News

Cliffhanger 2, the sequel to the Sylvester Stallone 1993 action thriller, in which Stallone is set to star, has become the first feature film to be awarded the maximum funding of €5m possible under Austria’s Fisa+ production incentive.

The German-uk production between Austria and Germany-based Supernix and UK sales and production outfit Rocket Science is set to begin shooting this autumn at locations in Austria, Bavaria and at the Penzing Studios west of Munich. Jean-Francois Richet is directing.

A total of €109.9m has been paid out to 113 projects so far via Fisa+ which launched in January 2023.

Guy Ritchie’s The Fountain Of Youth,...

100 years after the death of Franz Kafka, a new mini-series aims to dive beneath the surface of an author who remains enigmatic even as his influence on the culture continues to grow.

Kafka, an ambitious German-language meta-drama written by Austrian writer/director David Schalko (Braunschlag) and best-selling author David Kehlmann (Measuring the World), is based on Reiner Stach’s exhaustive three-volume biography of Kafka and weaves together the writer’s life and work, finding the connections and gaps between the two.

Schalko, who spent more than a decade developing the series, and directs all six episodes, says he was well aware of the perils of trying to capture Kafka on screen. “Everything we think we know about Kafka has become a cliche,” says Schalko.

Kafka

There is a temptation to depict Franz Kafka, the writer, as a “Kafkaesque” character, and his work as simply a heightened reflection of his life.

ChaiFlicks, the prime streaming service for Jewish storytelling, has acquired the rights to premium Austrian limited series “Kafka” from Orf Enterprise, the global distribution arm of Austrian pubcaster Orf.

The six-part series is due to launch June 6 in North America for ChaiFlicks, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the death of the world celebrated Bohemian author Franz Kafka.

Lending his features to the Prague-born author of “The Metamorphosis” is Swish actor Joel Basman. The Orf original series is helmed by David Schalko (“Braunschlag”) who co-wrote the script with German-Austrian novelist and playwright Daniel Kehmann, based on the definitive Kafka biography by Reiner Stach.

The show chronicles the life, love affairs, and friendships of the German-speaking Kafka viewed as one of the most influential writers of all time, whose name led to the familiar term ‘Kafkaesque,’ referring to the surreal, confusing and almost nightmarish situations described in Kafka’s novels.

Both the ÖFI+ scheme for local films and the Fisa+ scheme for international shoots are being significantly enhanced.

Austrian producers have welcomed the government’s plans to increase the overall budget for the Fisa+ and ÖFI+ film and TV incentive schemes to more than €130m in 2024, to support both local production and to attract international film and TV production shoots.

The ÖFI+ scheme, which is administered by the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) as an extension of its funding portfolio, supports national Austrian productions and Austrian majority or minority co-productions, is set to see its budget increase by €24.4m from the...

Fisa+ and ÖFI+ schemes have paid out €40m in grants since launch in January.

Austria’s new film and TV incentive schemes Fisa+ and ÖFI+ have already surpassed expectations since being introduced at the beginning of this year, with more than €40m paid out in grants and over €120m generated as “Austrian spend”.

The Fisa+ and ÖFI schemes offer a 30% grant on Austrian spend plus a 5% green filming bonus, with the maximum amount paid per project pegged at €5m for films and €7.5m for series.

ÖFI+ grants

Producer Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, chairman of trade association Film & Music Austria, told Screen that...

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...

The festival has announced the selection of series from Europe, South America and the USA, plus a standalone online platform for press screenings. Berlinale Series has revealed its 2020 line-up, which includes six TV shows from Europe, South America and the USA. The selection includes Sky's Me and the Others, an Austrian-German co-production created and directed by David Schalko; Russell T Davies' UK show It's a Sin, currently broadcast on Channel 4 and HBO Max with All3Media International; and the Swedish-Danish co-production Snow Angels, created by Mette Heeno for Svt and Dr. For the first time ever, two South American series are also part of the selection: the Argentinian HBO production Amongst Men and The Last Days of Gilda from Brazil. Moreover, Philly D.A., a US production by Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, is the first documentary series to be invited into the programme. Meanwhile, Screendaily reports that.

Six series will play in the festival with 10 titles in the Market.

