"We have a lot of big names in this year’s program so the competition is especially exciting", commented Festival Director Andreas Ströhl.

Among the nominees for the 2010 Arri-Zeiss Award are the Thai film UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s cult novel THE ROAD by US director John Hillcoat and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Viking epos VALHALLA RISING starring Mads Mikkelsen as well as the latest films by acclaimed directors such as Todd Solondz, Xavier Beauvois, Bong Joon-ho, Claude and Nathan Miller, to name just a few.

This year’s international jury consists of film critic Maja Bogojevic from Montenegro, French producer Lucie Kalmar and Argentinean director and winner of the 2009 Arri Zeiss Award, Celina Murga.

The Arri-Zeiss Award will be awarded during FILMFEST MÜNCHEN at a gala ceremony on July 2, 2010 in the Carl-Orff-Saal at the festival center in Gasteig.

The nominees for the 2010 Arri-Zeiss Award are:

ACCIDENT (YI NGOI) by Pou-soi Cheang
with Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Lam Suet, Michelle Ye, Feng Tsui Fan - China

BALIBO by Robert Connolly
with Anthony LaPaglia, Oscar Isaac, Damon Garneau, Gyton Grantley, Nathan Phillips - Australia

CLEVELAND VERSUS WALL STREET - MAIS WITH DÄ BÄNKLER by Jean-Stéphane Bron - Switzerland/France

DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (OF GODS AND MEN) by Xavier Beauvois
with Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach, Jacques Herlin - France

IN THE WOODS (MESA STO DASOS) by Angelos Frantzis
with Katia Goulioni, Iakovos Kamchis, Nathan Pissoort - Greece

I TRAVEL BECAUSE I HAVE TO, I COME BACK BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (VIAJO PORQUE PRECISO, VOLTO PORQUE TE AMO) by Marcelo Gomes & Karim Aïnouz
with Irandhir Santos - Brazil

JE SUIS HEUREUX QUE MA MERE SOIT VIVANTE (I’M GLAD MY MOTHER’S ALIVE) by Claude Miller & Nathan Miller
with Vincent Rottiers, Sophie Cattani, Christine Citti, Yves Verhoeven, Maxime Renard - France

LIFE DURING WARTIME by Todd Solondz
with Shirley Henderson, Chris Marquette, Ciarán Hinds, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner Harvey - USA

MOTHER (MADEO) by Joon-ho Bong
with Bin WON, Hye-ja KIM, Gu JIN - Republic of Korea

PERPETUUM MOBILE by Nicolás Pereda
with Gabino Rodríguez, Teresa Sánchez, Francisco Barreiro - Mexico/Canada/France

THE ROAD by John Hillcoat
with Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Swith McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce - USA

TENDER SON - THE FRANKENSTEIN PROJECT (SZELÍD TEREMTÉS - A FRANKENSTEIN TERV) by Kornél Mundruczó - Hungary/Austria/Germany

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (LUNG BOONMEE RALUEK CHAT) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
with Natthakarn APHAIWONK, Sakda KAEWBUADEE, Geerasak KULHONG, Jenjira PONGPAS, Thanapat SAISAYMAR - United Kingdom/Thailand/France/Germany/Spain

VALHALLA RISING by Nicolas Winding Refn
with Mads Mikkelsen, Jamie Sives, Gary Lewis - Denmark/United Kingdom

The awards, worth a total of € 60,000, are presented by the HypoVereinsbank, Bavaria Film and Bavarian Broadcasting and are among the most prestigious prizes for new talent in Germany. The categories are Best Director, Best Producer, Best Screenplay and Best Actor and Actress.

This year, the candidates are from all eleven theatrical films in the New German Cinema section. "The wide range of films shows how important Filmfest München is for young directors. This is where career breakthroughs happen," notes festival director Andreas Ströhl. The competition is for all directors, screenwriters and actors of or in their first, second or third feature films. For producers it can be for up to their sixth film.

Ten first-time directors are competing in the category Best Director, 12 writers in the category Best Screenplay as well as 14 producers and 14 actors and actresses. This year’s jury is comprised of actress Katharina Schüttler, theater operator and SPIO President Steffen Kuchenreuther and director Christian Petzold.

The Young German Cinema Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN on June 30, 2010 in HVB-Forum.

