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Nach einer Vorpremiere auf den Filmtagen Köln hat David Dietls Komödie „Feste & Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns!“ am 8. November das Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival eröffnet. Leonine Studios bringt sie am 2. Januar 2025 in die deutschen Kinos und hat jetzt den Trailer veröffentlicht.

In David Dietls Komödie „Feste & Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns!“ spielen Laura Tonke, Jasmin Shakeri, Ronald Zehrfeld, Trystan Pütter, Annette Frier, Nicholas Ofczarek, Pegah Ferydoni, Antje Traue, Katia Fellin und Henning Flüsloh eine Gruppe von Freunden, die der Film durch drei Jahre und sieben Feste begleitet und dabei all ihre Höhen und Tiefen miterlebt.

Nach einer Vorpremiere auf den Filmtagen Köln feierte „Feste & Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns!“ am 8. November als Eröffnungsfilm des Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival seine Weltpremiere.

Leonine Studios startet ihn am 2. Januar 2025 in den deutschen Kinos.

Nachdem es bereits eine Vorpremiere auf den Filmtagen Köln gab, steht nun fest, dass David Dietls „Feste & Freunde“ seine Weltpremiere als Eröffnungsfilm des 28. Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival feiern wird. Mit einem Fokus auf das deutsche Kino wird zudem das 70. Jubiläum von German Films und das 25. Jubiläum des Goethe-Instituts in Estland gefeiert.

„Feste Freunde“ von David Dietl mit Laura Tonke und Nicholas Ofczarek (Credit: Leonine Studios)

Was für ein Aufschlag für das deutsche Kino auf dem 28. Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival: Mit 15 neuen deutschen Filmen und 3 Retrospektiven, darunter drei Weltpremieren und drei internationale Premieren in verschiedenen Wettbewerbsprogrammen, wird auf dem A-Festival Estlands der deutsche Film gefeiert. Der deutsche Fokus 2024 ist dem 70-jährigen Jubiläum von German Films und dem 25-jährigen Jubiläum des Goethe-Instituts Tallinn gewidmet. Das Institut ist seit 1999 Partner von PÖFF und präsentiert deutsche Filmhighlights.

Das Festival wird mit der Weltpremiere von „Feste & Freunde“ von David Dietl mit u. a.

Michael Krummenacher, unlängst mit dem packenden „Landesverräter“ beim 20. Zff eingeladen, und seine Ehefrau, Produzentin Gwendolin Stolz, sind dabei, eine eigene Produktionsfirma zu gründen.

Michael Krummenacher (Credit: Spot)

Michael Krummenacher, der vor wenigen Tagen sein Herzensprojekt „Landesverräter“ in der Sektion Gala Premieren als Weltpremiere auf dem 20. Zurich Film Festival vorstellte, und seine Ehefrau, Produzentin Gwendolin Stolz, sind dabei, eine eigene Produktionsfirma aufzubauen. Lanigiro Hot Club (benannt nach dem bekannten Schweizer Jazz- und Tanzorchester The Lanigiro Hot Player) soll noch dieses Jahr offiziell an den Start gehen. Dies hat Krummenacher gegenüber „Variety“ erzählt. Über die eigene Produktionsfirma des in München ansässigen Paars Krummenacher/Stolz sollen sowohl die eigenen Projekte produziert bzw. koproduziert werden, aber auch Stoffe von anderen Filmschaffenden eine Heimat finden. In „Variety“ sagte Krummenacher: „Wir wollen mit den Leuten, die wir mögen, deren Ideen wir mögen, zusammenarbeiten und Stoffe entwickeln, die es aus Deutschland heraus nicht so häufig gibt. Wir beide lieben Genre-Kino.

Der österreichische Serienhit „Braunschlag“ erhält eine zweite Staffel. Zwölf Jahre nach der Erstausstrahlung in Österreich sitzen Superfilm und Orf über den Büchern zu „Braunschlag – Die Rückkehr“. Dies hat Spot media & film exklusiv von Produzent John Lueftner erfahren.

