FUNDINGS PRODUCTION In Milan Skrobanek's comedyBetween the lines (470,000 euros, Curly Pictures, Hamburg) centres on the relationship between blind Florian and deaf Kati. Communication doesn't seem to be the problem, it's just that there is a lack of understanding for each other in many areas. What follows is a tour de force of emotions in which the two take the audience on the journey of their turbulent love story. Skrobanek wrote the script, which was nominated for the German Screenplay Award 2023, together with Eibe Maleen Krebs ("Draußen in meinem Kopf") - both studied at the HFBK Hamburg. The film will have 24 shooting days in Hamburg and 7 shooting days in Schleswig-Holstein. Numerous people with visual and hearing impairments will be involved in the filming. Shooting will start in April 2024.

The Hamburg-based creative duo Marian Freistühler and Oliver Bassemir (both Directors/Script) embark on a five-part seriesBrood (405,000 euros, Tamtam Film, Hamburg) to Hamburg Wilhelmsburg: here, a young man has built up a lucrative business by refining mysterious mushrooms in a wooded vacant lot. But when his success attracts the attention of unscrupulous competitors and the forest is suddenly threatened with clearing, he realises that there is more at stake than just saving his own business. Filming is scheduled to begin in October 2023 - 20 days of shooting are planned in Hamburg. The series is supported by NDR, nordmedia and MOIN Film Fund as part of the "Nordlichter" programme for young talent.

Shahrbanoo Sadat, who is from Hamburg by choice and has already won an award at Cannes, brings with herNo Good Men (354,000 euros, Adomeit Film, Lübeck) brings a romantic comedy to the big screen: the young Director of Photography Naru believes that there are no good men - but then she falls head over heels in love with the TV reporter Qodrat. The problem: he is married, twice her age and they both live in Kabul. Sadat wrote the script together with Mohammad Anwar Hashimi.

In the dramaHaven of Hope (130,000 euros, Riva Filmproduktion, Hamburg) by Seemab Gul, three residents of a Pakistani women's shelter venture outside for a day and encounter resistance. The international co-production is directed by Hamburg-based Oscar winner Zamarin Wahdat. Exactly 100,000 euros will go to the DocumentaryWe eat this Gold (filmtank, Hamburg) by filmmaker Jens Schanze, which is about the mining of lithium in Bolivia. Documentary about the injured teenager Saeed, who is carried from Syria to Europe and finally to Hamburg by his friend HazimLust for Life (80,000 euros, dirk manthey film, Hamburg) by Viktor Nordenskiöld. The film will have 15 shooting days in the Hanseatic city. Filmmaker Sven O. Hill tells the story of one of the most flamboyant gallery owners of the 1970s, '80s and '90s in his DocumentaryJes (78,000 euros, SaltoFilmUG, Haan). The film about the life of Jes Petersen from Schleswig-Holstein will have seven days of shooting in Schleswig-Holstein. Filmmaker Kani Lapuerta follows in the DocumentaryNIÑXS (45,000 euros, Sparrows on Rooftops, Hamburg) follows a 14-year-old trans* girl from Mexico through the highs and lows of her adolescence.

FUNDINGS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

• Shaer – Ein Poet (34.000 Euro, let's be awesome filmproduction, Hamburg) von Ali Hakim (Regie, Drehbuch) und Max König (Drehbuch)

• Schockraum (30.000 Euro, Junafilm, Hamburg) von Eibe Maleen Krebs (Regie, Drehbuch) und Felix Binder (Drehbuch)

• Die Stadt (25.000 Euro, Fünferfilm, Hamburg) von Helena Wittmann (Regie Drehbuch)

• Island of Salamanders (25.000 Euro, Fabian&Fred, Hamburg) von Catherine Maximoff (Regie, Drehbuch)

• Ich bin jung und brauche das Geld (24.000 Euro, Wüste Medien, Hamburg) von Nahuel Lopez (Regie) und Emanuel Tessema (Drehbuch)

• Serebrennikov – every day is an empty stage (20.000 Euro, FAVO Filmproduktion, Hamburg) von Marcus Richardt (Regie, Drehbuch) und Tanja Schwerdorf (Drehbuch)

• Honor of Persia (18.000 Euro, brave new work, Hamburg) von Zar Amir-Ebrahimi (Regie, Drehbuch)

• Im Land der Märchen und Träume (18.000 Euro, Glass Frog Films, Hamburg) von Denis Pavlovic (Regie/Drehbuch)

• EmMax und Mia (15.000 Euro, Leitwolf Filmproduktion, Hamburg) von Suki Roessel (Regie/Drehbuch) und Sabine Leipert (Drehbuch)

FUNDINGS SCRIPT

• Nostalgia (30.000 Euro, Red Balloon Film, Hamburg) von Ameer Fakher Eldin (Regie/Drehbuch)

• Feri (25.000 Euro, Hamburg) von Shahab Habibi

• Kleine Sterne (25.000 Euro, Ohne Falsch Film, Hamburg) von Oliver Bassemir

• Tour de Franzi (25.000 Euro, Kinescope Film, Hamburg) von Manuel Ostwald

• Wanderers (25.000 Euro, Hamburg) von Vladimir Vulevic und Andrea Lausevic

• Frau Boukaris Kiosk (20.000 Euro, Hamburg) von Tatiana Calasans

FUNDINGS DISTRIBUTION

• Heaven can wait – Wir leben jetzt (28.000 Euro, mindjazz pictures, Köln) von Sven Halfar (Regie/Drehbuch)

• Sophia, der Tod & Ich (25.000 Euro, DCM Filmdistribution, Berlin) von Charly Hübner (Regie) Und Lena May Graf (Drehbuch)

• Milchzähne (20.000 Euro, Farbfilm Verleih, Berlin) von Sophia Bösch (Regie/Drehbuch) und Roman Gielke (Drehbuch)

• Vergiss Meyn nicht (18.000 Euro, W-film Distribution, Köln) von Fabiana Fragale, Jens Mühlhoff und Kilian Kuhlendahl (alle Regie/Drehbuch)

• Letzter Abend (10.000 Euro, Filmwelt Verleihagentur, Berlin) von Lukas Nathrath (Regie) und Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer (Autor)

• All Inclusive (8.000 Euro, Rise and Shine Cinema, Hamburg) von Thorsten Ernst (Regie/Drehbuch), Tobias Lickes (Regie/Drehbuch), Gordon Volk (Drehbuch) und Malte Nieschalk (Drehbuch)

FUNDINGS CINEMA

• 3001 Open Air Sommer 2023 (10.000 Euro, 3001 Kino, Hamburg)

• SchanzenKino Open Air 2023 (8.000 Euro, SchanzenKino73 / Outdoor Cine, Hamburg)

• Zeise Open Air Sommer 2023 (10.000 Euro, Zeise Kinos Zeise Hallen, Hamburg)

An overview of all funded projects can be found here.

The funding decisions were made on 22 June 2023 by Vanessa Ciszewski, Anita Elsani, Sara Fazilat, Gabor Greiner, Timo Großpietsch and Helge Albers.