The candidates in the various categories:

Young German Cinema Award for BEST DIRECTOR (€20,000)

Alexander Adolph for THE LAST EMPLOYEE
Christoph Hochhäusler for THE CITY BELOW
Philipp Leinemann for TRANSIT
Johannes Naber for THE ALBANIAN
Baran bo Odar for THE SILENCE
Philipp J. Pamer for MOUNTAIN BLOOD
Andreas Pieper for ENTZAUBERUNGEN
Alexander Riedel for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Sebastian Stern for BUMBLEBEE
Ralf Westhoff for THE LAST NICE DAY OF AUTUMN

Young German Cinema Award for BEST PRODUCER (€ 20,000)

Khaled Kaissar / Balint Tolnay-Knefely / Benedikt Böllhoff / Max Frauenknecht for TRANSIT
Maren Lüthje / Florian Schneider / Frank Evers / Jörg Schulze for THE SILENCE
Florian Reimann for MOUNTAIN BLOOD
Boris Schönfelder for THE ALBANIAN
Bettina Timm for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Ralf Westhoff for THE LAST NICE DAY OF AUTUMN
Ralf Zimmermann / Mark von Seydlitz for BUMBLEBEE

Young German Cinema Award for BEST SCREENPLAY (€10.000 )

Alexander Adolph for THE LAST EMPLOYEE
Philipp Leinemann for TRANSIT
Johannes Naber for THE ALBANIAN
Baran bo Odar for THE SILENCE
Philipp J. Pamer for MOUNTAIN BLOOD
Ulrich Peltzer / Christoph Hochhäusler for THE CITY BELOW
Andreas Pieper for ENTZAUBERUNGEN
Sebastian Stern for BUMBLEBEE
Bettina Timm / Alexander Riedel for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Ralf Westhoff for THE LAST NICE DAY OF AUTUMN

Young German Cinema Award for BEST ACTRESS (€ 5,000)

Judith Al Bakri for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Ulrike Arnold for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Inga Birkenfeld for MOUNTAIN BLOOD
Annika Blendl for TRANSIT
Julia Koschitz for THE LAST NICE DAY OF AUTUMN
Anna Unterberger for MEIN KAMPF

Young German Cinema Award for BEST ACTOR (€ 5,000)

Felix Hellmann for THE LAST NICE DAY OF AUTUMN
Michael Kranz for BUMBLEBEE
Wolfgang Menardi for MOUNTAIN BLOOD
Jochen Strodthoff for THIS WILL BE THE LIFE
Aleksandar Tesla for ENTZAUBERUNGEN
Matthias Walter for ENTZAUBERUNGEN
Gerhard Wittmann for BUMBLEBEE
Nik Xhelilaj for THE ALBANIAN

Germany’s principal summer film festival will be presenting more than 200 German premieres – films from 48 countries on 18 screens. "We’re showing the most outstanding films of the year", says Festival Director Andreas Ströhl, "films that move you, take you in new directions and stay with you."
In addition to the International Program with films by Francis Ford Coppola, Werner Herzog, Richard Linklater and many others. The festival’s other sections are screening the latest from Germany, France, Latin America, the Far East and American Independents. This year’s Retrospective is a tribute to Austrain filmmaker Ulrich Seidl and comprises all of his films.

CineMerit Award for Mads Mikkelsen and Abbas Kiarostami

The recipients of the 2010 CineMerit Award are Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. This award, sponsored by Audi, honors outstanding personalities in the international film community for extraordinary contributions to motion pictures as an art form. The festival is screening six of Abbas Kiarostami’s films including his latest, CERTIFIED COPY, with Juliette Binoche. Mads Mikkelsen can be seen in two films at this year’s FILMFEST MÜNCHEN: the Viking drama VALHALLA RISING by Nicolas Winding Refn in the International Program and THE DOOR by Anno Saul , which will be screened at the award ceremony.

Opening and Closing Nights

The opening night film at this year’s FILMFEST MÜNCHEN (June 25) is the poignant love story from Spain, ME TOO by Álvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro, about an unusual romance between a young man with Down Syndome and his attractive associate. The festival’s closing night film is CLEVELAND VERSUS WALL STREET, a docu-drama by Swiss director Jean-Stéphane Bron, on the international financial crisis, the story of a trial against US banks that has not yet taken place.

From Poetic to Breathtaking

Human destinies are dealt with in a myriad of ways in the International Program. Here just a few: In BROTHERS (with Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire), an American soldier goes missing in action, devastating his family. A Tutsi woman searches for her children during the genocide in Ruanda in THE DAY GOD WALKED AWAY. And in ILLÉGAL, a young illegal immigrant in Belgium dreams of a better life but ends up in a cell, separated from her son who is still free. The WWII drama L’UOMO QUE VERRÀ centers on the Italian village of Marzabotto where the infamous SS massacre took place in 1944 and is an appeal for humanity.

