Five years of DFFF: a remarkable track record
In five years of existence, the German Federal Film Fund or DFFF (Deutsche Filmförderfonds) has contributed to making the country a destination that is "more popular than ever" for international productions and has encouraged local producers to make better films and undertake more co-productions. This was recently pointed out by Culture Minister Bernd Neumann, who was behind its creation in January 2007 and the renewal of its annual €60m budget for three years in 2010. Between the launch of the fund and the end of December 2011, the DFFF paid out €293.5m to 527 films (with contributions of up to 20% of their budget), generating €1.8bn of investment in the production sector.
The strong demand for funding on the part of producers hasn’t waned and in 2011, the DFFF once again used up its budget. Between January and December, €59.5m was allocated to 111 projects (78 narrative features, 28 documentaries and five animated films) including 44 international productions.
Among the titles financed, the most generously funded was the big-budget blockbuster Cloud Atlas by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski brothers (Matrix), which received no less than €10m. Among the financed productions slated for release this year, one of the most promising is the social satire Zettl by award-winning director Helmut Dietl, in which popular comedian Michael "Bully" Herbig plays a chauffeur who accidentally becomes the editor-in-chief of an online newspaper, starring alongside Senta Berger and Caroline Herfurth (to be released on February 2 by Warner). The list also includes Peter Sehr and Marie Noëlle’s historical film Ludwig II (to be released on December 20 by Warner); Huck Finn by Hermine Huntgeburth (after the success of her Tom Sawyer [+see also:
trailer
film profile], released last November); Detlev Buck’s adaptation Measuring the World (expected for release at the end of the year) and Doris Dörrie’s Bliss, starring Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher (to be released on February 23, distributed by Constantin).
Last year, the DFFF also backed animated titles Der Mondmann and Keinohrhase und Zweiohrküken by German star Til Schweiger, destined to reach the German box-office heights.
(Translated from French)
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