Neighbourhood stories and transparent people

30.01.2020 | Committee 2 Funding decision

At the first meeting of the new year, Committee 2 of Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein awarded around 500,000 euros to a total of 15 projects, including a real neighbourhood story by HFBK graduate Il Kang and Nicolaas Schmidt's follow-up project to his First Steps winner "Final Stage".

For almost a month, HFBK graduate Il Kang will present his new projectLeonidas/Kiezjargon (120,000 euros, La Mosca Bianca Films, Hamburg) in Hamburg's neighbourhood this year. The film is about 13-year-old Leon, who lives with his mother in St. Pauli and is repeatedly left alone by her. Left to his own devices, Leon has to see how he can earn some money. Hunger ultimately drives him onto the streets. Sin Huh, who also provided great images for the HMS Student Oscar winner "Raju", is the director of photography for the production-supported film.

Andreas Pichler's Documentary is about the digital control state in ChinaThe Total Trust (80,000 euros, Filmtank, Hamburg). Together with Chinese Director Yan Ting Yuen, Pichler asks whether people can be made better citizens through comprehensive transparency.

The Swiss-German co-productionHarald Naegeli - The Sprayer of Zurich (70,000 euros, PitchounProduction, Hamburg) by Nathalie David is dedicated to the veteran sprayer Harald Naegeli, who has been spraying the concrete of his city since the 1970s. A homage to the utopian Naegeli.

The Hamburg filmmaker Nicolaas Schmidt works withFirst Time (40,000 euros) on the follow-up to his First Steps winner "Final Stage", which is, however, a prequel to the Final Stage story. In the DocumentaryThe last of their kind (35,000 euros, Tag/Traum Filmproduktion, Cologne) by Beatrix Schwehm, a group of ornithologists set out in search of an almost extinct bird species.People in Motion (34,000 euros, Lauenstein & Lauenstein, Hamburg) is the new short film by the duo Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein in stop motion format - with around 125 animation days in Hamburg. Further production funding is available for the essay film Terrain (25,000 euros), in which Hamburg filmmaker Vanessa Nica Mueller takes a poetic research trip into the world of plants from Schleswig-Holstein to Lebanon. A total of nine projects will receive production funding totalling 404,000 euros - three of which will be directed by women and will receive 130,000 euros.

Fundings in the area of project development are available for two projects this time: The feature film KLassen relationships (Lübeck) (fuenferfilm, Hamburg) by filmmaker Peter Ott is being funded with 20,000 euros, the DocumentaryStrandzha (fuenferfilm, Hamburg) by Pepa Hristova will receive 15,000 euros. Screenplay funding totalling 15,000 euros will be awarded toBetween the lines by Milan Skrobanek and Eibe Maleen Krebs give -Glitter & mince by Toby Chlosta receives 14,000 euros. The Documentary DLove eats life (10,000 euros, mindjazz pictures, Cologne) will be supported in Distribution. There is also a total of 19,000 euros for three cinemas in the screening area.

A detailed overview of all funded projects can be found here.

The funding decision was made on 16 January 2020 by Helge Albers, Birgit Glombitza, Timo Großpietsch, Katrin Klamroth, Joachim Kühn and Arne Sommer.

Photo: © Marc-Oliver Schulz