Apple TV+ has set its first German-language series, “Where’s Wanda?”
“Where’s Wanda?” tells the story of a couple desperate to find their missing daughter. After months of waiting for the police to track her down, Dedo and Carlotta Klatt finally take matters into their own hands. With the help of their tech-savvy son Ole, the family bug their local neighbourhood – which is when they begin to realize that their neighbors are hiding more than they realized.
Produced by Fremantle-owned UFA Fiction, the dark comedy stars Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually”) as Carlotta and Axel Stein (“The Vault”) as Dedo. Lea Drinda (“The Gryphon”) stars as 17-year-old Wanda while newcomer Leo Simon plays Ole.
Rounding out the cast are Palina Rojinski (“Welcome to Germany”), Nikeata Thompson (“How to Dad”), Devid Striesow (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), Joachim Król (“The Most Desired Man”), Jasmin Shakeri (“The Magic Flute”) and...
“Where’s Wanda?” tells the story of a couple desperate to find their missing daughter. After months of waiting for the police to track her down, Dedo and Carlotta Klatt finally take matters into their own hands. With the help of their tech-savvy son Ole, the family bug their local neighbourhood – which is when they begin to realize that their neighbors are hiding more than they realized.
Produced by Fremantle-owned UFA Fiction, the dark comedy stars Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually”) as Carlotta and Axel Stein (“The Vault”) as Dedo. Lea Drinda (“The Gryphon”) stars as 17-year-old Wanda while newcomer Leo Simon plays Ole.
Rounding out the cast are Palina Rojinski (“Welcome to Germany”), Nikeata Thompson (“How to Dad”), Devid Striesow (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), Joachim Król (“The Most Desired Man”), Jasmin Shakeri (“The Magic Flute”) and...
- 9/7/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran media executive Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann took over as CEO of Telepool in January, barely a year after Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook took full control, in December 2021, of the German rights giant.
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
German film and TV distribution and licensing company Telepool, which is owned by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook, is moving into lead producing movies and series, its CEO Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann tells Variety exclusively in her first interview since joining the company in January.
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Picture Tree Int’l (Pti) has boarded sales on German Sophie Scholls – The Final Days Oscar-nominee and hitmaker Marc Rothemund’s heart-warming family drama Weekend Rebels, inspired by the true story of a father who forged a special bond with his autistic son through the search for a perfect soccer club.
The film, currently in post-production, is produced by Justyna Muesch, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann.
Their Oscar-winning banner Wiedemann & Berg Film company has delivered a slew of award-winning pictures over the years including The Lives Of Others, Never Look Away and Who Am I. SevenPictures Film co-produces.
Leonine Studios is also on board and will release the film in Germany on September 28, 2023.
Florian David Fitz leads the German cast as a father who gets closer to his 10-year-old autistic son through a quest to find a soccer club they can support together,...
The film, currently in post-production, is produced by Justyna Muesch, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann.
Their Oscar-winning banner Wiedemann & Berg Film company has delivered a slew of award-winning pictures over the years including The Lives Of Others, Never Look Away and Who Am I. SevenPictures Film co-produces.
Leonine Studios is also on board and will release the film in Germany on September 28, 2023.
Florian David Fitz leads the German cast as a father who gets closer to his 10-year-old autistic son through a quest to find a soccer club they can support together,...
- 2/6/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran media executive Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann has been named the new CEO of Telepool, the German licensing, production and distribution company owned by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook.
Her appointment comes after Westbrook’s took full control of Telepool in December 2021. The Munich-based group is being positioned to play a major role in Westbrook’s international expansion strategy. Alongside Telepool, Westbrook have production partnerships with Mo Abudu’s Nigerian production studio EbonyLife and Yasushi Akimoto’s Akimoto Project in Japan. Last January, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media paid 60 million for a 10 percent stake in Westbrook.
As CEO, Higuchi-Zitzmann will oversee Telepool’s entire operation, from development, co-financing and co-production through to sales and distribution. Telepool’s subsidiaries include world sales group Global Screen and home entertainment label EuroVideo. The group is one of Europe’s leading licensors of film and television rights. Alongside its massive German rights library,...
