The brand-new festival will run from 16-17 September and is set to include a competitive strand along with a rich programme of industry activities

Dennis Ruh (left, © Angela Regenbrecht) and Matija Dragojevic

Later this year, Berlin will host a brand-new TV festival for series called Seriesly Berlin. Last week, former EFM head Dennis Ruh and Berlinale Series Market conference programmer Matija Dragojevic joined the team. The news was first reported by US trade publication Deadline.

Ruh has boarded the festival as a consultant, whilst veteran industry expert Dragojevic will serve as head of programming, working alongside Silvia Taha, appointed programme coordinator.

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Taha previously worked at Pluto Film Distribution and has a background in the festival business. Bastian Asdonk, managing director of production company Hyperbole and creator of Seriesly Berlin, will also serve as a festival consultant.

The new festival programme will take place at Fotografiska Berlin, a multi-purpose arts and cultural venue in the Mitte district, the heart of the German capital. The organisers have confirmed the presence of a competitive strand.

For its inaugural edition, Seriesly’s industry strand will include a series of talks, panels, networking events (including speed-date pitches from writers, producers and other industry professionals active in both fiction and non-fiction) and interactive formats designed to familiarise and engage audiences with the cutting-edge topics shaping series culture. The spotlight will be “on new voices, open dialogues and provocative, vital topics often overlooked in the mainstream”. Moreover, the event’s screenings will be open to the general public.

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises are among the gathering’s confirmed partners and backers.

Seriesly will run from 16-17 September, ten days earlier than initially announced.

Watch this space.