Robert Palfrader & Nicholas Ofczarek kehren nach „Braunschlag” zurück (Credit: Superfilm)

Zwölf Jahre nach Ausstrahlung der Kultserie „Braunschlag“, mit der Superfilm ein Stück Fernsehgeschichte schrieb, arbeiten John Lueftner und David Schalko gemeinsam mit dem Orf an einer zweiten Staffel. Endlich! In das fiktive Örtchen im Waldviertel, das am Ende von Staffel eins evakuiert werden musste, weil herauskam, dass es als illegales Lager für tschechischen Atommüll benutzt wurde, kommt also wieder Leben. „Nach zwölf Jahren ist die radioaktive Strahlung in Braunschlag auf ein Level abgesunken, dass wir die Genehmigung erhalten haben, es wieder zu besiedeln“, so Lueftner schmunzelnd. Die Hauptrollen sollen wieder mit den üblichen Verdächtigen besetzt werden, allen voran Robert Palfrader als Bürgermeister Gerry...

Das „Der Pass“-Traumpaar Nicholas Ofczarek und Julia Jentsch spielt die beiden Hauptrollen in der neuen österreichischen Prime-Video-Serie „Drunter und Drüber“. Produzent ist Rundfilm.

Am Set von „Drunter und Drüber“ (Credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Die neue Prime-Video-Serie „Drunter und Drüber“ vereint mit Nicholas Ofczarek und Julia Jentsch wieder das Crime-Traumpaar aus dem Serien-Meisterstück „Der Pass“. Acht Episoden hat die morbid-skurrile österreichische Serie, deren Dreharbeiten gerade begonnen haben.

In „Drunter und Drüber“ erschlägt eine morsche Grabstatue den Friedhofsleiter – damit kann Heli Wondratschek (Nicholas Ofczarek) endlich das Ruder übernehmen und auf Friedhof Donnersbach für Ordnung sorgen. Aber der pedantische Vize hat die Rechnung ohne das Stadtamt gemacht. Den Chefposten erhält nicht er, sondern eine Vorgesetzte, die absolut keine Ahnung von Friedhof hat: Ursula Fink (Julia Jentsch). Chaos bricht aus.

Neben Ofczarek und Jentsch sind u.a. Ulrike C. Tscharre, Harald Windisch, Sarah Viktoria Frick, Johanna Orsini, Gerhard Greiner, Susanne Wuest in weiteren Rollen zu sehen.

A scene from Episode 1 of German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak: Season 3.” Courtesy of Topic.

The German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak” is back for its third and final season, but it is fairly essential to understanding this final round to have seen the first two seasons, due to the substantial carryover of main characters and key issues shaping their current actions and attitudes. To help out, here is the link to my earlier review of “Pagan Peak”:

“Pagan Peak,” Season 2 – TV series review

Once you read the review (or watch Seasons 1 and 2), you’ll be caught up. Now that you’re up to speed, be prepared for a radical tone shift from a suspenseful dark procedural into something much creepier. More Lovecraft and Lynch than Dalgleish or Sherlock in this final season.

The drastic change caused me to check the creators’ credits. Sure enough there was a...

Austrian television is awash with crime, mystery and historical drama, and the country’s biggest hits and new productions are heading to MipTV.

Among this year’s most anticipated titles is the upcoming “Kafka,” starring Swiss actor Joel Basman as the famed Bohemian writer.

The six-part series is currently shooting in Vienna and Salzburg and is set to premiere on Austrian pubcaster Orf and Germany’s Ard early next year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death.

“Kafka” is produced by Ard, Orf and John Lueftner and David Schalko’s Vienna-based Superfilm. Schalko is directing and co-writing the series with bestselling author and screenplay writer Daniel Kehlmann (“Measuring the World”), based on the Kafka biography by Reiner Stach, who is also

advising the production.

Sold internationally by Orf-Enterprise, the public broadcaster’s commercial subsidiary, the series’ ensemble cast includes David Kross (“Davos”), Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”) and Liv Lisa Fries...

