Austrian Television Fund (FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA): TV premieres of three supported documentaries this weekend Press release dated 9 December 2014 This week will see the television premieres of three documentaries that received grants from the Austrian Television Fund (FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA): the first documentary “Maximilian von Mexiko – Der Traum vom Herrschen“ will be shown on Friday, 12 December; it will be followed by “For my sisters“ on Saturday and „Die unglaubliche Reise der Familie Zid“ on Sunday. The Austrian Television Fund provided 20% of the overall production costs for each production; the total grant amount for all three documentaries was EUR 205,000. A Habsburg as emperor of MexicoThe documentary depicts the story of the Habsburg archduke Maximilian. When he becomes emperor of Mexico, it seems that his long-lasting dream of not always ranking second behind his brother, emperor Franz Joseph, comes true. Despite his expectations, though, Maximilian is not welcome in Mexico. “Maximilian von Mexiko – der Traum vom Herrschen“ will be shown in the Universum History series on ORF 2 on Friday, 12 December, at 10:45 pm. The overall production costs of this co-production of Interspot Film, Ilona Grundmann Filmproduktion, men@work and Associate Directors amounted to EUR 480,000; of which the Austrian Television Fund financed EUR 96,000 (20%). „For my sisters“ – following in the traces of famous female jazz singers “These four icons are all you need to explain what jazz is and to tell the history of jazz”, says US-American singer and Viennese citizen Carole Alston about the jazz icons Alberta Hunter, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae und Nina Simone. Starting out from Vienna, Carole Alston follows in the traces of these singers – exploring the history of jazz, drawing comparisons to its present and taking a glance at its future. This production by PLAESION Film + Vision e.U. and Seven Film- und Postproduction GmbH will first be broadcast on 3sat on 13 December 2014 at 8:15 pm. The overall production costs amounted to EUR 260,000, EUR 52,000 (20%) of which provided by the Austrian Television Fund. An Austrian family heading for new shores In 1928, the Viennese family Zid departs on a wild journey across the Atlantic to escape the economic crisis in Europe, heading for South America in a self-built sailing boat. The documentary follows the family on its way across the ocean and the continent. „Die unglaubliche Reise der Familie Zid“ will be shown as part of the dok.film series on ORF 2 on Sunday, 14 December 2014, at 11:05 pm. It was produced by Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH; the Austrian Television Fund provided EUR 57,000 (20% of the overall production costs of EUR 285,452). About FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIAThe Austrian Television Fund (FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA), established at RTR, is the largest funding agency for television productions in Austria. Funding is provided for the production of television films, series and documentaries with a clearly recognizable economic reference to Austria by production companies with business premises or a branch in Austria. The Austrian federal government makes available an annual budget of EUR 13.5 million. Additional information about the Austrian Television Fund can be found at www.fernsehfonds.at.