A new anthology series titled This Is Music from directors including Wim Wenders and David Byrne is one of 10 international projects selected for the Co-Pro Series section of the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2021 (March 2-5).

The Berlinale Series has also selected six series to play in the online festival, which runs from March 1-5.

Scroll down for full list of Co-Pro Series, Berlinale Series and Series Market Selects titles

Produced by Norway’s Oslo Pictures, anthology series This Is Music is created by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, who wrote Wenders...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the six titles that will take part in the latest edition of Berlinale Series. The shows will screen online during the first week of March when the European Film Market runs, and the team are currently discussing plans for presenting some of the shows during the festival’s planned summer event.

The line-up includes Philly D.A., the strand’s first docuseries, which follows the most controversial District Attorney in the U.S. and will arrive from its premiere at Sundance. Deadline recently revealed that Dogwoof has boarded the project, which comes from Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald.

Latin American TV will be represented for the first time with two titles: Amongst Men (Entre Hombres), an Argentinian HBO production, and The Last Days of Gilda (Os últimos dias de Gilda) from Canal Brazil.

Russell T Davies’ drama set during the AIDS crisis,...

This year’s Berlinale Series has announced the section’s lineup of six titles.

The TV arm of the festival, which is being held online this year due to the pandemic, said the shows reflect “unconventional and surprising topics, narratives and visual style [that] comprise a mirror of our time.”

Latin American content is represented for the first time with the Argentinian HBO production “Entre hombres” (Amongst Men) and “Os últimos dias de Gilda” (The Last Days of Gilda) from Brazil. “Philly D.A.,” a U.S. production by Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, is the first documentary series to be invited into the program.

Separately, the Berlinale Series Market and Conference, the industry platform which is part of the European Film Market, has announced a newly created special label called “Berlinale Series Market Selects” that highlights series with high commercial potential within the “Berlinale Series Market” screenings.

Berlinale...

David Schalko’s post-war drama “Big Bones” is headed to Series Mania after coming out on top at the Berlin Co Pro Series pitching event. Schalko’s gangster series in-the-making had already fared well in Berlin, landing an international distributor, and it is now headed to France after being selected by the Series Mania team following its Drama Series Days pitch.

“Big Bones” was one of ten scripted projects being presented at the Co Pro Series 2019 event, part of the Efm and Drama Series Days, in Berlin. The organizers have an exchange whereby one series is chosen to be taken to Series Mania drama event in Lille and presented to finance and production partners again.

In a lineup heavy on noir series and crime thrillers, Vienna-set drama “Big Bones” prevailed. Beta Film had already recognized its potential and swooped for international rights the day before the pitching session.

“We have...

Berlin — Attendees of Berlinale’s Drama Series Days followed a busy and wide-ranging program on Monday with a packed opening reception, supported by Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and the Norwegian Film Institute, and with Variety as a media partner.

After a lively day of panel discussions and sessions focused on the future of television, guests partied at the chic Super Concept Space just steps from the red carpet of Zoo Palast. Among those in attendance were Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw CEO Petra Müller, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg managing director Kirsten Niehuus, Efm director Matthijs Wouter Knol, and Berlinale Series program manager Solmaz Azizi.

The growing excitement around the Berlin Film Festival’s popular TV strand, which moved to Zoo Palast last year to concentrate both screenings and industry activities in a single hub, is part of a natural evolution in the industry, according to Knol.

The Efm topper said that five years ago,...

As Berlin’s TV coproduction event gets underway, Beta Film has boarded one of the prestige projects being pitched. It has snagged rights to “Big Bones,” the gritty post-war crime series set in Vienna, Austria, and will take the series to market.

The deal reunites Beta and writer-director David Schalko. Beta is already launching his Frtiz Lang-inspired “M – A City Hunts a Murderer” in Berlin where the series is part of the Drama Days official selection.

“Big Bones” is a co-production between Austria’s Satel Film and Superfilm. Schalko will be the showrunner and producer alongside Satel Film’s Heinrich Ambrosch and Superfilm’s John Lueftner.

The series will follow four small-time crooks caught by the Nazis. They end up in a concentration camp where they rise to the post of overseers, the henchmen of the camp’s guards. The quartet build a network for when the war is over...

