Expanding on their already fruitful non-fiction partnership, ZDF Enterprises and Studio Hamburg Production Group have agreed to a closer working relationship in fiction production starting in January of next year, when ZDF Enterprises will acquire a 49% stake in Real Film Berlin, a Studio Hamburg subsidiary. The purchase is currently awaiting approval from German antitrust authorities.
“I am pleased to now extend the excellent collaboration that already exists in the non-fictional area with the Studio Hamburg Production Group to the fictional genre,” said ZDFE president and CEO Fred Burcksen. “Real Film is a great addition to our investment portfolio in fiction programs. I wish the two managing directors of REAL FILM Michael Lehmann and Henning Kamm every success.”
“We are delighted to be working with ZDF Enterprises to further strengthen the successful Real Film brand,” said Studio Hamburg’s Michael Lehmann and Johannes Züll. “REAL FILM already produces a wide variety of productions for cinema, TV and streaming services and would like to continue to offer the best creative people a successful home in the future. We look forward to touching, humorous, exciting films and series made in Berlin!”
Real Film has backed major cinematic productions such as ARD’s historical drama about the East-West divide, the €4 million ($4.7 million) TV event movie “3 1/2 Hours”; Netflix’s award-winning series “Unorthodox” with Studio Airlift; and ZDF’s crime series “Against Angst” among others.