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INSTITUTIONS Germany

NRW Filmstiftung celebrates its 15th anniversary

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For such a young organisation, the NRW (North-Rhine Westphalia Filmstiftung), the North-Rhine Westphalia regional film funding board can boast quite an impressive achievement. In fifteen years, NRW has provided funding of € 250m to 444 feature films, €12m to 177 low budget films and shorts, and €80m to 153 films for television.

Since it was founded in Düsseldorf on February 27, 1991 the Filmstiftung has funded an entire era of German cinema, from the creative enthusiasm of the 1990s to the increasingly important role of the media in the film industry. Its choices have always been proven right and its actions effective. The films funded by the Filmstiftung have become regulars at the most important film festivals, such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, Sundance... Films that have received funding by the board since its foundation include such prestigious prize winners as Schtonk (1992), Farinelli (1994), Dead Man (1995), My Name is Joe (1998), Run Lola Run (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Amelie [+see also:
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(2001), or the recent smash hit at the German box office Barefoot [+see also:
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. The list of directors supported, or even made known by the Filmstiftung thanks to its support is impressive. It includes, aside from those whose films have already been mentioned above, Peter Greenaway, Werner Herzog, Emir Kusturica, Win Wenders, and Margarethe von Trotta.

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More recently the Filmstiftung, which is also interested in children's films (such as Die wilden Hühner, one of the current hits in Germany), has provided funding for well-known films, such as Hidden [+see also:
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interview: Margaret Menegoz
interview: Michael Haneke
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, Paradise Now [+see also:
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, Manderlay [+see also:
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, Into Great Silence [+see also:
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interview: Philip Groening
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or The Elementary Particles [+see also:
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interview: Franka Potente & Moritz Ble…
interview: Oskar Roehler
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, The Free Will and El custodio [+see also:
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, the latter three picking up awards in Berlin two weeks ago.

This year, despite a budget cut of €2.4m due to economic constraints, the Filmstiftung remains one of the largest film funding boards in Europe, with an annual budget in the region of €32m. According to its director, Michael Schmid-Ospach —who replaced Dieter Kosslick five years ago—, the regional funding board will "continue its commitment to German and European cinema, because cinema is the history of our society, a halfway point between economy and culture".

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(Translated from French)

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