Ein Oscar kommt nach München

Bavaria and Munich not only provide the German football champion at regular intervals, but they also present themselves as a true champion within the film industry. This is demonstrated by the recent Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film Nowhere in Africa by Caroline Link, 23 years after Volker Schlöndorff brought the Oscar to Munich for The Tin Drum. In photo (l. to r.): Dr. Klaus Schaefer (FFF Bayern), Erwin Huber (State Minister), Caroline Link, producer Bernd Eichinger, producer Peter Herrmann (MTM). Whether it’s artistic success or success at the box office: creativity combined with committed producers engagement and effective film funding makes Bavaria a state »"where Film and Television are at home« ­ and this rather successfully.

        Seven years of film funding by the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (Bavarian Film and Television Fund) contributed to this phenomena. This means active support for the Bavarian Film industry, which resulted in an unparalleled success story. Of the top 30 German films 1996 - 2000, 21 were funded by the FFF. In 2001, 7 of the 9 films that drew over 1 million viewers were funded by the FFF, among them the mega-success Manitou’s Shoe. The year 2002 was similarly successful: of the 10 most successful German films, 8 were FFF-funded, among them 3 films with over 1 million viewers.

        Success has many parents and can be fixed to many variables. Fact is that the FFF-Bayern has a »good hand« for quality and audience attractiveness. Nothing short of sensational is the success of Manitou’s Shoe with the cinema audience. It attracted over 11 million viewers. The FFF Bayern was the main funder of this film. The successes of Florian Gallenberger, awarded the Oscar for Quiero Ser; the critically acclaimed thriller The Experiment, praised by press and audience alike; or the family entertainment sector, with hits such as Bibi Blocksberg, were in no way inferior. Success, however, also means the productive support of talented filmmakers such as Caroline Link. Her most recent film funded by the FFF, Nowhere in Africa, was not only successful at the box office, but it was also awarded, among many other prizes, the Oscar. That FilmFernsehFonds Bayern funded the Oscar winner The Pianist demonstrates FFF’s international orientation. Hans-Christian Schmid, who attracted attention to himself with his film Distant Lights, or Oskar Roehler with his provocative contribution to the Berlin film festival, Angst, were also funded by the FFF, as were those who guarantee outstanding telefeatures: Dominik Graf, Martin Enlen and Vivian Naefe. The Television event of the last few years, Die Manns, was also funded, as was the most successful documentary of the year 2002: Rivers and Tides. For Managing Director Dr. Klaus Schaefer these successes are a symbol for the professional character of the industry and the intensive work of the FFF-Bayern.