Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 5, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Back in 2007, the City of Cologne doubled its funding contribution to 200,000 euros. Together with sponsorship money and broadcaster partnerships, Cologne Conference has a total budget of just under half a million euros this year. “This has given Cologne Conference a further boost”, said festival director Martina Richter. Cologne Conference takes place from October 8 to 13, 2008, once again close in time to the German Television Award ceremony (October 11) in Cologne.
Awards Ceremonies
For the second time this year, the “Cologne Film Award”, endowed with 25,000 euros, will be presented jointly with Filmstiftung NRW and the City of Cologne for outstanding achievements in the formal language of film and television. In 2007, this main prize went to Oscar winner Paul Haggis (“L.A. Crash”). Three further awards, each endowed with 10,000 euros, will be presented as part of the Cologne festival’s competitions: the “TV Spielfilm Prize”, the “Network Movie Star” and the “Hollywood Reporter Award”.
Festival Strands
The two competition strands “TopTen” and “Look” are at the heart of Cologne Conference. The “TopTen” strand showcases outstanding television films, series, documentaries and reports from the international market. The “Look” strand focuses on productions that stand out for their unusual audiovisual aesthetics.
Terrence Malick Retrospective
The retrospective at the 18th Cologne Conference will be dedicated to the exceptional American director Terrence Malick, whose films (such as “Der schmale Grat” and “In der Glut des Südens”) will once again be shown on the big screen.
Cult Night with Helmut Dietl’s Television Series “Kir Royal”
Another confirmed item on the festival programme is that director Helmut Dietl’s six-part ARD television series “Kir Royal” (WDR, 1986) will be the subject of this year’s “Cult Night”, offering a reunion with legendary gossip reporter “Baby” Schimmerlos (Franz-Xaver Kroetz). The real-life model for the character was Munich gossip columnist Michael Graeter, 65, whose fame did not prevent his decline: in March, Graeter, sentenced to 16 months in prison, ended up in Landsberg prison. He was arrested because he had not paid his debts. Helmut Dietl is currently working with Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre on a new version of “Kir Royal”, which will be set in Berlin-Mitte and thus bring “Baby” back to life.
