FUNDINGS PRODUCTION

Der Heimatlose (560,000 euros, Tamtam Film, Hamburg) by Director and Script Writer Kai Stänicke is about 32-year-old Hein, who returns to his home village on a small island after fourteen years away - but is no longer recognised by the close-knit village community. They demand a trial in which The Stranger has to prove his identity. Shooting starts in September, with a large part of the film crew coming from Hamburg.

In the horse adventure Bille & Zottel (400,000 euros, Rat Pack Filmproduktion, Munich) by Director Eileen Byrne, 13-year-old Bille lives with her mother Olga in Schleswig-Holstein on the North Sea. When the circus pony Zottel arrives at the neighbouring riding school, Bille spends every minute with Zottel. If only it weren't for her mother's absolute ban on riding. When Olga discovers her daughter's secret, Bille has to find a solution. The film is based on the horse book series of the same name by Script Writer Tina Caspari - the script was written by Florian Puchert. There will be 37 days of filming in Schleswig-Holstein and two days of filming in Hamburg. Shooting will start in July 2024.

Another 290,000 euros will go to the animated film Sidi Kaba und das Tor der Wiederkehr (Luftkind Filmverleih, Hamburg) by Director Rony Hotin: Little Sidi Kaba lives peacefully with his family on the West African coast until one day his older brother Azou is abducted by slave traders. To rescue him, Sidi crosses the Atlantic Ocean and plunges headlong into a great adventure. Hotin co-wrote the script with Jérôme Piot. 160 animation days will take place at Fabian&Fred in Hamburg. In Die Olchis - Dino Alarm! (250,000 euros, gretels gold, Reutlingen) by Danish Director Jens Møller, the Olchis have to rescue a baby dinosaur from its pursuers and bring it back to its parents in dinosaur time with the help of a time machine. The script is by Toby Genkel. There will be around 200 animation days in Hamburg. The European co-production Heysel 85 (200,000 euros, Leitwolf Filmproduktion, Hamburg) by Director Teodora Ana Mihai focuses on the mass panic at Brussels' Heysel Stadium during the European Cup final in 1985.

FUNDINGS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

In the animated film Skip (70,000 euros, Ulysses Filmproduktion, Hamburg), Script Writer and Director Toby Genkel tells the story of the superhero rabbit Skip. Directors Timo Berg's Billie Beat (70,000 euros, Little Dream Entertainment, Hamburg) is about a skunk that pretends to be a squirrel. Directors Lars Jessen sends actor Charly Hübner on holiday to Sicily as GDR citizen Paul Gompitz in Spaziergang nach Syrakus (60,000 euros, Florida Film, Berlin). An impossible endeavour in GDR times, which is why Gompitz has to prepare an escape. A further 20,000 euros will go to the horror film Vogelfrei (Wüste Film, Hamburg) by Hamburg-based Director Mia Spengler and Script Writer Sophia Ayissi Nsegue.

FUNDINGS DISTRIBUTION

• Sterben (60,000 euros, Wild Bunch Germany, Berlin) Director/Screenplay: Matthias Glasner

• Max und die wilde 7: Die Geister-Oma (30,000 euros, Weltkino Filmverleih, Leipzig) Director: Winfried Oelsner, Script: Winfried Oelsner, Lisa-Marie Dickreiter

A detailed overview of all the projects funded by the High End Committee can be found here.

The funding decision was made on 7 February 2024: Christian Granderath, Murat Isgüder, Wenka von Mikulicz, Caroline von Senden, Ipek Zübert and Helge Albers.