Her appointment comes after Westbrook’s took full control of Telepool in December 2021. The Munich-based group is being positioned to play a major role in Westbrook’s international expansion strategy. Alongside Telepool, Westbrook have production partnerships with Mo Abudu’s Nigerian production studio EbonyLife and Yasushi Akimoto’s Akimoto Project in Japan. Last January, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media paid 60 million for a 10 percent stake in Westbrook.
As CEO, Higuchi-Zitzmann will oversee Telepool’s entire operation, from development, co-financing and co-production through to sales and distribution. Telepool’s subsidiaries include world sales group Global Screen and home entertainment label EuroVideo. The group is one of Europe’s leading licensors of film and television rights. Alongside its massive German rights library,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Helping a selection of five European films to connect to Latin American distributors, Efp’s Film Sales Support (Fss) program has awarded grants to three sales agencies to step up their digital campaigns for this year’s hybrid Ventana Sur market.
Two companies from Germany have received support this year, as well as one from Spain. The unspecified amounts are to help the companies to “broaden their online presence and solidify business communications with buyers from Latin America attending Ventana Sur this year,” according to a press statement.
The new initiative underscores the fact that Ventana Sur has become an ever larger distribution springboard for European salles agents and their European films. “Ventana Sur is also a platform for European films, and this year sales are happening online. The onsite part is more focused on projects, pitching, and networking. Marketing is even more important to make films visible when going online,...
Two companies from Germany have received support this year, as well as one from Spain. The unspecified amounts are to help the companies to “broaden their online presence and solidify business communications with buyers from Latin America attending Ventana Sur this year,” according to a press statement.
The new initiative underscores the fact that Ventana Sur has become an ever larger distribution springboard for European salles agents and their European films. “Ventana Sur is also a platform for European films, and this year sales are happening online. The onsite part is more focused on projects, pitching, and networking. Marketing is even more important to make films visible when going online,...
- 11/29/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Picture Tree International has picked up world sales rights on Sönke Wortmann’s latest feature “Contra.” Pti will launch the film onto the market with a first promo at AFM, which starts Monday.
“Contra” had its world premiere at the 16th Zurich Film Festival, and is set for a Christmas release in German-speaking territories by Constantin Film, one of the world’s top independent distributors. Pti will give the film a physical market premiere at February’s European Film Market.
Wortmann has been one of German cinema’s leading directors since the early 90s, with films like “Maybe, Maybe Not” (“Der bewegte Mann”), which was the most successful German film of the 1990s, soccer drama “The Miracle of Bern” (“Das Wunder von Bern”), and “Pope Joan” (“Die Päpstin”).
“Contra” follows the fallout for a university professor, Richard Pohl, after he directs a xenophobic insult at law student Naima Hamid. After...
“Contra” had its world premiere at the 16th Zurich Film Festival, and is set for a Christmas release in German-speaking territories by Constantin Film, one of the world’s top independent distributors. Pti will give the film a physical market premiere at February’s European Film Market.
Wortmann has been one of German cinema’s leading directors since the early 90s, with films like “Maybe, Maybe Not” (“Der bewegte Mann”), which was the most successful German film of the 1990s, soccer drama “The Miracle of Bern” (“Das Wunder von Bern”), and “Pope Joan” (“Die Päpstin”).
“Contra” follows the fallout for a university professor, Richard Pohl, after he directs a xenophobic insult at law student Naima Hamid. After...
- 11/5/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
German media group Leonine has taken international distribution rights to the six-part premium series “Herzogpark,” following a deal with its producers Letterbox Filmproduktion (“Bad Banks”). The rights for German-speaking territories are held by Mediengruppe Rtl Deutschland.
The dramedy centers on four women from Munich’s upscale Herzogpark district, for whom keeping secrets has become a life’s work, a side effect of social survival. But when a murder is committed, the truth threatens to come out, and the urge to protect their secrets drives the women to the edge.
The series is directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank, winner of the Oscar for best live-action short film with “Spielzeugland.” Head writer is Regina Dietl, who penned the screenplay with a writers’ room team, based on an idea by Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann.
