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The Match Factory has revealed multiple distribution deals for two Berlinale competition titles: German director Matthias Glasner’s “Dying,” which won the festival’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, and Russian director Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary “Architecton.”

“Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.”

The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), Cis (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema). A U.K. deal has also been signed with the buyer yet to be announced. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

The Match Factory has secured the rights for Berlinale Competition title “Dying,” by German director Matthias Glasner. Wild Bunch will be distributing the film in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

Glasner credits include Golden Bear nominees “Gnade” (2012) and “Der Freie Wille” (2006).

The ensemble cast is led by Lars Eidinger, and also includes Corinna Harfouch, Lilith Stangenberg and Ronald Zehrfeld.

“Dying” follows the very individual members of the Lunies family, who haven’t been a family for a long time. Lissy (Harfouch) is quietly happy about her demented husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) slowly wasting away in a home. But her new freedom is short-lived: Diabetes, cancer and kidney failure mean that she doesn’t have much time left either.

Son Tom (Eidinger), a conductor in his early 40s, is working on a composition called “Dying,” while at the same time being made the surrogate father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. Tom...

Picture Tree Intl. has taken global sales rights for “The Peacock” by Lutz Heineking Jr. The black comedy is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by German author Isabel Bogdan, which has been published in key European territories. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below).

The film’s cast is filled with German stars including Lavinia Wilson, Tom Schilling, David Kross and Jürgen Vogel. Tobis Film releases the film in Germany on March 9.

When investment banker Linda Bachmann and her team arrive at the country estate of Lord and Lady McIntosh for a team building seminar, the prospects for having a relaxing weekend in Scotland are not good: the annual balance sheet is lousy, the team is keeping a suspicious eye on each other and their boss, and there are rumors that a compliance officer will soon be restructuring the department.

To make matters worse,...

Eight new drama series projects among co-pro line-up.

Source: X-Filme

Babylon Berlin

For the fourth time, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will invite producers, commissioning editors, distributors, and other drama series financiers to the Zoo Palast for the pitch event CoPro Series, mounted as part of the Drama Series Days 2018 (February 19 – 21).

Scroll down for line-up

In previous years, CoPro Series has hosted drama series projects looking for partners that have since become successful series, such as Babylon Berlin created by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Henk Handloegten, as well as Das Verschwinden (The Disappearance) by Hans-Christian Schmid, or Norway’s Valkyrien by Erik Richter Strand.

This year, eight new series projects have the chance to find co-production and financing partners. The creators will present a short pitch, followed by an opportunity to meet both at an informal get-together and in one-on-one meetings with interested partners to talk in concrete terms about a possible collaboration.

Two German projects...

COLOGNE, Germany -- Sebastian Schipper's drama Ein Freund von Mir (A Friend of Mine) will open this year's Hamburg International Film Festival, organizers said Wednesday. It will be the world premiere of the feature, which stars Daniel Bruehl (Good-bye, Lenin!) as a straight-laced insurance salesman and Juergen Vogel (The Free Will) as the free spirit who turns his life upside down.

• Here are the winners as announced by the festival. The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature â€. Blessed By Fire (Iluminados por el Fuego), Directed by Tristán Bauer, Argentina, Spain. Presented by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal with Dick Walsh. Winner receives $25,000. Art award "Twin City Theatre", created by Wim Wenders.  Jury compromised Ed Burns, Terry George, Josh Lucas, Kelly Lynch, Antonio Skármeta, Trudie Styler and Melvin Van Peebles. Best Documentary Feature â€. War Tapes, Directed by Deborah Scranton, USA. Presented by Ken Burns and Ira Yohalem.  Winner receives $15,000. Art award "Untitled", created by Alex Katz. Jury compromised Ken Burns, Robert Drew, Whoopi Goldberg, Oren Jacoby, Rory Kennedy and Marc Levin.  Special Documentary Jury Prize - Voices of Bam, Directed by Aliona van der Horst and Maasja Ooms, Netherlands. Presented by Ken Burns and Ira Yohalem.  Winner receives $10,000. Art award "Moroccoâ€., created by Clifford Ross. Jury compromised Ken Burns,

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BERLIN -- Attendees at this year's Berlin International Film Festival could be forgiven for thinking that Germany is coming apart at the seams. Judging by the latest crop of local films, unemployment is rife, youth gangs rule the streets and your average German can barely contain his desire to rape, murder and destroy. Films like Competition entry The Free Will about a violent serial rapist, Tough Enough, which plays like a German Mean Streets, or the skinhead initiation of Combat Sixteen are worlds away from the feel-good history of Goodbye, Lenin! or wry upper-crust comedy of a Dorris Doerrie movie.