"Next Generation 2007" drives BMW Bikes. In Cannes, awards were presented for the best student film productions and the students were able to win a BMW Cruise Bike.

Cannes. For the tenth time, German Films and the BMW Lifestyle
Collection presented a programme of short films featuring the latest
student productions as part of the Cannes Film Festival, under the
banner "Next Generation 2007". All participating students had
the opportunity to win a BMW Cruise Bike from the current BMW Lifestyle
Collection as the special prize in the raffle. The anniversary edition
of the "Next Generation" was presented to the professional
international audience on Sunday, 20 May 2007 in the STAR cinema. A
jury of experts had previously selected thirteen short films from twelve
German film colleges for the "Next Generation 2007". The
members of the jury were Astrid Kühl (Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg),
Anke Sterneborg (film critic for journals such as the Süddeutsche
Zeitung) and Heinz Badewitz (Hofer Filmtage). Altogether, 59 entries
from 17 colleges were submitted. "Next Generation" was
started in 1997 in order to promote German short films and to offer
young, talented film makers the chance to present their films within
the world's most important film festival. Former finalists have included
some of the Oscar winners of today, such as Florian Henckel von
Donnersmarck, who was the winner of the "Next Generation"
section in Cannes in 2000 and who won the Academy Award this year for
the best foreign-language film with "The Lives of Others".
The lucky winner of the BMW Bike is Thomas Doberitzsch. Thomas
Doberitsch was the Director of Photography (DOP) of the movie "Die
gute Lage" which was elected to the "Next Generation
2007". The movie is from Nancy Brandt and was produced by the
Academy of Television & Film Munich. The BMW Cruise Bike is a
worthy prize on this occasion, being an award-winner itself. The BMW
Cruise Bike convinced the ten-person international jury in the 2007
Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany and was voted the winner
in the "Cars and Two-Wheelers" category. The BMW Cruise Bike
is therefore one of the 25 winners of the 2007 Design Prize, selected
from 900 design objects that were entered. Further information about
the "Next Generation 2007" is available at
www.german-films.de. High-resolution photographic material can be
downloaded from the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.
If you have any queries, please contact: Corporate Communications
Giuseppe Faranna, BMW Group, PR Programmes MINI and BMW Telephone: +49
(0)89 382- 51735, fax: +49 (0)89 382- 28017 Jörg Schweizer,
Public Relations, Film. Placement. Entertainment. Telefon: +49 89 382
23250, Fax: +49 89 382 28017 Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com e-mail: presse@bmw.de