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DISTRIBUTION Germany

Delphi saved from the brink

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At the start of the year, Dario Suter, Christoph Daniel and Marc Schmidheiny, who founded Berlin-based production company DCM Productions, bought 50% shares in Delphi Filmverleih, a distribution company set up by Claus Boje in 1989.

After many years of success (Delphi has distributed titles including The Edukators, Il Divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile
]
, Looking For Eric [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cannes 2009
Ken Loach

interview: Steve Evets - actor
film profile
]
, and regularly works with prominent directors, like Detlev Buck, from Jailbirds to his latest outing Same Same But Different [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), the distribution company fell victim to the economic crisis, forcing Boje to resort to safeguard proceedings last year.

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DCM’s three founders have experience in film as well as Internet. Their first production venture, Ceasefire [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, won critical acclaim but wasn’t a hit with audiences. Suter will become joint managing director of Delphi alongside Boje, while Sonja Schmitt remains head of distribution.

Boje is delighted at this new partnership, which comes in addition to his collaboration with Buck through the production company Boje Buck Produktion. He believes that bringing together different skills focused on a shared passion for cinema will enable them to continue to share great films with people.

Meanwhile, Suter insists that after the experience of Ceasefire, the best strategic choice was to get involved in distribution. He also describes the partnership as an ideal combination between Boje and Schmitt’s experience on the one hand and his and his partners’ Internet marketing know-how on the other. He promises "innovative campaigns".

As part of this new joint venture, Delphi already has two films lined up for this year: Jean-Pierre Améris’s French title Romantics Anonymous [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, starring Benoît Poelvoorde and Isabelle Carré; and an unusual docu-fiction inspired by classic film Die Feuerzangenbowle, which will take actor Christian Ulmen back to his school days (produced by Boje Buck Produktion in co-production with ARD Degeto and DCM Productions).

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(Translated from French)

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