GERMANY 1/DUSSELDORF HOSTS THE WIM WENDERS FOUNDATION
Wim Wenders’ movies are part of the collective memory of cinema- goers of every age and many nationalities. In order to make his work available to a general audience, Wim and Donata Wenders have set up the Wim Wenders Foundation, with headquarters in Düsseldorf. The foundation will start by acquiring the rights to all Wim Wenders’ films held by third parties at the end of 2012, thanks to funds raised with the dedicated support of the Federal State of NRW, the City of Düsseldorf and the Cultural Foundation of the Federal States, as well as some private donors. The first managing director of the Wim Wenders Foundation will be Carolin von Roth.
The Wim Wenders Foundation has also set itself the goal of supporting innovative narrative art. New media, the exploration of which cha- racteristically runs as a common thread through all of Wim Wenders’ works, will be offered support by the awarding of bursaries to young filmmakers and video artists.
GERMANY 2/”ORIGINALS”: A MARKETING TOOL FOR THE FILM COMMISSION STUTTGART REGION
For its new marketing initiative, the Film Commission Stuttgart Region has sought out “Originals” that tell a fascinating story or are of inestimable historic value. To make Stuttgart more popular and put the region on the world’s filmmaking map, the Film Commission has published a set of postcards featuring eleven exciting filming locations in Germany’s Southwest. The “Originals”show off the diversity and uniqueness of the Stuttgart region and its locations.
The pictures also aim to encourage new film stories to be told. The impressive backdrops, unique buildings and quirky settings are linked to the people who live and work there. Among them are Petra and Martin Lorenz who founded Germany’s first Karaoke bar in 1992. Or the Byzantine basilica in Esslingen, which is the biggest Greek-Orthodox church outside Greece.
FRANCE 1/A THOUSEND MOVIES FILMED IN PARIS IN 2012
In 2012 Paris welcomed 988 movie productions, an increase of 5%, representing 3307 days of filming. The year stood out, in particular, for the rise in advertising activities (films and photo shoots) and short movies, whilst there was a drop in features and TV dramas.99 feature movies were filmed, representing 1,069 days of work. The French capital attracted around twenty foreign filmmakers, mainly Americans, British, Indians or Russians and, of course, many film- makers from France, such as Asghar Faradi, Claire Denis, Danielle Thompson, Michel Gondry, Roger Michell, Valerie Lemercier, Dean Parisot, Bertrand Tavarnier, etc.
In terms of TV dramas and series, there were 130 productions (78 series and 31 TV movies) involving 782 days of work. The best known titles are: “Détectives”, “Jo Legrand cop in Paris”, “Profilage”, “Joséphine Ange Gardien” and “Engrenages”.
It should be noted that, since June 2012, production companies can apply online for permission to film in the capital via the following website www.parisfilm.fr
FRANCE 2/PARLIAMENT BOOSTS TAX CREDITS FOR PRODUCTION COMPANIES
As part of the Finance Law 2013, the French Parliament has followed the government’s recommendations and boosted tax credits for production companies in order to make France more attractive to both French and international filmmakers. With regard to national productions (French language), the cap per film has been raised (from 1 to 4 M€), the expenses eligible for the 20 % allowance have been increased (extras, transport, catering, accommodation…), and there are derogations for certain English language series co-produced with foreign partners. For international productions, the cap of the famous TRIP (Tax Rebate for International Productions) rises from 4 to 10 M€, and accommodation expenses are now included amongst the eligible costs.
«Despite this period of budgetary rigor, our decisions have sent a strong signal to artists and companies in this sector,” comments Patrick Lamassoure of Film France. “They confirm that the attractiveness of a territory is a crucial component for maintaining a strong creative industry, whilst remaining within a European dimension ».
SPAIN/BLOODY TALES IN NAVARRA
With the support of the Navarra Film Commission, National Geographic has been shooting scenes for the third episode of “Bloody Tales of Europe” (True North Productions – UK) in Spain, a series about black magic and the dark arts to be aired in the Spring.
The locations used for filming were the Zugarramurdi caves and the Museum of Witchcraft in Northern Navarra. Episode 3 of the show, hosted by journalist Joe Crowley and Dr Suzannah Lipscomb, a historian, looks at the “auto- da-fe” in Logroño in 1610, where some 20 local witches were sentenced to be burnt at the stake.
BELGIUM/SCREEN FLANDERS LAUNCHES THE FIRST CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The government of Flanders (Belgium) has launched the first call for submitting projects to the Screen Flanders Fund. Applications can be submitted until 12 p.m. (noon) on 28 February 2013.
Initiated by the Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters, who is also responsible for Economic Affairs, and the Flemish Minister for Culture, Joke Schauvliege, the government has decided to allocate €5 million per year to support audiovisual activities in the region.
The Flemish government offers financial support via Screen Flanders to audiovisual (co-)productions that spend (part of) their budget in the Flemish Region.
Projects investing a minimum of € 250,000 in the region will be eligible. Every euro given to a production must generate at least one euro of audiovisual expenditure in the Flanders Region. The maximum support provided per project is € 400,000.
Downloads: English guidebook and French “Manuel de procedure”: www.screenflanders.com More information: screenflanders@vlaanderen.be.
LITHUANIA/”ANNA KARENINA” FILMED IN VILNIUS
This autumn, Vilnius was transformed into 19th century Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The capital of Lithuania was selected as one of the locations used to stage the legendary drama “Anna Karenina” (Lux Vide – Italy).
Canadian director, Christian Duguay (“Coco Chanel”, “Pope Pius XII”) and his team worked in Vilnius for more than a month, with the support of the Vilnius Film Office. Earlier in 2012 Vilnius had been chosen to portray Siberia, Amsterdam and the forests of Kuala Lumpur.
“The filming of “Anna Karenina” was financially beneficial to the hotels and restaurants of the capital as well as film professionals and several hundred residents of Vilnius”, says J. Pazikaite, director of the Vilnius Film Office.
The film stars Italian actress Vittoria Puccini, Spanish actress Angela Molina (“Broken Embraces”), Santiago Cabrera, Max Von Thun and Benjamin Sadler. The film crew of “Anna Karenina” consisted of ap- proximately 100 film professionals from Italy and Lithuania; 70 actors from Italy, Germany, France and Lithuania were involved in the film and 600-700 people took part in the crowd scenes.
ITALY/FROM TURIN STRAIGHT TO MACEDONIA
The Film Commission Torino Piemonte (FCTP), together with the Italian agency InActo and Cinecittà, organized an event during Cine- days 2012 in Skopje, the most important cinema festival in Macedonia. During the event, 6 features and 1 short filmed in Piedmont were screened to local audiences that gave a warm welcome to the initiative. The screenings were accompanied by a round table where the directors met the public and described their projects and working methods.
This was the FCTP’S first experience in Balkan Europe, and it was a truly important and meaningful point of departure for further activities and collaborations.
