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When a workaholic defense attorney’s wife signs him up for a mindfulness course, he takes it to heart. Except now, he’s using his newly minted coping mechanisms to off anyone who disrupts his work-life balance. The German dark comedy series Murder Mindfully, based on the novel by Karsten Dusse, stars Tom Schilling. Written by Doron Wisotzky (Hagen), the show was directed by Boris Kunz (Paradise), Martina Plura (Unsichtbarer Angreifer), and Oscar nominee Max Zähle (Raju).

Stream it now.

Watch it at the top of this article.

Björn Diemel (Schilling) is a hardworking defense attorney, spending his days and nights protecting Germany’s biggest scumbags. He’s paid handsomely and lives comfortably — when he’s not working, which is hardly ever. Björn’s just missed his daughter’s fourth birthday celebration, and his wife, Katharina (Cox), is upset. She recommends he sign up for a mindfulness course so he...

Netflix’s “Murder Mindfully” (Original title: Achtsam Morden) is a German comedy crime miniseries based on Karsten Dusse’s eponymous bestseller book. It follows a lawyer who accidentally becomes a murderer after looking for ways to find a work-life balance through a mindfulness class. Tom Schilling stars in the central role of Björn Diemel, alongside Emily Cox, Murathan Muslu, Britta Hammelstein, Peter Jordan, Pamuk Pilavci, Johannes Allmayer, Sascha Geršak, Marc Hosemann, and Luca Maric. This offbeat crime thriller with deadpan humor consists of eight episodes and is now streaming on Netflix.

Spoilers ahead

Murder Mindfully ‘Netflix’ Miniseries Recap:

“Murder Mindfully” on Netflix revolves around a lawyer who suddenly finds himself caught in a web of crime after entering a mindfulness class to help give more time to his family. It uses the ‘You might be wondering how I got here’ approach to storytelling by initially showing the absurd point in...

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Murder Mindfully is a German dark comedy crime thriller series written by Karsten Dusse, Doron Wisotzky, Michael Kenda, and Anneke Janssen. Based on the bestselling 2024 book of the same name by author Karsten Dusse, the Netflix series follows Björn Diemel, a down-and-out top-flight lawyer who goes to a mindfulness retreat and suddenly becomes a murderer and mastermind for the mob. Murder Mindfully stars Tom Schilling, Emily Cox, Michael Ihnow, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Amer El-Erwadi, and Viktoria Schreiber. So, if you loved the dark comedy the dark comedy, thrilling story, and compelling characters in Murder Mindfully here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Dexter Credit – Showtime

Dexter is a psychological crime thriller dark comedy series created by James Manos Jr. Based on the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by author Jeff Lindsay, the Showtime series follows Dexter Morgan,...

This darkly humorous German series introduces us to Björn Diemel, a hardworking defense lawyer struggling to maintain balance. His personal life suffers as he dedicates endless hours to aiding a notorious crime boss. Seeking a solution, Björn tries mindfulness—a practice encouraging presence of mind.

At first doubtful, he finds the techniques help calm his racing thoughts. But just as Björn establishes healthier routines, duty calls him away during a family trip. He winds up transporting his dangerous clients with daughter Emily in tow. A deadly error of judgment leaves Björn facing undesirable changes—and an unwelcome covert operation.

From the start, Murder Mindfully intrigues with its unusual pairing of mindfulness and homicide. As Björn’s unforeseen acts unfold, darker themes emerge around freedom and accountability. Tom Schilling excels as our conflicted protagonist, radiating unease beneath his placid surface. Witty writing and a compelling lead performance sustain interest, though some queries go unfortunately unanswered.

The Netflix German series Murder Mindfully, starring Tom Schilling, is witty and entertaining. The strange blend of murder and mindfulness is unique, and surprisingly, the blend does make sense. If one commits a crime in haste, they are bound to leave traces, but what if the criminal practices mindfulness? Well, that’s a whole different story. Bjorn Diemel, a defense lawyer, struggled to find work-life balance. His client was a mafia boss, Dragan, who kept him on his toes, and Bjorn always felt he was not appreciated enough for the risks he took. The distance between him and his wife widened, and it broke his heart whenever he missed an important day in his daughter’s life. He regretted not having the time to be there for his daughter, and one day he decided to take control of his life. He met a mindfulness coach, and all of a sudden his life drastically changed.

Morgen startet mit „Achtsam Morden“ ein Jahr nach „Liebes Kind“ die nächste Netflix Originals Serie aus dem Hause Constantin Film: Jan Ehlert, der neue Cco des Filmkonzerns, war von Anfang als Produzent mit an Bord. Ein Gespräch über die Leidenschaft für die richtigen Stoffe, rasante Marktveränderungen und die richtige Strategie.

