Franco-German co-development fund
At the 6th Franco-German Film Meetings – organised in Hamburg by Unifrance and German Films (see news) and attended by 300 film producers, distributors and financers from the two countries – the setting up of a co-development fund was announced.
This fund – created as part of the bilateral co-production mini-treaty signed in May 2001 by the National Film Centre and its German counterpart, the FFA – will operate as of next year on a budget of €300,000. Up to €50,000 will be granted to producers for their debut or second feature.
According to Christine Berg of the DFFF (German Federal Film Fund), “the aim is to exploit the economic and cultural potential of film for German and French markets".
Olivier Wotling, of the CNC, emphasised the importance for new producers of forming a network. He said: "From an early stage, producers must get used to the idea of collaborating with others".
The collaboration between France and Germany has yielded positive results. In 2007, Germany became the second-preferred co-producer in the French film industry (after Belgium), having invested in 10 majority French co-productions (in 2006 Germany was in third place after Belgium and Italy with six majority French co-productions).
This year, a third of the 30 international co-productions backed by the DFFF are French/German and the money invested in them has increased to €126m (compared to €80m last year).
Since its ratification, the mini-treaty has led to the backing of 50 co-productions, including Tom Tykwer’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and recent titles 35 Shots of Rum [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Claire Denis and The Countess by Julie Delpy.
(Translated from French)
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