Jan 14, 2020
“Co-Pro Series” 2020: Ten Selected Series Projects Seek International Partners

On February 25 and 26, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will invite producers, programming directors, distributors and series financiers to the exclusive pitch event “Co-Pro Series”, which is part of the “Berlinale Series Market” (February 24 to 26) at the Zoo Palast. Successes like Babylon Berlin or Freud (Austria / Germany, Berlinale Series 2020) are among the former “Co-Pro Series” pitch participants.

This time, ten selected international series projects are on the lookout for like-minded co-producers and financiers among the industry representatives. After the pitch, the makers of the drama series will meet with interested partners. The guest list for the entire event, including seats at the pitches, Networking Get-Together and meetings, are already fully booked.
Attending will be the SciFi project Dome 16 by ZombieLars creator Thomas Seeberg Torjussen from Norway, whose producers already started with the successful series Valkyrien in the first edition of “Co-Pro Series”. Also present will be Goalpost Television from Australia for the second time with a series from the Berlinale, after showing Cleverman in the programme in 2016.

Transitniki is a German drama series about illegal travel by young people from the GDR who were looking for their freedom further east; written by Heide Schwochow (Die Unsichtbare) and Constantin Lieb (Eden), among others. Barbara Albert and Sandra Wollner are to direct the mystery drama Snow developed by Witcraft from Austria.
The King’s Wives, the first series by Berlinale and Golden Globe winner Hani Abu-Assad is also eagerly awaited. Michael and Lily Idov, who have made a name for themselves as authors of Kirill Serebrennikov’s feature film Sommer/Leto and who have already worked on series like Deutschland ’89 will be present with the humorous agent series Pawns.
The Belgian-British series Capturing Big Mouth will be presented in cooperation with the Series Mania Forum in Lille, where it premiered in 2019. The producers hope to find additional partners at “Co-Pro Series”. One of the new projects presented for the first time at “Co-Pro Series” will then have the opportunity to pitch again at Series Mania at the end of March.

The main partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 22 to 26, 2020) are the MDM - Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union.
The Networking Get-Together following the “Co-Pro Series” pitches takes place in cooperation with the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI).

“Berlinale Series Market & Conference” is the joint initiative for series content on the industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents and is organised in close cooperation with Berlinale Series.

Projects selected for “Co-Pro Series” 2020 (in alphabetical order of the presenting production companies):

• The King’s Wives (writers: Hany Abu-Assad, Amira Diab; director: Hany Abu-Assad), Abbout Productions, Lebanon
• Babyland (writers: Simona Nobile, Dianne Jones, Martichka Bozhilova; director: tba), Agitprop, Bulgaria
• Precious (writers: J. David Guerra, Joost van Gelder; director: tba), Atlantic Films & Lemming Film, Netherlands
• Dark Victory (writer/director: Matthew Saville), Goalpost Television, Australia
• Pawns (writers: Michael Idov, Lily Idov; director: tba), Metrafilms, Russia
• Transitniki (writers: Heide Schwochow, Constantin Lieb, Christian Mackrodt; director: tba), Rohfilm Factory, Germany
• Signals (writers: Óskar Jónasson, Margrét Örnólfsdóttir, Sjón, Jóhann Ævar Grímsson; director: Óskar Jónasson), Sagafilm, Iceland
• Dome 16 (writer: Thomas Seeberg Torjussen; director: tba), Tordenfilm, Norway
• Snow (writer: Michaela Taschek; director: Barbara Albert, Sandra Wollner), Witcraft Filmproduktion, Austria

Project in cooperation with Series Mania:

• Capturing Big Mouth (writers: Ahsan Naeem & Hans Van Nuffel; director: tba), De Mensen, Belgium & Reel One Entertainment, United Kingdom

Press Office
January 14, 2020