German public broadcaster ZDF will make a major investment in federal funding bodies the Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW), the Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the FilmFörderung Hamburg and the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern.
ZDF legal affairs exec Enno Friccius is expected to announce the funding details in a few months. Deals may vary between individual film boards and will see ZDF acting as co-producers or licensees for cinema and TV films, plus TV documentaries.
NRW's Dr Silke Zimmermann expected a 'substantial' investment from the ZDF deal. 'We have a yes, now we are working out the precise logistics,' she said. 'This is going to be a very exciting year.'
Zimmermann said the ZDF deal would allow NRW, which receives over DM25 (US$16.7) million a year from state broadcaster WDR, to both widen the genre of and increase the number of films it supported. She expected more emphasis on non-comedy titles, highlighting the potential of further joint financing deals with the Majors following NRW's support for Buena Vista and Mr Brown Entertainment's Knockin' On Heaven's Door.
'Comedy films do not travel,' observed Zimmermann. 'But the success of comedy films in Germany has made support for other films possible. We're about to see the second wave of German cinema.' AM
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