Berliner Film Companie
| Type | Film and television production company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film and television |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Defunct | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
| Products | Animated television series and films |
| Owner | Dresdner Allianz Group |
Berliner Film Companie (BFC) was a German film and television production company owned by Dersdner Allianz Group. Most of its productions were animated series (and two animated feature films) produced through its subsidiary Berlin Animation Film (BAF), originally formed in 1999. BFC went into administration in 2009, and BAF followed in 2015.
History
[edit]Berlin Animation Film was founded in 1999 following a decision by Dresdner Bank to invest in television animation. The company's initial goal was to provide animation services for the television series Simsala Grimm, which was already produced by Greenlight AG. In October 2002, BAF and Greenlight parted ways and Dresdner founded Berliner Film Companie. The company had an office at Johannisstraße and had around 100 animators at its peak.[1]
BFC's goal was to produce series in Germany that had "American style and quality". In addition to its head office in Berlin, it had a second office in Los Angeles.[2] Michael Hefferon, who founded Phoenix Animation Studios in 1987 and was later appointed as president of Rainmaker Entertainment, worked for BFC for some time.[3]
In 2003, it already had four completed television series: Mission Oddysey, Adventurers: Masters of Time, Altair in Starland and Shadow of the Elves.[2] The company boosted its investment with the conversion of Happily N'Ever After from a 2D project to a 3D one, with the arrival of John H. Williams, who previously worked for Shrek, as well as installing Mental Ray and increasing its budget per minute of animation. The film ended up becoming a failure (17,000 viewers in Germany on opening weekend) and, as of November 2007 (at the time of release), the company was unable to recover €87 million worth of investment.[1]
In 2006, it partnered with MGM and Brooksfilms to produce Spaceballs: The Animated Series,[4][5]
BFC subsequently became dormant after 2009 and ceased to exist in 2011.[6]
BAF was detached from BFC appointed Commerzbank as its liquidator; the separate company was ceased to exist on 7 October 2015.[7]
Identity
[edit]The company used the Brandenburg Gate as its logo accompanied with the initials bfc and berliner film companie underneath, both in lowercase.[8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Hanns-Georg Rodek, Schreck statt Shrek für Dresdner-Bank-Anleger, Welt, 27 November 2007, retrieved 21 September 2026
- 1 2 Sarah Baisley, MIPCOM News: Berliner Film Premieres New Animated Series, Animation World News, 10 October 2003, retrieved 21 September 2026
- ↑ Quan, Ng See (15 November 2012). "Rainmaker Entertainment names Michael Hefferon as president". Playback. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- ↑ Sarah Baisley, G4 to Run Mel Brooks Animated Spaceballs Series, Animation World News, 20 September 2006, retrieved 21 September 2026
- ↑ "'Spaceballs' Series Enters G4's Orbit". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ↑ Berliner Film Companie Productions GmbH, Berlin, Northdata, retrieved 21 September 2026
- ↑ Berlin Animation Film GmbH, Berlin, Northdata, retrieved 21 September 2026
- ↑ BFC logo, Northdata, retrieved 21 September 2026