A bunch of co-productions

by Bénédicte Prot

17/08/2006 - It is in the form of co-productions that Germany will be represented at this year's Venice International Film Festival (August 30-September 9).

One of the co-productions in competition is Black Book [trailer] by Paul Verhoeven, co-produced by Germany’s Egoli Tossell, the Netherlands and the UK.

The film, set at the end of WWII, tells the story of young Jewish singer Rachel Steinn and stars German actors Sebastian Koch (The Lives of Others [trailer, film focus]) and Christian Berkel (Soundless, Downfall [trailer, film focus]).

Two well-known German directors will be present in the Horizons section, albeit in very different ways.
Edgar Reitz has received a special invitation from festival director Marco Müller to present his Heimat Fragments at the opening of the event. This 20th century saga by Reitz follows the life of Lulu, a heroine in search of an "old future from childhood days".

Like the co-productions Roma wa la n’touma by Tariq Teguia (France/Algeria/Germany) and Suely in the Sky by Karim Ainouz (Brazil/France/Germany), the new Heimat will be screened in the presence of Philip Gröning who, following last year’s success on the Lido with Into Great Silence [trailer, film focus], this year presides over the Horizons section.

Also of note are three co-productions in the Venice Days sidebar, which, for its third edition, will feature a screening of Khadak [trailer, film focus] by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Belgium/Germany/Netherlands), WWW, What a Wonderful World [trailer] by Faouzi Bensaïdi (France/Morocco/Germany) and The Soldier’s Star [trailer] by Christophe de Ponfilly (France/Germany/Algeria). The director’s first and last feature will have a special screening at the event.

(Translated from French)