One of the biggest film subsidy sources in Europe, the Berlin-Brandenburg Film Board, looks set to cut-back on its international film subsidy slate.
With the Fund deciding to focus on regional subsidies.
The move comes as the Berlin-Brandenburg Film Board is glowing at the home box-office success of the German films it financed but fearing a 10-15% slash in its 1996 budget.
"It's never happened in the history of film subsidy that one funding entity had two films in the (German) top ten list," said Klaus Keil beaming "This is a tremendous success."
Together, Detlev Buck's Jailbirds, currently the top box-office draw, and Roland Willaert's Abuzze have lured two million Germans into theatres in just over three weeks.
"We're cutting down international co-productions to stabilise," he continued. The Board will not give up international film-funding; it will simply not go out of its way to seek out fundable projects.
But the Fund has more than monetary concerns. An inevitable platform for Berlin-Brandenburg announcements, the Berlin Festival saw the Board unveil last week its home-grown Master School for script development for producers and screenwriters. Julia Hammer, John Hopewell
