MMC Movies Cologne started successfully into 2015. This spring, the film production company from Cologne (Germany) will be shooting three co-productions...
The Diary of Anne Frank (German WT: The Diary of Anne Frank), Zazy (WT), and the Norwegian-Swedish-Danish-German co-production of The Lion Girl (German WT: The lion girl).
In addition, MMC Movies provides production services, soundstages, production offices and set construction for the Cologne shooting of Pettson and Findus II - The Best Christmas Ever (German title: Pettersson and Findus - The most beautiful Christmas ever).
Both managing directors of MMC Movies, Bastie Griese and Philip Borbély, look forward to a promising start in 2015: "It comes as an encouraging confirmation that our strategy to expand the co-production branch, is showing first signs of success. Apart from the existing projects, we are also very happy to soon announce further high-caliber co-productions, in which we'll be responsible as executive producers".
On January, 26th, the shooting of The Diary of Anne Frank (WT) with Lea van Acken, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Noethen, Stella Kunkat and many more, started in the MMC Studios in Cologne, and is directed by Hans Steinbichler. The filming in the MMC Studios took 28 days and was realized on two different soundstages.
The Diary of Anne Frank is a production of Zeitsprung Pictures and Spektrum Pictures in co-production with Universal Pictures International and MMC Movies.
The production is supported by the Anne Frank Fonds Basel (AFF), the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Bavarian FilmFernsehFonds, the MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany's Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA) and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).
The shooting in the MMC Studios was completed on March, 6th, before the team moved on to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and other locations.
In the second week of March, the filming of Zazy (WT) began. Author and director, M.X.Oberg, stages the erotic thriller about a young couple that seeks to rise to the upper class by means of blackmailing. The shooting takes place at the MMC Studios and some further locations. Zazy is a production of gilles mann filmproduktion and MMC Movies in association with German broadcasters, WDR and RBB.
At the end of February, the filming of the Norwegian-Swedish-Danish-German co-production of The Lion Girl (WT) has begun in Norway. The film is directed by Vibeke Idsøe and is adopted from the bestselling novel by Erik Fosnes Hansen. The touching story about a girl named Eva, born in 1912 in the Norwegian province, and whose body was completely covered by blond hair, is being shot with actor, Rolf Lassgård.
As of June 2015, the production will proceed in the MMC Studios, where a large part of the movie will be shot. The MMC Art Department will be responsible for the set construction as well as for the on-location constructions of the settings during the filming throughout North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
The Lion Girl is a production of Gifted Films West (Germany) and Filmkameratene (Norway), in co-production with Tre Vänner (Sweden), Zentropa (Denmark), MMC Movies and The Post Republic (Germany).
Apart from the co-production activities, MMC Movies provides production services, soundstages, production offices and set construction for the shooting of Pettson and Findus - The Best Christmas Ever, in Cologne. The family movie, produced by Tradewind Pictures and Senator Film Munich, in co-production with the German broadcaster ZDF, is based on the world-famous children's books Findus at Christmas and The Mechanical Santa by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist.
The shooting of this Christmas adventure has started in early February, in Erfurt (Germany), and is directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi. In March, the filming will continue in the MMC Studios, where a large part of its very successful predecessor, Pettson and Findus - A Little Nuisance, A Great Friendship, was realized on MMC's soundstage 53.
MMC Movies continues to work on exciting projects and also supports them through own investments. This also applies for the joint venture, MMC ZODIAC, founded with the Swiss production company Zodiac Pictures, in 2013. "We intend to grow to one of the leading co-production companies in NRW," say both managing directors confidently.
Photo: f.l.t.r.: Bastie Griese (MMC Movies), Paul Steinschulte (Universal Pictures International), Hans Steinbichler (Director), Michael Souvignier (Zeitsprung Pictures), Walid Nakschbandi (Spektrum Pictures) and Philip Borbély (MMC Movies & MMC Studios) on the set of The Diary of Anne Frank on MMC's soundstage 42 in Cologne, Germany. © Wolfgang Ennenbach
