BMW Group and the Munich International Film Festival

Once again this year the BMW Group will feature as a partner of the Munich
International Film Festival. With around 60,000 visitors, the Munich Film
Festival is Germany's largest public film festival. The general public is
joined by 1,500 German and international media professionals from the film,
television and video/DVD branch as well as over 600 accredited journalists.

A Rewarding BMW Short Film Award and FFA Short Tiger

The BMW Short Film Award is a new partner at the festival this year. Together
with the FFA, it is sponsoring a special program called "Short Film Special -
the BMW Short Film Award and the FFA Short Tiger" on Wednesday, June 30 at
10:30 p.m. at the RIO I cinema.
The 2004 BMW Short Film Award was announced for the first time in 2003. With
keen competition from nearly 150 other applicants, it was film students Tomasz
Emil Rudzik, Charlotte Wetzel, Mehdi Benhadj-Djilali, Markus Dietrich and his
two co-authors Hanna Reifgerst and Nico Rehberg who made the final cut with
their scripts on the theme of "Joy". The award ceremony was held on April 30,
2004 parallel to the 50th International Short Film Competition in Oberhausen,
which BMW supports as premium sponsor. Each of the four winners received 5,000
euros in personal prize money, with an additional 20,000 euros going toward the
production of each of the four films. With prize money totalling 100,000 euros,
the BMW Short Film Award is one of Europe's best-paying short film prizes. Dr.
Wolfgang Armbrecht, BMW Marketing Director for Germany, explains the company's
commitment: "Because they are forced to focus and free to experiment, short
films strike us as especially innovative and worthy of support."
The "Short Tiger", awarded by the Berlin-based German Federal Film Board
(Filmförderungsanstalt FFA), is equally rewarding. A nomination alone ensures
select applicants prize money to the tune of 15,000 euros apiece. On June 28th
the nominated directors of three live-action and three animated films will
compete for the "Short Tiger" main prize of 25,000 euros, which the FFA will
present for the financing of a new film project at the Munich Film Festival.
The joint programme of the BMW Short Film Award and the FFA will give the
public the chance to see the prize-winning films. For more information, see
www.bmw.de/kurzfilmaward and www.filmfest-muenchen.de.
Artful Shorts: The Hire
The BMW Short Film Award is the logical outcome of a highly successful project
by BMW North America which blazed new trails in communication: in 2001 five
short films were produced under the title "The Hire". They can be viewed
internationally at www.bmwfilms.com. Renowned directors John Frankenheimer, Ang
Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie and Alejandro González Inárritu created the five
action-packed stories about a driver played by Clive Owen who brings different
passengers - including pop icon Madonna and "Godfather of Soul" James Brown -
to their destinations in BMW automobiles. Instead of focusing on classical
advertising, the audience is entertained with lavishly-produced Hollywood-style
films. The huge success of this "branded entertainment" - the site has racked
up around 65 million page clicks so far - demonstrated the viability of this
new form of presentation, and in 2002 "The Hire II" followed up with three more
short Internet films directed by John Woo, Joe Carnahan and Tony Scott. Shown
at a number

of international festivals, the films ushered in a paradigm shift. While
previously the short film genre had mainly been used by students as a finger
exercise for a full-length film in development, the involvement of world-famous
directors established it as a serious art form. This confirms the BMW Group's
position that the innovative short film field is a highly interesting
commitment with a future.

A Ticket to Hollywood - the Shocking Shorts Award from 13TH STREET

Sponsored by the BMW Group, the subscription TV channel "13TH STREET" will air
the fifth short film prize "Shocking Shorts Award" on July 2, 2004 as part of
the Munich Film Festival. The winner of this short film prize will be given the
unique opportunity to visit Universal Studios in Hollywood, gaining further
behind-the-scenes directing know-how and making studio contacts. "13TH STREET -
The Action & Suspense Channel" is a subsidiary of Universal Studios in
Hollywood. 13TH STREET/ Universal Studios Networks is partnered by the BMW
Group and BMW North America, who are sponsoring the international prize
winners' visit to America as a way of developing their international commitment
to the short film and academic sponsoring fields. As part of the "Universal
Studios Filmmasters Program" run by 13TH STREET and two sister channels, the
Shocking Shorts Award will be awarded in other European countries too, this
year in Spain and Italy as well as Germany. The winners of the international
competitions will receive B

MW vehicles for the duration of their stay in America. BMW North America is
also organizing a meeting with the experts at Designworks USA in California's
Newbury Park. In this innovative state-of-the-art studio, media design experts
will give the young directors insights into the interdisciplinary possibilities
of visionary concepts and visual design. For more information on the Shocking
Short Award from 13TH STREET, see www.13thstreet.de.

Commitment to Culture: "Bernhard Wicki Film Prize - Die Brücke"

The BMW Group also sponsors the "Bernhard Wicki Film Prize - Die Brücke (The
Bridge)". This award is regarded as the "Peace Prize of German Film" and is
presented every year at the Munich Film Festival by Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss,
administrator of the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund. It is awarded to a film
personality "for artistic work which creates bridges when others are digging
trenches." The international prize stands for tolerance and peaceful
coexistence, speaking out against all forms of violence, war, xenophobia and
nationalism. As in past years, the patron of the prize will be Bavaria's
Minister of State Erwin Huber.

BMW Group Film Tip: "Die Wittelsbacher"

"Die Wittelsbacher" - that is the self-designation of the homeless people who
live under the Wittelsbach Bridge in Munich, an ironic allusion to the royal
Bavarian dynasty. The well-researched feature film "Die Wittelsbacher" ("The
Wittelsbachs") tells the story of the homeless Theo, who gains new optimism
from his friendship with the 10-year-old Bulgarian girl Alina. The film is
directed by Stephan Hartwig and Bohdan Graczyk, who also wrote the screenplay.
Michael Wolf, co-producer of Bully Herbig's "The Shoe of the Manitu", financed
the touching feature. Support for the project was provided by the BMW Group.
The premiere will be held on June 28, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. in RIO I on
Rosenheimerplatz. The film will be screened again on July 2 at 2:30 p.m. in
MAXX IV at Isartor. For more information, see www.die-wittelsbacher.de.

Renovation: Cinema in BMW Museum Closed

For many years the BMW Group has offered the BMW Museum's cinema as a venue for
the Munich Film Festival. At this time the BMW Museum is being renovated, which
means that the cinema is no longer open to the public. Once the renovation is
completed, the BMW Group will once again invite film festival visitors to the
refurbished BMW Cinema.