Bavarian Film Prize for the cine plus Co-production INTO GREAT SILENCE

Berlin, 16 January 2006/ The cinema documentary INTO GREAT SILENCE was awarded the Bavarian Film Prize last Friday. More than 100,000 cinema-goers have seen the documentary since it first appeared in the cinemas on 10th November 2005.

Frank Evers, managing director of the cine plus Group and co-producer said: "We would like to congratulate Philip Gröning on the success he has had with this extraordinary film. We are particularly pleased because INTO GREAT SILENCE is the second time in a row that a cine plus co-production has won the prize in Munich for the best documentary film. Last year the it went to RHYTHM IS IT! from BoomtownMedia."

The jury praised the film and Philip Gröning's work as follows:
"After many years of waiting, Philip Gröning, who has become well-known with a wide variety of films, has pulled off a unique project. For months he lived with Carthusian monks, who are bound by a vow of prayer and silence, filming under the strictest conditions: no artificial light, no extraneous music, no commentary. The film is a faithful portrayal of the monks' way of life, their purpose in life and their striving to be close to God. This all comes across in such a radical way that it seems unfathomable to a normal human being. For anyone who can understand what is happening here, it is not only "great silence" but also great cinema."

INTO GREAT SILENCE was shot predominantly using HDCAM. Jörg Schulze, head of the cine plus production department and the film's executive producer says: "This successful HD production shows yet again that the innovative HDCAM technology can prove its value on the big screen, too. In this case, however, the special filming conditions in the monastery were the decisive factor in the choice of format."

INTO GREAT SILENCE is a production of Philip Gröning Filmproduktion in co-production with Bavaria Film, Ventura Film SA, cine plus, Bayerischer Rundfunk and ZDF in cooperation with ARTE. It was sponsored by the Film Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia and the FFA and is distributed by X-Films.

Festivals:
World premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2005
Official entry to the Toronto International Film Festival 2005
Entry to the international competition of the 48th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Cartoon Films 2005
Lünen Film Festival 2005
Sundance Film Festival 2006
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2006