37th German Screenings Wraps in Berlin

MUNICH/BERLIN: Presented by Global Screen, Studio Hamburg, ORF-Enterprise and Deutsche Welle, this year’s German Screenings, held in Berlin from December 2 to 5, saw the completion of several deals.

Studio Hamburg enjoyed success with the event film Night over Berlin: The Reichstag Inferno, which was purchased in Slovakia, Poland, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia. The 15-part docuseries Discovering the North went to Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy; and the ninth season of Peppercorns, a kids’ show, was picked up in Italy and Sweden.

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils was sold by Global Screen to free-TV channels in Iran, Turkey and the Czech Republic, and will also be aired on French pay TV. The company also signed deals for The Lumber Queen, a two-part family saga, in Russia, Croatia and Poland; and The Big Five of South America, a five-part nature documentary, in Spain, Italy, Iran, Poland and Croatia.

For ORF-Enterprise, the two-part documentary Schladming: Magic Mountains was snatched up by broadcasters in Hungary, Poland and Switzerland. The commercial subsidiary of Austria’s ORF sold National Dreams, a political documentary, in Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, while channels in CEE bought two episodes of the fictional Tatort. ORF also made sales for several UNIVERSUM nature documentaries in Iran and Italy.

In addition, Deutsche Welle’s cultural programs Art Beats and Ecopia, as well as a number of political documentaries, went to buyers in Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Iran.

Marlene Fritz, the head of TV sales for Global Screen, commented: "Despite the fact that many large broadcasters in France, the Benelux countries as well as Central and Eastern Europe have suffered from massive restructuring and restraints, the attendance figures of the German Screenings have remained stable. We consider this as an indication of the high demand for German television program. It makes us especially proud that clients from Norway, the Lebanon and Iran have rejoined the German Screenings after a long break."

Christiane Wittich, the head of international sales for Studio Hamburg’s distribution and marketing, said: "The German Screenings is a market which displays the quality of German film and television production in a concentrated form and offers our clients a chance to generate revenues as the year is drawing to a close. The possibility of an intensive and very personal sharing of information, which is a unique feature of the German Screenings in comparison to other markets, may not be underestimated."

Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, the head of content sales international for ORF-Enterprise, added: "The German Screenings 2012 took place in an enjoyable, very familiar atmosphere and provided a focused working environment. The market has once again proven itself as the ideal platform for customer communication. We are very delighted about several completed deals at the end of the year."