The European Film Market to include TV series for the first time.

The Berlinale’s industry platform, the European Film Market (EFM) (Feb 5-13), is to offer creators and producers of television series with the opportunity to present, sell and buy new high-profile television content for the first time next February.

The EFM is to organise special market screenings and a business lounge for buyers and sellers of television content on Feb 9-10.

In addition, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will extend its programme for one day (Feb 10) and will present a selection of new projects for television series. The co-pro market will collaborate with the Forum des Images on this - organisers of the Séries Mania Festival for international TV series in Paris and its co-production forum.

The EFM has also promised that key players from the industry who have become well-known for their successful TV series in recent years will speak at market events or attend the Berlinale Talents Summit.

“These new initiatives at the EFM acknowledge the fact that serial stories have become an integral part of audio-visual culture,” said EFM director Matthijs Wouter Knol.

“Moreover, we want to improve how we accommodate the needs of our visitors for such projects in the coming years.”

The 2015 EFM will focus primarily on presenting TV series from North American and European countries, including the latest productions from a number of Scandinavian, British and German channels.

“Since many of our festival guests and filmmakers work both for the big screen and television, this new EFM initiative is a natural development,” said festival director Dieter Kosslick.

The partner on this EFM initiative is German film funding institution Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

In recent years, the Berlinale has included screenings of TV series in its programme such as Dominik Graf’s In Face of the Crime (2010), Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake (2013) and episodes of the second season of House of Cards (2014).

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