Jan Ehlert, Cco Constantin Film, Geschäftsführer Constantin Television (Credit: Constantin Television)

Achtsamkeit! Klingt verrückt.

Jan Ehlert: Wir haben das wirklich gemacht! Tom Schilling, Regisseurin Martina Plura, meine Produktionskollegin Nina Viktoria Philipp und ich haben relativ kurz vor dem Dreh tatsächlich einen Achtsamkeits-Crashkurs durchlaufen, mit einer wunderbaren Achtsamkeits-Coachin in Berlin. Es ist… verblüffend. Ich kann es nur jedem ans Herz legen. Oder zumindest vielen.

Wie findet man einen Stoff wie „Achtsam Morden“ – vor allen anderen?

Jan Ehlert: In diesem Fall war es der gute Kontakt zu dem Literaturagenten von Karsten Dusse. Er hat uns auf „Achtsam Morden“ aufmerksam gemacht, als...

A new week is here, and so is November! When did that happen? But before we get to Thanksgiving, Netflix has a few movies and shows they are adding to their lineup this week, including a new season of a Netflix Original, a new documentary, and a comedy crime series.

First up is The Diplomat! Season 2 is hitting Netflix on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, and this season will start where last season left off. A bomb had just gone off, possibly injuring Kate's husband and staff, so we will likely get to see how everyone is recovering/who didn't survive. That will probably be most of the first episodes. Kate is also being looked at for the office of the Vice President, whether she likes it or not. And with Allison Janney as the current Vice President, things are sure to get sticky.

Take a look at the trailer here:

This week also brings Martha!

Hubert Burda Media hat jetzt die jeweils drei Nominierten für die Bambi-Verleihung in den Kategorien „Schauspielerin National“ und „Schauspieler National“ bekannt gegeben.

Der Bambi wird am 7. November in München verliehen (Credit: Harald-Fuhr für Hubert Burda Media)

Jeweils drei Schauspielerinnen und Schauspieler können sich Hoffnungen machen, in diesem Jahr mit einem Bambi in der Kategorie Schauspielerin National bzw. Schauspieler National ausgezeichnet zu werden.

Wie Hubert Burda Media, das den Bambi seit 1948 vergibt, heute mitteilt, sind Jella Haase, Hannah Herzsprung und Karoline Schuch in der Kategorie Schauspielerin National nominiert.

Jella Haase wurde für ihre Rolle in „Chantal im Märchenland“ nominiert. In der Jurybegründung heißt es: „Jella Haase ist eine begnadete Komödiantin. Als Chantal zeigt sie uns die große Kunst, die Zuschauer nicht über ihre Figur lachen zu lassen, sondern mit ihr. Mit ‚Chantal im Märchenland‘ steht Haase als Hauptdarstellerin im Mittelpunkt. Sie trägt den Film, sie erfüllt ihn mit ihrer positiven Energie und ihrer Liebe zu Chantal.

Oliver Berben, who took the reins of German production and distribution powerhouse Constantin Film on March 1, faces a German media landscape that is “changing radically and quickly,” he says. In response, he is adjusting the company’s approach to the business.

He welcomes the government’s proposed reform of the German Film Law, which will change the country’s production incentives, including for television, and will introduce an obligation on broadcasters and streamers to invest 20% of sales generated in Germany back into European productions, 70% of which would have to be in the German language.

“You have stagnating funding of public broadcasters. You have declining revenues for the private stations. The question is: Is the model functioning altogether? It is not, if we just keep on doing the same thing again and again.”

He adds, “Everything is changing, and these changes, by the way, are good. Us, as producers, we need...

Nach „Liebes Kind“ kommt mit „Achtsam Morden“ eine erneute Ausnahmeserie von Constantin Film zu Netflix. Nun gibt es einen ersten Trailer der pechschwarzen Krimigeschichte mit Tom Schilling in der Hauptrolle.

Schon bei der Netflix-Programmpräsentation „Next on Netflix“ im März fiel „Achtsam Morden“ auf als potenzielle Ausnahmeserie – nicht zuletzt, weil für die Hauptrolle in der von Martina Plura zusammen mit Max Zähle (sowie Boris Kunz) inszenierten Comedy-Crime-Saga mit Tom Schilling ein ausgemachter Kinostar in seiner nach „Ich und die anderen“ erst zweiten Serienhauptrolle zu sehen ist.

In den weiteren Rollen sieht man Emily Cox, Britta Hammelstein, Murathan Muslu, Peter Jordan, Pamuk Pilavci, Johannes Allmayer, Sascha Geršak, Marc Hosemann, Luca Maric.

Die von den Autoren Doron Wisotzky (auch Head-Autor), Anneke Janssen, Michael Kenda geschriebene Geschichte basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Bestseller von Karsten Dusse. Es handelt sich um eine Produktion der Constantin Film. Als Produzent:innen sind Jan Ehlert und Nina Viktoria Philipp an Bord.

