Dignity shown at German reception

Katja Hofem and her team presented Dignity, the first original international series from German streamer Joyn

MIPCOM: The first original drama series from recently launched German streaming service Joyn was among the talking points at the 18th biannual German cocktail reception in Cannes this week.

More than 350 delegates attended the event, held on Monday evening.

Joyn CEO Katja Hofem presented Dignity (8×52′), a political thriller inspired by the real-life story of a sect established by a former Nazi in Chile.

A coproduction between OTT service Joyn, which launched as a joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery in Germany in June, and Chilean network Mega, it comes from Invercine & Wood and Story House Productions.

Helge Jürgens (Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg), Rolf Hellgardt (Riverside Entertainment), Wolf Bauer (UFA) and Petra Müller (Film- und Medienstiftung NRW) at the reception

ProSiebenSat.1-owned Red Arrow Studios International is handling distribution of the series here at Mipcom.

It marks the latest original drama from Germany to hit the international market and Helge Jürgens, MD of funding body Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), told C21 more and more series and formats are originating from the country.

Among the series mentioned by Jürgens that MBB has supported are the third season of Babylon Berlin, which launches in January on Sky, and the second season of Bad Banks, whose producer, Christian Friedrichs, attended the cocktail party.

Hosts and partners of the German Mipcom cocktails: Peter Treacher (C21media), Dariush Mizani (TV.MediaConsult), Friedhelm Bixschlag (Bavaria Studios), Fernanda Lange Boettcher (Wirtschaftsförderung Land Brandenburg), Helge Jürgens (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg), Petra Müller (Film- und Medienstiftung NRW), Till Neumann (Brehm & v Moers), Birgit Reuter (Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie), Thomas Lückerath (DWDL) and Christoph Fey (Entertainment Master Class)

MBB has also helped fund the production of Readymade Films project MaPa, which will be released on Joyn.

“Medienboard supports this positive development of the series market, not only through its support but increasingly through new cooperations with broadcasters and platforms,” Jürgens said.

This includes working with RTL2 to get it on board as the first channel partner of a new media funding division. It has also launched a matchmaking initiative for producers from Berlin to pitch to channels, platforms and distributors called 16 Dates: Berlin Producers to Meet.

Meanwhile, Petra Müller, CEO of funding body Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, emphasised the importance of Mipcom to the German industry, especially as new players – particular direct-to-consumer services – enter the global market.

Devid Striesow and Götz Otto, the stars of Dignity

“For us, Mipcom is still one of the most important industry meeting places during the year and we are looking forward to seeing which formats will stand out at this edition. We are expecting to see new series, films or shortform formats. Moreover, we are expecting a focus on premium content for mobile devices, especially with millenials as the target group.

“But first and foremost, we are expecting new insights regarding the ‘big picture.’ Mipcom is showcasing a ‘streaming offensive,’ while others are talking about a streaming revolution. The media landscape is about to change completely. It’s a big challenge for what we call the old media, with fierce competition for talent, audiences and content,” said Müller.

Thomas Lückerath (DWDL) in an interview with Christian Friedrichs (Letterbox) at the presentation of Bad Banks S2

Among the productions Film- und Medienstiftung NRW has supported recently are Wild Republic, Bauhaus: A New Era, Blood & Beer, West of Liberty, Unsere wunderbaren Jahre and the third season of Babylon Berlin.

The hosts and partners for the event, held at ClubC21, were Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, TV.MediaConsult, Bavaria Studios, Wirtschaftsförderung Land Brandenburg, Brehm & v Moers, Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie, DWDL and Entertainment Master Class. C21 was the media partner.

More than 350 guests attended the cocktail event in the Grand Hotel garden