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BERLINALE 2007 Competition

Germany/Austria: Counterfeiters join the gang

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The 57th Berlin International Film Festival (February 8-18) is almost complete and so far includes 15 titles.

German films have a strong presence. In addition to Yella [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, starring Nina Hoss and directed by Christian Petzold (in competition in 2005 with Ghosts), and the co-production Irina Palm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sam Garbarski
interview: Sébastien Delloye
film profile
]
by Belgian helmer Sam Garbarski, featuring Marianne Faithfull, festival organisers have just announced the selection of Austrian/German film The Counterfeiter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Viennese director Stefan Ruzowitzky (Anatomy).

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The €4.2m feature about the greatest job ever pulled off by counterfeiters – produced by Nina Bohlmann and Babette Schröder for Hamburg-based Magnolia Film and Austria’s Josef Aichholzer – was made last spring in Vienna, Babelsberg and Montecarlo.

At the end of WWII, the Nazis ordered prisoners at the Sachsenhausen camp to forge millions of pounds sterling so as to weaken the enemy’s economy. The counterfeiting prisoners are played by Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow and Marie Bäumer.

The Counterfeiter will be distributed by Falcom in Germany and Filmladen in Austria and sold to international territories by Beta Film.

Germany is also represented by national stars in foreign films. Silver Bear winner Julia Jentsch is among the cast in Czech/Slovak co-production I Served the King of England by maestro Jirí Menzel (1990 Golden Bear) while Moritz Bleibtreu stars opposite this year’s jury member, Willem Dafoe, in jury president Paul Schrader’s latest film, The Walker [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, a joint UK/US production presented out of competition.

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(Translated from French)

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