"Mindfulness can break noses." Netflix has revealed the official trailer for an interesting new German dark comedy series called Murder Mindfully, originally called Achtsam Morden in German. In 8 episodes, the story of a lawyer struggling with burn-out unfolds in a light-hearted way and with a great sense of absurdity as he turns his life completely upside down, soon allowing neither his mafia clients nor anything to upset him. Tom Schilling stars as Björn, a high-powered mafia lawyer, whoseeks peace in a mindfulness class to ease his stressful life. But as he explores the art of relaxation, he stumbles upon a darker method of finding inner peace — one that involves murder. The series main cast also includes Emily Cox, Murathan Muslu, Britta Hammelstein, Peter Jordan, Pamuk Pilavci, Johannes Allmayer, Sascha Geršak, Marc Hosemann, and Luca Maric. Yet another new series about how murder is cathartic (also see: Sweetpea). This series looks clever and kooky and funny.

Am 31. Oktober startet die starbesetzte, von Constantin Film für Netflix produzierte Comedy-Crime-Serie „Achtsam Morden“ nach dem Bestseller von Karsten Dusse. Jetzt wurden erste coole Bilder veröffentlicht.

[See image gallery at spot-mediafilm.com]

Die Fotos sehen schon mal super aus. Mit der Veröffentlichung der ersten Szenenbilder von „Achtsam Morden“ steigt die Vorfreude auf den Start am 31. Oktober. Die schwarzhumorige Comedy-Crime-Serie nach dem Bestseller von Karsten Dusse wurde von Constantin Film für Netflix produziert. Der hochkarätige Cast glänzt mit Namen wie Tom Schilling, Emily Cox, Britta Hammelstein, Murathan Muslu, Peter Jordan, Pamuk Pilavci, Johannes Allmayer, Sascha Geršak, Marc Hosemann und Luca Maric. Die acht Folgen wurden von Martina Plura und Max Zähle mit Boris Kunz als Zusatzregie inszeniert. Für das Drehbuch zeichnen Doron Wisotzky (auch Head-Autor), Anneke Janssen und Michael Kenda verantwortlich. Die Bildgestaltung stammt von Monika Plura und Frank Küpper. Lars Lange und Teresa Grosser sind als Szenenbildner bzw. Kostümbildnerin an Bord.

Zum Inhalt: Björn Diemel (Tom Schilling), erfolgreicher Top-Anwalt,...

Die lokalen Blockbuster von 2025 werden jetzt schon gedreht: Studiocanal Germany hat das allererste Drehstartfoto von „Woodwalkers 2“ diesmal unter der Regie von Sven Unterwaldt veröffentlicht, der am 25. Oktober 2025 in die Kinos kommen wird.

First Look: „Woodwalkers 2“! Kinder vorn: Emile Cherif (Carag), Olivia Sinclair (Tikaani), Johan von Ehrlich (Brandon), Sophie Lelenta (Lou), Lilli Falk (Holly); Erwachsene hinten: Sven Unterwaldt (Regie), Martina Gedeck (Lissa Clearwater), Tom Schilling (Mr. Crump) (Credit: © blue eyes/Studiocanal/Marc Reimann)

Hat man auch nicht oft: Die Fortsetzung wird schon gedreht, obwohl der erste Film noch gar nicht im Kino ist. Im Fall von „Woodwalkers“ ist das so. Die erste Verfilmung der Bestsellerreihe von Katja Brandis kommt am 24. Oktober in die deutschen Kinos. Nun hat bereits der Dreh von Teil zwei begonnen, diesmal unter der Regie von Sven Unterwaldt Jr. und wieder produziert von blue eyes Fiction. Zum bereits bestehenden Cast mit Oliver Masucci, Martina Gedeck, Hannah Herzsprung und...

Confirming Germany’s importance as a growth market, Netfix on Wednesday announced 17 new and returning shows and movies produced by some of the country’s leading producers, including docuseries “Kaulitz & Kaulitz,” about the Tokio Hotel popstar siblings, and sci-fi drama “Cassandra,” about an overzealous electronic household helper.

Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.

“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”

Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.

Sebastian Stan, whose “A Different Man” screens in the Berlin Film Festival, Christoph Waltz and Tom Wlaschiha, the “Faceless Man” in “Game of Thrones,” were among the guests at Studio Babelsberg Night, the historic Berlin film studios’ party at Soho House Berlin held to celebrate the 74th edition of the festival. The event was supported by Mexican tequila brand Don Julio, the Motion Picture Assn. and Little Moons. Variety was the media partner.

Among the leading filmmakers welcomed by Babelsberg were Fatih Akin, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2004, Julia von Heinz, whose film “Treasure,” starring Lena Dunham, plays at the Berlinale, and Tom Tykwer, who shot series “Babylon Berlin” at Babelsberg and recently shot feature film “The Light” there.

