PETITION FOR SUPPORTING NIPKOW PROGRAMM

The Nipkow Programm is an important tool to help freelance filmmakers develop their projects. It would be a shame to destroy it away and make the cultural scene in Berlin and Europe poorer.

Not only does Nipkow, on many levels, support aspiring young filmmakers during the process of development of their special project - that had to undergo a high profile selection process -, but through the Nipkow program young filmmakers also establish long lasting reliable international networks - that are priceless for any of us and still pay of even years after the actual fellowship.

I received a Nipkow fellowship in 2007. Nipkow was essential to broad my perspectives, while it supported me as a creator.

We have a great honor to be the NIPKOW program fellows and we would like to tell you how thankful we are to have that chance to be in the NIPKOW program this year. Thanks to Nipkow, we had a great opportunity to take our time to concentrate on our selected project and according to its needs, do the work that was a miles stone for us. The development of our project would not be so fast and would never be so effective as during those two months in Berlin : we have done the archives research that we could not do since one year. We had finally time to prepare perfectly well our documents for the foreing financing and potential coproducers and we've got the result of those few weeks of intensive work very quickly : our project has just passed the competitive selection at the CNC (we're in the last round in the aide à l'innovation documentaire du CNC) and we are about to sign with a great coproducer Les Films de Minuit (Oscar and César awarded animation producer) in France. We have met several new German producers interested in the coproduction here in Berlin, we found a great composer leaving in Berlin that could be perfect to bring artistic coproduction base being a real important part of the German coproduction. And we know that we have enough informations and choices to select the best parters for our project now. We also know how to negociate with our coproducers thanks to the Nipkow trainnings on that subject. Besides that, the crew of Nipkow foundation helped us a lot. We really feel like Petra, Jana and Claus and everybody we had a chance to meet, they are believing in what we're doing. They offer us their time in every moment as soon as we need them. They understand that a creative work needs a lot of different kind of help during this extremely important first stage of the process. They are always open to help us with any problems we meet, regarding different perpectives and needs of every singular person as it is an author - artist or a creative prod

INipkow programm help me to developp a script of the short animated film "next generation". The film is a CGI short film, helped by Arte and CNC. It was a really precious help to developp the script so early and the help of Nipkow programm was crucial into the developpement of the film...

This is one of the rare programs that really help film makers technically, financially and connects people. It has become a big family you can always go to for help, questions and assistance. Without the Nipkow program I would have never been able to make my movie and feel good about my work as an author. it is an absolute scandal to stop funding this organization!

I received a Nipkow fellowship in 2008. Working with a top German script editor was a massive learning experience. I liked Berlin so much that I am returning to live there next year, while pursuing projects in the UK and possible coproductions between the UK and Germany. Nipkow is essential.

I am currently doing my fellowship with Nipkow and it's a great and unique opportunity for all of us filmmakers who are developing a new film. There is very little support if none for films at a very early stage of development especially if it's a first feature film like in my case. However this is the most important and essential part of our work. I really believe that the loss of the Nipkow Program will have a very negative impact on the future productions of independent filmmakers who will be let once again alone.

In 1994 had a fellowship with Nipkow. In 1995 and ever since, as a direct result of that fellowship I have been making European co-productions which have been sold internationally and are multi-award winners. Today I am in the middle of my fifth film with German director, Thomas Riedelsheimer. Nipkow is an amazingly cost-effective, efficient and creative programme. It is a mystery to me how Nipkow's proposal could have been found wanting against the required criteria. It is imperative that the decision and the mechanism used to arrive at this decision by put under some scrutiny. The loss of the Nipkow Programm will have very negative impacts on the European film industry. I urge a rethink.

The Nipkow Programme and its tenacious, generous team made an invaluable contribution to Europe as we know it by bringing filmmakers together in Berlin and creating lasting relationships. It would be a bad day for cross cultural collaboration should it have to close.

Nipkow Programm has been a turning point in the carriers of lots of young and upcoming filmmakers in Europe. It would be a shame not to recognise the significant importance of Nipkow, which throughout years has been contributing to development of the rich European film landscape and stimulating intercultural dialogue!!!

It's a very outstanding program which gives solid supporting structure around filmmakers.

Personal experience from Nipkow My name is Yorgos Zois and I was a Nipkow fellowshipped from September 2007 to March 2008. I am a Greek director and my aim was to write the final draft and make some connections with productions companies from Berlin that might be interested in my script for a possible co production with Greece. The truth is that Nipkow was and still is a blessing to me. But let’s see the process of the scholarship to explain my self and make it clear to you. I came on 1st of September escaping from a Greece in flames and an incapable state to handle the situation with result millions of trees burned as well as over 60 human losses. Why am I writing these irrelevant things, as they may appear in first sight, you will apprehend later on. I found place in Berlin and took my first installment of the scholarship. I was alone in an unknown city and this city is not a small town or a decayed capital, but Berlin; a cultural and developing capital, a cinematic City which has the ability to unite two different parts east and west Berlin. What I am saying is that this is the ideal environment to write my script. I am like the character of my script and generally every script, stranger in a strange place. I could feel him and understand him better than before. But as a writer, Berlin was the perfect glasshouse for my ideas to grow. Isolated, no friends or silly chats on the phones, no daily things that destruct you from your work, not any more Athens or working as assistant director to get by and instead a modern capital full of art and knowledge opportunities. Nikpow offers you a generous scholarship so you can only concentrate in your script and there is no excuse for other works that usually writers or directors say when they are afraid or bored to write a script. So its chance of a lifetime that you must take advantage of it. But it’s not about the money that Nikpow is so important. It gives you the opportunity to see things from distance and write

we need nipkow!

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It's an outstanding program , that helped me a lot on my professional way, I am sure this organization is very important for European filmmaking.

SOLIDARITY FOR SUPPORTING THE NIPKOW FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMM!!!