11/12/2006

At its last session of allocation of support funds of 2006, FFF Bavaria, a regional funding body for cinema and television, granted €2.25m to 12 projects, including Hanami, which received €500,000.

The new film by Doris Dörrie, after Der Fischer und seine Frau, describes how a widow (Elmar Wepper) realises the dream of his late wife (Monica Bleibtreu) – a trip to Japan. The Olga Film production, which began shooting in November, also received €300,000 from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

FFF Bavaria has also decided to support the thriller Kaifeck Murder, directed by Esther Gronenborn (Adil geht, Berlin Stories) and produced by 24 Frames Film, as well as Ironman, a film by Adnan Köse about Andreas Niedrig, a drug-addict-turned-athlete (produced by Enigma Film).

The FFF has also provided funding to documentaries – not only to established filmmakers such as Christian Wagner (whose recent Warchild [+see also:
trailer
film profile] continues its tour on the international festival circuit), who is preparing Es liegt in den Familien (a sperl + schott production), but also to films by young directors such as Stefan Landorf and Knut Karger.

Distribution support was provided to Schwere Jungs (lit. "Tough Guys") by Marcus H. Rosenmüller (Wer früher stirbt ist länger tot) and The Wild Soccer Bunch by Joachim Masannek.

Support to television productions included €480,000 to Das Geheimnis der Schatzinsel, a story about pirates based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island, starring Jürgen Vogel and Tobias Moretti.

(Translated from French)