U.S. streaming service Topic has inked an exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights deal with Germany’s Beta Film for four European crime series ahead of this year’s Mipcom TV programming mart in Cannes.

Dedicated to crime and suspense, Topic, part of First Look Entertainment, picked up the third season of critically acclaimed Austrian-German series “Pagan Peak”; Finnish title “Helsinki Syndrome”; “Silent Road” from Greece; and Croatian-Ukrainian co-production “The Silence.”

The agreement also includes renewals of Italian political thriller “1992” and follow-up seasons “1993” and “1994.” Described as Italy’s “House Of Cards,” the show examines how Italian politics were shaken to the core by a major criminal investigation against widespread corruption in the 1990s.

Arriving on the eve of its third anniversary, the deal fortifies Topic’s drive to elevate crime and suspense thrillers from around the globe for its North American subscribers, the company stated.

“Pagan Peak”

Inspired by...

Julia Jentsch as Ellie in the Austrian/German police procedural “Pagan Peak” (“Der Pass”) Season 2. Courtesy of Topic.

“Pagan Peak” (originally titled “Der Pass”) is a German police procedural, and Season 2 continues the sleuthing of detectives from that country and Austria who teamed up to solve a series of murders with implications for both nations. Ellie (Julia Jentsch) is assigned to liaise with her Austrian counterparts, headed by grizzled Gedeon (Nicholas Ofczarek). In the first season, they faced a ritualistic serial killer that left both protagonists with serious damage from the rigors of nailing him.

As this season opens, Gedeon is in a coma from being shot in retaliation for his work in the first season. Ellie is suffering from nightmares and visions that cause her to freeze at a couple of critical moments. She’s ordered to take personal leave to heal. When a new cross-border crime occurs, she designates an enthusiastic young detective,...

Munich-based sales agency Global Screen has sold crime drama “Dark Woods” to streaming service Walter Presents for the U.K., where it’ll be shown on Channel 4’s All 4 platform, and across the Nordic Region, via C More.

The drama, which was produced by ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction on behalf of Ndr and Ard Degeto for Das Erste, was the most-watched show on Ard’s catch-up service in Germany this year, and was the German TV Award winner.

Julia Weber, head of acquisitions and sales at Global Screen, said: “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of this highly original and sought-after series, across Scandinavia and in the U.K., where crime drama has proved to be a key genre and is hugely popular with viewers of all ages.”

The show, inspired by real-life-events, starts out in the summer of 1989, when the sister of high-ranking Hamburg police officer Thomas...

Telepool’s Global Screen has sold the miniseries “Dark Woods” to further international territories, including Japan (Nhk Enterprises), Cis (Mauris Film), Poland (Canal Plus), Czech Republic (Ceska Televize), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenija), Latvia (Latvian Television), Lithuania (Lrt), India and sub-continents (BookMyShow), and French-speaking Switzerland (Rts).

Deals for the U.K., Australia, Scandinavia and Portugal are expected to close before Mipcom, while sales to North America (Topic Media), France (Canal Plus) and Spain (Cosmo TV) were revealed earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to announce the next slate of deals for this highly original series,” stated Julia Weber, head of acquisitions and sales at Global Screen. “With its mix of crime and drama, the excellent acting and a unique, gripping atmosphere, ‘Dark Woods’ is a perfect match for all clients looking for high-end European content. The outstanding ratings in Germany – it was the most-watched program in Ard’s catch-up TV in 2020 – along...

