Global Screen Takes Rights for The Master Butchers Singing Club

Global Screen has secured the international distribution rights for The Master Butchers Singing Club, based on a best-selling novel.

The book from Louise Erdrich (The Plague of Doves, The Round House) was adapted for the screen by filmmaker Doris Dörrie and her co-writer Ruth Stadler. Produced by MOOVIE, a Constantin Film subsidiary, and directed by Uli Edel (Hotel Adlon, The Baader Meinhof Complex, Houdini), the miniseries starts in Germany in 1920.

It follows as young master butcher Fidelis returns from WWI and marries Eva, the pregnant fiancée of his fallen friend. Since his family’s butchery can’t provide for all of them, Fidelis soon decides to emigrate to America. Jonas Nay (Deutschland 83/86/89, Tannbach, We are young. We are strong.) stars.

Sarah Kirkegaard, producer at MOOVIE, said: “Adventure and homesickness, identity and foreignness, passion and loss: These are the poles of the German-American epos that made Louise Erdrich’s warm-hearted and humorous novel an international bestseller. In our filmic adaptation, the fascinating world of The Master Butchers Singing Club is brought to life in extraordinary images and with an outstanding young cast. The story also turns out to be of remarkable contemporary relevance: Focusing on hope and solidarity instead of fear of the new and the strange, this historical drama offers a positive and diverse perspective on topical matters such as homeland, migration and assimilation in a changing world.”

Alexandra Heidrich, head of TV sales and acquisitions at Global Screen, added: “Between 1880 and 1920, America received more than 20 million immigrants, mainly from all parts of Europe. They lived the American Dream—arriving with nothing, starting farms in the Wild West or building up businesses that grew fast. That is the spellbinding setting of our newest acquisition, The Master Butchers Singing Club. An inspiring, highly emotional family saga with big production values and a historically relevant, international topic.”