The third German Films Previews in Cologne, which ran July 12 – 15, attracted more than 80 international buyers and saw a number of films sold.

Buyers included Thailand’s Sahamongkolfilm International, Taiwan’s Cineplex Development and Joint Entertainment International, and Switzerland’s Filmcoopi.

The event, which showcases the new German titles, saw market premieres of Daniel Brühl/Hannah Herzsprung romantic comedy My Word, My Lies - My Love (Lila, Lila) and Feo Aladag’s feature debut When We Leave (Die Fremde). There was also promo screenings of  Jo Baier’s historical drama Henry Of Navarre, Benedek Fliegauf’s first English language film Womb, and Byambasuren Davaa’s documentary The Two Horses Of Genghis Khan, which has since been announced as the closing film in the Piazza Grande section of the Locarno Film Festival.

Singapore’s Lighthouse Pictures acquired Kaspar Heidelbach’s drama Berlin‘36, which is based on the true story of the Jewish female high jumper Gretel Bergmann. Lighthouse’s Thomas Chia said that he planned to release the title, which premiered at Berlin, to coincide with 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singalmore next year.

Meanwhile, Beta Cinema has confirmed that Nizhona Gilad of Israeli arthouse distributor Nachshon Films had bought Su Turhan’s Ayla, a dramatic love story set within Munich’s Turkish community, which had its market premiere in Cologne. The feature debut will be released by Zorro Film in Germany.

Buyers praised the four day event for offering good access to sales agents, but there was also some concern about the appearance of international co-productions such as Directors’ Fortnight film Ajami and the Karlovy Vary title Low Lights in the programme that is aimed at showcasing new German films.

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