To support the rebooting of the cinema industry, Germany’s FFA (Filmförderunganstalt) film funding commission is allocating around €2.5 million for the distribution, world sales and video promotion of German and European co-productions. The sum of approximately €2.1 million goes towards the distribution and sales of nine films, support for a film marketing platform and a digital advertising campaign. One-third of the sum, or around €770,000, are provided by the BKM (Bundesministerium für Kultur und Medien) and the special Neustart Kultur (lit. “Restart Culture”) programme.

The supported films are Immenhof – Das Grosse Versprechen by female director Sharon Wietersheim, telling the story of a young girl and her horse, which gets €945,000 and is distributed by LEONINE Distribution GmbH. The film is part of a series aimed at a teenage audience. The Warner Bros Entertainment Germany production Commitment Phobia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Helena Hufnagel, starring, among others, Frederick Lau, Luise Heyer and Henriette Confurius, receives an amount of €455,000, while the period drama Eiffel in Love by Martin Bourboulon, produced by Constantin Film, will be backed with €200,000.

Another €200,000 go to the crime-comedy Weißbier im Blut by Jörg Graser, produced by Tobis Film. Alamode Filmdistribution receives €50,000 for the release on the domestic market of the German-Hungarian-French-Italian production between Komplizen Film, Pyramide Productions, Moliwood Productions and S. Kapitany Film The Story of My Wife [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ildikó Enyedi
scheda film] by Ildiko Enyedi, which stars Léa Seydoux. €20,000 go to the family drama Égalité by Kida Khodr Ramadan. The film is a German-Turkish production by Kida Films and is distributed by Alpha Centauri Studios GmbH. For the distribution and promotion of the German-Greek production (staged by Pallas Film GmbH, The Match Factory and View Master Films) Sisters Apart [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the FFA grants €15,000 to German distributor missingFILMs.

Two German productions will get €19,825 and €5,000, respectively, to get them ready for their international premiere and provide extra promotion. The first is the new film by Leander Hausmann, A Stasy Comedy, produced by Constantin Film and UFA, with world sales by Picture Tree International. The second is the most recent documentary by experienced Swiss filmmaker Heidi Specogna. Stand Up, My Beauty is a German-Swiss co-production between FAMA Film and Ma.ja.de, distributed by Deckert Distribution.

In addition, the further development of the GRETA app, a piece of software that makes subtitles and audio descriptions accessible to visually and hearing-impaired audiences, will be supported to the tune of €210,000. The “TMF Upcoming Highlights” digital advertising campaign, developed by The Match Factory for German and European theatrical productions, will also get backing (of €10,000) as part of the distribution funding.

Another €360,628 are destined for the promotion of two family films in the home-entertainment sector – namely, Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13, with €320,000 (produced by Warner Bros Germany, Malo Film and Rat Pack Filmproduktion); and Yakari, A Spectacular Journey [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], with €42,628 (staged by Dargaud Media, WunderWerk GmbH, Belvision and Gao Shan Pictures).