XYZ Films Receives German Funds for Anna Kendrick-Toni Colette Thriller – Variety

The sci-fi thriller XYZ Films "Stowaway" is set to shoot in Munich and Cologne after securing regional funding in Germany, where the Los Angeles-based company seeks to establish a long-term relationship with production partners Rise Pictures and Augenschein Filmproduktion.

Led by Joe Penna ("The Arctic") and starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette, "Stowaway" follows a spacecraft crew heading for Mars whose mission is in danger when they discover a pbadenger unexpected.

The photo should shoot in the Bavaria Studios, near Munich, and in the MMC studios in Cologne. Production has so far obtained 2 million euros (2.2 million) from the Bavarian backer FFF Bayern and is expected to attract additional support at the federal and regional levels, notably from Filmstiftung NRW in North Rhine-Westphalia. Westphalia and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF).

"We hope, and all the signs are positive, that almost 50% of our funding comes from Germany," said Aram Tertzakian, partner of XYZ, who described "Stowaway" as "the most important film of society to this day ".

Rise Pictures is the Berlin-based Rise FX production unit, a leading actor in the field of special effects that has worked on films like "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War." Augenschein produced the upcoming "7500" thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

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Rise will manage all the special effects of the film in its Munich subsidiary, which has made possible the financing of FFF Bayern's international co-production.

XYZ hopes that production in Germany and collaboration with Rise and Augenschein will become "a replicable model for us," added Tertzakian. The company plans to make at least one or two films in Germany each year.

The German DFFF offers a 25% discount on productions that spend at least 2 million euros (2.2 million dollars) in the country, including VFX expenses. FFF Bayern and regional fund provider MFG Baden-Württemberg also offer VFX support in the form of a 20% discount. Other regional grants are likely to introduce similar VFX initiatives. Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the largest regional donor in the country, does not currently offer this type of funding, but this could change.

Wild Bunch launches "Stowaway" in Germany and France, while Sony distributes in many other major territories.