09/03/2010

The German film regulating body FFA has granted €269,500 for the development of 13 screenplays and four treatments.

These screenplays include Florian Gallenberger’s new project, after his major production John Rabe [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. Nine years after winning an Oscar for his short film Quiero Ser (I Want to Be), among other awards, the 37-year-old director-screenwriter is working on a screenplay entitled Colonia Dignidad, which already has backing from Berlin-based Majestic Filmproduktion. This project received €20,000.

Valeska Grisebach (Longing [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], 2006) got the same amount for her screenplay Western, which does not yet have a producer.

An FFA committee headed by Catherine Laakmann also allocated €1,546,166 in support for movie theatres, responding to 26 of the 41 funding applications with subsidies or interest-free loans, as well as five previous applications.

The aim of these subsidies is to promote the modernisation and restructuring of theatres and encourage exemplary commercial strategies (the maximum amount allocated for this purpose now stands at €222,000). The FFA has in fact decided to grant a total of €67,239 in subsidies to 50 theatres that show short films before each feature screening.

The next funding allocation session for movie theatres is planned for May 27. The deadline for applications has been set at March 31 (the other deadlines this year are June 30, September 30 and December 31). Application forms are available on the FFA website.

(Translated from French)