ZDF in Germany remakes Australian refugee drama Safe Harbour

Liberame: Nach dem Sturm (Liberame: After the Storm)

ZDF in Germany has remade an Australian drama about a group of friends whose lives are changed after discovering a boat at sea overcrowded with refugees.

Liberame: Nach dem Sturm (Liberame: After the Storm) is the German version of Safe Harbour, the Matchbox Pictures series that aired on SBS down under in 2018.

The German adaptation will tell the story a group of friends who, on a sailing trip on the Mediterranean Sea, encounter a broken-down boat with refugees from Syria in distress. After deciding to attempt to tow the refugee boat to safety, they find the next morning it has disappeared without a trace after the towline broke, leading to seven people drowning.

The German version, filmed in Hamburg and Malta, has been made by Bantry Bay Productions in association with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The format was licensed to Bantry Bay Productions by NBCUniversal Formats, and NBCUniversal Global Distribution will be selling the German version internationally.

The original series was created by Phil Enchelmaier and Simon Kennedy with Belinda Chayko. It was developed with Matt Cameron, Stephen Corvini and Anthony Mullins.

The cast of the German version includes Friedrich Mücke, Johanna Wokalek, Mohamed Achour, Kenda Hmeidan, Ina Weisse, Tariq Al-Saies, Natalia Belitski, Marc Benjamin, Mina-Giselle Rüffer and Shadi Eck.

It is directed by Adolfo J Kolmerer, while the producers are Eva Holtmann and Eva Kaesgen and the writers are Astrid Ströher and Marco Wiersch. It was commissioned by Jasmin Maeda and Elke Müller.

Ana Langenberg, senior VP of formats and sales at NBCUniversal Formats, said: “Safe Harbour is a thrillingly urgent and timely series that lends itself perfectly to international adaptation.”