"Books at Berlinale" 2020: Twelve International Literary Works in Search of Film Producers
Selection from 170 submissions / Eight of the twelve selected books are by female authors / Registration until 18 February 2020
On February 24, at the "Books at Berlinale" pitching event, a co-operation with Frankfurter Buchmesse, the Berlinale Co-Production Market will once again present twelve exceptional works of literature that are particularly well-suited to adaptation for the screen. "Books at Berlinale", which has been placing a spotlight on recent publications and bestsellers every year since 2006, gives film producers the opportunity to come into contact with renowned and internationally active publishers and literary agents who hold the film rights to the books in question.
This year, books from publishing houses, literary agents and authors from Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden and Turkey were selected from over 170 submissions for "Books at Berlinale". Eight of the twelve works featured in the selection were written by female authors.
The stories presented at "Books at Berlinale" deal with the forces that move society, the things that make human coexistence special and the issues that pose a threat to freedom. For instance, in his biographical book Ahmet Altan treats his experience as a political prisoner in Turkey in a touching manner, while Jasmin Schreiber mixes deep grief with absurd comedy in her novel about a road trip. Anna Woltz has written a moving story about the strong will exhibited by an 11-year-old girl worried about her ill mother, while Susan Spindler relates the drastic consequences of a surrogate pregnancy. In his true crime thriller, Jan Stocklassa takes a deep dive into the archives of Stieg Larsson, who generated new insight into the murder of Olof Palme through his own research, while Alex Beer’s historical thriller portrays a Jewish man in World War Two Vienna tasked with infiltrating the Gestapo.
Film producers active in the field of literary adaptations or with an interest in working in this area as well as publishers and literary agents can register to attend the event until February 18 by writing to books@berlinale.de(opens in a new window).
"Books at Berlinale" will take place in Berlin’s House of Representatives in the scope of the Berlinale Co-Production Market. The main supporters of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and Creative Europe – MEDIA programme of the European Union. The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a part of the European Film Market (EFM).
The following works have been selected to participate in “Books at Berlinale” 2020 (in alphabetical order according to the presenting companies):
"When Life was Beautiful Again" (Kerstin Sgonina, Germany), Agentur Eggers, Deutschland
"I Will Never See the World Again" (Ahmet Altan, Turkey), Clementina Liuzzi Literary Agency, Italy
"Mariana Trench" (Jasmin Schreiber, Germany), Elisabeth Ruge Agentur, Germany
"Among Wolves" (Alex Beer, Austria), Gattys Global, Germany
"The Man Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson’s Lost Files and The Hunt For An Assassin" (Jan Stocklassa, Sweden), Generalissimo, Sweden
"The Authenticity Project" (Clare Pooley, United Kingdom), Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency, United Kingdom
"The American Fiancée" (Eric Dupont, Canada), Marchand de feuilles, Canada
"Lean Your Loneliness Slowly Against Mine" (Klara Hveberg, Norway), Oslo Literary Agency, Norway
"Shark's Teeth" (Anna Woltz, Niederlande), Singel Uitgeverijen, Netherlands
"Surrogates" (Susan Spindler, United Kingdom), Susanna Lea Associates, France
"Winterbees" (Norbert Scheuer, Germany), Verlag C.H. Beck, Germany
"The Lost Children" (Romina Casagrande, Italy), Vicki Satlow Literary Agency, Italy