German-French funding programme
supports series projects
- „Borderzone“ by Lucky Bird Pictures and La Sabotière
- „Influence“ by Neopol Film with La Belle Affaire SAS
- „John Law“ by Zeitsprung Pictures and Les Films du Trèfle
The committee of the German-French funding programme for the joint development of TV fiction series has recommended to grant funding of 50,000 Euros to each of three new projects following its third call. The funded projects here are a historical, drama and crime series.
The goal of the bilateral funding programme is the development of TV fiction series which will be made as German-French co-productions. Partners on the German side are FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg and MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg. On the French side, the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) supports this fund which has a total budget of 200,000 Euros at its disposal in 2017. The maximum level of funding for a single project is set at 50,000 Euros.
The projects in detail
Borderzone
The crime series „Borderzone“ by Lucky Bird Pictures (Munich) and La Sabotière (France) focuses on the German federal policewoman Katja Rickers who is delegated as a liaison officer to a French police station. She is to look into unsolved and live cases connected with the French police and observe the corrupt police commissioner Franquin who is making common cause with the underworld. Peter Koller and Philipp Madral are the authors.
Influence
Neopol Film (Frankfurt) is working together with La Belle Affaire SAS (France) on developing „Influence“ by the authors Sabrina Amerell and Julien Anscutter. A mixture of drama and thriller, the series follows a young woman who has to cast her values aside in order to enter the mysterious world of lobbying. Darting between her private life and a job working alongside her despised father, Isa becomes increasingly entangled in contradictions. Yet, she also notices a link that goes beyond her sphere of influence.
John Law – Der Mann, der Gold in Papier verwandelte (John Law – The Man Who Turned Gold Into Paper)
John Law invented paper money, founded the first central bank and created the world’s very first stock company. He was a gifted gambler, legendary womaniser and brilliant mathematician. The series „John Law“ is being made as a co-production between Zeitsprung Pictures (Cologne) and Les Films du Trèfle (France). The authors are Dirk Kämper and Didier Decoin.
The German-French agreement for the the joint development of TV fiction series was signed during the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. The first funding recommendations included the project „The Crimson Rivers“, a production of Europa Corp Television (France) in co-production with maze Pictures (Munich). The successful development phase was followed at the beginning of September by principal photography cranking up on the first episode under the direction of Ivan Fegyveres. The cast includes Olivier Marchal, Ken Duken und Nora Waldstätten.