Yellow Bird spreads wings in Germany
by Annika Pham
The Zodiak-owned Swedish production outfit Yellow Bird announced yesterday that its international expansion will start with Munich, Germany, where a new production branch will create new feature films and TV series for the German-speaking market.
The German branch will be a joint venture between Yellow Bird and Olivier Schündler, former head of Bavaria Media Television, who be the company’s managing director. The first projects will be based on rights already owned by Yellow Bird, such as Henning Mankell novel adaptations much appreciated in Germany, as stressed by Mikael Wallén, MD of Yellow Bird.
"By tapping into the rights catalogue that we have already built, we expect the German business to be profitable much quicker than what is normally the case for a drama start up," said Wallén. “Germany has long been an important market for Yellow Bird. The Swedish Wallander movies, as well as other previous productions, have received substantial financing from German broadcasters. Entering this market is a very logical step for us.“
Yellow Bird is currently involved in the Swedish production of the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, starring Noomi Rapace and Mikael Nykvist; a Swedish version of 13 new Wallander films; and an English version produced for the BBC, in which Kenneth Branagh plays detective Kurt Wallander.
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