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Books at Berlinale 2023 © Carlos Collado

Berlinale Co-Production Market

On February 18, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will again bring together the publishing and film industries. Ten books from around the world selected as being particularly suitable for screen adaptation will be presented at Books at Berlinale, held in cooperation with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and the rights holders will meet interested producers.

On Sunday, February 18, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will present ten current books selected due to their great potential for screen adaptation in Books at Berlinale. In cooperation with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, since 2006, new international releases and bestsellers have been presented at this annual pitch event bringing together film producers with well-known publishers and literary agents.

The presentation will be hosted by the author Syd Atlas and take place in the Berlin House of Representatives in front of 150 guests from the film and publishing industries.

A total of 30 submissions are from Italy, this year’s Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse and the European Film Market’s “Country in Focus”. From those, “Cesare’s Story” (“La storia di Cesare. Scegliere a occhi chiusi la felicità”) was selected – a moving memoir by Valentina Mastroianni.

Close to 100 submissions came from publishers and agents from over 30 countries this year. The ten selected books were submitted by six publishers and four literary agencies. The authors – 90 percent of whom are women this time – come from Iceland, India, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Pakistan, France, Germany and Switzerland.

This year’s selection again reflects on trends in the book market. For example, “Cesare’s Story” and “Dissident Club” – a graphic novel by Pakistani author Taha Siddiqui – are two autobiographical works shedding a personal light on current social and political issues such as living with a disability, flight from home, and the freedom of the press.

Among the authors are several debut writers who deal with feminism, migration and racism, or the modern working world in family and social dramas (Yandé Seck in “White Clouds”, Julya Rabinowich in “Me: In-Between”, Fien Veldman in “Xerox / Hard Copy”, Simone Meier in “Everything for Jo”); but there are also thrillers such as the “Áróra Investigation Series” by Lilja Sigurðardóttir or the historical novel “A Poisoner’s Tale” by Cathryn Kemp, which have great potential for adaptation. With “History’s Angel” by Anjum Hasan, for the first time a story by an Indian author is being presented. Claudia Scharf penned the exciting fantasy series for a younger audience, “The Secret of Nox”, also a promising original for screen adaptation.

Interested film producers and film rights holders can register for participation until February 9 at [email protected].

On February 18, Books at Berlinale will host a pitch event followed by networking, as well as a second matchmaking event, where selected film rights holders can meet with participating film producers in one-on-one meetings.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a Berlinale Pro* initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival and is supported by MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. Cooperation partner and main venue is the Berlin House of Representatives.

The following materials have been selected for Books at Berlinale 2024:
(English title / original title; in alphabetical order of the presenting companies):

“The Secret of Nox: Light, Shadow – Bat Rats! (vol. 1)” / “Das Geheimnis von Nox: Licht, Schatten – Flederratten! (Vol. 1)” (author: Claudia Scharf, Germany), Carlsen Verlag, Germany

“Me: In-Between” / “Dazwischen: Ich” (author: Julya Rabinowich, Germany), Carl Hanser Verlag, Germany

“White Clouds” / “Weiße Wolken” (author: Yandé Seck, Germany), Copywrite Literatur- und Filmagentur, Germany

“Cesare’s Story. Choosing Happiness with Your Eyes Closed” / “La storia di Cesare. Scegliere a occhi chiusi la felicità” (author: Valentina Mastroianni, Italy), DeAgostini Libri, Italy

“Dissident Club” (author: Taha Siddiqui, illustrator: Hubert Maury, Pakistan/France), Editions Glénat, France

“History’s Angel” (author: Anjum Hasan, India), Jacaranda Literary Agency, Singapore

“Everything for Jo” / “Die Entflammten” (author: Simone Meier, Switzerland), Kein & Aber, Switzerland

“A Poisoner’s Tale” (author: Cathryn Kemp, United Kingdom), Penguin Random House UK, United Kingdom

“The Áróra Investigation Series: Cold as Hell” / “Helköld sól” (author: Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Iceland), Reyjkavík Literary Agency, Iceland

“Xerox / Hard Copy” / “Xerox” (author: Fien Veldman, the Netherlands), Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency, the Netherlands

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