Berlin — A desperate city hunts for a child killer in the six-part drama series “M – A City Hunts a Murderer,” a modern-day interpretation of Fritz Lang’s iconic film which world premieres Feb. 12 as part of the Berlin Film Festival’s TV strand, Berlinale Series.

The six-hour limited series is a Superfilm production by John Lueftner and David Schalko for Austrian public broadcaster Orf and Germany’s TV Now, the new streaming service of the Rtl Mediagroup. Directed by Schalko, the series stars well-known German actors Udo Kier (“Downsizing”), Moritz Bleibtreu (“Atomised”), and Lars Eidinger (“Personal Shopper”).Beta Film is handling global sales.

Schalko spoke to Variety about the inspiration behind “M,” and how he faced the daunting challenge of reimagining Lang’s 1931 classic for the modern age of prestige TV.

In adapting Fritz Lang’s “M,” you’ve chosen to interpret and reimagine one of the landmarks of cinematic history.

Selection includes TV series from UK, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany, Israel and Denmark.

The Berlin International Film Festival (February 7 – 17) has unveiled the seven TV titles set to be screened in this year’s Berlinale Series programme.

Among the line-up is Amazon’s Hanna written by David Farr, who co-wrote the 2011 film of the same name. It is directed by Sarah Adina Smith, whose film credits include Buster Mal’s Heart, which starred Rami Malek. Hanna stars Esmé Creed-Miles, Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos. NBCUniversal International Studios is producing alongside Working Title Television.

Also in the selection is Netflix’s first Swedish original series Quicksand,...

Beta Film has rolled out its first major territory sales on drama series “M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder” (“M – A City Hunts a Murderer”), which has just been confirmed by the Berlin festival as one of seven shows selected for its TV strand, Berlinale Series.

Viasat has licensed pay-tv rights for Russia and Cis countries. TV giant Globo has also closed pay-tv rights for Brazil. Canal Plus has licensed Polish rights, in a further pay-tv deal. Scandinavia is in final negotiations.

Beta handles world sales outside Austria and Germany. The drama series is a Superfilm production by John Lueftner and David Schalko for Austrian public network Orf and Germany’s TV Now, the new streaming service of the Rtl Mediagroup. “M” marks their first original fiction production. Home video in Germany is handled by Universum Film.

A potential Berlinale Series talking point, “M – A City Hunts a Murderer” is...

Amazon’s Hanna and Netflix’s Swedish drama Quicksand are among the show that will launch at the TV portion of the Berlin Film Festival.

The adaptation of Hanna, which is produced by NBC Universal International Studios and Working Title TV, will bring stars including Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos as well as newcomer Esmé Creed-Miles to the city for Berlinale Series.

Netflix’s Störst av allt (Quicksand), which is the Svod’s first Swedish original and stars Hanna Ardéhn and Felix Sandman, is also coming to the Zoo Palast, alongside Sky-backed German drama 8 Days, the second season of Keshet’s Israeli drama False Flag and the third season of Danish money laundering drama Follow the Money.

Four episodes of French time-traveling drama Il était une seconde fois (Twice Upon A Time) will screen, while Austrian drama M – A City Hunts a Murderer, which is David Schalko’s...

Kung Fu Panda creators Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris have teamed with The Wire and House of Cards director Agnieszka Holland on a series about Napoleon that will be offered to TV buyers at the Berlin Film Festival.

The show is the most high-profile drama to be presented as part of the Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series 2019, which will take place in the German city on 12 and 13 February. The show, which is produced by UK producer Saltire Entertainment will be offered to producers, programming directors, distributors and other series financiers at the fifth iteration of the pitch event.

Reiff and Voris wrote the original screenplay for the Dreamworks Animation hit as well as feature film Bulletproof Monk and Showtime’s Sleeper Cell. Polish director Holland has directed a number of U.S. series, including Hulu’s The First as well as HBO’s Eastern Europe mini-series Burning Bush.

The series will...

Holland is directing Napoleon about the French military leader.

Ten projects have been announced for the Berlinale Co-Production Market’s Co-Pro Series event, which takes place on February 12 and 13 as part of the ‘Drama Series Days’ at the Berlinale (February 7-17).