Christoph Waltz

Other directors and writers at the party included “Dark” creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who shot Netflix’s “1899” at Babelsberg, Lars Kraume, Detlev Buck and David Wnendt.

Pictures: Netflix – Illustration by What’s on Netflix

It’s time for another slate preview, and today we’ll look through all the upcoming German-language movies and series we know are in development at Netflix for release in 2024 and beyond.

2023 was a big year for new German-language Netflix Originals, with a dozen releases in total. Dear Child was perhaps the biggest, spending six weeks in the global top 10s in total. As a reminder, all the new German titles included:

1899 (Multilingual) Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold Blood & Gold Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Dear Child Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate Hard Feelings Making All Quiet on the Western Front Paradise Sleeping Dog Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom Too Hot to Handle: Germany Woman of the Dead

This list is everything currently announced and Netflix De (or Netflix Europe) has yet to put out an...

"I don't want to be that idiot anymore who misses out on life." Warner Bros Germany debuted an official trailer for a German movie opening February 2024 titled A Million Minutes, or Eine Million Minuten in German. It's based on the book "One Million Minutes: What My Daughter Taught Me About Time" from Wolf Küper, about his own experiences living a more healthier, sustainable life. The Küper family's life is turned upside down when their daughter Nina is diagnosed with a motor disorder. In search of a better way of life, they spend 694 days in Thailand & Iceland and discover a new world full of time for her and each family member. But social norms and the expectations of family members put their deceleration to the test. "One million minutes, 694 days, almost two years... The Küpers set off in search of a new, different way of life and discover anew every day:...

German cinema is in Cannes with new works by Wim Wenders and films that explore Nazi propaganda, gender identity, economic crisis, romance, betrayal and fast cars.

In addition to domestic films, a dozen German co-productions are screening in this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, including major works from the likes of Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismäki and Jessica Hausner.

Wenders is in Cannes with “Perfect Days,” which is vying for the Palme d’Or, and the documentary “Anselm” in Special Screenings.

“Perfect Days” tells the story of a Tokyo janitor (Kôji Yakusho) who seems very content with his simple life, structured routines and passion for music, books and photography. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. The Japanese-German co-production is sold by the Match Factory.

“Anselm” explores the work of artist Anselm Kiefer, shedding light on his life, inspirations and creative process. Shot in 3D,...

With some of Germany’s most successful production companies in its stable, Leonine Studios is reaping the rewards with such feature film and television hits as “School of Magical Animals,” “Nightlife,” “Dark” and “Pagan Peak.”

Leonine’s production division includes such well-established companies as Wiedemann & Berg Film, which focuses on theatrical features, W&b Television and Odeon Fiction, which produce movies and series for all broadcasters and streaming platforms in Germany, documentary outfit Gebrueder Beetz and format maker I&u TV.

“We are in for high creative quality and commercial success,” explains Quirin Berg, who, along with Max Wiedemann, serves as Leonine’s chief production officer and managing director of Wiedemann & Berg Film.

“The parameters in each segment we are operating in may be different, but the agenda is not. And that was already the profile when we started out as producers some 20 years ago.”

Indeed, Wiedemann & Berg’s first feature film,...

Michiel van Erp’s Casanova drama ‘A Beautiful Imperfection’ stars Jonah Hauer-King and Dar Zuzovsky.

German sales outfit Global Screen has added two new titles to its busy Cannes market line-up.

The Munich-based company has taken on international rights, excluding Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy, for Michiel van Erp’s A Beautiful Imperfection, a romantic costume drama telling the story of the love affair between a young woman and the notorious Italian adventurer and womaniser Giacomo Casanova.

The project is in post-production and Global Screen will have a first promo for pre-sales at the Cannes Market.

Jonah Hauer-King stars as...

Picture Tree Intl. has taken global sales rights for “The Peacock” by Lutz Heineking Jr. The black comedy is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by German author Isabel Bogdan, which has been published in key European territories. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below).

The film’s cast is filled with German stars including Lavinia Wilson, Tom Schilling, David Kross and Jürgen Vogel. Tobis Film releases the film in Germany on March 9.

When investment banker Linda Bachmann and her team arrive at the country estate of Lord and Lady McIntosh for a team building seminar, the prospects for having a relaxing weekend in Scotland are not good: the annual balance sheet is lousy, the team is keeping a suspicious eye on each other and their boss, and there are rumors that a compliance officer will soon be restructuring the department.

To make matters worse,...

Click here to read the full article.

For almost 30 years, the Oldenburg Film Festival has been championing a very specific flavor of fiercely independent cinema.

