Ten days ahead of its starts, we are happy to reveal our latest program updates and highlights for the Seriesly Berlin Conference, a two-day industry gathering (16-17 September, Fotografiska Berlin) with panels, talks and interactive formats including a pitching session of 10 international series projects. The public program of the Seriesly Berlin Screenings (16-18 September, Hackesche Höfe Kino) is open for all series enthusiasts and already set. Six top-class international series will be shown before their German TV or streaming premiere. Tickets for the conference and the screenings are available here.
A fireside chat with Christoph Schneider (Country Director of Prime Video in Germany and Austria), will offer insights into Prime Video’s content strategy while Christian Beetz (beetz brothers film production) will tease German Cocaine Cowboy, an upcoming four-part documentary series on Prime Video that tells the story of a German who became involved with the infamous Cali Cartel in the 1990s.
Mel Eslyn, producer, director, and President of Duplass Brothers Productions (Wild Wild Country), will join the conference to discuss the indie filmmaking spirit in serial content. At the Seriesly Berlin Screenings she will also present the European premiere of Penelope, an independently produced young adult (YA) series that premiered at Sundance, with Netflix acquiring U.S. rights. Eslyn co-created the series with Mark Duplass, who recently picked up an Emmy nomination for The Morning Show.
Aiming at a fun atmosphere, the event’s Master of Ceremony duo will consist of Yolanda Rother (The Impact Company), and Pavlo Voytovych, an established Ukrainian stand-up comedian, who will do crowd work between sessions. Comedian, Lena Stolby, teams up with Christine Günther and Louise Højgaard Johansen from Sane Cinema for a comedic mental health workshop.
Moderators include Julia Fidel, producer and former head of Berlinale Series, and Dana Stern, a global content executive, who will lead the “Created by Berlin” panel featuring maverick series writer Bob Konrad (Kleo, 4 Blocks), discussing the narrative and co-production potential of the city. Port au Prince’s Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh will present the first teaser of the company’s long awaited, star-studded series Black Sheep. The wild and satirical Berlin series promises to leave no eye dry and no topic untouched... The A-list cast includes Jella Haase, Frederick Lau, Yasin El Harouk, Narges Rashidi, Martin Brambach, Jule Böwe, Milan Peschel, Marc Hosemann, Jobel Mokonzi and many others.
On the Gen Z panel, Theo Carow, one of Germany’s most popular TikTok creators, joins the talk to explore reaching YA audiences and bridging the gap between new creators and traditional TV.
French creator Eric Benzekri (Baron Noir) will also join to present his latest STUDIOCANAL show, La Fièvre (The Trigger), alongside Joachim Landau and Benjamin Hoffman, creators of Spinners, winner of Best Foreign TV Series at the Shanghai International TV Festival.
As part of Seriesly Pitches, 10 international series projects seeking partners and development support will be presented at the fest, with a focus on stories related to Berlin. The participating producers can present their projects in front of potential co-production partners, financing partners or other collaboration partners. All projects will compete for a 2,500 EUR monetary prize which will be awarded by an international jury of experts.
The lineup includes Terminal Tales, from Daniel Grove and Erdi Gulac, developed via German Netflix’s Writer’s Academy, with Pat Charles (Sons of Anarchy, Bones) on board as executive producer. Another highlight is Journeyman, a ‘contemporary fairytale’ limited series developed by writer Nicki Bloom and Primetime Emmy Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning directing duo Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, with Fireglory Pictures and Mile End Films. Also featured is The Magic Wrap (Cinelink Sarajevo 2024), from Ipek Ural Demirel and Ali Demirel, produced by Karma Films, which tells the story of a Turkish-German couple whose hopeful move to Berlin takes a bizarre turn after biting into a magic döner kebab.
Find the full list of projects taking part in the Seriesly Pitches here.
