Following meetings held in Lyon, Cologne, and Munich, the Franco-German Film Meetings will celebrate their 5th anniversary this year at Versailles, from November 22 through 24.
The event will be officially opened on the morning of November 23 by Véronique Cayla, General Director of the CNC (Centre National de la Cinématographie) and her German counterpart Peter Dinges from the FFA (Filmförderungsanstalt). The French and German Culture Ministers Christine Albanel and Bernd Neumann will be present to make speeches later in the day.
A number of seminars are programmed at these professional meetings:
- New funding schemes and their implications for co-productions
- The implementation of digital screening
- Implications of VOD on relations between the film and television industries
A pitching session will be held to enable French and German producers in search of potential production partners to present their latest projects to all participants. Russian producers will also be in Versailles to observe these sessions and present their own projects.
In addition, Unifrance is organizing a meeting between up-and-coming actors from France and Germany. This program was inaugurated in Munich last year, and has since been repeated at the London Rendez-Vous with French Cinema and the recent RomeFilmFest.
The following actors will be in attendance to represent Germany: Martina Gedek, August Diehl, Alexander Fehling, Fabian Hinrichs, Sibel Kekilli, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Hinnerk Schönemann, Jördis Triebel, and Sebastian Urzendowsky, supported by Angelina Maccarone and Matthias Luthardt. The following French actors will be present: Melvil Poupaud, Georges Babluani,
Nicolas Cazalé, Jennifer Decker, Valérie Donzelli, Mylène Jampanoï, Adrien Jolivet, Aïssa Maïga, and Alysson Paradis, supported by Cécile Telerman and Dominik Moll.
The number of co-productions has increased significantly since the creation of the Franco-German Film Meetings and the signing of a co-production mini-treaty, with figures showing a rise from an average of 2 to 10 films per year. Around 30 co-productions are currently in various stages of production in 2007.
It is worth remembering that the 2006 Film Meetings attracted record attendance, with over 370 participants registered from the two countries.
For all further information about the organization of the 5th Franco-German Film Meetings, please consult the website: www.das-rendez-vous.org.