SWANSONG – STORY OF OCCI BYRNE deals with a boy who was ostracized because he grew up in 1970s Ireland without a father. An old man looks back on his life in THE TRAVELLER (starring Omar Sharif). Other highlights are the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, THE ROAD, STONES IN EXILE about the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band’s interlude in the south of France and the documentary MONTREAL SYMPHONY - KENT NAGANO AND THE OSM. Acclaimed British filmmaker Rex Bloomstein will be in Munich for the world premiere of his film THIS PRISON WHERE I LIVE about a Burmese comedian and writer who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for speaking his mind. German comedian Michael Mittermeier co-produced and appears in the film.

Highlights from France and the USA

A French-German coproduction is one of the highlights in the Nouveau Cinéma Francais section. Olivier Assayas’ three part, five-and-a-half hour epos CARLOS about the rise and fall of international terrorist #1 will be screened in its entirety. The section is showing films by many of the top directors in the French cinema: François Ozon and Bertrand Tavernier as well as Patrice Chéreau and Jacques Rivette. Starring in their latest films are, among others, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Isabelle Huppert, Jane Birkin and Isabelle Carré.
As always, the American Independents do without big names but compensate for that with fresh talent. The section is packed with exciting debut films such as Asiel Norton’s REDLAND, in which a family fights for survival and Scott Teems’ brilliant THAT EVENING SUN about an old farmer who breaks out of his nursing home. A double feature of sorts: AMERICAN BOY (1978), Martin Scorcese’s never officially released film about his friend Stephen Prince will be screened along with Tommy Palotta’s new film on the same man, AMERICAN PRINCE.

New German Cinema: Brave New Realism

There is plenty of raw realism in the new German films this year. There is the coldblooded business executive (THE CITY BELOW), there is the lawyer who is hired to fire someone else’s THE LAST EMPLOYEE), there is the self-denial of those who still have a job BUMBLEBEE). We are not only screening the latest films by directors such as Ralf Westhoff, Alexander Riedel, Christoph Hochhäusler and Alexander Adolph, but first-time directors as well. There are debut films like Urs Odermatt’s fable-like comedy MEIN KAMPF, which focuses on Hitler’s early years in Vienna (with Tom Schilling and Götz George) and two documentaries about particularly strong women: an Iranian girl who does taekwondo (KICK IN IRAN) and a portrait of world-famous primatologist Jane Goodall (JANE’S JOURNEY).

Special: 30 Years Later - New German Cinema Reunion

Our Special this year is dedicated to three important directos of New German Cinema: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorff and Werner Herzog. FILMFEST MÜNCHEN is premiering the restored version of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s I ONLY WANT YOU TO LOVE ME from 1975/76, Volker Schlöndorff’s THE TIN DRUM - The Director’s Cut, and Werner Herzog’s latest picture, MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE? The special is also screening two new documentaries on Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog.

The program ranges from THE SANDMAN to stories told by Indian street kids, the Kinderfilmfest, FILMFEST MÜNCHEN’s family section shows of a selection of the best new films from around the world.

And the differences are quite astounding. "The range is huge. It’s mostly a matter of what part of the world the films are from", says Katrin Hoffmann, the Kinderfilmfest programmer. Many films from wealthier countries take their audiences on exciting adventures to exotic worlds, whereas films from developing countries tell very realistic stories about strong and cheerful children whose day to day existence is anything but easy.

The Kinderfilmfest opens on June 26 with THE SANDMAN – ADVENTURES IN DREAMLAND. The Sandman is finally hitting the big screen after fifty years of television. The festival’s closing film is the heartwarming Japanese anime film PONYO about a little goldfish girl who wants to experience the world of people on land. In addition to films from Europe and Japan with first class animation, special effects and happy endings, audiences have the opportunity to share the fun and realistic drama of kids who live in faraway, less prosperous countries, films that are equally engrossing. In BIG SISTER PUNAM, a girl in Nepal struggles to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher against all odds. The friendship, mischief and courage of street kids in the slums of Bombay is portrayed in MAGIC FEATHER. And a Korean girl unsuspectingly lands in an orphanage in A BRAND NEW LIFE.

The 28th KINDERFILMFEST MÜNCHEN is presenting altogether 18 films from 12 countries. There is also a film workshop for children age 8 and up (please register as of May 17 – Tel: 089-381904-72). The section is also holding a seminar on "The Discrepant Worlds of Children on Planet Earth" for teachers and professionals on July 2.

For the entire program of the 2010 KINDERFILMFEST as well as additional information see our website: www.filmfest-muenchen.de.

