WorldScreenings: Global Screen

As a diversified media company with more than 55 years of experience in the film and series business, TELEPOOL has positioned itself as a supportive and collaborative partner for the best on-screen content. Global Screen serves as its world sales unit, delivering a bevy of top-flight content to the international marketplace.

“We are highly adept at packaging all the relevant exploitation stages of entertainment under one roof: from cinema to home entertainment, VOD to pay and free TV, from development and production to marketing and sales,” says Julia Weber, head of international sales and acquisitions at Global Screen.

“With our shareholders at Westbrook, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s new media venture, we are a European studio with global reach and expansive scale, coupled with a boutique approach and local market knowledge,” Weber adds. “Offering the flexibility of an indie combined with a broad global distribution network and international commercial expertise, we are able to develop, co-produce and distribute premium content across multiple genres, broadcasters, platforms and territories through our skilled sales unit, Global Screen.”

The company has a broad slate to showcase as well, including the medieval crime drama Melchior. The show is based on Indrek Hargla’s series of best-selling crime novels, full of secrets, adventure and suspense, that have been translated into many languages.

The historical drama The Conference, which is presented as a feature, is about a meeting that was part of planning the Holocaust. “The film follows the protocol of this meeting,” Weber explains. “It was shot at the original location at the Wannsee lake in Berlin and produced by Constantin Film for the 80th commemoration day of the conference.”

The six-parter The Palace (also known as Der Palast) is a “lavish, highly entertaining period drama, richly shot at the world’s biggest theater stage located in Berlin: the iconic Friedrichstadt-Palast,” says Weber. Against this backdrop, in a divided Germany, two women are searching for their roots.

From the International Emmy Kids Award-winning creators of Nighthawks and the producers of Team Chocolate and Undercover, 3Hz provides entertainment for all the family. Told in two different timelines, the series “features highly original characters,” says Weber.

Global Screen has been seeing an increased demand for high-end crime drama series as of late, particularly those with a solid narrative and strong emotions. “A perfect example of this is our miniseries Dark Woods,” says Weber. “Inspired by real-life events, it has a storyline that spans over three decades, unfolding one of Germany’s most gripping unsolved murder cases. A multiple German TV Award winner and Seoul International Drama Award nominee, this event series is a real international success,” having notched up sales in North America, the U.K., France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Japan, Eastern Europe, Latvia, Lithuania and India and the sub-continent.

A particular highlight for MIPTV, Recipes for Love and Murder stars Maria Doyle Kennedy (Outlander, The Tudors) in a murder mystery series that Weber describes as “charming” and “quirky.” The 10×45-minute series is based on the acclaimed novel Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery by best-selling South African author Sally Andrew.

“Recipes for Love and Murder is a unique and escapist premium crime light series,” Weber says. “The combination of the stunning South African scenery and the warmth of the diverse range of characters makes for a wholly different crime drama experience, which really appealed to us.”

The series features a mix of many in-demand elements, Weber adds. “Crime and action continue to be extremely popular with audiences, of course. But right now, because of the recent global pandemic and current issues in Europe, there is an increasing demand for escapism—series that can enchant viewers, taking them to places that are pleasant and aren’t grueling to watch.”

Recipes for Love and Murder answers this call, as a real hybrid that “cleverly combines the storyline of a crime detective drama with a lighthearted and kindhearted narrative,” Weber says. “This, along with the bewitching landscapes that only South Africa can provide, delivers a drama that appeals to a wide global audience.”

See Global Screen’s Spring 2022 Showcase here.