nordmedia Christian Petzold – German auteur director
By Ron Holloway | January 7, 2009
Credit nordmedia with a key supportive hand in the striking career of Christian Petzold, acclaimed today as one of Germany’s leading auteur directors. International recognition first came when Petzold’s Die innere Sicherheit (The Inner Security, aka The State I Am In) (2000) was touted as FIPRESCI Discovery of the Year at the 2001 Cannes festival. Later, when the film was awarded a Film Band in Gold at the Lola ceremonies, The State I Am In was cited by cineastes and film historians as one of the best German films of the past decade – indeed, as a film of singular political brilliance to be placed alongside Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Die dritte Generation (The Third Generation) (1979). Read the rest of this entry »
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nordmedia Michael Ballhaus at “Hands on HD” Workshop
By Siegfried Tesche | January 7, 2009
Only a few German camera professionals are also celebrated for their success in Hollywood, to say nothing of having been nominated three times for an Oscar. One of these is Michael Ballhaus, diploma photographer and born Berliner, who alternately lives there and in Los Angeles. If such a thing exists as a director’s eye, then you’d say he’s all of that, but even this is too little for the 71-year-old professional. He would like to be more than the “Fliegende Auge” (Flying Eye), as Tom Tykwer once described him in the book they collaborated on. Above all, he wants to paint images and is always curious about new technologies. Read the rest of this entry »
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nordmedia Talk Hannover 2007
By Ron Holloway | January 1, 2009
New concepts by today’s producers were aired at the 2007 nordmedia Talk Hannover. Away from television and total buy-out of rights to freely financed cinema coproductions – this fundamental position was keynoted in the formation of S.H.I.P. and X Filme International. The managing directors of both of these newly formed companies in Lower Saxony discussed with Jochen Coldewey at the nordmedia Talk Hannover in Enercity Expo Café about low budget productions, new financing stategies, and business models. Read the rest of this entry »
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nordmedia Festival Landscape
By Ron Holloway | January 1, 2009
The major film festivals in Lower Saxony and Bremen offer an important platform for the international cinema. Conceived as film festivals for the public, they present collectively an interesting forum for the German film market. The festival landscape is broad and rich in diverse facets. Since 2001, nordmedia has been supporting this important and far-reaching regional festival work. The festivals are noteworthy for their specific focal points. Read the rest of this entry »
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nordmedia Interview Jochen Coldewey & Thomas Schäffer
By Ron Holloway | January 1, 2009
The following interview with Thomas Schäffer, Managing Director of nordmedia – Die Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen mbH, and Jochen Coldewey, Head of Project Funding at nordmedia, took place in 2006 in conjuction with a KINO Special on nordmedia in October of 2006. As the interview confirms, nordmedia, based in Hannover, was riding a wave of festival successes thanks to such auteur filmmakers as Christian Petzold and Fatih Akin. Read the rest of this entry »
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Musikstadt Berlin 2008
By Dorothea Holloway | December 31, 2008
For musicians and music-lovers Berlin is truly a mecca. The city has three operas on the Spree. No, four – I almost forgot the Neuköllner Oper! Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, and Kent Nagano are splendid attractions. Here, the Berliner Philharmonic and the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin celebrate world-wide triumphs. Also, the Konzerthaus Berlin on Gendarmenmarkt and the Kammermusiksaal are paradises for music enthusiasts – in the Kammermusiksaal performs the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Kammerorchester under the baton of Hartmut Haenchen. Music can also be heard across the city in concert halls, salons, and churches. For instance: in the Gethsemanekirche, where in December 2008 the 250th anniversary of the birth of Carl Friedrich Zelter was celebrated – as musician, composer, conductor, song-master, and mason-master. Read the rest of this entry »
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Elem Klimov – memorial book 2008
By Ron Holloway | December 31, 2008
Even if your mastery of the Russian language is only so-so, don’t miss Elem Klimov, a memorial book edited by Raisa Fomina, Andrei Plakhov, German Klimov and Mariana Murzina. Asked once what Elem Klimov (1933-2003) was like, I likened him to a “Herman Melville hero” – genuine, complex, profound. He was an intellectual, yet a man of the world, who enjoyed the give-and-take of a heated conversation, who told stories that held listeners in suspense until the last twist came with a sparkle in his eye, who hyped his arguments with political banter and fearless commentary. Ask Elem about the troubles he had faced as a director, he would respond with a smile about the attacks on his early satires: the short feature Careful – Banality (1959), the children’s film for grownups Welcome – Entrance Forbidden (1964), and the allegory Adventures of a Dentist (1966). Query him for the reasons why Agonia (1975/85) was banned for ten years and why it took so long to release Come and See (1985), he would simply shrug his shoulders – there’s just no cure for banality. Entreat him on how he felt when the two-year ban was finally lifted on Farewell (1981/83), he would struggle to hold back his emotions. After all, he had completed the film on behalf of his wife, Larisa Shepitko, who had died tragically while shooting Farewell to Majora, based on Valentin Rasputin’s novel – shortened by Elem to Farewell to add a personal note.
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Thüringen in Berlin 2008
By Dorothea Holloway | December 31, 2008
In the capital city of Berlin you will find representative Vertretungen of the various federal states. Moreover, there’s a nice tradition that their administrators often invite guests to cultural functions. For the most part, these are exceptionally jovial and informative gatherings. The tables are covered with fruits from the respective federal state, there’s time for meeting people, and you can see a film. Most of these Vertretungen are located in the center of the city or in the Ministergärten – not at all grandiose – rather, quite accessible and convivial! Read the rest of this entry »
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Musikstadt Leipzig 2008
By Dorothea Holloway | December 31, 2008
Beyond doubt, the secret “music city” in Germany is Leipzig. Here, the Gewandhaus Orchestra makes its home under Intendant/director Prof. Andreas Schulz. Its Kapellmeister is Ricardo Chailly, the “honorary conductor” is the world famous Kurt Mazur. Further, it was at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften (Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Neurological Research) that Stefan Koelsch researched “the sense for music found in the brain of every man.” Another landmark is the Thomaskirche, before which stands the statue of Johann Sebastian Bach, the legendary Thomaskantor. As the saying goes, we don’t know if every musician believes in God, but we do know that all musicians believe in Bach! As in the past, while attending the DOKfestival Leipzig, we make it a point to visit the Thomas Church to hear a motette. Currently, the leader of the Thomanerchor (Thomas Choir) is Georg Christoph Biller.
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Red Bee Media acquires Titelbild Subtitling & Translation 2008
By Ron Holloway | December 31, 2008
Red Bee Media has acquired Titelbild Subtitling and Translation GmbH, a leading European multilingual subtitling and translation service provider. For the first time, Red Bee Media offers high quality translation services into any language while expanding Red Bee Media into the German market. Headquartered in Berlin, Titelbild was established by Mary Carroll in 1996, providing translations, subtitles, training and consulting services to the German and international market. Titelbild’s clients number Warner Bros, Paramount and Sony Pictures, plus broadcasters ARD, ZDF and ARTE. Other clients include cultural institutions Goethe Institut and Tate Modern. Also, Titelbild provides a wide range of multilingual translation services for the European Commission. Read the rest of this entry »
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