Major European production and distribution groups: Studio Hamburg Production Group

Most of Studio Hamburg Production Group’s labels are based in Germany — the exception is London-based Studio Hamburg UK, whose credits include BBC1 comedy The Cleaner, Sky feature The Heist Before Christmas and upcoming film Poison starring Tim Roth. Studio Hamburg Production Group is part of Studio Hamburg — the studios, technology and production subsidiary of Hamburg-based NDR, which is the regional affiliate of public broadcaster ARD serving Northern Germany.

Studio Hamburg’s distribution arm is the recently rebranded One Gate Media — its name is a nod to the company’s roots in Hamburg, which was labelled Germany’s ‘gateway to the world’. Coming up for Studio Hamburg is premium spy series Davos 1917, which is co-produced through Letterbox and has sold widely through Global Screen.

The company is active in film too. Letterbox had theatrical success with Maria Schrader’s near-future love story I’m Your Man, selected as Germany’s entry for the 2022 Oscars. (Schrader also directed the Primetime-Emmy award winning series Unorthodox, produced through Real Film.)

Recently, Letterbox produced Kilian Riedhof’s Stella. A Life., starring Paula Beer, which had its world premiere at Zurich Film Festival last year. Looking ahead, Studio Hamburg is eyeing more European co-­productions and growing its strategic partnerships in Austria, Switzerland and Italy. It is also prepping the release of its first animated movie, Pirate Mo And The Legend Of The Red Ruby, a co-­production with Ulysses Films.

• In focus: the major European production and distribution groups