New German/Russian Fund Announced In Berlin

After several years of negotiations, a newly announced German-Russian co-development fund has finally been established unveiled its first recipients at the Berlin International Film Festival this past weekend. Veteran Russian art house directors Aleksander Sokourov and Aleksey Uchitel will be among the first to benefit from the new co-development fund. Sokurov, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last year for his adaptation of FAUST, will receive $20,000 (€15,000) toward the development of THE LOUVRE UNDER OCCUPATION, a feature described as exploring “the relationship between art and power.” Sokourov knows his way around a museum, having directed the acclaimed documentary RUSSIAN ARK, an unfolding of  Russian history set entirely in the Hermitage Museum told in one continuous shot. Uschitel, director of the Golden Globe-nominated KRAY (2010), picked up $26,000 (€20,000) toward the development of his latest, STOCKHOLM SYNDROME, which will be produced by Rock Films St. Petersburg and Film Base Berlin. Other projects backed in the fund’s initial round include Bakur Bakuradze’s THE GENERAL, OFFSIDE from Alexander Strizhenov and TAJIK JIMMY from Ella Vakassova. German filmmakers to benefit from the new fund will be announced in the coming months.

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