Volkswagen is Main Partner of the 55th Berlin International Film Festival

Volkswagen is Main Partner of the 55th Berlin International Film Festival

WOLFSBURG/BERLIN, Germany, January 19/PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen continues its partnership with the Berlin International Film
Festival. "Well-known as a high-calibre international film festival, the
Berlinale gives us a variety of opportunities to become involved content-wise
as well as offering an excellent platform for the presentation of our
products," said Dirk Grosse-Leege, Head of Group Communications at
Volkswagen. "From this perspective, we are convinced that our partnership,
which was launched in 2003, will prove successful for years to come." The
55th Berlin International Film Festival begins on 10 February 2005 with the
opening ceremony in the Berlinale Palast and ends on 19 February 2005 with
the closing ceremony and presentation of the Golden Bear award for the best
film in the competition.



Volkswagen is again placing an extensive fleet of 75 vehicles at the
disposal of the Berlin International Film Festival for its entire duration.
Phaeton limousines will drive film stars up to the red carpet at the opening
and closing ceremonies as well as gala premieres. The fleet for the Teddy
Awards and Shooting Stars 2005 comprises Golf Plus and Golf GTI. Touareg and
Caravelle vehicles will be available at events such as the International
Forum of New Cinema and the Berlinale Talent Campus which focus on presenting
the work of young film makers.



Over 540 participants from 90 countries will be attending the Berlinale
Talent Campus and profiting from the knowledge of numerous experts from the
film industry. As in 2004, Volkswagen is again contributing to the Talent
Campus this year. The "Volkswagen Score Competition" enables young film
composers and sound designers to set to music a scene from the German
blockbuster "Good Bye Lenin", from Thomas Struck's film "Hearts" and a
Volkswagen commercial in cooperation with the Film Orchestra Babelsberg at a
professional sound studio. The mentor of the "Volkswagen Score Competition"
is film composer Antonio Pinto ("City Of God"). Content-wise, the Career
Development Department of Volkswagen Coaching GmbH will be contributing a
workshop on "Successful Teams - How To Overcome Conflicts". A highlight will
be the appearance of Peter Schreyer (Head Advanced Design Volkswagen AG) who,
together with production designer Dante Ferretti ("Gangs Of New York") and
directors Ridley Scott ("Alien", "Blade Runner", "Gladiator", etc.) and his
daughter Jordan Scott, will be discussing how future trends are created at
the series of lectures dedicated to "Designing Your Future!".



"Shooting Stars 2005" introduces young European acting talent. For the
8th year, European Film Promotion, a network of European promotion and export
organizations, will be presenting a group of the most interesting European
acting talents during the Berlin International Film Festival. In a series of
events, 21 young actors will be introduced to the public, the film industry
and the media. 20-year old Max Riemelt ("Napola") from Berlin has been
nominated for Germany.



Further commitments round off this year's partnership between Volkswagen
and the Berlinale. Volkswagen will be providing vehicles for the "Teddy
Awards", the Berlinale film awards for gay/lesbian and trans identity films,
to be presented on 18 February in the Columbiahalle, as well as the Jetix TV
station, the main sponsor of the Festival of Children's Films. Together with
the Berlinale, Volkswagen will be inviting guests to the Volkswagen Golden
Bear Lounge during the festival, among them producers, directors,
representatives from the German film industry and international delegations.
"We are thrilled to be able to continue our successful public-private
partnership with Volkswagen in 2005. Backed by the excellent cooperation of
the last two years, the Berlinale is delighted that this partnership will
continue to open up new perspectives and new approaches to cultural
sponsoring," said Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.




Volkswagen Group Communications

Public Relations

Contact: Christiane Krebs-Hartmann,
Phone: +49-53-61-9-2-54-91,
Fax: +49-53-61-9-2-20-90,
E-Mail: christiane.krebs-hartmann@volkswagen.de





Source: Volkswagen AG

Volkswagen Group Communications, Public Relations, Contact: Christiane Krebs-Hartmann, Phone: +49-53-61-9-2-54-91, Fax: +49-53-61-9-2-20-90, E-Mail: christiane.krebs-hartmann@volkswagen.de



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