Zimmer to lead Bavaria Film Production

Germany’s Bavaria Film has appointed a new CEO of Bavaria Film Production, one of the group’s main production subsidiaries.

Markus Zimmer

In addition to taking the helm at Bavaria Film Production in April, Markus Zimmer will also be head of theatrical production and acquisition for Bavaria Film Group as well as exec producer for domestic and international theatrical and high-end productions that Bavaria Film is producing or coproducing. 

Zimmer previously spent two decades at Tele München Group, as both a producer and CEO of the company’s Concorde Filmverleih distribution division before stepping down in 2016.

Bavaria Film CEO Christian Franckenstein said Zimmer’s years of experience, “excellent national network of contacts” and “international background” would contribute to raising the profile of Bavaria’s studio complex near Munich “as a location for high-quality films and series.”

To that end, Zimmer will develop new coproduction models involving Bavaria Studios’ infrastructure and facilities in an effort to increase business at the site. 

Recent TV series to shoot at Bavaria Studios include the forthcoming Das Boot, coproduced by Bavaria Fiction, Sky Deutschland and Sonar Entertainment, which also filmed on location in Prague, La Rochelle, France and Malta.

Bavaria Film Production was spun off from the group’s production and distribution arm Bavaria Filmverleih- & Produktions in 2015 as a 100% subsidiary of Bavaria Film. The company has production activities in Munich, Berlin and Cologne.

“After many years in production and distribution, joining the Bavaria Film Group team at this point in time is both a challenge and an opportunity for me to support the efforts of this successful German major, with its rich history, in acquiring and realising theatrical and high-end productions,” Zimmer said.