The future of Film – support for young film makers to ensure the development of creative ideas, it is important that creative work is properly taught. The BMW Group has been involved for a number of years in supporting student film productions made at film schools and other institutions of higher learning. BMW Group sees itself as a promoter of young filmmakers, lending its support to productions that display a particular degree of excellence, and working in close cooperation with students. The BMW Group was involved in the film 'Die Katze im Sack', by Florian Schwarz, which won the prizes for best screenplay and best soundtrack at the 26th Max Ophüls Festival. This involvement developed from the companies support for student examination productions and professional film debuts. 'Meine Familie' is another film that enjoyed the support of the BMW Group, this time made at the Film Academy of Baden-Württemberg, with the script written by Maggie Peren, and directed by Neele Leana Vollmar. This amusing film went on to win a number of prizes both at home and abroad, including the Best Newcomer prize in Hof and the Studio Hamburg Young Filmmaker prize for the best film. Another production supported by BMW was 'The Story of the Weeping Camel', a film by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni, graduates of the Munich School of Television and Film. This low-budget production won the Director's Guild of America's prize for the best documentary, even ahead of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. The touching documentary of a stubborn mother camel and her young was even in the running for an Oscar in Hollywood. The surprise success of the year 2004 was 'Muxmäuschenstill', the cinema debut of actor and director Marcus Mittermeier, for which the BMW Group provided vehicles for the stunt scenes. The grotesque story of the control freak Mux, and his penchant for taking the law into his own hands was produced on a budget of no more than 40.000 Euro. This premier was celebrated as a highlight of the German Cinema Perspectives at the Berlinale. It also went on to win the 25th Saarbrücken Max Ophüls Prize and was also nominated for the German Film Prize, as well as attracting a number of audience prizes.
While long films are often subject to certain limitations, placed on them by the constrictions of expectation and television requirements, the short film is a medium that offers plenty of scope for innovation. It is not only the preferred channel for many student directors, but is currently undergoing a renaissance across the board. The art project, 'Atdjest' by Clemens von Wedemeyer was nominated for the Bremen Art Prize, and was presented at the 35th International Young Film Forum, with the support of the BMW Group, at the Berlinale, and in a selection of 'German Short Films 2005' at the International Film Festival in Cannes. Another film showing at the Berlinale, as part of the 35th International Young Film Forum was the East European short film, also supported by the BMW Group, entitled 'Lost and Found'. The project comprised stories told by six young filmmakers about people in the countries where they live. The films were compiled into a single work and will soon be visible in cinemas in German and Eastern Europe.
To give the short film the public forum it deserves, the BMW Short Film Award was presented for the first time in 2004. Hundreds of student filmmakers attending German-language film schools are able to enter their scripts for the annual event. The winner is selected by a jury composed of recognised experts from the film industry, and in addition to the prize money, winners are also given the chance to commit their ideas to film. Many award-winning films have gone to enjoy further praise. 'Gone With The Wind Or An Ant Like You And Me' by Charlotte Wetzel was given the top rating of 'particularly worthy' by the film jury, and 'Garage Love', the story of a first love by Tomasz Rudzik, won the 37th German Economic-Themed Film Prize in the Young Filmmakers category in 2004, and received an invitation to attend the 'Saxony in UK' project in Scotland in May 2005.
The internet site www.bmwfilms.com has been visited an amazing 75 million times all over the world since 'The Hire' series got underway. 'The Hire' has been on the lips of both BMW and cinema fans ever since the first series was made in 2001. Its astounding success encouraged the makers to initiate a second series in 2002. This led to the creation of eight films, masterminded by top Hollywood directors like Ang Lee, Wong Kar Wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Inarritu, John Frankenheimer, Tony Scott, Joe Carnahan and John Woo. The storyline always involves the main character, played by Clive Owen, taking passengers in his taxi to wherever they want to go, and always under extremely unpleasant conditions. The films use a variety of BMW cars. The entire action takes place in five minutes. 'Superstar Madonna advertises for BMW', 'Diva on the outside lane' – these and other headlines announced what was indeed an astounding appearance by the Pop Queen. Madonna moans unbearably, treating her driver like dirt, but Clive Owen keeps cool, promises her the ride of her life and steps on the gas. After a breakneck escape from the paparazzi, he ejects her from the BMW M5 in a fully dishevelled state. With this series, the BMW Group succeeded in winning over millions of viewers of short films, as well as providing entertainment and inventing a new form of advertising. Hollywood came up with just the right terms to describe the innovative approach to captivating an audience: Branded Entertainment. But it wasn't only Hollywood – the US press in general reacted positively to The Hire. Time Magazine wrote: 'The ultimate in new media high end branding has arrived', and the New York Times said: 'The BMW films tingle with zest in a way that car ads don't anymore'.
