Film- und Medienstiftung NRW main partner for the „Drama Series Days“
- Fourth edition of the „Drama Series Days“ from February 19 – 21 in the Zoo Palast
- Under one roof for the first time: conference, showcases, pitches and premieres of the Berlinale Series
- Successful platform for the presentation and marketing of high-end series from around the world
The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is also the official partner for the fourth edition of the „Drama Series Days“ at the European Film Market (EFM) during the 68th Berlinale. Launched in 2015, the platform for high-end series is a joint initiative of the EFM, the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents and will be held this year at the Zoo Palast from February 19 -21. All the conferences and programmes about series have been brought together for the first time under one roof. This also includes the programme of the Berlinale Series where gala premieres of new series are being presented from around the world.
„As a co-initiator and founding partner, we have seen how the ‚Drama Series Days‘ have developed within a short space of time into a globally acknowledged forum for the presentation and marketing of high-end series. The fact that the conference, showcases and series premieres are now being held at one venue in the Zoo Palast will give an additional boost to the creative exchange and networking between the producers and marketers of international series and also provide German series with a prominent framework. We are very pleased to be onboard again for 2018“, says Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.
Conference
Monday, February 19: Opening, Panels, Showcases
After the official opening by EFM Director Matthijs Wouter Knol and Petra Müller, CEO of the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, international industry executives such as Sarah Doole (Fremantle Media), Moritz von Kruedener (Beta Film), Rola Bauer (CEO of the Studiocanal subsidiary Tandem Productions) and Ivar Køhn (Head of Drama, NRK) will give their insights into „How to Make Series Travel?“. This will be followed by a presentation from Chimney about the financing of series in „Follow the Money: Financing Series in Europe“. The showcase „Upcoming Series from Germany“ will look behind the scenes of the latest series from Germany, including „4 Blocks –Season 2“ (TNT), or „M For Murder“ („M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder“, Beta Film). The first conference day will be rounded off with a Showcase of new series from Denmark.
Tuesday, February 20: Presentations, Panels , Pitches
The second day will kick off with an insight into Scandinavia’s series landscape, the panel „From Bestseller to Drama Series: Successful Adaptations“ will look at the successful adaptation of literary works into horizontally narrated series, and „The New Normal: Diversity as Selling Point“ will ask how this might lead to new opportunities and potential in the market. „Previously on… CoPro Series“ will show what happened to those series that had been previously pitched at CoProSeries such as „Babylon Berlin“. Another cooperation with the Filmstiftung will see the panel „Short and Strong: Short Form Drama Series“ focusing on successful web series for the first time during the „Drama Series Days“.
On Wednesday, February 21, the „Drama Series Days“ will be rounded off by the CoPro Series Pitchings of the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Berlinale Series
The premieres of the Berlinale Series programme will be held from Monday to Wednesday in the Zoo Palast for the first time. All of the sections and conference programmes dealing with series will now be united under one roof. The Berlinale is looking forward to presenting „Picnic at Hanging Rock“ (Australia), „Sleeping Bears“ (Israel), „Home Ground“ (Norway), „Liberty“ (Denmark), and „The Looming Tower“ (USA). The line-up will also include the German directors Christian Schwochow with „Bad Banks“ (Germany) and Edward Berger with „The Terror“ (USA).
The Market Screenings at the EFM
The European Film Market is one of the leading platforms for the international trade in film rights and audiovisual content and will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. An important element of the EFM are the well-established Market Screenings. This year will see 28 series formats being presented amongst more than 750 titles unspooling in the Screenings.
All the information about the „Drama Series Days“ can be found at www.dramaseriesdays.com and www.efm-berlinale.de
Funding of series at the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW is the central port of call for funding and location development in North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes backing the development and production of high-end series such as the first two seasons of „Babylon Berlin“, „Die Geschichte eines Parfums“, the web series „Wishlist“ as well as the award-winning mystery series „Weinberg“. In addition, the Filmstiftung is a partner of the German-French development fund for TV series, showcases NRW as a media hub and its producers at the International Emmys, MIPTV and MIPCOM, and provides funding for the European Series Day and the annual Series Summit in Cologne as well as the Film Festival Cologne. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has been the Official Partner of the „Drama Series Days“ since their launch in 2015.