Teuton fund to back Hollywood pix
Alliance Cinema Entertainment fund to back 18 projects
Set to launch in January, the Munich-based Alliance Cinema Entertainment fund will back 18 Hollywood pics, including projects from Los Angeles producer Ray Stark.
Established by producers Jeanette Buerling and Alexandra Hoesdorff-Rosen, fund hopes to realize high-profile movies with major studio distribution and budgets ranging from $9 million to $70 million.
Meanwhile, another Munich-based company, Hollywood Partners, is looking to raise $36 million with its Screenlight Movieworld fund. Screenlight hopes to back 11 internationally marketable pics.
Also in Munich, the Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds is hoping to amass some $90 million with its second fund this year for features with budgets between $2 million and $15 million.
In Frankfurt, Scopas Medien is aiming to collect up to $30 million to produce tyke-oriented fare with its Scopas Family Entertainment Fonds I. Among company's shareholders is Munich kidvidder RTV Family Entertainment.
Although analysts estimate about a third of this year's media funds have gone bust, they remain confident that Germany's fund market remains vibrant.
Christoph Schmidt, film industry analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Munich, said the success of media funds has led to a number of inexperienced startups. He also noted that as more of Germany's well-known financial institutions are getting into the game, they are attracting a larger share of investors' money.
An estimated DM7 billion ($3.2 billion) was raised in 2001 for feature film and TV projects in Germany, approximately 75% more coin than the previous year.
