Over the past 25 years, Constantin Film has positioned itself in both the German media community and the international film industry as the most successful independent German producer and distributor.
Constantin Film has always succeeded in attracting millions of enthusiastic film fans with major German productions: DER BEWEGTE MANN, WERNER – BEINHART, BALLERMANN 6 or THE SUPERWIFE are just a few of the early theatrical hits. However, Constantin Film made a name for itself on the international film production market too as long as more than 20 years ago with such international in-house productions as THE NEVERENDING STORY or THE NAME OF THE ROSE. They were followed by further global hits such as THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, the action horror thriller RESIDENT EVIL and its sequel RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (which have generated total worldwide sales of more than US-Dollar 700 million so far in the various stages of exploitation), DOWNFALL or THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX.
6 of the top 10 German blockbusters of the last 20 years were produced by Constantin Film; 23 of the top 50 German theatrical films since 1988 were released to theatres by the company. 14 of the 30 most successful German theatrical films of the past 10 years were distributed by Constantin Film. (source: Top 50 List since 1988, SPIO statistics).
Constantin Film AG with its subsidiaries and associated companies has established itself as by far the most successful independent German production and distribution company since it was founded in 1977 by Bernd Eichinger, who is still one of Constantin Film's most important producers, and went public in 1999. We have improved the company's strategic alignment, continued to broaden our business base purposefully and developed into an integrated media group in recent years by the systematic addition of licence trading, in-house home entertainment exploitation and intensified TV service production, with a particular focus on TV entertainment to the two classic areas of operation.
Kick Film is an independent production company for high quality theatrical and television films. It was created in 1981 and is located in Munich. Kick Film’s general manager is producer Jörg Bundschuh.
One of Kick Film’s specialties is the creation of portraits of actors, directors, composers, musicians, painters, photographers, writers, philosophers and politicians, as well as people who don’t usually find themselves in the limelight. Another mainstay at Kick Film continues to be the epic feature documentary film, ranging from docudramas and reality comedy to historical subjects and long-running studies and observation projects. The use of a cinematically-oriented dramatic structure draws the viewer in while offering him a new way of looking at reality.
Feature-film productions cover an equally wide spectrum, ranging from the Patricia Highsmith story "The Tremor of Forgery" shot in New York and Tunisia (“Trip to Tunis”, by Peter Goedel), Bavarian comedies such as “The Big Day” and “Radio Bavaria”, or the filmic version of Sam Jauns’ thriller “Night on Fire” by Markus Fischer, starring Bruno Ganz and Barbara Auer, set in Switzerland.
Cine plus Filmproduktion GmbH is a Berlin-based film production company, which develops, produces and co-produces feature films and documentaries for the national and international market.
The main focus is to discover new talents, to develop unique stories and establish creative partnerships. Cine plus has coproduced the award-winning documentary feature film “Into great Silence“ by Philip Gröning and “November Child“ by Christian Schwochow. The feature film “The Silence“ directed by Baran bo Odar will be released in summer 2010.
Cine plus Filmproduktion is an affiliated company of cine plus Media Service - a nationwide Full Service Company operating in the area of digital television and film post-production. The cine plus portfolio covers all areas of audiovisual production: Rental, Editing, Sound, VFX/Graphics, Copy,
Studio, broadcasting and also media-production with a spectrum from EPKs, TV items and documentaries to top-quality image films.
Prokino is one of the most important and top-selling distributors of cross-over and arthouse Films. Prokino’s film library contains more than 70 films – between 6 and 8 films being added every year. Our latest acquisitions include Gomorrha, Slumdog Millionaire and Hachiko.
The Production department of the distribution company has a long tradition in German as well as European feature films. Picking projects we take particular interest in well known auteurs and riveting plots. We are discerning and meticulous in our selection process. Therefore we are able to produce commercially successful films of artistic value.
In 1982 the two Frankfurt based cinema operators Karl Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig established Pandora Film Distribution. The name was inspired by G.W Pabst's film "Pandora's Box". With the first films that came out under this label, the thematic focus was clear: Films such as YOL by Yilmaz Günay, NOSTALGHIA by Andrej Tarkovsky or FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE by Chen Kaige all stood for highly ambitious International Art house Cinema. Before long, close working relationships were formed between Pandora and directors such as Aki Kaurismäki and Jim Jarmusch. But it was with Jane Campion's THE PIANO, that Pandora made its first big commercial breakthrough. The concept of presenting excellent cinematographic masterpieces by internationally renowned filmmakers to a German audience paid off, and Pandora Film became one of the most distinguished Distributors within this segment of the market.
