Stars and starlets gathered in the Bavarian capital. The Munich Film Festival is taking place this year for the 32nd time, and once again the program contains some exceptional films packed with famous names. The award for the best international production, to the value of 50,000 euros for particular ARRI products or services, will be presented for the second time jointly by Osram and ARRI.

The Munich Film Festival, the second largest film festival in Germany after Berlinale, has been welcoming the Who's Who of the film world since 1983. Last year it attracted more than 70,000 visitors to the cinema screens, and this year's program promises a similar success story because in addition to independent productions from around the world there will be some major names there. A total of thirteen movies, including ones from cinema legends Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, featuring such stars as Nicolas Cage, Scarlett Johannson and Juliette Binoche, will be competing for the  ARRI/OSRAM Award in the CineMasters category. Famous names alone are no guarantee of awards, however, as was shown last year when the highly respected jury voted for "Heli", a gripping Mexican drug gang thriller from director Amat Escalante, as the best international film. The winner of the highest accolade this year will be revealed at 7 pm on July 5 at the Gasteig center in Munich.

A long tradition in the film business

"We have been working closely with the film industry for many years. Our products are used not only to put actors in the right light on set but also to project films onto cinema screens. Our passion for light is as fierce as the passion film-makers have for their productions. With the ARRI/OSRAM Award we want to add a little extra charisma to outstanding performances", said Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO Special Lighting at Osram.

"As a traditional Munich-based company with almost 100 years of history in the film industry, ARRI has been a partner of the Munich Film Festival for many years. ARRI is a predominantly international company, so it is fitting that the first award, presented in 2008, was for the best foreign film. This year ARRI will be presenting the award together with Osram for the second time. We want the ARRI/OSRAM Award to encourage international producers to take on their next, hopefully successful project and build up a long-term relationship with us", said Franz Kraus, Managing Director of the ARRI Group.      

ARRI, as a specialist in professional camera and lighting equipment and provider of film-making services, and Osram, as a lighting and projection expert, have been deeply rooted in the cinema and film industry for many years. This is borne out by the fact that Osram lamps are used in one in three cinema projectors throughout the world and that ARRI spotlights are used on every film set the whole world over. For their services to the medium of film both companies have been awarded a number of Oscars.