Equally inspired by the New Hollywood genre films of the 1970s and the bootstraps indie cinema of the 1990s, Oldenburg has carved out a niche unlike any of the major international festivals. Instead of playing the same fall festival hits as Cannes, Venice and Toronto, Oldenburg continues to spotlight overlooked or forgotten movies that don’t fit the industry’s familiar categories.

For the 29th festival, which runs Sept. 14-18, The Hollywood Reporter took a look back at five indie gems from Oldenburg’s weird and wonderful history.

A Coffee in Berlin (2012, Winner, Audience Award, German Independence Award, Best Actor Award)

‘A Coffee in Berlin’

Jan-Ole Gerster’s A Coffee In Berlin, a droll, Jim Jarmusch-inspired day-in-the-life-of-a-German-slacker drama, premiered at the Munich Film Festival.

Picture Tree International (Pti) has acquired Constantin Film’s hit comedy film series “Bavarian Rhapsody,” about a laid-back cop in a small town in southern Germany.

The eight-part movie series, which Pti is presenting at the MipTV mart in Cannes this week, includes the latest installment, “Guglhupf Squadron,” which Constantin is releasing in theaters in August. Pti will screen a trailer reel of the series and part seven in the franchise, last year’s “Kaiserschmarrn Drama.”

Based on Rita Falk’s bestselling book series that also celebrates Bavarian cuisine, the movie franchise began in 2013 with “Sweet Buns Blues” and also comprises 2014’s “Winterpotato Dumplings”; “Porkhead Al Dente” (2016); “Wheatnoodles Affair” (2017); “Sauerkraut Coma” (2018); and the sixth installment, “Leberkäs Junkie” (2019).

Set in the town of Niederkaltenkirchen, the series follows Franz Eberhofer, the local village cop and an easygoing creature of habit who lives on his family’s farm, Eberhoferhof, with his grandmother, an...

Dominik Graf has been busy turning out termite art for decades. Finding a home on German TV shows like Tatort and Police Call 310, which air feature-length episodes with self-contained storylines, his work is modest but powerful, somewhere between Michael Mann and Johnnie To. Though subject of a retrospective at New York’s Anthology Film Archives in 2019, he has only recently received much attention outside Germany. His dedication to genre cinema––to which he has devoted two documentaries––and disdain for New German Cinema helps explains this, as does the infrequency with which subtitled TV is imported here. Two of his best films, Cold Spring and Bitter Innocence, are acridly cynical examinations of capitalism’s effect on German family life, mixing family melodrama with thriller.

Fabian: Going to the Dogs takes seemingly familiar ground and breathes new life into it. Set in 1931, it shows the gradual rise of fascism as a...

Dominik Graf, one of contemporary cinema’s most vigorous and engaged filmmakers—not to mention prodigious, having made nearly 20 features in the last ten years—is making a welcome return to movie theaters. After the commercial failure of Die Sieger, a big screen crime epic, Graf pivoted to focus on television movies, whose verve and density easily put to rest any argument about the cinematic capacity of the small screen. All his TV movies are good, many are great; almost all are unknown outside Germany. Thus the release in cinemas of a new feature is a relatively rare opportunity for audiences to see a special filmmaker at work.The caveat here is that like Hitchcock and Kubrick before him, and Fincher and Soderbergh now, Graf is obsessed with the idioms of genre cinema, but is also too knowing to master its transparent experience. He so thoroughly knows what makes a...

Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.

Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.

“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.

Our annual tradition of Fantasy Double Features asks the year's Notebook contributors to pair something new with something old, with the only requirement being the films have to have been freshly seen this year.Part diary of memorable viewing during 2021, part creative prompt to think about how cinema's present speaks to its past (and vice versa), the 14th edition of our end of year poll weaves between theater-going and home-viewing so seamlessly as to suggest that early pandemic impediments from last year are now quite normal. Yet clearly that hasn't stopped us from watching, being delighted by, and thinking about movies, and the wonderful combinations below are testaments to the dynamic, idiosyncratic, and interactive vitality of moviegoing wherever and however its being practiced.CONTRIBUTORSJett Allen | Paul Attard | Jennifer Lynde Barker | Susana Bessa | Michael M. Bilandic | Ela Bittencourt | Johannes Black | Joshua Bogatin | Alex Broadwell | Celluloid Liberation Front | Lillian Crawford | Adrian Curry...

WarnerMedia Germany has confirmed that Ricky Gervais is among the cast of its comedy series Greenlight – German Genius, which is now shooting in Berlin.

The eight-part TV satire stars Kida Khodr Ramadan (4 Blocks) as himself. It recounts a dramatized version of events after Ramadan’s real-life Twitter exchange with Gervais in 2018, in which the British comedian praised Ramadan’s performance in 4 Blocks.

In Greenlight, Ramadan convinces Gervais to give him the rights for a German adaptation of Extras. However, as he attempts to progress the show to production, he comes up against the fact that the Germans aren’t particularly known for their humor, and that there are not many international stars in the country.