The Hire was shown at many film festivals and won the Cannes Cyber Grand Prix 2002, as well as the Cannes Titanium Award 2003 and eight Clio Awards. The Hire resulted in a rebirth of the short film as a genre and was integrated in a permanent collection of films archived at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, New York). And as if that were not enough, The Hire has recently been transformed into a cartoon strip and plans are even afoot to develop it into an animation.
It all started with Theo Lingen back in 1934, with the film 'Ein Mädel wirbelt durch die Welt'. The famous actor rode around the streets on a BMW motorcycle in this tumultuous film. What began as an innovation soon became a tradition and it wasn't long before BMW motorcycles could be seen in many more movies. Two men, two motorcycles and twenty thousand miles. This would be a fitting description for the documentary film, 'Long Way Round' (2004) featuring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman atop two BMW motorcycles as they circle the globe.
In 2003 it was Ben Affleck in the science-fiction thriller 'Paycheck', this time with a BMW R 1150 R Rockster and in 2005 it was the turn of the BMW F 650 CS in the German production 'The Clown', where it provided breathtaking support in a number of stunt scenes.
But more than the motorcycles, it is above all BMW Group cars that have written film history. And in this context there is really only one name: Bond, James Bond.
James Bond – and his secret agent thrillers – not only combines action with charm, but also high tech. The first BMW Group involvement with the most successful film series of all time was in 1963. In 'From Russia with Love' a Rolls- Royce Phantom V was presented before the admiring eyes of an astounded world audience. The most famous Rolls-Royce of all time followed in 1964. The Phantom III Sedance de Ville was driven by Gerd Fröbe in ‚Goldfinger', probably the best Bond film of all. Rolls-Royce cars continued to be a permanent fixture of Bond movies over the coming years, and were also visible in many other Hollywood productions.
One of the most successful James Bond film ever was 'Golden Eye'. It earned a total of 350 million dollars in world box office takings, with James Bond alias Pierce Brosnan for the first time driving a BMW, an Atlanta Blue Z3 Roadster. The cooperation between the successful BMW brand and Bond continued in 1997 in 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. A BMW 750iL in aspen silver metallic was the star of a car chase in a car park building, and Bond finally got away from his pursuers, at the wheel of a BMW Cruiser R 1200C. A further cooperation came in 1999 with 'The World is Not Enough', in which Pierce Brosnan and his silver metallic BMW Z8 saw plenty of breathtaking action.
'Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason' and 'The Bourne Conspiracy' are two box office hits in which the BMW 5 Series played a role. But the 3 Series is also extremely popular with Hollywood's directors. For example in 1990's 'Bird On A Wire', Goldie Hawn rents a BMW 325i Convertible, in which she chauffeurs Mel Gibson through the streets. 'You come to Detroit and rent a BMW?' asks Mel Gibson. 'That is like going to Germany and eating a hamburger.'
Gus Van Sant's Film 'Finding Forrester' (2000) tells us just what a BMW is made of. A young black man played by Rob Brown happens on the driver of a gold-coloured 3 Series coupé, whose burglar alarm suddenly goes off. The young man says, 'It's just a car, man.' To which the driver replies, 'No, it isn't just a car, it's a BMW. Anyone who knows just a little bit about that company knows that it isn't just a car.'
But it isn't just US and European high concept films that profit from a cooperation with the BMW Group, but filmmakers from all over the world. Examples are 'Masdjävlar' (2004), the surprise success of the Swedish director, Maria Blom, or 'A World without Thieves' (2004) by the Chinese advertising filmmaker, Feng Xiaogang. Further interesting cooperations with international film projects are currently being planned
Not only BMW, but also the MINI plays a prominent role in international cinema films. Peter Sellers drove around naked in a MINI in Blake Edwards' 1964 classic, 'Inspector Clouseau – A shot in the dark'. In 'Goldmember' (2002) Austin Powers chased his arch-enemy Dr. Evil in a MINI. The most interesting example is the remake of 'The Italian Job'. In which 32 MINIs took part, three of which were visible on screen. The BMW Group supported the original version of 'The Italian Job' back in 1969, with Michael Caine as the main cast. The star of the new version was Mark Wahlberg.
The BMW Group is even at home in the world of animation. Back in the 1970s, Rolf Kauka, creator of the popular German cartoon characters, Fix and Foxi, produced an animated cinema advertisement for the Isetta, which is regarded as a classic animation until this day.
