Media News from Berlin-Brandenburg

Lars von Trier’s ZENTROPA now also in Berlin
With the opening of an office in Berlin, one of Europe’s most important production houses is coming to Germany’s capital: ZENTROPA, founded in 1992 by Lars von Trier and Peter Aalbek Jensen, stands for successful and innovative arthouse cinema. Among its successes are films like "Breaking the Waves" (D: Lars von Trier), "Dogville" (D: Lars von Trier), "Italian for Beginners" (D: Lone Scherfig) and "After the Wedding" (D: Susanne Bier). ZENTROPA INTERNATIONAL BERLIN will be run by the successful producer Maria Köpf (formerly X Filme creative pool). More information is available at www.zentropa.dk.

"Master of Maya" from Potsdam begins in Malaysia
The world’s first mobile trading card game "Master of Maya" from the Potsdam-based company UFA and Nokia Siemens Network had its world premiere in Malaysia, one of the worldwide leading markets for mobile entertainment. The game combines the feel and design of a traditional trading card game with the possibility of interaction via mobile phone. The Malaysian mobile telephone operator Maxis commissioned Nokia Siemens Networks with the delivery and hosting of the game. The characters as well as the master of the Maya world come from UFA. More at www.ufa.de.

Starting signal for medien.barometer
In the middle of June the medien.barometer, a joint online survey from media.net and Medienboard, went into service. The focus of the current poll among companies involved in TV, radio, advertisement, print, film, music, PR, IT and multimedia is the topic jobs and young talent. The questionnaire is now available at the Web sites from www.medienboard.de and www.medianet-bb.de. (in German only)

What’s the Web 2.0 euphoria all about?
(June 12th-13rd, 2007, Potsdam)
"Newspaper online 2007", a multimedia conference in German from the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers and Ifra, the leading association for newspaper and media publishing, will examine the euphoria surrounding Web 2.0, citizen journalism and blogs. Experts will speak about opportunities for newspaper publishers, new business prospects as well as the development and marketing of Web TV. Further information at www.ifra.de.

The second film business summit – now in Germany’s film capital
(June 14th, 2007, Guggenheim Atrium at the Deutsche Bank, Berlin)
Producers, investors, distributors and creative minds meet in Germany’s film capital for the second film business summit in the Guggenheim Atrium at the Deutsche Bank. For the first time the event is taking place in Berlin. Bernd Neumann, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, will open the summit with a political stocktaking looking at the basic conditions for film and television. The Filmwirtschaftsgipfel is organized by the Erich Pommer Institut (EPI) of Potsdam and the Medienboard. More at www.m-mba.de.

Awards for outstanding movie theatres at “Irina Palm” premiere
(June 14th, 2007, Kino International, Berlin)
In the framework of the Berlin premiere of the celebrated Berlinale film "Irina Palm" with Marianne Faithfull, on June 14 for the ninth time the cinema program prizes will be awarded. Twenty-six awards with prize money totaling €210,000 will be distributed for especially dedicated, innovative and sophisticated programming. The organizer is HDF Kino e.V. with support from the Medienboard. More at www.hdf-kino.de.

The newest French productions come to Berlin
(June 14th-20th, 2007, Cinéma Paris/Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, Berlin)
The newest French cinema productions will be shown at this year’s French film week in Berlin. Following the opening with "L'Intouchable", which will be attended by director Benoît Jacquot and leading actress Isild Le Besco, around 16 movies will be presented. Organizer is the Bureau du Cinéma and the French Embassy’s Service Culturel in Berlin. More at www.franzoesische-filmwoche.de.

Fête de la Musique in Berlin
(June 21st, 2007, starting at 17:00, Berlin)
Right in time for the beginning of summer, again this year music fans can look forward to the Fête de la Musique. Around 500 groups and ensembles from 100 countries will be playing all sorts of music on 60 stages throughout the entire Berlin downtown area. Admission is free. More at www.fetedelamusique.de.

Conferment of the Deutscher Multimedia Award
(June 21st-22nd, 2007, Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin)
For 11 years now the German Multimedia Award has honored especially innovative, effective concepts and implementation in the area of multimedia communication. The Award will be conferred in the framework of the German Multimedia Congress (DMMK) in Berlin. Decision makers from the worlds of business and politics will meet on two conference days to present and discuss trends and perspectives in the areas e-marketing, e-commerce and social commerce. More at www.dmmk.de.

Summer trade meeting in Babelsberg
(June 27th, 2007, 18:30, fx.Center, Babelsberg)
The Medienboard will welcome film and media creators at the summer trade meeting in Babelsberg. Attendees will also include the over 50 workshop participants from the European media training program EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs), which takes place in Zeuthen, Brandenburg. Please register at branchentreff@medienboard.de.

Save the Date! Medienwoche 2007
(August 29th - September 7th, 2007, Berlin-Brandenburg)
Medienwoche 2007 will take place from August 29 to September 7 and again this year will combine the conferences of the Medienboard and MAAB (August 29-31), the IFA 2007 (August 31 – September 5), the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium (September 7) and countless other trade events (Media Summit, Media Night, First Steps Award). The conferences will take place in the bcc Berliner Congress Center on Alexanderplatz. Further information is available at www.medienwoche.de.