21/08/2026 - The third edition expands its pitching programme to three sections, presenting projects hailing from Australia, Europe and the Americas

Director Dužan Duong, who is taking part with Journey to the West (© Film Servis Karlovy Vary)

Seriesly Berlin has unveiled the project selection for its third edition, with 18 international series projects set to take the stage during the Seriesly Berlin Conference on 15-16 September at Fotografiska Berlin. Running from 14-17 September, the festival is once again positioning its industry programme as a meeting point for writers, creators, producers, broadcasters, financiers, sales agents and distributors, while introducing a new section dedicated to vertical drama.

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With more than 250 submissions received, the 2026 selection spans a broad range of genres and formats, from true-crime investigations and political thrillers to musical drama, animation, mockumentary and vertical romcoms. The projects explore themes including identity, friendship, family, migration, political polarisation and different forms of love, while remaining rooted in distinct local realities.

Festival director Dennis Ruh underlines the strong connection between the selected projects and the contemporary world: “What stood out was how strongly many of the projects engage with the world we are living in right now. Creators are responding to political and social realities, but they are doing so through deeply personal stories. At the same time, there is plenty of humour and optimism in the selection.”

For the first time, the pitching programme is divided into three strands. The Seriesly Berlin Co-Production Pitch, taking place on 15 September, presents seven more advanced projects with production companies attached, and seeking co-producers, financing and international partners. The Seriesly Berlin Writers’ Pitch, also on 15 September, focuses on seven original projects at an early stage of development. On 16 September, the new Vertical Drama Pitch will showcase four projects exploring storytelling specifically designed for vertical and digital formats.

Among the highlights of the Co-Production Pitch is Have You Seen Sabine?, an Australian-German true-crime drama developed by Australian producer Susan Schmidt, inspired by the seven-year investigation into the 2005 murder of German backpacker Sabine Stengel in Australia. Small Death in Lisbon, created by British crime writer Robert Wilson, follows a detective investigating the murder of a teenager while uncovering a history of Nazi gold, secret-service operations and fascist crimes in Portugal. Latvia is represented by The Man Behind a Mask, created by Anna Kalniņa, a Cold War thriller inspired by Soviet surgeon Viktors Kalnbērzs and the USSR’s first sex-reassignment surgery.

Other projects in the section include Journey to the West, an anthology from Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Dužan Duong (Summer School, 2001) based on oral histories of the Vietnamese diaspora in the former Eastern Bloc; The Fallen, written by Janett Lederer and directed by award-winning filmmaker Sophia Bösch (Milk Teeth), which is set in a Catholic home for unmarried pregnant women in 1978; I Am God, a dramedy from Hanna Doose (Kiss My Wounds), about eight people seeking healing and reinvention at a spiritual festival on the German-Polish border; and Vamos, a sports dramedy by Fabrizio Muscia about an ageing tennis professional forced into the world of padel.

The Writers’ Pitch reflects a strong interest in contemporary political and social questions, with The Verdict, created by Ali Hakim, Max König and Sandra Müller, and The Baseball Bat Years by Jorge Patiño exploring far-right violence and radicalisation in Germany. Black Valley, from Michael Patric, Ted Sullivan and Mairtín de Barra, explores friendship and displacement through a former Army Ranger and a refugee from Sierra Leone, while Hands Up by Neta Weiner, Samira Saraya and Michal Cooper Keren is a Berlin-set musical drama about an Israeli musician and a Palestinian singer. Humour drives Doggy Style by Marlon Rüberg and Good Godmother by Nick Strutinski and Kirill Semiletov, while Bloody Bay by Olga Rozanova traps four fifty-somethings and a newborn baby aboard a 48-foot boat.

The Vertical Drama Pitch expands the programme into emerging digital formats, with Deep Fake, created by Madeleine Féret-Fleury and Cédriane Fossat, turning a dating challenge into a sinister identity thriller, while Just Do It by Annekathrin Bach, Sophia Hein and Mirko Muhshoff follows an influencer running for mayor. What We See by Kate Mar explores an online witch hunt surrounding a suspicious death, while Worth to Know by Elda Brolgio and Luz Orlando Brennan follows two stepsisters bonding over awkward conversations about sexuality and identity.

The projects partaking in the Writers’ and Co-Production Pitches will compete for their respective awards, with the juries including writer Anna Winger, director Mattie Do, agent Silke Bacher and producer Fleur Winter. A new partnership with Cine Chromatix will see the winning Co-Production Pitch project receive an in-kind post-production award worth €25,000 for colour-grading services. The pitching programme is organised in partnership with the European Writers Desk and Creative Europe - MEDIA Desk Germany. The SteinbrennerMüller Award will once again recognise one German-language project from each of the Co-Production and Writers’ Pitches for its potential to connect with audiences. The winners will receive a communications concept from the Berlin-based PR agency, valued at €2,000 each.

Here is the complete line-up of the projects being pitched at the third Seriesly Berlin:

Seriesly Berlin Co-Production Pitches

I Am God (Germany)
Creator: Hanna Doose
Producers: Zorana Mušikić, May Odeh (Mayana Films)

Journey to the West (Germany/Czech Republic/Slovakia)
Creator: Dužan Duong
Producers: Sandra Müller (Marlene Film) Dužan Duong (AZN kru)

The Man Behind a Mask (Latvia)
Creator: Anna Kalniņa
Producer: Serge Serpuhovs (Baltic Pine Films)

The Fallen (Germany)
Creators: Janett Lederer, Sophia Bösch
Producers: Linda Hartogs, Dominik Eder (OKSUPERDANKE Filmproduktion)

Vamos (Italy)
Creator: Fabrizio Muscia
Producer: Alvaro V Valente (Video Artists)

Have You Seen Sabine? (Australia/Germany)
Creator: Susan Schmidt
Producer: Susan Schmidt (Avenue Road Productions)

Small Death in Lisbon (Portugal)
Creator: Robert Wilson
Producer: João Maia Abreu (SPi)

Seriesly Berlin Writers’ Pitches

The Verdict (Germany)
Creators: Ali Hakim, Max König, Sandra Müller
Writers: Ali Hakim, Max König, Sandra Müller, Nadine Gottmann
Producers: Michael Luda, Theresa Bacza, Ali Hakim, Max König (East Gate Filmproduction, Hakim + König Film)

The Baseball Bat Years (Germany)
Creator/writer: Jorge Patiño

Black Valley (Ireland)
Creators: Michael Patric, Ted Sullivan, Mairtín de Barra
Producer: Mairtín de Barra (Tailored Films)

Bloody Bay (UK)
Creator/writer: Olga Rozanova

Doggy Style (Italy/Germany)
Creator/writer: Marlon Rüberg

Good Godmother (Serbia)
Creators/writers: Nick Strutinski, Kirill Semiletov

Hands Up (USA)
Creators/writers: Neta Weiner, Samira Saraya, Michal Cooper Keren

Seriesly Berlin Vertical Drama Pitches

Just Do It (Germany)
Creators/writers: Annekathrin Bach, Sophia Hein, Mirko Muhshoff

Worth to Know (Argentina/Germany/Spain)
Creators: Elda Brolgio, Luz Orlando Brennan

Deep Fake (France)
Creators/writers: Madeleine Féret-Fleury, Cédriane Fossat

What We See (Germany)
Creator/writer: Kate Mar