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27. March 2013

Beta Film leads new wave of European programming

Munich, 27 March 2013. Beta Film leads the new wave of European programming at this year’s MipTV. The highly acclaimed event production Generation War, praised as a “turning point in German television” (Der Spiegel), has scored record ratings in Germany, triggering an unprecedented debate about personal guilt in WWII. From Belgium comes the serialized high concept thriller Salamander, and from Spain new seasons of the lavish, much applauded and long-running series Grand Hotel, which the British media have hailed as “Spanish Downton Abbey.” Also centered on a legendary hotel is the German viewer favorite Hotel Adlon – A Family Saga. As to family entertainment, the fantastic adventures of the Baron on a Cannonball offer a prime example of highly successful productions. Altogether Beta Film is premiering 250 hours of new films and series at MIP TV. 

Beta Film is expecting great international interest in Generation War (6 x one hour), whose airing on ZDF left the competing programs of Germany’s commercial and public broadcasters far behind with nearly eight million viewers (market share 24.3 %) and up to a 17%+ market share in the target group 14-49 years. The exceptional “Band-of-Brothers”-style, highly emotional mini-series about the young men and women who fought in Hitler’s devastating war, losing their youth and innocence if not their lives, is a grand and epic story of friendship, betrayal, faith, deception and responsibility. Der Spiegel sees “a new milestone of German remembrance culture over and beyond the generations”, Süddeutsche Zeitung named Generation War “epochal”, weekly Die Zeit praised it as “the most impressive project in recent TV history”. Directed by Philipp Kadelbach (“Hindenburg”), the production stars Volker Bruch (“The Reader”), Tom Schilling (“Oh Boy”), Katharina Schüttler (“Carlos”), Miriam Stein (“Goethe”) and Ludwig Trepte (“You can never be sure”).

A powerful new series, the mystery-thriller Salamander (12 x one hour) follows a cop who takes on his country’s political, business and legal elite, along with the royal family, risking his own life and that of his loved ones. Salamander (Production: Skyline Entertainment, director: Frank van Mechelen, “The Intruder”) was one of the biggest audience successes in its home market, with each episode reaching over 56% market share and also setting an impressive new record for delayed digital TV viewing,

 

Hotel Adlon – A Family Saga, produced by moovie – the art of entertainment in co-production with ORF, centered around one of the grandest of the world’s grand hotels right at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. It is an epic story of two families of strong personalities whose fates are tightly interwoven over four generations with the legendary first-class hotel which reflects a hundred years of world history. Hotel Adlon – A Family Saga garnered up to an average of 8.5 million viewers (24 % market share) on ZDF in January, winning each prime time and also reaching an impressive 13 % market share among the younger target group. Directed by Uli Edel (“The Baader Meinhof-Complex”), Hotel Adlon – A Family Saga stars Josefine Preuß (“Kebab for Breakfast”), Heino Ferch (“Munich 72”, “Downfall”), Marie Bäumer (“The Counterfeiters”) and Burghart Klaußner (“The White Ribbon”).

 

Due to the enormous international success of Grand Hotel, the lavish Antena 3 drama series starring Amaia Salamanca and Yon Gonzalez is steering towards its second and third seasons (39 x 70’ or 60 x one hour). Murder, intrigues, love stories, inheritance struggles and false suspicions bring the venerable Spanish hotel to the edge of ruin. Grand Hotel, produced by bambu producciones and Antena 3, won a variety of Spanish National TV Awards including best actress for Concha Velasco, Best Director of Photography and Best Set Design for a drama.

Starpower at its best is shown the new U.S. Hallmark series Cedar Cove (14 x one hour) featuring the iconic Andie Macdowell in her first series lead. Based on the bestselling novels by Debbie Macomber, Andie MacDowell plays the charming judge Olivia Lockhart, who is much more than an authority in charge of law and order in the idyllic coastal town of Cedar Cove at the American Northwest coast. As showrunner acts Carl Binder (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) for Orchard Road Production in co-production with Front Street Pictures / Dan Wigutow and Unity / for Hallmark Channel U.S 

Thoroughly enjoyable make-believe stories such as a ride on a cannonball are related in Baron on a Cannonball (2 x 90’), teamWorx’ lavish family entertainment production with Jan Josef Liefers (“The Tower”) and Jessica Schwartz (“Romy”). Whether the Baron frees himself from a quicksand pit by pulling on his pigtail or abseils down from the moon with his little friend Frieda, the Baron’s stories are 100% legendary.  

In the feature-film domain, Beta Film is presenting the two most successful German films of the past year among others. As a spin-off of the TV series “Turkish for Beginners,” Kebab for Breakfast (Rat Pack Filmproduktion, starring Elyas M’Barek, “The Physician”) left its mark as the strongest German film of 2012 with 2.4 million tickets sold. In this culture-clash comedy, director Bora Dagtekin (“Where is Fred?”) sends the daughter of a Women’s Lib follower, a young Turkish macho with his prude sister onto a South Sea island after a plane crash – with all imaginable consequences. Family viewing at its best is promised by the adventures of the Famous Five George, Julian, Dick, Anne and their dog Timmy. The big-screen adaptation of their adventures thrilled a million movie-goers in Germany alone, making it the No 1 family entertainment movie of the year. Directed by Mike Marzuk and produced by Sam Film, the film is based on the international bestsellers by Enid Blyton, which has been sold over 100 million copies.

About Beta Film:

Founded in 1959, Beta Film GmbH is one of the world's leading international distributors and independent producer of TV product with customers in over 165 countries. Beta's one-of-a-kind program catalogue comprises over 15,000 hours or 4,000 titles in every available format and genre – from exciting action series, stirring TV movies and attention-getting miniseries to internationally acclaimed feature films, engrossing documentaries and unforgettable classics. The catalogue is unique not only on account of its vast assortment of formats and genres, but also because the programs come from many different countries: Beta distributes top U.S. productions, international TV and theatrical hits, and top-of-the-line European and German programs. Beta has been part of Jan Mojto's company group since 2004.

 

For further information:

Beta Film Press, Dorothee Stoewahse

Tel: + 49 89 67 34 69 15, press@betafilm.com, www.betafilm.com

 

Pictures available at:

ftp.betafilm.com, login: ftppress01, password: 8uV7xG3tB, file: MipTV 2013