Patricia Riekel, who has headed Europe’s biggest people magazine Bunte as editor-in-chief for over 20 years, and who lives in Herzogpark,...
The dramedy centers on four women from Munich’s upscale Herzogpark district, for whom keeping secrets has become a life’s work, a side effect of social survival. But when a murder is committed, the truth threatens to come out, and the urge to protect their secrets drives the women to the edge.
The series is directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank, winner of the Oscar for best live-action short film with “Spielzeugland.” Head writer is Regina Dietl, who penned the screenplay with a writers’ room team, based on an idea by Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann.
Patricia Riekel, who has headed Europe’s biggest people magazine Bunte as editor-in-chief for over 20 years, and who lives in Herzogpark,...
- 2/22/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Film directed by Marc Rothemund posted over 2 million admissions in Germany.
German sales powerhouse Global Screen, which gave a Toronto market premiere to its new 3D animation adventure Tabaluga this weekend, is continuing to rack up deals on true-life tearjerker This Crazy Heart, about a wealthy thirtysomething forced to care for a 15-year-old heart patient.
An eye-catching deal has been closed with China’s Tang Media Partners for the film, directed by Marc Rothemund and produced by Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben. Tang Media Partners have acquired all rights for China and are planning a wide release...
German sales powerhouse Global Screen, which gave a Toronto market premiere to its new 3D animation adventure Tabaluga this weekend, is continuing to rack up deals on true-life tearjerker This Crazy Heart, about a wealthy thirtysomething forced to care for a 15-year-old heart patient.
An eye-catching deal has been closed with China’s Tang Media Partners for the film, directed by Marc Rothemund and produced by Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben. Tang Media Partners have acquired all rights for China and are planning a wide release...
- 9/10/2018
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Nbff kicks off opening night with Sundance hit “American Animals.” The British-American true crime drama, written and directed by Bart Layton, starring Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner and Jared Abrahamson, will be followed by a gala reception at the Fashion Island shopping mall.
The fest will end its eight-day run with the West Coast premiere of “All Square,” director John Hyams’ dramedy about a small-time bookie (Michael Kelly) who comes up with a scheme to take bets on Little League games.
Following the screening, the fest, in partnership with Schiefer ChopShop and Via Lido Plaza, will host the closing-night celebration. The outdoor event will feature a hosted bar by Tito’s Vodka, Oban Whiskey and Guinness, with culinary tastings from top local restaurants.
In between those bookends, Nbff will host the U.S. premieres of the Italian feature “Wife and Husband,” the Chinese film “End of Summer,” the Japanese award-winning film “3 Ft.
The fest will end its eight-day run with the West Coast premiere of “All Square,” director John Hyams’ dramedy about a small-time bookie (Michael Kelly) who comes up with a scheme to take bets on Little League games.
Following the screening, the fest, in partnership with Schiefer ChopShop and Via Lido Plaza, will host the closing-night celebration. The outdoor event will feature a hosted bar by Tito’s Vodka, Oban Whiskey and Guinness, with culinary tastings from top local restaurants.
In between those bookends, Nbff will host the U.S. premieres of the Italian feature “Wife and Husband,” the Chinese film “End of Summer,” the Japanese award-winning film “3 Ft.
- 4/26/2018
- by Peter Caranicas
- Variety Film + TV
"Let me prove to you that I can do it." Studiocanal UK has debuted the official UK trailer for a Germany comedy film titled My Blind Date with Life, or originally Mein Blind Date mit dem Leben in German. The film tells the true story of a student who nearly became blind as a teenager. He keeps his limited eye sight a secret and starts working at a hotel in Munich, soon falling in love with a woman. Kostja Ullmann stars as the lead character Saliya Kahawatte, with a cast including Anna Maria Mühe, Nilam Farooq, Sylvana Krappatsch, Ludger Pistor, Johann von Bülow, and Herbert Forthuber. This looks like a very cheesy German romantic comedy, but there's a heartwarming story behind it all. That said, this doesn't seem like it will be good. At least you can get a glimpse at what campy German comedies are like - have fun.
- 10/20/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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