The seven-part drama seriesTod von Freunden (350,000 euros, Letterbox Filmproduktion, Hamburg) by Hamburg-based Director and Script Writer Friedemann Fromm (co-writer Mette Soe) is a true northern project with 27 days of filming in Hamburg and a further 29 in Schleswig-Holstein. What is it about? Two German-Danish families have created a paradise for themselves in the Flensburg Fjord. This paradise threatens to fall apart when one night on a sailing trip, the 16-year-old son of one of the families goes overboard and is never found. The pain caused by this loss pushes the families' friendship to its limits and becomes a crucial test.
Also treated in series formatShackled (350,000 euros, Neue Bioskop Television, Munich) is the true story of a victim counsellor who comes across the gruesome, undiscovered series of murders committed by the so-called acid barrel murderer Lutz Reinstrom in a mysterious kidnapping case in Hamburg in the 1990s. Directors is Hannu Salonen, the script is by Max Eipp, Dinah Marte Golch and Mark Monheim. The team is planning a total of 23 days of filming in Hamburg.
Lena has bought a house with her boyfriend Kurt. It seems that her biggest challenge is getting used to the new family circumstances. But when little Kurt dies, three adults are left behind, their centre imploding in grief. How does life go on after the death of a child? Directors Til Schweiger attempts to answer this question inKurt (Mr Brown Entertainment Filmproduction, Berlin) based on the novel of the same name by TV presenter and Script Writer Sarah Kuttner. The script was written by Vanessa Walder. Nine days of filming are planned in Hamburg. The tragicomedy was funded by both the High End Committee (180,000 euros in production funding) and the new Nordbuster Committee (240,000 euros).
Fundings were awarded twice in this session in the area of project development: The seriesSnow King (40,000 euros, carte blanche International, Potsdam) by Directors Stephan Wagner is set in Hamburg in 1989 and focuses on the life of drug dealer Blacky. Wagner wrote the script together with Katja Eichinger. The tragicomedy Torschlusspanik (25,000 euros, Cuckoo Clock Entertainment, Hamburg) by Director Sebastian Grobler is about four best friends who all decide to get pregnant at almost the same time. Judy Horney and Heike Fink wrote the script.
The Nordbuster Committee offers 40,000 euros in screenplay funding for the new bookPepper by Hamburg-based Script Writer Nils Mohl. The story revolves around an old men's flat share in Hamburg, where the supposed trainee Pepper moves in. What the flat share doesn't know is that Pepper didn't choose the flat by chance. Script Writer Nils Mohl was previously on board for the Ilker Çatak films "I Was, I Am, I Will Be" and "Es war einmal Indianerland". The High End Committee awards script funding totalling 40,000 euros to the bank robbery seriesTwo minutes (40,000 euros, StickUp Filmproduktion, Berlin) by "Skylines" showrunner Dennis Schanz and Florian Dietrich - the latter will also be the Director. Eight episodes with a length of 30 minutes are planned. Filming will take place entirely in Hamburg. 25,000 euros will go toWish list (Cuckoo Clock Entertainment, Hamburg) by Hamburg-based Director and Script Writer Ali Hakim, other authors are Max König and Raoul Reinert. The film was requested as part of the "Special Children's Film" initiative. There are 20,000 euros each for the improv seriesThe best world (Riva Filmproduktion, Hamburg) by the two Script Writers Sebastian Ladwig and Iris Baumüller and the animation series Johnny Sinclair: Ghost hunter (20,000 euros, youngfilms, Hamburg) by the author duo Nikolaus von Uthmann (Hamburg) and Sabine Städing (Henstedt-Ulzburg).
Fundings for Distribution receive Moritz Bleibtreu's directorial debutCortex (30,000 euros, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Hamburg) and the two children's filmsThe Peppercorns and the Secret of the Deep Sea (70,000 euros, Wildbunch Germany, Berlin) andYakari (70,000 euros, Leonine Distribution, Munich).
TheHigh End Committee is responsible for films and series with production costs of over 3.5 million euros. The funding decision was made on 24 June by Christian Granderath, Murat Isgüder, Wenka von Mikulicz, Caroline von Senden, Ipek Zübert and Helge Albers.A detailed overview of all funded projects from the High End Committee is available here.
TheNordbuster Committee is responsible for films that are of particular cultural and economic importance to the region. The annual funding sum of one million euros is provided by Warner Bros. in the form of a trust fund. The funding decision was made on 26 June by Maike Haas, Benjamina Mirnik-Voges and Peter Preisser.A detailed overview of all funded projects from the Nordbuster Committee is available here.
Image: metamorworks/istock
