while observing the lives of others."

The production by Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion in co-production with BR/Munich, ARTE/Strasbourg and Creado Film/Contance, was already awarded with four Bavarian Film Awards prior to its official German release date in March 2006.

Before the film was presented to international audiences at the Cannes Film Market, The Lives of Others scooped up seven German Film Awards from the German Film Academy, including for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film then celebrated its international breakthrough in Locarno, where it was screened to over 7,000 viewers on the Piazza Grande, receiving not only enthusiastic applause, but also the festival’s Audience Award. Further international festivals followed, including Telluride and Toronto.

The Lives of Others was released in Germany on 23 March 2006 and has since then posted some 1.5 million admissions (distributor: Buena Vista International).

World sales agent Beta Cinema has already sold the film to 30 territories, including Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Benelux, Israel, and Japan.

Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in the United States in Spring 2007. Sony also successfully marketed Good Bye, Lenin! [+see also:
trailer
interview: Wolfgang Becker
film profile] in the U.S.

The Lives of Others was funded by the German Federal Film Board (FFA), FilmFernsehFonds Bayern and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

On January 23, 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will nominate five films from the international entries to participate in the final selection to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The official awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on 25 February 2007.