The lineup of the German TV Movie section of the 28th FILMFEST MÜNCHEN (June 25 - July 3, 2010) has been completed. 18 of the best new TV productions will premiere on big screens in Munich. "We’ll be showing cream of the crop", says festival director Andreas Ströhl. This year that will include two feature-length documentaries.

The fiction films in the German TV Movie section will be competing for the 2010 Bernd Burgemeister TV Movie Award (formerly the VFF TV Movie Award), which will be awarded at a ceremony on June 27 at the festival. The award and € 25,000 is sponsored by the VFF, the German film & TV producers' royalty company, and goes to the producer of the winning film. This year’s jury is comprised of actress Katja Flint, the former head of TV movies at ZDF, Hans Janke as well as Georg Feil, writer, producer and professor at Munich film school HFF.

2030 - Aufstand der Jungen
Director/Script: Jörg Lühdorff;
with Bettina Zimmermann, Lavinia Wilson, Barnaby Metschurat, Marlies Friedrich, Ralph Herforth
(Production: Ziegler Film for ZDF)

Adrians Traum (Documentary)
Director/Script: Manuel Fenn
(Production: Filmbüro-Süd for ZDF/arte)

Alles Liebe
Director: Kai Wessel, Script: Beate Langmaack;
with Hannelore Elsner, Karoline Eichhorn, Axel Schreiber, Julia Brendler, Ricarda Zimmerer
(Production: AllMedia Pictures for BR)

Der Dschungel
Director: Elmar Fischer, Script: Jörg Tensing;
with Ronald Zehrfeld, Ina Weisse, Heino Ferch, Christian Maria Goebel, Bernd Stegemann
(Production: teamWorx for WDR)

Empathie
Director/Script: Marc-Andreas Bochert;
with Jil Funke, Vincent Krüger, Josef Mattes, Joseph Bundschuh, Horst-Günther Marx
(Production: Tellux-Film for BR-alpha)

Die Frau des Schläfers
Director: Edzard Onneken, Script: Sylvia Leuker, Benedikt Röskau;
with Yvonne Catterfeld, Ercan Durmaz, René David Ifrah, Faraz Kafi, David A. Hamade
(Production: 20:15 Film- und Fernsehproduktion for SAT.1)

Das geteilte Glück
Director: Thomas Freundner, Script: Stefan Dähnert;
with Ulrike Grote, Udo Wachtveitl, Petra Schmidt-Schaller, Thimo Meitner, Steven Merting
(Production: Producers at Work for SWR)

Die Hebamme - Auf Leben und Tod
Director: Dagmar Hirtz, Script: Peter Probst (nach einer Vorlage von Monika Bittl);
with Brigitte Hobmeier, Mišel Maticevic, Pippa Galli, August Zirner, Karl Fischer
(Production: Roxy Film / SK Film und Fernsehproduktion for ZDF)

In aller Stille
Director: Rainer Kaufmann, Script: Ariela Bogenberger;
with Nina Kunzendorf, Michael Fitz, Michael A. Grimm, Sarah Lavinia Schmidbauer, Maximilian Brückner
(Production: Sperl + Schott Film for BR)

Keiner geht verloren
Director: Dirk Kummer, Script: Bert Koß, Michael Peschke;
with Sylvester Groth, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Eva Mattes, Gundi Ellert, Helmfried von Lüttichau
(Production: Claussen+Wöbke+Putz Filmproduktion for BR)

Kongo
Director: Peter Keglevic, Script: Alexander Adolph;
with Maria Simon, Jörg Schüttauf, Götz Schubert, Maximilian Brückner, David Rott
(Production: teamWorx / Two Oceans Production for ZDF)

Meisterklasse - Ein Jahr mit den Opernprofis von morgen (Documentary)
Director/Script: Olivia Hagemann,
(Production: Preview Productions)

Sau Nummer Vier. Ein Niederbayernkrimi
Director: Max Färberböck, Script: Christian Limmer;
with Johanna Bittenbinder, Florian Karlheim, Agathe Taffertshofer, Sigi Zimmerschied, Tim Seyfi
(Production: Roxy Film for BR)

Sie hat es verdient
Director/Script: Thomas Stiller;
with Veronica Ferres, Liv Lisa Fries, François Goeske, Martin Feifel, Saskia Schindler
(Production: teamWorx for ARD Degeto/BR)

Tatort - Nie wieder frei sein
Director: Christian Zübert, Script: Dinah Marte Golch;
with Miroslav Nemec, Udo Wachtveitl, Anna Maria Sturm, Tilo Prückner, Lisa Wagner
(Production: Hofmann & Voges Entertainment for BR/ORF)

