MDM-Funded Short Film “Umbra“ Snatches Golden Bear
For their MDM-funded short film "Umbra", Florian Fischer and Johannes Krell were awarded a Golden Bear by the International Short Film jury at the 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Thomas Heise’s documentary "Heimat is a Space in Time" grabbed the Caligari Prize. In addition, the children’s film "My Extraordinary Sumer with Tess" by Steven Wouterlood received an honorable mention by the Generation Kplus international jury.
Claas Danielsen, CEO of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), says: "I extend heartfelt congratulations to these excellent filmmakers who bring their unique esthetic and storytelling to the world of film and have convinced the jury with their outstanding quality. On behalf of all those who are based in our region and have contributed to this success, we are thrilled and proud to have had a part in it."
The short film "Umbra", shot in part in the Harz Mountains and in the USA, pays meditative and associative homage to both ordinary and rare visual phenomena witnessed in nature. Co-produced by the Halle-based ROSENPICTURES production company, the Academy of Media Arts of Cologne, and Johannes Krell, "Umbra" was realized with funding from MDM, the North-Rhine-Westphalian Film and Media Fund, and the German Federal Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs.
In "Heimat is a Space in Time", Thomas Heise, one of Germany’s most renowned documentary film makers, traces his own family’s story across four generations, reflecting on the history of the 20th century, in the German-Austrian co-production "Heimat is a Space in Time". The documentary was co-produced by the Leipzig-based Ma.ja.de production company along with Navigator Film Produktion (Vienna) and German public TV networks ZDF/3SAT. It received funding from MDM, the German Federal Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs, the Film Section of the Austrian Chancellor’s Office, FISA (Film Industry Support Austria), the Future Fund of Austria, and the City of Vienna.
The family drama "My Extraordinary Summer with Tess" is the first venture into the movie theater for Emmy Kids winner Steven Wouterlood. It is about ten-year-old Sam, who is spending his summer break on the North Sea island of Terschelling, where he intends to practice being alone. This changes when he meets the self-assured and ebullient Tess, who is determined to get to know her father. Co-produced across the German-Dutch border by BIND Film (Amsterdam), Ostlicht Filmproduktion (Weimar) and the TV network VPRO, "My Extraordinary Summer with Tess" received funding from MDM, the Dutch CoBO fund, the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, and Creative Europe MEDIA. Moreover, the story and project development were realized with funding from the German-Dutch Co-Development Fund sponsored by MDM and the Netherlands Film Fund.
A total of five MDM-funded films were featured in the official program of this year’s International Berlin Film Festival, with another eight films screening in the LOLA@Berlinale side program.