‘We Are in the Middle of Restructuring’: German Series Industry Braces for Change

In a repeat of 2017, France’s 2022 presidential election is now down to the same two candidates: the incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen. In first round voting which took place on Sunday, centrist Macron emerged with 27.6% of the votes while Le Pen managed 23.4%. This is a bigger showing for Le Pen and her National Rally party (formerly National Front) than five years ago. The determining second round vote will be held on April 24.

Marta Balaga Following their collaboration on short “When the Hurlyburly’s Done” and “Killing All the Flies,” Alex Eslam and Hanna Maria Heidrich share directorial duties on eight-episode German Sky Atlantic series “Souls,” which competed at Canneseries this week.Produced by Geißendörfer Pictures and Sky Deutschland, its complex plot combines the concept of reincarnation, the kind of love that cheats death and even sees one of its characters, played by Julia Koschitz, caught in a time loop à la Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.”“It was always clear to me that this topic was way too big to focus on just one storyline,” explains Eslam, who created the series. His protagonists, who seemingly have nothing in common, represent the past, present and the future connected to one tragic event: a passenger plane accident that left many questions unanswered. Until teenage boy Jacob, fresh off a traumatic incident of his own, announces that in a previous life, he was actually the plane’s pilot.

Cannes Film Festival says it is anticipating in-person industry attendance at its 2022 edition to be “much higher than last year”, with the vast majority of delegates set to make the trip.

Marta Balaga The 7th MipDrama – an industry centrepiece at Cannes MipTV trade fair – wrapped with Germany’s “House of Promises” scooping the prestigious Buyers’ Coup de Cœur award.The romantic drama proved the clear favorite among the MipDrama audience gathered in the Debussy Theatre at Cannes’ Palais des Festivals, receiving the most rapturous applause of the day following its presentation. The 12-episode series stars Naemi Feitisch, Ludwig Simon – also seen in Amazon’s Prime Video series “Beat” – Alexander Scheer and Nina Kunzendorf, fresh off hit Viaplay Original “Furia.”Set in Berlin, “House of Promises” explores the eventful story behind the legendary credit department store Jonass, founded in the 1920s in a building which has now become Berlin’s Soho House. While the times are hard, marked by poverty and hardship, the  protagonists of “House of Promises” still dream of a better future.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorGermany has been a source of shows for the international market for decades, but with series like “Deutschland 83” in 2015, and “Babylon Berlin” and “Dark” in 2017, the bar was raised and the sense of what constituted German drama shifted, and international buyers took note.One of them was Christian Vesper, who bought “Deutschland 83” when he was drama chief at Sundance TV. Vesper remembers that at that time it was unheard of for a U.S. channel to buy a German drama.

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli and German networks have greenlit DreaMars, a live action series about eight teenagers who fly to Mars for a critical mission in preparation for settlement on the Red Planet.

environmental crises, with contributions from leading scientists and writers.Penguin Random House announced Thursday that “The Climate Book” will be published in Britain in October.It contains contributions from more than 100 academics, thinkers and campaigners, including novelists Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh, climate scientist Saleemul Huq and World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.The book aims to help readers connect the dots between threats to the climate, environment, sustainability and indigenous populations — among others — and is intended as a guide to understanding and activism.Contributors including Kenyan environmentalist Wanjira Mathai, Brazilian indigenous activist Sonia Guajajara, French economist Thomas Piketty and Canadian journalist Naomi Klein offer “compelling stories of change, action and resilience,” the publisher said, alongside Thunberg’s own stories of "learning, demonstrating, and uncovering greenwashing around the world.”“My hope is that this book might be some kind of go-to source for understanding these different, closely interconnected crises,” Thunberg said in a statement.Chloe Currens, editor at Penguin Press, said it was “a unique book, alive with moral purpose, which aims to change the climate conversation forever.”Thunberg began skipping classes once a week to protest climate change in 2018, when she was 15, sparking a series of school walkouts that grew into a global youth movement.Now 19, the Swedish activist has already published a memoir, “Our House Is On Fire” and a collection of speeches, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.”“The Climate Book” is published Oct. 27 in the U.K.

Amazon Studios Europe Boss Georgia Brown has revealed how the streamer “completely turned storymaking on its head” for upcoming hybrid grime/drill musical Jungle. 

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the first round of exhibition rotations scheduled for the 2022–2023 season, which further its mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema.

Benfica forward Darwin Nunez, who is reportedly 'dreaming' of a move to a top European club like Manchester City, has changed his agent to facilitate such a move, according to a report.

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that can be sourced from your diet. However, people can develop a B12 deficiency for a number of reasons. There are several common symptoms associated with a deficiency, but some of them can be rather painful.

Marta Balaga Just in time for the 20th anniversary of “The Wire,” celebrated during the opening of French TV festival Series Mania currently unspooling in Lille, David Simon returns to Baltimore with HBO’s miniseries “We Own This City.”Co-created with George Pelecanos and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, it focuses on true events described in Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s nonfiction book, chronicling the inner workings of the Gun Trace Task Force: the Baltimore Police Department unit charged with racketeering, robbery, extortion and overtime fraud in 2017.Jon Bernthal and Baltimore native Josh Charles star – as disgraced Sgt. Wayne Jenkins and GTTF detective Daniel Hersl respectively – as well as “Succession’s” Dagmara Domińczyk, McKinley Belcher III, Jamie Hector and Wunmi Mosaku.

When it comes to Hollywood, multi-talented icon Vanessa Williams, 59, has tried her hand (and succeeded) at every corner. First rising to stardom in 1984 as the first Black woman to win the Miss America crown, Vanessa went on to build a storied career on the stage and screen. Starring in Broadway productions like Kiss of the Spider Woman and Into the Woods, the latter of which won her a Tony Award, Vanessa established her one-of-a-kind talent, and will even return to the stage this May in POTUS. Vanessa has also gained acclaim on the small screen, winning an Emmy Award in 2007 for her role on Ugly Betty. 

EXCLUSIVE: French sales agent and producer Other Angle is leading a showcase of French comedies at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills.

EXCLUSIVE: I Am Woman star Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Stephen Graham are set to co-star opposite Daisy Ridley in Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea. Joachim Rønning is on board to direct with Jeff Nathanson writing the script and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman producing. The film will premiere on Disney+.