ITVS hires Bavaria execs for Windlight

Simone Ruff

ITV Studios (ITVS) has unveiled its new German scripted label set up with former Bavaria Fiction executive producer Moritz Polter and has added two of his ex-colleagues to the team.

ITVS announced Windlight Pictures in April when it lured Polter over from Das Boot producer Bavaria.

Polter has now brought two of his former associates on board: Simone Ruff, previously producer and development executive at Bavaria, and Georg Höss, head of legal and business affairs, who have both taken up the same roles at Windlight.

Georg Höss

Cosima Degler, meanwhile, joins from Hager Moss Film, an affiliate of Constantin Television, and will work alongside Ruff as a producer and development executive.

Ruff’s credits at Bavaria include Netflix/ORF drama Freud and before that she spent seven years with Wiedemann & Berg working on series such as Line of Separation and NSU: German History X.

“Our exciting journey at Windlight Pictures now begins and I am more than thrilled that Simone, Cosima and Georg have joined the company,” said Polter. “Together, we aim to create compelling and thought-provoking premium drama and build up Windlight Pictures with content that fits our company’s spirit.”

Cosima Degler

ITVS MD of international production Lisa Perrin said of the new Munich-based company: “It’s great to see Windlight Pictures open for business and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

As part of ITVS’s expansion in the global drama market, the production and distribution group now includes global scripted producers Cattleya (Gomorrah, Suburra, ZeroZeroZero) in Italy, Apple Tree Productions (Equinox, Blackwater) in Denmark, Tetra Media Studio (Balthazar, Paris Police 1900) in France and new Spanish label Cattleya Producciones.