Seriesly Berlin To Launch In German Capital This September

Fotografiska Berlin. Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images.

EXCLUSIVE: A new series-focused festival is set to hit the calendar this fall.

Described as an “international festival for series culture,” Seriesly Berlin will launch in the German capital this September and run across two days (Sept 26-27) at Fotografiska Berlin.

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Public Enterprises are both partners and financial sponsors of the event, which will be run by German industry vet Eike Faecks and his newly founded outfit Regime Media.

The festival program will take place in several rooms across Fotografiska Berlin, a multi-purpose arts and cultural venue in Berlin-Mitte. Organizers have said there will be a competitive festival strand for series projects alongside an industry portion, including conferences, panels, masterclass sessions, and networking events such as speed-date pitches for writers, producers, and industry professionals working in fiction and nonfiction. Festival screenings will be open to the general public.

For the first edition, the industry strand will focus on the following topics: the production of high-quality material in times of tight budgets, and the possibilities of international co-production. Other central themes explored will be the new draft of the German Film Subsidies Act and its impact on the production landscape, the creative, legal, and economic implications of artificial intelligence on the industry, and diversity and representation in storytelling and casting.

Discussing the launch this morning with Deadline, Seriesly Berlin Managing Director Eike Faecks said the event aims to establish an “innovative series festival that creates a platform for business and exchange, where all players in the industry can take away useful impulses and the relevant topics are discussed from the different perspectives of the participants at the top-class conference.”

“Attending the festival should inspire, create long-term networks, and establish Berlin as a powerhouse of the creative industry in Europe,” he added.

Helge Jürgens, Managing Director of New Media Funding at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, added: “It’s great news for Berlin, the location for the series, that a new series festival with international appeal is to be established here. The Capital Region, with its creative infrastructure of established and up-and-coming talent and companies, is a popular location for international productions, with award-winning series as well as innovative formats being created here. We wish the makers of Seriesly Berlin every success for the first edition and look forward to seeing, discussing, and celebrating many series in September.”

Festival organizers will open a submissions window for series projects later this year. Seriesly Berlin will join a healthy calendar of TV events in Germany, which includes Seriencamp in Cologne, the country’s largest series-focused event. Other international TV events mounted in the fall include Italy’s MIA Drama Series and Spain’s Iberseries.