DISTRIBUTION
Germany’s ZDF Studios has secured worldwide distribution rights for documentary series “Hitler’s Power” (3 x 50’), an exploration of how and why Hitler rose to power and the terrible events that followed.
On Jan. 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. The series examines why the Nazi leader was confident of the approval of most Germans, even when the war was clearly lost, and what led Germans to support the Holocaust.
Eco Media, History Media and ZDF Digital, a ZDF Studios subsidiary, teamed to co-produce “Hitler’s Power” in association with ZDF Studios.
Ralf Rückauer, VP, unscripted, ZDF Studios, said: “’Hitler’s Power’ is very much a modern look at this period of German history, designed for a young audience that is disconnected from the generation who experienced the war or its aftermath. With the extensive research undertaken and its high production values, the series offers a distinctive and compelling narrative on the rise of Hitler.”
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Elsewhere, Indian exhibitor and distributor PVR Inox Pictures has recognized the fact that in a post-pandemic scenario the country’s audience now consumes content from across the region and not just their own. It will now distribute Bengali-language films across India. Dev’s “Byomkesh O Durgorahasya,” releasing Aug. 11, will kick off a slew of key titles.
To commemorate the occasion, PVR Inox hosted a celebration where representatives of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association and luminaries of the Bengali film industry, including Dev, Nispal Singh Rane, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Nusrat Jahan, Yash Dasgupta, Birsa Dasgupta, Neel Ratan Dutta, Firdasul Hasan, Shyam Sundar Dey, Atanu Roychowdhury, Abhijeet Sen, Navin Choukhani, Ankush, Oindrilla and Arindam Sil attended.
Kamal Gianchandnani, CEO of PVRINOX Pictures, said, “As we begin the distribution of Bengali films, this pivot represents a profoundly important turning point for us. The Bengali film industry is one of India’s most thriving and vibrant segments of the film business and our collaboration is all set to leave an incomparable legacy.”
APPOINTMENTS
BBC Studios Germany has appointed Eva Holtmann as head of fiction, Susen Schadwinkel as executive producer and Kai Krabbenhöft as head of development for entertainment. Based in Cologne, Holtmann will join – from Bantry Bay Productions where she is executive producer – in September and her role will focus on exploiting BBC Studios scripted formats catalogue as well as developing original and local stories. She will build on a development slate helmed by executive producers Lea Gamula and Jessica Wirdemann, who will report directly into her.
Under the leadership of Markus Templin, Schadwinkel will join in August, from Constantin Entertainment. She will be responsible for delivering the next seasons of “The 1% Club” and will also be driving large scale entertainment commissions together with Templin.
Krabbenhöft joined BBC Studios Germany in May 2023 with over two decades of experience in the industry in many senior development roles, as well as experience as a producer for UFA Show & Factual on “Germany’s Got Talent.” Krabbenhöft is responsible for supercharging format adaptation and original development activities.
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The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) has appointed Bianca Gavin as chair, succeeding Alex Boden, who steps down after four years in the role. As head of production for scripted television and film at Pulse Films since 2020, Gavin was at the production helm of the Season 2 of Sky’s “Gangs of London.” Gavin has sat on the PGGB board since 2021 and has been a member of PGGB’s diversity task force since 2020, working to improve production diversity and career progression opportunities.
Producer Debbie Vertue (Hartswood Films) continues as PGGB’s co-vice chair, joined by existing board member John Graydon (Saffery Champness) who steps into the role of co-vice chair. Lara Sargent (Sargent-Disc) continues as treasurer.
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Germany-based visual effects studio Trixter, which was acquired by Cinesite in 2018, has appointed new leadership following the planned departure of current co-found and CCO Simone Kraus Townsend and CEO Christian Sommer.
Christina Caspers-Roemer is set to take the helm as general manager while Christopher Hantel is on board as head of finance and MD.
Kraus Townsend will return her focus to her original love, animation supervising.
PRODUCTION
Nick Thurlow, whose credits include “Moonlight” (2016) and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017), has boarded Indian epic in the making “Vrushabha” as an executive producer. The father-son drama stars Mohanal, Roshann Meka, Shanaya Kapoor and Zahrah S. Khan in the lead along with Srikanth Meka and Ragini Dwivedi. It is presented by Connekkt Media and Balaji Telefilms in association with AVS Studios. The film is directed by Nanda Kishore and produced by (for AVS) Abhishek Vyas, Vishal Gurnani, Juhi Parekh Mehta and Shyam Sunder (First Step Movies), produced by (for Balaji Telefilms) Ektaa R. Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, produced by (for Connekkt Media) Varun Mathur and Saurabh Mishra. It is shooting simultaneously in the Telugu and Malayalam languages and will release in the Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil languages in 2024.
INDIAN STREAMING
Hong Kong-based O4 Media has struck a distribution deal with video streaming service Amazon miniTV in India for three popular Chinese Dramas “Tientsin Mystic,” “Breaking Dawn” and “Last One Standing.” Amazon miniTV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service that is mobile-only and allows users to watch TV shows, movies and short videos on Android devices. O4 previously licensed a handful of Korean TV drama series to the platform.
“These titles are great examples of storytelling, and we are confident that they will resonate with viewers from diverse cultural backgrounds across India,” said Gary Pudney, founder and MD of O4 Media.
Meanwhile, Varun Mitra (Disney+ Hostar’s “Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo”) stars in Amazon mini-film “Rakshak – India’s Braves,” where he plays real-life hero Lieutenant Triveni Singh, who vanquished militants during the 2004 terrorist attack on the Jammu railway station. The film will stream on Aug. 15, India’s independence day.
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Nawazuddin Siddiqui and actor and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap play lead roles in streamer ZEE5‘s “Haddi,” directed by debutant Akshat Ajay Sharma and produced by Zee Studios and Sanjay Saha and Radhika Nanda’s Anandita Studios. Written by Sharma and Adamya Bhalla, “Haddi” is a crime revenge drama where Siddiqui portrays two characters – Haddi and Harika, a transgender woman. The cast also includes Ila Arun, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Sachdeva, Shridhar Dubey, Rajesh Kumar, Vipin Sharma and Saharsh Shukla.
SOHU SLIDES
Chinese online games, video and news group Sohu.com saw second quarter revenues drop by 22% to $152 million, the company disclosed on Monday. Its net loss was $21 million, or a net loss of US$0.62 per fully-diluted ADS, compared with net income of $9 million in the second quarter of 2022 and a net loss of $18 million in the first quarter of 2023.
“In the second quarter of 2023, we delivered stable performance, with both revenues and the bottom line meeting our expectations,” said founder and CEO Charles Zhang. The group has a cash pile of $1.4 billion.