In an episode of The Simpsons, the family visits London, where, true to style, they make their way through the streets of the capital in a MINI Cooper. For moving through Munich, however, a BMW would be more suitable. Stefan Derrick, the most famous detective in the city, solved every one of his 281 cases in only an hour and with the assistance of a BMW. He started with a 5 Series model, eventually graduating to a 7 Series. 'Harry, get the car', he said countless times in 102 countries, and each time Harry followed the command faithfully. Their last case together was a cinema production in animated form 'Derrick – Duty Calls' was shown in cinemas up and down the country in 2004.
The number of BMWs seen on German TV screens is simply innumerable. Back in 1936, the film 'Diener lassen bitten' showed a BMW 315/1 Convertible. This was followed by literally hundreds of BMWs over the ensuing years. They proved particularly popular with TV detectives hunting down gangsters. Inspector Wolff in ‚Wolffs Revier', 'Der Bulle von Tölz', all the inspectors in the 'Tatort' series, and their colleagues from 'Doppelter Einsatz', Hannelore Elsner in 'Die Kommissarin', 'Balko', 'Soko Leipzig' and the police officers in 'Großstadtrevier', to name but a small selection of the TV series featuring BMW vehicles.
And let us not forget the classics, Alongside Derrick, the 'Schwarzwaldklinik' was surely one of the most popular and successful German TV series of all. It was not rare for episodes of this BMW-supported hit series to attract 200 million viewers and a market share of 60 percent.
Other series with successful ratings include those made by the company Action Concept. The production company owned by Hermann Joha was responsible for staging one of the most spectacular stunts in German television history. In 'Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police' Joha implemented seven cameras, to film a BMW 850i fly over a moving lorry, land safely on the road, and force the lorry to brake. In recognition of this extraordinary feat, Hermann Joha was awarded the 'Taurus World Stunt Award' in 2003 and 2004, presented in Hollywood by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The BMW Group has also lent its support to quality productions, such as Heinrich Breloer's docu-drama 'Speer und Er'. This drama series tells the story of the rise and fall of Hitler's architect and later armaments minister, Albert Speer, and was supplied with historic BMW 327 and 328 cars. Another example of quality television entertainment is the 'Heimat' series by Edgar Reitz. Reitz relates the saga of a family in a series that was screened on cinema and television screens in Germany and abroad, celebrating its world premier in Venice and receiving a nomination for the Grimme Prize 2005. The film 'Ghosts' by Christian Petzold was screened at the Berlinale and presented in Cannes in 2005.
The BMW Group receives a constant stream of enquiries from music video producers. One example was the request from Nick Quested for assistance in a music video for the song 'Stolen Car' by Sting. The singer can be seen with a black BMW 760iL. Terry Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy Ma do their thing in their rap piece 'Lean Back', as they move in and around a BMW 7 Series. Aggro Berlin are riding in a BMW in their video 'Neue deutsche Welle', and even Bushido have enjoyed the benefits of cooperating with the BMW Group. A BMW 5 Series can be seen winding its way up the storeys of a car park building in the video for the song 'Electro Ghetto'.
It isn't only the cars and motorcycles made by BMW that find their way on screen, but even the architecture of the BMW buildings, 'Vierzylinder' and the BMW Museum in Munich, both designed by Dr. Karl Schwanzer and completed in 1973, went on to become part of cinema history. In 1975, 'Rollerball' was filmed in the BMW Museum; the modern architecture formed the backdrop to a film that conceived a modern gladiator-type contest as a popular sport of the future. James Caan was the star of this science-fiction films, while Audrey Hepburn, James Mason, Gerd Fröbe, Romy Schneider and Omar Sharif were filmed at the BMW House for the 1978 Hollywood thriller 'Bloodline'.
Another element of the BMW Group's support for the film medium comprises film premiers and events as well as high level national and international film festivals. Examples are the Berlinale 2005, supported by the premieres of 'Gespenster', 'Atdjest' and 'Lost and Found', in the 35th International Young Film Forum. The national festivals in the countries in which the individual films of the Lost and Found series were made are also supported by the BMW Group.
Other festivals in which the BMW Group is involved include the Filmfest München, the Munich International Documentary Film Festival, the International Film School Festival in Munich, The Bavarian Film and Television Prize, the screenings of the Television and Film School in Munich, the Max Ophüls Film Festival in Saarbrücken, the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen and the editing and technical show in Cologne.
The 'Prix Jeunesse' Festival sees its task in supporting the quality of children's television and conducting international programme exchanges. One of the prizes awarded by the BMW Group was the 'BMW Group Special Prize' for an innovative children's programme that has been created with very limited finance. The winner this year was a children's television station from Africa.
At youth cinema events in Munich, Nuremberg and Oberstdorf, schoolchildren were able to find out more about the critical appreciation of the film medium. A MINI shuttle service was put on by the BMW Group to transport children and parents to the festival venues.
