EFM’s Drama Series Days

Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the European Film Market (EFM), talks to TV Drama about this year’s Drama Series Days, which is a joint initiative by the EFM, the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents.

Now in its third year, Drama Series Days will see an expanded program and new venue for its 2017 edition. The success of the previous events led to a third day being added this year to the program, which now runs from February 13 to 15. Berlin’s legendary Zoo Palast cinema is the new home for Drama Series Days.

“Today, filmmakers and talents are very often working on both film projects and high-quality series projects,” says Matthijs Wouter Knol, the director of the EFM. “The Drama Series Days offers a platform to come together to share their knowledge and ideas and present new series content.”

For the first time, there will be a conference program taking place on the first two days, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss the latest trends and developments in the field of drama series. Within the conference program, the “How to Make Your Series Go Global?” session will touch on co-production, financing and distribution strategies for binge-worthy TV. Other sessions include “New Frontiers: Creating Original Content in Mexico and Latin America,” “European Series Funding at a Glance,” “Berlin on Screen: Zeitgeist in Serial Drama” and “Pay TV Expanding: What to Expect?”

Another pillar of Drama Series Days is the market screenings, which will see 20 series from around the world being presented to potential producing partners and buyers. This year’s selected series hail from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Denmark, France, Iceland, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.S. “We will have a new block with short-format series and, for the first time, high-quality drama series from South America are included in our lineup,” says Knol.

Plans are also in place for the CoPro Series portion of Drama Series Days. The co-production pitching event will take place on Wednesday, February 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., by invitation only. There are seven selected international series looking for co-production and financing partners, including projects from Germany and Austria, the U.K. and the U.S., Belgium, France, Norway, Denmark and Bulgaria. The selection includes a mix of crime series, thriller concepts, history-based projects and more.

The Drama Series Days @ Berlinale Talents event, set for February 13, will feature a case study on the production of the spy series Berlin Station. The show comes from the U.S. and was shot entirely on location in Berlin last year.

In addition to the Drama Series Days, TV content will be featured once again in the festival program of the Berlinale. The Berlinale Special Series, a hand-picked selection of high-quality shows, will again be shown this year at Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

“Our participants have the chance to see many high-quality drama series that have not premiered yet,” says Knol. “They can discuss new topics and trends that will be important for the industry in 2017. The Drama Series Days offers a valuable platform for information, communication and networking embedded in the biggest audience festival of the world.”