News

In key appointments at Constantin Film, one of Europe’s biggest – and most ambitious – of production powerhouses, Viola Jäger and Jan Ehlert has been named as its new Chief Content Officers.

Jan Ehlert will head up TV/streaming, Viola Jäger oversee content for theatrical/film; both report to Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben.

For years, Constantin has built its business on big international hits, such as the “Resident Evil” franchise, and a rock-solid domestic business powered by national blockbusters, such as, most recently, “Chantal and the Magic Kingdom,” which has sold over 2.6 million admissions in Germany.

Coming just a couple of months after Berben took over formally from Martin Moszkowicz as Constantin Film CEO, the new appointments are a play for continuity. Ehlert joined Moovie in 2000, just a year after Constantin head Berndt Eichinger had bought the Berben-headed company. Focusing on TV in his now 24-year career at Constantin Film,...

Picture Tree Intl. has picked up international sales duties on “Manta Manta: Legacy,” directed by and starring Til Schweiger. The action comedy is a sequel to the first “Manta, Manta” feature film from 1991, with a market premiere for both movies planned at the Cannes Film Market.

Released by Constantin Film Verleih on March 30, “Manta Manta: Legacy” has reached over 800,000 admissions and was the number one movie in Germany in its opening week.

Produced by Bernd Eichinger, Peter Zenk and Martin Moszkowicz, and directed by Wolfgang Büld, the first movie launched the acting career of Schweiger in a newly reunified Germany. Generating more than 1.2 million theatrical admissions, the film went on to be the most successful film on German commercial television.

“Manta Manta: Legacy” reunites the leading cast of the 1991 original: Schweiger, Tina Ruland (“Ants in the Pants”) and Michael Kessler. The ensemble cast also includes Tim Oliver Schultz, Luna Schweiger,...

A total of 19 features and series were showcased.

Netflix has unveiled 19 upcoming films and series from Germany, Austria and Switzerland as it works to strengthen its slate of German-language productions.

The projects are part of the streaming giant’s push into local content, doubling investment to €500m between 2021 and 2023. Five films, nine series and five non-fiction titles were showcased at the streamer’s Content Remote Show this morning, offering a preview of the year ahead.

The films include the previously announced All Quiet On The Western Front, directed by Edward Berger and starring Daniel Bruhl, and Buba, a spin-off from...

Netflix has doubled its budget to €500 million ($571 million) for German-language productions between 2021 and 2023 and has revealed a raft of new projects.

On Tuesday, the Netflix German-language team presented a selection of 19 productions, including previously announced projects, at the Content Remote Show. The shows are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

New series include eight-parter “Achtsam Morden” (working title), based on the book of the same name by Karsten Dusse, which topped the Spiegel bestseller list for over nine months and is now being filmed for Netflix by Constantin Film, Jan Ehlert and Nina Viktoria Philipp. Writers Miriam Rechel and Chris Geletneky tell the story of top lawyer Björn Diemel, who to save his marriage, finds a new work-life balance with the help of a mindfulness seminar and accidentally becomes a murderer in the process.

Another book adaptation, also produced by Constantin Television, is thriller series “Liebes Kind” (working title). Based on the novel by Romy Hausmann,...

Cherry Blossoms and Demons (Kirschblüten & Dämonen)

German director Doris Dörrie follows up her celebrated 2008 film Cherry Blossoms with a sequel of sorts, Cherry Blossoms and Demons (Kirschblüten & Dämonen), reuniting the cast members of her earlier German-Tokyo melodrama, including the great Hannelore Elsner, Birgit Minichmayr, Elmar Wepper, Golo Euler, Aya Irizuki, Floriane Daniel, Felix Eitner, Sophie Ragall, and the celebrated Japanese actress Kiki Kirin (most recently of Koreeda’s Shoplifters). The project (which has also been listed as the title Demons for Tea) is produced by Anita Schneider and Viola Jäger of Olga Films in co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk and Arte.…...