BERLIN -- German distribs ratcheted up a slew of programming sales at the recent German Screenings.
Bavaria Media Television inked a number of deals for local telenovela hit "Storm of Love" while documentary distrib United Docs benefited from growing global interest in the upcoming 2010 World Cup soccer championship in South Africa as well as the ongoing discussions on climate change.
Among the approximately 150 buyers at this year's German Screenings in Munich, which ran Nov. 29-Dec. 3, were Czech TV Barrandov, Media Vizion of Albania, Slovakia's Slovenska Televizia and Finland's Sub TV, all of which picked up "Storm of Love."
Pubcaster ARD's long-running soap "Marienhof" is also set to make its comeback in Finland, where Sub TV opted for 200 episodes of Bavaria's in-house production.
Finnish Family Channel also nabbed daily series "Lilli and the Girls" as well as French telenovela "Second Chance." The International Emmy nominated series has already sold to Russia and Japan, with remake rights deal struck for the Middle East and North Africa.
The upcoming World Cup and the current UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen proved attractive hooks for documentaries on South Africa, soccer and the environment.
Cologne-based United Docs sold a six-hour package of ecological programming to France that included such titles as "Plug 'n' Drive," which examines electric cars, and "Mission Possible," about the benefits of recycling. Ireland, the Czech Republic and Bosnia secured the rights to a film about a scientific expedition to the radioactive paradise of Bikini Atoll, "The Ghost Fleet of Bikini Atoll"; Spain, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Italy picked up "Why We Buy"; and to Poland and the Czech Republic nabbed the ecological thriller "Salmonopoly."
The Picture of the Napalm Girl," the story of Kim Phuc, who was photographed at the age of nine running for her life from a napalm raid in Vietnam, went to buyers in France, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The German Screenings are Germany's largest television trade fair. The annual event is organized by distrib outfit Telepool, public broadcasters Deutsche Welle and Austria's ORF, and German United Distributors, of which Bavaria Media Television is a member.
Contact Ed Meza at
ed.meza@mannaa.de