The Philara Collection in Düsseldorf-Flingern played host this year to the 3rd presentation ceremony for the Wim Wenders Grant of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The annually awarded grant, endowed with a total of 100,000 euros in project funding, is intended to provide young filmmakers with the necessary autonomy required for the independent and uncompromising development of their ideas for cinema.
From a total of 26 submitted applications, the jury, under the chairmanship of Wim Wenders, chose four projects from up-and-coming filmmakers: a tale of modern exhaustion, a love story based on the work of Raymond Federman, a coming-of-age film set in Cuba and a hybrid science fiction/documentary work inspired by 3D printers.
In the final round, which took place today, seven preselected applicants presented their projects personally in front of the jury. In addition to the quality of the presented material, the visual conception of the projects was of particular importance in the jury’s final selection. Aside from Wim Wenders himself, the jury also consists of Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, and Mirko Derpmann, creative director and member of the management team at Scholz & Friends Agenda.
“As in the previous years, we were impressed by the diversity and originality of the submissions. I would like to express my warmest appreciation to all of the applicants for sharing their projects with us,” commented Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. “In the end, we chose four projects that promise to deliver distinct visions and unique approaches to film. Congratulations to 2016’s grant recipients, who can now set out to develop their ideas.”
“This year for the first time we were able to see the results from the recipients of the last years’ grants. The high quality and originality of these first samples of their work have shown us that we are on the right track here with our development grant. We can hardly wait to get to see the completed films on the big screen,” remarked jury chairman Wim Wenders. “Personally though, I was happiest to see how equally thrilled the participants in this year’s final round were once again too. Even though we can’t select all of the projects in the end, I sincerely wish all of the applicants the best of luck in their further endeavors, I congratulate the selected recipients and I look forward to the next colloquium with great anticipation.”
An evening of talks between the grant recipients from 2014 and 2015 and the jury members took place already on the eve of the presentation ceremony. The grant recipients presented the current status of their projects to the jury members and were able to share their experiences in developing their films with their peers and the jury members.
The Wim Wenders Grant was presented for the first time in 2014. Since then, twelve grants worth a total of 295,000 euros have been awarded. A jury under the chairmanship of Wim Wenders selects the grant recipients in the scope of a two-stage application process. After an initial pre-selection, the candidates are invited to present their projects to the jury personally. In addition to thematic criteria, the jury is above all interested in seeing a convincing formal and visual approach to the realization of the project ideas.
All relevant information and documentation relating to the Wim Wenders Grant is currently available at www.filmstiftung.de.
Film- und Medienstiftung NRW staff members Susanna Felgener (SusannaFelgener@filmstiftung.de) and Sebastian Seidler (SebastianSeidler@filmstiftung.de) are available to answer all inquiries related to the grant application process.