Alongside the distribution, Pandora Film soon undertook an increasing amount of the actual production work. Gradually many projects were acquired early in the development phase. Soon co-productions began to emerge out of what had originally been a licence and distribution company. With Emir Kusturica's film UNDERGROUND, the transition to production was fulfilled. In 1996 the production company was moved to Cologne. In 1998 the distribution department in Frankfurt was closed and the extensive library of distribution rights were sold to KINOWELT. The change in market conditions, especially the changed purchase policy of the television stations, and the massive structural changes that came about through the so called "New Market", were just two of many factors involved in this decision.
Since its founding in 1973, Ziegler Film (with branches in Berlin, Cologne and Munich) has produced nearly 400 movies, documentaries and TV features. Within Germany Ziegler Film ranks among the largest independent companies for film and television production. From the outset the company has focussed on cinematic productions: “Korczak” (Cannes Film Festival), “A Year of the Quiet Sun” (Golden Lion, Venice), “Kamikaze 1989” (Venice 1982), “Fabian” (Oscar and Golden Globe Nominations), and the “Erotic Tales” (Oscar Nomination for “The Dutch Master”). Recently TV features such as “The Publisher” and “In the Shadow of Power” have also merited particular attention and praise. At the end of 2008 Ziegler Film finished the shooting of “Henri IV”, a 19 million Euro co-production.
The company has received numerous awards – Golden Rose at Montreux, German Film Prize Golden Shell, Grimme Prize, etc – for a wide variety of productions. In 2006 Ziegler Film was honoured by a special retrospective tribute at the Museum of Modern Art.
The company strives to remain independent and to be present in the German as well as in the international film and television market, while growing and continuing to attract audiences with the highest standards of creativity and quality.
Endorphine Production is an independent film production company from Berlin, dedicated to produce films which are appealing to the international markets. The company was founded in 2004 by German Film & TV Academy Berlin (dffb) graduates Marc Malze and Fabian Massah, who also gained experience as line producer for feature films such as the internationally award-winning drama "4 Minutes". Massah is also a member of the ACE producers' network.
The company’s German-Turkish-Dutch co-production "Men On The Bridge", directed by Asli Özge, has been completed in 2009 and won the Best Film Awards at the film festivals in Istanbul, Ankara, London, Adana. Following the international premieres in Locarno and Toronto, the film was shown at more than 40 film festivals to date, including the events in Warsaw, London BFI, Rotterdam, Hof, Thessaloniki. Since 2010, "Men On The Bridge" had its theatrical releases in many countries, amongst them Germany, UK, Turkey, the Netherlands, and will also be released in Romania, Hungary and further countries.
Over the past 25 years, Constantin Film has positioned itself in both the German media community and the international film industry as the most successful independent German producer and distributor.
Constantin Film has always succeeded in attracting millions of enthusiastic film fans with major German productions: DER BEWEGTE MANN, WERNER – BEINHART, BALLERMANN 6 or THE SUPERWIFE are just a few of the early theatrical hits. However, Constantin Film made a name for itself on the international film production market too as long as more than 20 years ago with such international in-house productions as THE NEVERENDING STORY or THE NAME OF THE ROSE. They were followed by further global hits such as THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, the action horror thriller RESIDENT EVIL and its sequel RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (which have generated total worldwide sales of more than US-Dollar 700 million so far in the various stages of exploitation), DOWNFALL or THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX.
6 of the top 10 German blockbusters of the last 20 years were produced by Constantin Film; 23 of the top 50 German theatrical films since 1988 were released to theatres by the company. 14 of the 30 most successful German theatrical films of the past 10 years were distributed by Constantin Film. (source: Top 50 List since 1988, SPIO statistics).
Constantin Film AG with its subsidiaries and associated companies has established itself as by far the most successful independent German production and distribution company since it was founded in 1977 by Bernd Eichinger, who is still one of Constantin Film's most important producers, and went public in 1999. We have improved the company's strategic alignment, continued to broaden our business base purposefully and developed into an integrated media group in recent years by the systematic addition of licence trading, in-house home entertainment exploitation and intensified TV service production, with a particular focus on TV entertainment to the two classic areas of operation.
Bavaria Film International distributes German and international films on the global market. The portfolio ranges from German Academy Award winner Nowhere in Africa (2002), multiple European Film Award winner and B.O. hit Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) to Golden Berlin Bear winner Head-On (2004), double Silver Berlin Bear winner Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (2005) or creative documentary Into Great Silence (2005).
Recent hits were I Served the King of England and Silver Berlin Bear winner Beaufort (both 2007), Cherry Blossoms – Hanami (2008) by Doris Dörrie, Tribeca’s main award winner Let the right one in and Moscow, Belgium (2008, Critics’ Week Cannes).
After experiences in journalism and working in various fields of the media industry, Johannes completed the Media Business School MEGA master program in Ronda, Spain, and has since been involved in feature film production on a European level. He is currently developing several feature film projects, among them „Qissa“, to be directed by Anup Singh, in India.