The titles include Napoleon, a series about the French military leader and his cult of personality, to be directed by Agnieszka Holland and produced by the UK’s Saltire Entertainment. Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (Brimstone) are writers and showrunners on the project. Holland’s film Mr Jones was one of several titles added to the Competition at the festival last week.

Yesterday I finished writing my very positive review of David Schalko's Austrian television series Altes Geld. That series is about a shady billionaire who needs a new liver, and who stirs up a viper's nest when he tells his family that the one who provides such an organ to him will become his sole heir. One of the series' unequivocal strong points is that the billionaire is played by German actor Udo Kier, and in my review I said that I had never seen him being better. But is that a fair statement though? Martin Kudlac had a fantastic interview with Udo Kier earlier this year, and when you read that conversation you get an idea of just how many films Udo Kier has been...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

This year, the International Film Festival Rotterdam had a section dedicated to television series. In it, you could see episode-collections shown as films, and films that are soon to become adapted as television series. But one of the most spectacular entries was a full-length screening of David Schalko's 2015 series Altes Geld (meaning Old Money), all eight episodes in one gargantuan 375-minute long chunk. I was much tempted to go see it, because the festival's synopsis was hilarious: An evil billionaire needs a liver transplant and ignites a war among his children, one of whom will be the only heir if (s)he provides him a liver. According to its author, this leads to a "Dallas for psychos", which at the very least provides some crazy...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

ABC has ordered the TV show pilot for Hail Mary, a single camera comedy, based on the Australian TV series, Braunschlag. The pilot is from Brian Gallivan, creator of The McCarthys -- which was cancelled by CBS after one season -- with The Goldbergs' Seth Gordon and Operation Repo's Tariq Jalil.

While David Schalko's Aussie original series was an eight-episode one-hour program, Deadline says Hail Mary is a half-hour adaptation.

Read More…...

Dutch royalty attend opening, which kicked off with Boudewijn Koole’s new feature; Bero Beyer hails Rotterdam diversity.

The 45th International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 27 - Feb 7) opened last night with an unlikely infusion of glamour in the shape of 44-year-old Queen Maxima.

The Queen, attending Iffr for the first time, was in the festival’s main venue, the Doelen, for the screening of opening film, Beyond Sleep. The film is directed Boudewijn Koole (Kauwboy) and based on Dutch novel Nooit meer slapen by W.F. Hermans.

“International Film Festival Rotterdam is about as old as I am,” new festival director Bero Beyer commented in his opening speech. “It has been here year after year, growing in size and impact…but we should not take either the festival nor the open environment for granted.

“All over the world, filmmakers we cherish and have welcomed here in the past are prohibited to show their work, restricted in their...

A small town, dysfunctional family, desperate mayor, and fake miracles. According to Deadline, that's the gist of ABC's latest project, a half-hour adaptation of popular Austrian comedy Braunschlag.

Created by David Schalko in 2012, the Austrian series follows the attempts of a small-town mayor to save his nearly bankrupt town amid the pressure of mobsters and a family in shambles. The series has become a critical and audience favorite in its home country.

This is not the first time an American TV network has tried to adapt Braunschlag. Last fall, Deadline reported that Fox had made a commitment to a pilot starring Rob Riggle, but the project never went into production.

Now, ABC's pilot adaptation will have a female lead instead, with The McCarthy's creator Brian Gallivan and The Goldbergs executive producer Seth Gordon involved.

What do you think? Have you heard of...

In what is likely one of the last competitive bidding situations and big commitments this pitch season, Fox has nabbed a single-camera comedy starring Rob Riggle as a put pilot. Based on the Austrian comedy series Braunschlag, the untitled comedy hails from 20th Century Fox TV and Principato-Young Entertainment.

The American version will be developed by The Office, 30 Rock and American Dad alum Steve Hely. It follows the quirky inhabitants of a small struggling town whose mayor (Riggle) is prepared to do anything to save his community. Seriously. Anything. Hely and Riggle executive produce with Intrigue’s Tariq Jalil and Pye’s Peter Principato and Paul Young.

The project originated with Jalil and WME bringing the format to Pye. With Riggle, repped by WME and Pye, on board, the comedy garnered interest from multiple studios. 20th TV joined forces with sibling Fox to land the pitch, and Hely,...