Presents “Dark Woods” A Topic Original Directed by: Sven Bohse (“Ku’damm 56”) Written by: Stefan Kolditz Starring: Matthias Brandt (“Babylon Berlin”), Karoline Schuch, August Wittgenstein (“Das Boot”), Silke Bodenbender, Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”), Jenny Schily (“Tatort”), Hildegard Schmahl (“We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), Hanno Koffler, Anne Werner, Janina Fautz, and Mirco Kreibich Produced by: Maren Knieling In the …

The post Check out The Trailer! True Crime Miniseries “Dark Woods” | Streaming Exclusively on Topic in May appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Production has started on German crime drama “Dark Woods,” based on the real-life 1989 disappearance of a woman who was the sister of a high-ranking German police officer. It will star Matthias Brandt (“Babylon Berlin”), Karoline Schuch (“Hanna’s Journey”), and August Wittgenstein (“Das Boot”). Silke Bodenbender (“Vater Mutter Morder”) and Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”) have also been cast in the series, which is for free-tv channel Das Erste.

Global Screen has international rights and will distribute the six-part drama. Bodenbender plays Barbara Neder, who went missing in Lower Saxony. Shortly before, two couples had been cruelly murdered in nearby woodlands.

The scripted series follows the efforts of her brother, a former senior police officer, to find her. Because the disappearance takes place outside his jurisdiction, he cannot officially investigate, but he sets out to solve the case, a quest for justice that continues past his retirement and ultimately sees him tracking a suspected serial killer.

The Pass, a mystery thriller series from the producers of The Lives of Others, has won the best series prize at this year's Romys, Austria's leading media honors.

The drama, starring Nicholas Ofczarek and Julia Jentsch as police investigators hunting a serial killer (Franz Hartwig) on the German/Austrian border, aired on European pay-tv broadcaster Sky.

Austrian comedy Love Machine from director Andreas Schmied won the best film honor at the 2019 awards, held in Vienna on Friday.

Caroline Link won the feature film directing honor for Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, an adaptation of the bestselling autobiography by German comedian Hape ...

The Pass, a mystery thriller series from the producers of The Lives of Others, has won the best series prize at this year's Romys, Austria's leading media honors.

The drama, starring Nicholas Ofczarek and Julia Jentsch as police investigators hunting a serial killer (Franz Hartwig) on the German/Austrian border, aired on European pay-tv broadcaster Sky.

Austrian comedy Love Machine from director Andreas Schmied won the best film honor at the 2019 awards, held in Vienna on Friday.

Caroline Link won the feature film directing honor for Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, an adaptation of the bestselling autobiography by German comedian Hape ...

Sky will show “Pagan Peak” in the U.K., and Rai has acquired the high-concept series for Italy. Inspired by Scandi hit drama “The Bridge,” which has already been remade in several territories, the show hails from the producers of Netflix’s German-produced hit “Dark” and is an original for Sky in Germany. Beta Film is handling sales and, in addition to the U.K. and Italy deals, has closed agreements in several European territories and in Australia.

The series is produced by Endemol Shine-backed Wiedemann & Berg Television, which also made “The Lives of Others.” It bows Friday in Sky in Germany and Austria.

The series premiered at the Tribeca TV Festival. It follows German detective Ellie Stocker (Julia Jentsch), who has to team up with Austrian counterpart Gedeon Winter (Nicholas Ofczarek) to investigate a murder on the German-Austrian border. As they delve deeper into the case, they...

The opening transition from credits to film of Petra Biondina Volpe’s Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award-winning The Divine Order is absolute perfection. With Jo Jo Benson and Peggy Scott-Adams’ “Soulshake” playing atop images from America spanning women’s liberation, civil rights, Woodstock, and more, we begin to see the impact of political revolutions changing the very fabric of first world societies. And then with a record scratch we’re transported to a rural village in Switzerland at the exact same time: the quiet patriarchal status quo of men at work and women at home intact with seemingly no end approaching. The nation was one of the last developed democracies to grant women voting rights with some districts holding out until 1990. Volpe has captured that tenacious struggle.

She does it by creating a sleepy town of rigid conservatives. Think about those red states in America that were targeted by...

Sennentuntschi: Curse Of The Alps

Stars: Roxane Mesquida, Nicholas Ofczarek, Andrea Zogg, Carlos Leal | Written by Michael Steiner, Stefanie Japp | Directed by Michael Steiner

The Sennentuntschi a creature built out of cloth and straw made by shepherds in the Swiss Alps to entertain themselves on the lonely nights alone with only the sheep. She comes alive and gives pleasure, but get onto her wrong side she will wreak vengeance on you making you her victim. This is the basic premise and the myth that Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps is built upon.

