Crime and fantasy took center stage at this year’s Up Next: Germany showcase, held at the Berlinale Series Market on February 16, with producers announcing four upcoming titles, three scripted shows and one documentary series.
While “West End Girl” revolves around crime, it is also a family drama. The fact-based series is set in Düsseldorf and follows the story of 19-year-old Ronja (played by System Crasher’s Helena Zengel). When her parents are suddenly arrested on suspicion of running the city’s largest cocaine ring, her world falls apart.
Creator and director Paula Beck, who announced the series, said it was a deeply personal endeavor, having been working on the project for about 15 years after learning the true story from a close friend who had experienced a similar crisis in her own family.
“I was pretty shocked, but then I thought, ‘What a great story.'”
Beck originally planned to turn the story into a film, but partnered with producer Martin Heisler of Flare Films and ultimately decided to pursue a series.
“Westend Girl” is produced by Flair Film in co-production with WDR and Arte, in cooperation with Beta Film, and is funded by North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Film and Media, Medianboard Brandenburg and the German Film Fund (GMPF).
In The Dark Ones, a dimensional rift appears on an island in the North Sea, potentially allowing dangerous dark beings to enter the world. Echoing “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” the strange visitors are suspicious doppelgangers who begin replacing the island’s residents. The only person who can stop it is Soma, a girl searching for her own origins.
Although “The Dark Ones” is set on Germany’s North Sea coast, it was actually filmed in Belgium, which provided favorable financing conditions for the production.
“The story has a great hook that is very unique, and although it was filmed in an iconic landscape, it still has very universal conflicts, so we truly believe this is something that will appeal to audiences around the world,” said Andy Wecker of Network Movies. “So we want to go out to Germany.Of course we want to show in Germany, but we also want to go out in Germany.
In search of a larger budget for such a high-end show, the producers ultimately decided to head to Belgium, where they could receive a tax rebate of over 30%. “With 30% plus some very smart decisions by some very good creators, we were able to create the standard that we were looking for,” he added.
Director Wecker emphasized that he wanted to film in Germany, but at the time Germany did not have the financing options offered by other countries such as Belgium.
But that’s about to change. In the near future, he said, if things go well, they’ll be able to “actually attract funding into Germany and more productions,” which will lead to “a healthy co-production relationship.”
“The Dark Ones” was produced by Studio Zentral with support from Screen Flanders in Belgium and FISA+ in Austria using Network Movies from ZDFneo.
Meanwhile, “4 Blocks Zero” is a prequel to the award-winning gangster drama “4 Blocks,” which tells the story of the Hamadi family who flee Lebanon to Germany and struggle to build a life in 1990s Berlin. The show chronicles how they became the most influential large Arab family in the city, and how young Ali became known as Toni.
W&B Television producer Quirin Berg noted that the original “4 Blocks” three seasons neatly concluded the family’s story, and said the 1990s-set prequel is a natural focus for the next chapter.
Berg noted that the original series broke new ground in Germany in telling the story of a crime family that was very reflective of the newspaper headlines of the time. “With 4 Blocks, the decision was made to tell the story from the perspective of Tony, the head of the family and the face of the family, and that was something very new in Germany.”
In fact, Berg added, the audience embraced the family and ended up rooting for the bad guy. It’s “great storytelling-wise, it’s thrilling and engaging, but at the same time, in real life, we know that if you live the life of a thug, you’re going to pay the price.”
Director and executive producer Ozgür Yildirim added that “4 Blocks” has always been a realistic show, and in working on the prequel, the political aspect of the story – the family’s origins in war-torn Lebanon – not only interested him personally, but also set the new series apart from its predecessor. The series could also explore the impact of German policies and how those policies exacerbated the conditions that led to the growth of crime families.
“4 Blocks Zero” is produced by W&B Television and financed by GMPF and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg for HBO Max.
The film, tentatively titled “Clangold,” centers on a real-life crime family in Berlin and investigates one of the most spectacular cases in German criminal history: the theft of a 100 kilogram Canadian gold coin known as the Big Maple Leaf from Berlin’s Bode Museum. This documentary series provides a humorous, up-close look at the exciting cat-and-mouse game between investigators and perpetrators.
Director Jan Zabeil was initially cautious about the project. “We knew that doing something about so-called clan crime in Germany was a minefield here as well. It’s very easy to lose, but very difficult to win.”
After discussing the project with friends from Berlin’s Lebanese-German community, Zabayle realized that there was a positive side to talking openly about the robbery, which was so funny to many that it was not taken too seriously. “As is often the case in crime dramas like this, no one gets killed. Considering what actually happened, this is surprisingly light-hearted. When people talk about this case, they refer to Robin Hood.”
Dirk Engelhardt, senior director of local originals at HBO Max in German-speaking countries, said “Clangold” fits well with the streamer’s general strategy, noting that HBO Max is particularly looking for serious crime shows and is also very confident in its collaboration with documentary experts Beats Brothers Film Production.
Produced by Beetz Brothers Film Production for HBO Max, “Clangold” is funded by GMPF and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
