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If you watch Austrian writer-director Florian Pochlatko’s feature film debut How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World (Wie man normal ist und die Merkwürdigkeiten der anderen Welt) in the Perspectives program of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, you may catch yourself rubbing your eyes and wondering: Is Ed Sheeran really in this movie? And how the heck did they get him?

That’s no coincidence. Pochlatko’s film, among other things, reflects on such questions as what is real and what is normal.

The movie’s cast is led by Luisa-Céline Gaffron (And Tomorrow the Entire World) and also features Elke Winkens, Cornelius Obonya, and Felix Pöchhacker, among others. And yes, the British man protagonist Pia meets is called Ned and does look a lot like Ed Sheeran. But the actor’s name is Wesley Byrne, and he is a street cleaner who lives in the Greater Manchester area.

European giant Beta Film, known for ambitious titles such as “Babylon Berlin” and “The Swarm,” has shared with Variety in exclusivity a first-look picture of 1o-part series “Rise of the Raven,” which it hails as “one of the most epic European TV productions of all time.”

“Rise of the Raven” weighs in as a passion project of Hungarian-born and Canada-based producer Robert Lantos, behind “Sunshine,” “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Barney’s Version,” “Eastern Promises” and “Crimes of the Future.”

A highlight at Beta Film’s showcase this Tuesday at the London TV Screenings, “Rise of the Raven” turns on the extraordinary feat of Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, played by discovery Gellért L. Kádár, who in 1456 won a bloody, brutal Battle of Belgrade against a vast Ottoman force twice the size of his troops who were often farm labourers armed with just slings and patriotic fervor.

Hunyadi largely halted a full Ottoman...

The Berlin Film Festival has revealed the 28 titles selected for its Forum strand and the 26 projects at the Forum Expanded platform.

In the Forum strand, documentaries stand alongside personal essay films, while the films and installations that make up the Forum Expanded program revolve around political and personal legacies.

The festival takes place Feb. 16-26.

Forum Titles

“Allensworth”

by James Benning

U.S.

“Anqa”

by Helin Çelik

Austria/Spain

“About Thirty”

by Martin Shanly | with Martin Shanly, Camila Dougall, Paul Dougall, Esmeralds Escalante, Maria Soldi

Argentina

“Being in a Place – A Portrait of Margaret Tait”

by Luke Fowler | with Margaret Tait

U.K.

“The Bride”

by Myriam U. Birara | with Sandra Umulisa, Aline Amike, Daniel Gaga, Fabiola Mukasekuru, Beatrice Mukandayishimiye

Rwanda

“Cidade Rabat”

by Susana Nobre | with Raquel Castro, Paula Bárcia, Paula Só, Sara de Castro, Laura Afonso

Portugal/France

“De Facto”

by Selma Doborac | with Christoph Bach, Cornelius Obonya...

Austria’s Orf Joins Big Budget Central Europe Drama Series ‘Rise Of The Raven’

The shoot for big-budget Central European drama Rise of the Raven (working title) is underway near Budapest in Hungary, with Austrian pubcaster Orf the latest to join the series as a co-producer. Produced by Robert Lantos, the multi-million dollar series is being billed as “the most epic Central European television production of all time.” It stars Hungary’s Gellért L. Kádár as Janos Hunyadi, the army commander who defeated the vast Ottoman troops in the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. Vivien Rujder plays his life partner Elizabeth Szilagyi in a widely international cast. Also featuring are Austria’s Laurence Rupp (Babarians), Cornelius Obonya (Maria Theresa), Murathan Muslu (Breaking Point), Czech actor Karel Roden, Serbia’s Rade Serbedzija and Italian actors Italy’s Francesco Acquaroli, Thomas Trabacchi (Studio Battaglia) and Elena Rusconi (6 Underground). Balázs Lengyel (HBO’s Golden Life) is showrunner and writer along with George Mihalka, Balázs Lovas, Zsófia Ruttkay, Attila Veres, and Bán Mór, whose best-selling series of novels the series is based on. Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, Hg Media, Mr Film and Beta, which distributes the show, are the co-producers. TV2 will air it in Hungary and Slovenia, with Orf broadcasting it in neighboring Austria.

Germany’s Sat.1 Remakes Italian Format ‘Back To School’

German broadcaster Sat.1 has remade Mediaset Distribution’s Italian format Back to School. Local producer Cheerio Entertainment has produced the German show, titled Zurück in die Schule, ahead of a debut on August 24. German presenter Jörg Pilawa will host the primetime entertainment show. Back to School sees four celebrities face real elementary school exams, one they have prepared for during a summer camp with students taking on the role of no-nonsense teachers and another ‘surprise’ subject. Mediaset Group’s distribution arm launched the format at MipTV after it debuted in Italy on Italia 1 and secured an above average share. “Everyone likes the idea of mini-teachers having to do with celebrities in an entertaining reversion of roles. After lockdown and sad things continuing to happen, a show that reunites family and target groups of all ages for a good moment of relax and fun. I guess we really need it,” said Claudia Marra, who handles the format rights for Mediaset Distribution.

Principal photography is underway near Budapest on “Rise of the Raven,” an epic drama series produced by veteran Canadian producer Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films (“Crimes of the Future”) and Beta Film (“Gomorrah”) that marks the most lavish TV production in Hungary’s history.

Adapted from author Bán Mór’s bestselling novels, the 10-episode series tells the story of the Hungarian warrior Janos Hunyadi, who defeated the Ottoman army in 1456 at the Battle of Belgrade, halting its march across Europe.

Lantos, whose producing credits include “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Eastern Promises,” spoke exclusively with Variety about a passion project more than a decade in the making. He was joined by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Robert Dornhelm and Hungarian directors Attila Szász and Orsi Nagypal, who joined the conversation fresh off shooting an epic battle sequence outside Budapest.

The Hungarian-born Lantos, who was in Cannes this year with David Cronenberg...

"Soon the world will know his name." Beta Film in Germany has debuted an official trailer for a German TV movie titled Louis van Beethoven, another re-examination of the life of this legendary classical musician. The film takes us through Ludwig van Beethoven's turbulent and whimsical life, including his early years when he was known as "Louis", before eventually making his way to Vienna to study and develop his music at the end of the 18th century. The cast includes three different actors playing Beethoven at various ages: Tobias Moretti (as an adult), Colin Pütz (as a child), and Anselm Bresgott (as a teen). He's joined by Ulrich Noethen, Ronald Kukulies, Caroline Hellwig, Peter Lewys Preston, Silke Bodenbender, and Cornelius Obonya. It actually looks a bit better than a TV movie, although it also looks like another generic biopic, only seemingly shedding more light on his involvement in their changing times.

Swiss cinema is to be put in the spotlight in Mexico and Brazil over the next two years.

At the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 5-15), Swiss Films’ MD Catherine Ann Berger revealed details to ScreenDaily about how Switzerland will be a guest country at next year’s Guadalajara Film Festival (March 4-13) against the backdrop of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Switzerland.

“To begin with, we will have a historical retrospective of Swiss cinema in the Cineteca in Mexico City this December, and then in March, there will be a programme in Guadalajara of Swiss films from the past two, three years,” Berger explained.

“In addition, there will be an industry dimension with co-production meetings and the opportunities for professionals from both countries to meet and discuss partnerships,” she added, pointing out that the focus in Mexico will be the first major project of its kind that she is preparing since coming to Swiss...