Sebastian is the lone police man in a little town, so when a priest hangs himself and a strange woman walks from the mountains it’s a fairly busy day for him. Taking the woman under his wing while he tries to find out her identity he immediately has to deal with the suspicions of the...

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

With Michael Steiner’s Sennentuntschi, Swiss cinema finally gets its go at the classic horror film, and as Frightfest draws to a close, it appears some of the very best has been saved for last. If one feral woman wasn’t enough for this year’s fest with Lucky McKee’s visceral The Woman, we get more of the same here, with a spooky tale of sexual enslavement, unexplained death, and a grisly tale of revenge with a mystical, fairytale-like quality.

The film’s title refers to the Alpine legend of a group of three herders who, without any female interaction whatsoever, created one out of various household objects in their sheer desperation. The Devil, pitying their feeble efforts, turns the crude creation into a beautiful, real woman, Sennentuntschi, yet after the three men have enjoyed her carnal delights, she turns the tables and murders them,...

Tilda Swinton likes to make films in between organising flash mobs (google it). She’s comfortable in arty stuff and Hollywood. She’s what you’d call a brilliant actress.

According to director Ulrike Ottinger via her own website, Swinton will be playing the infamous mass murderer Elizabeth Bathory in a movie entitled The Blood Countess. Even more intriguing is Elfriede Jelinek has co-written the script!

The film has also lined up French legend Isabelle Huppert, Udo Kier, Sophie Rois, Udo Samel, Irm Hermann, and Nicholas Ofczarek. A fine European production! Elizabeth Bathory murdered hundreds of young girls believing their virgin blood would keep her young for ever. It didn’t and she spent her remaining years locked in a room in her castle. She became a legend and infamous historical figure!

This looks very promising. Ottinger’s director’s statement on the website gives a glimpse into what sounds...

Another name has been added to the ever growing list of folks who are looking to bathe in the blood of young virgins. I mean who wouldn't want to, right? We feel bad for the poor jackass who has to wash all those damned towels afterward.

Over on director Ulrike Ottinger's website word has come that Tilda Swinton (Constantine, The Chronicles of Narnia) is the latest actress to star as the psychotic Countess Elizabeth (Erzsebeth) Bathory in The Blood Countess (Die Blutgrafin).

Swinton will be joining the previously announced Isabelle Huppert (pictured below with Swinton), Udo Kier (Suspiria), Sophie Rois, Udo Samel, Irm Hermann, and Nicholas Ofczarek.

Synopsis

Impatiently awaiting the arrival of her devoted maid Hermine, the countess Erzsébeth Báthory, also known as La Comtesse Sanglante, a tigress in human disguise, ascends into the open daylight. At breathtaking speed, the two women race through a Vienna of ghoulish beauty.

According to Director Ulrike Ottinger's website, Tilda Swinton (Constantine, The Chronicles of Narnia) will be the latest actress to star as the psychotic (yet lovely) Countess Elizabeth (Erzsebeth) Bathory in The Blood Countess (Die Blutgrafin). She'll star alongside Isabelle Huppert, Udo Kier (Suspiria), Sophie Rois, Udo Samel, Irm Hermann, and Nicholas Ofczarek. You'll find the full synopsis below, alongside a look at Swinton and Huppert meeting the producers at last year's Cannes market. "Impatiently awaiting the arrival of her devoted maid Hermine, the countess Erzsébeth Báthory, also known as La Comtesse Sanglante, a tigress in human disguise, ascends into the open daylight. At breathtaking speed, the two women race through a Vienna of ghoulish beauty. Their entourage: Báthorys nephew Bubi, a vegetarian vampire who refuses to follow family traditions, his therapist, two wacky vampirologists, some members of the duelling fraternity "Vampiria", an all-female music ensemble, and many more. " More...