The provision of vehicles for selected premiers and events has become a matter of course for the BMW Group. A BMW VIP fleet was supplied for the premiers of the German film production 'Luther' in Munich, Halle and Berlin. Joseph Fiennes, Sir Peter Ustinov, Uwe Ochsenknecht and Bruno Ganz played the main roles in this important German historical film production.
Whether in 'Derrick', 'Soko' or 'Tatort' – BMW Group vehicles are constantly in demand as police cars wherever they would be used in reality. Sometimes, the level of fame they attain is epochal. New York looked on in amazement as the historic BMW 501/3 with the code name Isar 12 took up its position in the Steuben Parade through the streets of the city's downtown police patch. The two policemen behind the wheel, wearing the appropriate uniforms, manoeuvred the car through the streets of the city with the cooperation of the New York Police Department (NYPD). They qualified for this responsible job by winning the contest for the friendliest law-keepers in the country! In Germany, the car had long since written TV history with its appearances in the fifties and sixties in the series 'Isar 12 im Einsatz', the success of which elevated it to the symbol of the Munich police. Their first international job saw them received by the Bishop of New York, before they went off to join the other drivers and cyclists from the NYPD. Still in their original 1950s uniforms, they enjoyed a trip to the Statue of Liberty on a boat normally at the service of the coastguard. Finally, the Isar 12 was driven to the BMW Plant in Spartanburg, where it was the centrepiece of the local 'Oktoberfest' organised by the local BMW Club.
The BMW Group's entertainment activities comprise not only film and music productions but also computer and video games. Whether taking part in the Paris-Dakar Rally in a BMW 60 GS, experiencing Riding Spirits 2 with a BMW Motorrad K1200 RS or copying the MINI Cooper from the hit film 'The Italian Job', the presence of BMW and MINI cars and BMW motorcycles in virtual games worlds represents new channels of entertainment that are sure to thrill games fans small and large.
The stunt show made by Bavaria Film in Geiselgasteig near Munich is pure entertainment. It is set in a reproduction of a dark street in the New York suburb of Brooklyn. The stars of the show, in addition to the stunt riders, are the BMW 5 series models, in special American black and white police paintwork, and the BMW R 1150 RT motorcycle, which really is available as a police model. All fans, young and old, will find this show both exciting and informative, as it gives viewers a look behind the scenes, showing how action is created in film.
Paramount's King Island Parks, which opened in Cincinnati and Toronto in 2005, are fun for all the family. The completely new roller coaster ride takes guests on an adventure in imitation MINI Cooper vehicles.
Another element is the interesting exhibition entitled 'Die Kommissarinnen' at the Film Museum in Berlin. For a while until March 2005, the organizers looked at and questioned social changes they saw taking place in Germany. Are the gender roles undergoing fundamental change on television or is the new crop of female police inspectors simply the latest of a series of developments in the police thriller genre? The exhibition explores these questions across 600 m² of floor space. It presents a comprehensive overview of fictional female inspectors on German TV, who are seen again and again driving vehicles made by the BMW Group, both motorcycles and cars. The exhibition will be presented at the German Film Museum in Frankfurt am Main from October 2005 to January 2006. The exhibition by the Television and Film School in Munich, entitled 'Für ein Zehnerl ins Paradies' ('A tenner to enter paradise') was also supported by the BMW Group. This history of the German cinema from 1896 to 1945 was presented at the Munich Film Festival in 2004 in the Gasteig cultural centre. Another film supported by the BMW Group to appear at the 2004 film festival was the documentary-based 'Die Wittelsbacher' by Stephan Hartwig and Bohdan Grahczyk. The premier of this film was accompanied by a photographic exhibition of homeless people made by homeless people in the Forum of the German Museum.
Taking on the role of main partner at the recent 60th Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale, the BMW Group solidified its passion for film once again. The Berlinale is one of the most important international film festivals in the world. Over 20,000 film makers attend the festival from over 136 countries to view around 400 films annually and with a total of almost 300,000 visitors, the Berlin Film Festival is one of the largest festivals open to the public.
According to Karsten Engel, Vice President of Sales Germany of the BMW Group, "BMW can look back on a long history in films. Actors have enjoyed the qualities of our vehicles over the past decades in many roles, even as secret agents out to save the world."
The BMW Group continues to make itself available as a partner in selected film productions, television films or series, short films, documentaries, animations, computer games, music videos, educational films or entertainment productions.
For more information on the BMW Group's involvement in the film industry, and to download photographic material in fine data quality, go to the BMW Group PressClub website at www.press.bmwgroup.com.