Funder gives all to German film

FFA dished out a record $21 mil to 43 local productions

By KATJA HOFMANN

Germany's central subsidy body, the Federal Film Board (FFA), did its bit in 2005 to woo reluctant Germans back into cinemas by giving more coin than ever to local pics in 2005.  

In its annual report published Friday, the FFA said it dished out a record $21 million to 43 local productions and $1.16 million development coin to 47 projects. 

This means that for the first time in its 38-year history the FFA used up all of its annual funds.  

In 2005 German aud figures reached a 10-year low.   

"2005 was an ambivalent year for cinema and increasingly the FFA faced up to market challenges and used all the subsidy funds available for script development and production," said FFA topper Peter Dinges.