Also in the cast are a host of known German actors, musicians, and comedians, including: Detlev Buck, Frederick Lau, Tom Schilling, Veysel Gelin, Olli Schulz, Heike Makatsch, Maria Furtwängler, Sascha Geršak, Katrin Bauerfeind, Britta Hammelstein,...

Ricky Gervais has boarded “Greenlight – German Genius” a new series from WarnerMedia Germany inspired by one of his tweets from 2019.

The 8-episode series, which has started shooting in Berlin, satirises the German television industry.

Two years ago the “After Life” writer and actor sent a public message via Twitter to German actor Kida Ramadan praising his portrayal of character Toni Hamady in series “4 Blocks.”

“Congratulations,” wrote Gervais. “Another masterpiece.”

In a case of art imitating life, Ramadan and Gervais will now appear as fictional versions of themselves in “Greenlight – German Genius,” in which Ramadan convincing Gervais to let him make a German adaptation of his hit series “Extras” after the comedian sends Ramadan a tweet praising his performance in “4 Blocks.”

However, Ramadan hits a stumbling block when he realizes there aren’t any international celebrities in Germany to cameo in the adaptation all while trying to navigate the...

In his latest work, “Fabian — Going to the Dogs,” Dominik Graf adapts a work that defines the tragic, hedonistic and dysfunctional era of the Weimar Republic from a writer widely known for his children’s books.

Set in 1931 Berlin, the story, based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name, is seen through the eyes of Jakob Fabian (Tom Schilling), a fatalistic writer who finds solace in his love for Cornelia, played by Saskia Rosendahl (“Never Look Away”) and his best friend Stephan (European Shooting Star Albrecht Schuch), and the wild nights of the city’s outlandish establishments while longing for the return of decency in a society gone astray.

The film premiered in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and screened this week at Rotterdam Film Festival.

Graf, one of Germany’s preeminent filmmakers, is behind such lauded works as “The Cat,” “A Map of the Heart,...

The new film by the German director will star actors Justus von Dohnányi and Hans Löw alongside newcomer Claude Heinrich as the main protagonist. The shoot for the adaptation of the novel Wir sind dann wohl die Angehörigen (lit. “We Are the Relatives”), written in 2018 by young German musician and first-time author Johann Scheerer, has started, helmed by director Hans-Christian Schmid, who wrote the script for this family drama together with Michael Gutmann. Schmid, best known for films such as Crazy (starring Robert Stadlober and Tom Schilling) and Requiem (starring Sandra Hüller), is producing the film together with Britta Knöller and their production company, 23/5 Filmproduktion. Through the unusual and enthralling perspective of a 13-year-old, the film tells the story of the abduction of Jan Philipp Reemtsma, which actually took place in 1996. Johann Scheerer, Reemtsma's son, converted his experience into a novel. He paints the portrait of a...

Dominik Graf’s Golden Bear contender came in joint second on Screen’s Berlin jury grid.

Paris-based Les Films du Losange has announced a raft of international deals on German director Dominik Graf’s Weimar Republic-era drama Fabian which made its world premiere in competition at the online Berlinale last week.

The film has sold to Japan (Moviola), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films), China (Huanxi Media), South Korea (Alto Media), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), Poland (Aurora), Hungary (Cirko) and the Baltic States (European Film Forum Scanorama).

These deals come hot on the heels of last week’s...

When he was offered the lead role in Fabian —Going to the Dogs, a coming-of-age tell set in Berlin in the early 1930s, Tom Schilling wasn’t really interested in doing another period drama.

The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...

When he was offered the lead role in Fabian —Going to the Dogs, a coming-of-age tell set in Berlin in the early 1930s, Tom Schilling wasn’t really interested in doing another period drama.

The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...

German author Erich Kästner is most celebrated for the children’s novel Emil and the Detectives, but he was one of the more renowned men of letters of his day, publishing poetry, reviews, and satirical columns in Berlin liberal newspapers like Berliner Tageblatt and Vossische Zeitung––both of which were shut down as the Third Reich ascended to power. His novel Fabian – Going to the Dogs was published earlier in 1932, but is now perceived as a prophetic harbinger for the Weimar Republic’s demise. And of course, notions of liberal democracy’s twilight are rich in the minds of artists and commentators today, so here we have German literary film-specialist Dominik Graf with a timely and maybe predictable adaptation of Fabian.

Except, as sundry early viewers of Fabian have identified, this is a story and milieu bathed in overfamiliarity, and Graf’s three-hour film version doesn’t distinguish itself well...