Die Tochter des Mörders
Director: Johannes Fabrick, Script: Claudia Kaufmann;
with Sophie von Kessel, Tim Bergmann, Matthias Brandt, Tilo Prückner, Monika Baumgartner
(Production: die film for ZDF)

Tod einer Schülerin
Director: Mark Schlichter, Script: Silke Zertz;
with Corinna Harfouch, Matthias Brandt, Adrian Topol, Max Dominik, Lavinia Wilson
(Production: teamWorx for ZDF)

Tod in Istanbul
Director: Matti Geschonneck, Script: Hannah Hollinger;
with Heino Ferch, Jürgen Vogel, Ina Weisse, Peter Simonischek, Ünal Silver
(Production: Network Movie for ZDF)

For the 28th time, from June 25 through July 3, FILMFEST MÜNCHEN, Germany's premiere summer film festival, will be attracting roughly 75,000 movie goers, numerous filmmakers and industry insiders from around the world. We will be welcoming many famous guests, over 2500 film professionals and more than 500 accredited members of the press and media. FILMFEST MÜNCHEN will be screening over 200 films – German, European and World premieres - on 19 screens along the Munich Movie Mile (Rio-Filmpalast, Gasteig, Museum Lichtspiele, CinemaxX, Filmmuseum, Mathäser Filmpalast).

In addition to the International Program movie lovers can enjoy new films from France (Nouveau Cinéma Français), the USA (American Independents), Latin America (Visiones Latinas) and the Far East (Focus on the Far East). The latest German productions are screened New Geraman Cinema and German TV Movies. The Kinderfilmfest will be screening quality films from 15 countries for kids.

New Indian Cinema

FILMFEST MÜNCHEN is presenting a special section this year with exciting new films from India. The world’s largest film industry has been going through changes recently and a new Indian cinema with an ever-growing audience is emerging.

"These films are sensational and they have to be seen", says festival director Andreas Ströhl. "Developments like this in cinema don’t happen very often. These new Indian audiences want more than just escape and dance numbers. They want captivating entertainment with a realistic slant. These new films offer that and are still very Indian films."

This year’s Kinderfilmfest is also showing two Indian films. The directors, stars and producers will be on hand in Munich to present their films in person and talk to Munich audiences at FILMMAKERS LIVE in the festival center at Gasteig. A meeting is also planned tor Indian and German producers to discuss co-productions between the two countries.

Open Air 2010: "Being"

The Open Air section of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN in the courtyard of the Gasteig festival center only seems to be philosophical this year. Filmmakers have always had an entertaining approach to basic philosophic questions. The seven films under the stars this year include Ernst Lubitsch’s comedy "To Be or Not To Be" (1942), Philip Kaufman’s adaptation of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1988), Spike Jonze’s "Being John Malkovich" (1999) and Nicolas Philibert’s documentary "Être e avoir" (2002).

Katharina Schüttler is one of Germany’s top young stars. She was awarded the Young German Cinema Award in 2002 for her debut role in SOPHIIIIE! And recently won the 2010 Bavarian Film Award for her performance in THE DAY WILL COME (premiere at the 2009 FILMFEST MÜNCHEN).

Steffen Kuchenreuther, the president of the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft (SPIO), exhibitor, producer and distributor, has long had an eye for quality. Kuchenreuther has produced films by Herbert Achternbusch and Werner Schroeter. He was awarded the German Film Award and the Bavaria Film Award for Schroeter’s MALINA in 1991.

Christian Petzold is one of the most influential contemporary German filmmakers and has received numerous awards for his films THE STATE I AM IN, WOLFSBURG, GESPENSTER, YELLA and JERICHOW including the German Film Award, the Adolf-Grimme Award, the German Television Award and the German Film Critics’ Award. Petzold is one of the most famous directors of the ‘Berlin School’.

The Young German Cinema Award and €60.000 prize money, is awarded jointly by the HypoVereinsbank, Bavaria Film and Bavarian Broadcasting and goes to the best new director (€20.000), producer (20.000), screenwriter (€10.000 as well as the best new actor (€ 5000) and actress (€5000) of a film in the New German Cinema section of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN.

Previous winners include directors Sönke Wortmann, Hans-Christian Schmid, Rainer Kaufmann, Oskar Roehler and Marcus H. Rosenmüller as well as actors and actresses Johanna Wokalek, Stipe Erceg and Christoph Bach.

The award ceremony takes place on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at the festival center.