12/01/2010

The German national film fund, DFFF, has just reached the end of a third impressive year since its creation, with more films backed in 2009 than during the two previous years.

From January-December 2009, around €59.6m was shared out among 104 projects, including 76 narrative works, 24 documentaries and four animated films, of which 38 were international co-productions (the list of projects is available on the website). All this brought business worth over an estimated €344m to the industry.

DFFF director Christine Berg explained that, unlike 2007 and 2008, last year was more difficult during the second semester, for due to the crisis and delays in the payment of the FFA’s automatic support, several productions were postponed.

Berg made it clear that the situation is improving and cited as an example two major international productions backed by the DFFF which have got off the ground: the thriller Unknown White Male, starring Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger; and Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous. In the case of the latter film, the DFFF is delighted to have helped bring back the famous director of Independence Day and 2012 for a project in his native country, after 20 years in the US.

Since it was set up in January 2007, the DFFF has allocated €178.1m to 302 projects, whose production has cost a total of around €1.5bn, including €1.1bn spent in Germany. In view of this success, Culture Minister Bernd Neumann has approved the renewal of the DFFF’s mandate for three more years, until the end of 2012.

(Translated from French)