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| EVP BANFF Television Festival |
Interview with Alexander Thies, Managing Director Neue Filmproduktion TV Berlin and Board Member German Producer's Association.
WJC. Other than the fact you've been invited as a panelist, why are you attending this festival?
AT. Because I want to extend my contacts with the English-speaking market and English-speaking territories especially Canada and North America. Also, we had a good experience in co-production last year for a French-speaking mini-series, 4 blocks of 90 minutes (4x9), with Canada and France. We liked our experience with Canada very much. We were impressed with the quality of the production companies, crews, actors, and organization, it worked out marvelously. There seems to be a similar understanding between French-Canadians and Germans and we would like to find out if there are possibilities to collaborate with the English-speaking part of Canada as well.
WJC. What is the project you are referring to?
AT. It was a family drama starring Maria Schell, Victor Lanoux, Andrea Ferriol, shot in French, dubbed into German. This was our company's second co-production experience. We are in talks with Canada now for another co-production.
The Canadians have certainly learned cooperation, being cooperative with different partners from different countries. They have proven that cooperation works, it has brought them far, especially if you look at their continued success in not only the European market but the U.S. market.
WJC. Please talk a bit about the history of your company and your areas of interest.
AT. Our company is a family enterprise started by my father over 40 years ago. The first strategy of our company has been to be strong in our own marketplace. Now, more and more, we can take a stake in international co-productions. We took the lead with the Italians in 1986, co-producing eight 1 hour segments of a series in the English language which we dubbed into German and Italian. It was an action series entitled DESERT FEVER.
My father was a French prisoner of war who worked in print media when the war ended. He then went into advertising. In 1953 he founded the first company in advertising and TV programming for ARD. In the 1960's he branched into animation for ZDF. In 1976 the TV series business took off in Germany. I have been with the company since 1989 and am now its general manager which means I focus on financial issues and business strategies. Tomorrow's market is what I'm interested in. My brother handles the development and production side.
WJC. Which formats are you focusing on for co-production?
AT. TV movies are the most promising format of the moment, single or doubles (two 90 minute programs as mini-series). We pitch to both public and private German broadcasters. Our strength is with the public broadcasters but at this moment we are in development with projects for RTL and ProSieben. Documentaries are hard to sell in Germany at the moment.
We look for TV movies which are of the crime genre, or thrillers or sexy/crime. When a non-German producer approaches us with a proposal, we prefer the producer who has links to Germany or who speaks German. Decision making in Germany for TV projects is relatively fast. We work with the producer, we pitch the idea to the broadcaster together, we are often in production within 3-6 months following a commitment. These projects tend to be German movies for the national market. To co-finance a project that is suitable for us and our partners, this would be ideal. The point is that slots are limited. Other than that there can be a problem in translation, which is always challenging. German broadcasters are more open now than ever before to working with English speaking writing talent. In Germany, there is a hugh demand for international TV expertise.
WJC. Thank you, Alex.
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