It is a welcome sight indeed to find Dominik Graf, one of contemporary cinema’s most vigorous and engaged filmmakers—not to mention prodigious, having made nearly 20 features in the last ten years—in the spotlight of the Berlinale’s competition. After the commercial failure of Die Sieger, a big screen crime epic, Graf pivoted to focus on television movies, whose verve and density easily put to rest any argument about the cinematic capacity of the small screen. All his TV movies are good, many are great; almost all are unknown outside Germany. Thus a premiere in Berlin is a relatively rare opportunity for an international audience to see a special filmmaker at work.The caveat here is that like Hitchcock and Kubrick before him, and Fincher and Soderbergh now, Graf is obsessed with the idioms of genre cinema, but is also too knowing to master its transparent experience. He...

Four titles have landed on the first edition of the grid.

Dominik Graf’s period drama Fabian – Going To The Dogs has set the early pace on Screen’s Berlin 2021 Competition jury grid, with a score of 3.1.

The result came from seven of the eight critics, and included three “excellent” scores of four stars from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus, Sight & Sound’s Nick James and Screen’s own critic.

The Morning Star’s Rita di Santo and Anton Dolin of Meduza and Film Art awarded it an “average” mark of two stars each.

Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic,...

With a strong showing at this year’s Berlin Film Festival that includes the directorial debut of Daniel Brühl and new works by Maria Schrader and Dominik Graf in competition, German films are set to garner much of the spotlight at the accompanying European Film Market.

Brühl, who is set to reprise his role as the vengeful Helmut Zemo in the upcoming Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” explores the contradictions of present-day Berlin in “Next Door.” The seemingly self-referential story has Brühl playing Daniel, a successful actor living in the city’s Prenzlauer Berg district, who is about to jet off to audition for a role in a superhero movie. His life suddenly changes when he is confronted by a disgruntled neighbor, played by Peter Kurth (“Babylon Berlin”), a victim of gentrification in former East Berlin and one of the many losers of German reunification.

Written by bestselling author Daniel Kehlmann,...

Germany is on its postwar sickbed, and perched on the edge of self-destruction, in Dominik Graf’s epically sized yet intimately scaled, cracked picture of Weimar Berlin after WWI, and with omens of the next one creeping in. A 178-minute bildungsroman in the true sense, “Fabian – Going to the Dogs,” shot with primarily handheld digital camera and in the boxed-in Academy ratio, While perhaps padding its running time too robustly with strange and often even grotesque side characters, the movie ultimately falls squarely on Tom Schilling’s shoulders, the idealist of the title who chooses falling in love over ambition.

At 32 years old, Jakob Fabian is a 32-year-old war veteran back in the city and rattled by Ptsd, which is somewhat keeping his literary aspirations at bay as he works by day as an ad man for a cigarette company. Based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name,...

Though little known in the English-speaking world, Erich Kästner’s slim novel originally translated in 1932 as “Fabian. The Story of a Moralist” is a brilliantly astute rendering of life in Weimar Berlin, straightforward and yet surreal, witty and perverse. To tackle it in cinema would seem like an impossible task, and while Dominik Graf’s “Fabian – Going to the Dogs” is to be commended for getting quite a lot right, the movie is blowsy where the book is succinct, awkwardly paced and portentous where Kästner is consistently rhythmical and unpretentious. Set in a teetering world of dissoluteness and disillusion in which a good man without professional ambition awakens to life’s promise only to have it all torn away, the story has modern resonances that Graf (“The Beloved Sisters” among many others) keenly underlines, and while the film’s core is affectingly developed, the rest tries too hard to expose...

In Germany, they call the period just before the rise of Adolf Hitler “the dance on the volcano” — the late 1920s and early 1930s when German society, at least in the big cities like Berlin, seemed open, free, and exciting. When no one seemed to notice they were on the edge of catastrophe.

It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...

In Germany, they call the period just before the rise of Adolf Hitler “the dance on the volcano” — the late 1920s and early 1930s when German society, at least in the big cities like Berlin, seemed open, free, and exciting. When no one seemed to notice they were on the edge of catastrophe.

It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...

This year’s Berlin International Film Festival will look a bit different this year, with a virtual edition taking place March 1-5 for industry and press, then a public, in-person edition kicking off in June.

The complete lineup has now been unveiled, including Céline Sciamma’s highly-anticipated Portrait of a Lady on Fire follow-up Petite Maman, a surprise new Hong Sang-soo feature, the latest work from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, along with new projects by Radu Jude, Xavier Beauvois, Dominik Graf, Pietro Marcello, Ramon Zürcher & Silvan Zürcher, and more.

Check out each section below.

Competition Tiles

“Albatros” (Drift Away)

France

by Xavier Beauvois

with Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo

“Babardeală cu buclucsau porno balamuc” (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)

Romania/Luxemburg/Croatia/Czech Republic

by Radu Jude

with Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai

“Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde” (Fabian – Going to the Dogs)

Germany

by Dominik Graf

with Tom Schilling,...

