Germany increases film funding coin
Boost raises DFFF to $90 million
By: Ed Meza
Posted On: Nov. 9, 2012
BERLIN -- Germany's film industry celebrated the federal government's decision to boost film production coin by Euros 10 million ($12.7 million) on Friday.
Part of the government's approved 2013 budget, which includes an additional $127 million in public funding for culture and arts, the film production coin will increase the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) from some $76 million to nearly $90 million.
The DFFF is a major financing vehicle for both domestic and international productions, offering a 16% rebate on total spend in Germany, capped at some $12.5 million.
The German Producers Alliance cheered the move. Applauding the government's decision, Alliance chairman Alexander Thies said the increase comes at "a time dominated by cutbacks and shortages" and was "certainly not a foregone conclusion."
He added that it was particularly welcomed by film producers because "the DFFF is for us much more than just a financial instrument. By stimulating international co-productions, it has helped make Germany one of the world's leading locations for film production," he added.
The DFFF has backed such recent international pics as Ron Howard's "Rush," Michael Caine starrer "Mr. Morgan's Last Love," "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," with Jeremy Renner, and the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's "Cloud Atlas."
| 
