European Film Fund
Encyclopedia
The European Film Fund was a Non-Profit-Organisation, funded by the film agent Paul Kohner
.
, Bruno Frank
, Felix Jackson, Salka Viertel
and Ernst Lubitsch
. The Domicile of the EFF was Paul Kohner Talent Agencys and president was Ernst Lubitsch
, because he was the most famous European film-maker in Hollywood. The organisation was founded because of the European emigrants who needed Affidavits, money or jobs. That’s why, Liesl Frank, Bruno Frank’s wife, worked together with the Emergency Rescue Committee.
The Fund collected and distributed money, some film-makers donated one percent of their fees. For example Michael Curtiz
und William Wyler
were especially generous. Furthermore there were earnings from benefit performances.
In the early eighties the Fund earned about $40,000. Some Persons were supported by credits, others by donations. A lot of people get jobs in the film industry (esp. at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and Warner Brothers)as screen-writers.
These jobs weren’t paid very well but they often were the precondition for getting visa. Many European film-makers couldn’t repay the money, because they didn’t find well paid jobs.
In 1948 the Fund was closed.
Paul Kohner
Paul Kohner . The native of Bohemia in Austria-Hungary came to Hollywood in 1920 after having been a news reporter in Prague...
.
History
The European Film Fund was founded on November 5, 1938 on the initiative of Paul Kohner. Founder members were William DieterleWilliam Dieterle
William Dieterle was a German actor and film director, who worked in Hollywood for much of his career. His best known films include The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
, Bruno Frank
Bruno Frank
Bruno Frank was a German author, poet, dramatist, and humanist.Frank studied law and philosophy in Munich, where he later worked as a dramatist and novelist until the Reichstag fire in 1933...
, Felix Jackson, Salka Viertel
Salka Viertel
Salka Viertel was an actress and screenwriter. The pianist and composer Eduard Steuermann was her brother. Mrs. Viertel was born Salomea Steuermann in Sambor, a city then in the province of Galicia, which was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but today is in western Ukraine.-Career:She...
and Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
. The Domicile of the EFF was Paul Kohner Talent Agencys and president was Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
, because he was the most famous European film-maker in Hollywood. The organisation was founded because of the European emigrants who needed Affidavits, money or jobs. That’s why, Liesl Frank, Bruno Frank’s wife, worked together with the Emergency Rescue Committee.
The Fund collected and distributed money, some film-makers donated one percent of their fees. For example Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
und William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
were especially generous. Furthermore there were earnings from benefit performances.
In the early eighties the Fund earned about $40,000. Some Persons were supported by credits, others by donations. A lot of people get jobs in the film industry (esp. at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and Warner Brothers)as screen-writers.
These jobs weren’t paid very well but they often were the precondition for getting visa. Many European film-makers couldn’t repay the money, because they didn’t find well paid jobs.
"The more clear-headed émigrés understood very soon that these salaries paid them by Hollywood were fictitious, at least when the realized that, while they earned $100 or $200 a week for completely useless work, a real screen writer earned $3,500. It was quite symbolic that once their contracts expired[…]."
In 1948 the Fund was closed.
List of benefit recipients
- Heinrich MannHeinrich MannLuiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
- Leonhard FrankLeonhard FrankLeonhard Frank was a German expressionist writer. He studied painting and graphic art in Munich, and gained acclaim with his first novel, The Robber Band...
- Alfred DöblinAlfred DöblinAlfred Döblin was a German expressionist novelist, best known for the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz .- 1878–1918:...
- Wilhelm Speyer
- Hans G. Lustig
- Walter MehringWalter MehringWalter Mehring was a German author and one of the most prominent satirical authors in the Weimar Republic. He was banned during the Third Reich, and fled the country.-Biographical:...
- Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
- Ludwig MarcuseLudwig MarcuseProfessor Ludwig Marcuse , was a philosopher and writer of Jewish origin....
- Ernst LotharErnst LotharErnst Lothar was a Moravian-Austrian writer, theatre director/manager and producer.He was born Ernst Lothar Müller, and as Müller is common German surname, he dropped it. His brother, Hans Müller-Einigen, went the other way and added a surname.-Biography:...
Sources
- Adorno, Theodor W. / Eisler, Hanns / McCann, Graham: Composing for the Films. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005.
- Palmier, Jean-Michel: Weimar in exile: the antifascist emigration in Europe and America. Verso, 2006
- Helmut G. Asper: Etwas besseres als den Tod... – Filmexil in Hollywood. Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2002, S. 236–249.
External links
- http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/arc/libraries/feuchtwanger/exiles/filmfund.html
- http://www.filmportal.de/df/31/Artikel,,,,,,,,1E818B26A8CA2E22E04053D50B37734C,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.html