New film by Dominik Graf’s is based on 1930s Berlin-set novel of Erich Kästner.

Paris-based Les Films du Losange has boarded world sales on German director Dominik Graf’s 1930s Berlin set drama Fabian, which has been selected for competition in the Berlinale’s two-part 2021 edition.

Graf’s first feature in five years, it is adapted from the 1931 satirical novel by German writer Erich Kästner, best known internationally as the author of the 1929 children’s book Emil And The Detectives.

Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, it stars Tom Schilling, whose credits include Never Look Away, as the...

This week of Berlin International Film Festival announcements comes to a close with the main course – the Competition and Special Screenings programs. Scroll down for the full lists.

The 15-strong Competition – all world premieres – includes titles from filmmakers including Celine Sciamma, Daniel Bruhl and Xavier Beauvois.

Celine Sciamma is following on from her Golden Globe-nominated Portrait Of A Lady On Fire with her next movie, Petite Maman, which only went into production in November; plot details are hush but it is understood to star two eight-year-olds.

Actor-turned-filmmaker Bruhl also plays the protagonist in his directorial debut, Next Door, which centers on a film star and his troublesome neighbor.

Xavier Beauvois, whose credits include the Cannes Grand Prix winner Of Gods And Men and the 2017 film The Guardians, presents his eighth work, Albatros, which follows a police captain whose life goes into a tailspin.

Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude will also present his latest work,...

Actor Daniel Bruhl’s directorial debut and new titles from Radu Jude, Celine Sciamma, Hong Sangsoo and Xavier Beauvois are among the 15 competition titles in the Berlin Film Festival, all of which were revealed Thursday.

Five of the titles are from female filmmakers (some of whom are co-directors on titles), on par with last year’s competition, when six of the 18 competition titles were helmed by women.

The festival also revealed the 11 titles in the Berlinale Special strand.

Festival executive director Mariette Rissenbeek introduced the format of this year’s festival, after which artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films selected.

As first revealed by Variety, the festival’s 71st edition will take place in two stages. Industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund will be online March 1-5. Meanwhile, June 9-20 will see a physical summer public event, pandemic permitting.

Explaining the rationale,...

Six series will play in the festival with 10 titles in the Market.

A new anthology series titled This Is Music from directors including Wim Wenders and David Byrne is one of 10 international projects selected for the Co-Pro Series section of the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2021 (March 2-5).

The Berlinale Series has also selected six series to play in the online festival, which runs from March 1-5.

Scroll down for full list of Co-Pro Series, Berlinale Series and Series Market Selects titles

Produced by Norway’s Oslo Pictures, anthology series This Is Music is created by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, who wrote Wenders...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the six titles that will take part in the latest edition of Berlinale Series. The shows will screen online during the first week of March when the European Film Market runs, and the team are currently discussing plans for presenting some of the shows during the festival’s planned summer event.

The line-up includes Philly D.A., the strand’s first docuseries, which follows the most controversial District Attorney in the U.S. and will arrive from its premiere at Sundance. Deadline recently revealed that Dogwoof has boarded the project, which comes from Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald.

Latin American TV will be represented for the first time with two titles: Amongst Men (Entre Hombres), an Argentinian HBO production, and The Last Days of Gilda (Os últimos dias de Gilda) from Canal Brazil.

Russell T Davies’ drama set during the AIDS crisis,...

This year’s Berlinale Series has announced the section’s lineup of six titles.

The TV arm of the festival, which is being held online this year due to the pandemic, said the shows reflect “unconventional and surprising topics, narratives and visual style [that] comprise a mirror of our time.”

Latin American content is represented for the first time with the Argentinian HBO production “Entre hombres” (Amongst Men) and “Os últimos dias de Gilda” (The Last Days of Gilda) from Brazil. “Philly D.A.,” a U.S. production by Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, is the first documentary series to be invited into the program.

Separately, the Berlinale Series Market and Conference, the industry platform which is part of the European Film Market, has announced a newly created special label called “Berlinale Series Market Selects” that highlights series with high commercial potential within the “Berlinale Series Market” screenings.

Berlinale...

This year’s German Film Award nominees for best picture include hard-hitting social dramas, tales of romance and cultural divides, family relationships and musical icons as well as works by a growing number of filmmakers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The German Film Academy, forced to revamp its 70th German Film Awards ceremony due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, will honor the country’s most acclaimed films during a special live TV presentation on April 24.

The German Film Awards ceremony, which in the past aired pre-recorded on Zdf, will be broadcast live for the first time on Ard’s Das Erste, due in part to its remade and shortened presentation. Doing away with its traditional gala event, the show will instead include guest filmmakers, musicians and presenters taking part via video feed from their homes.

Six films are vying for the best picture trophy, nicknamed the Lola, among them Burhan Qurbani’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz,...