19/02/2009 - Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick recalls the dedication and contribution to diverse and minor films by the renowned French film producer Humbert Bulsan, who tragically died in February 2005.

Dieter Kosslick, Director of the Berlinale, remembers with lingering sorrow mixed with admiration, the dedication to multi-cultural cinema of the late French film producer, Humbert Balsam, who died tragically on the eve of Berlinale 2006.
Humbert's friendship with Dieter was cemented by the passion of both men for bringing to the attention of the European cinemagoer films that reflect the plight and aspirations of the whole of humanity.
Had Balsam turned his considerable talent and energy to a different trade over the past 20 years, far fewer films would have been made that bear witness to cultural change in the Arab world and the struggles of a generation of young Europeans of Arab descent to find their own identity.
Many of the films produced through Humbert Balsam's company received support from the German Filmföderung Anstalt, German regional film funds, the French Fonds Sud and from the European Film Agencies (EFAD).
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