The former head of the Berlinale series has joined German network ZDF to oversee acquisitions for the international fiction team.
Julia Fidel replaced the retiring Ingrid Gränz in November. She joins a feature film and series acquisitions department that is responsible for licencing for ZDF, ZDFneo, 3sat and the ZDFmediathek. She will negotiate with German, European and U.S. studio buyers, populating strands including Made in Europe and Adrenalin.
Fidel was most recently working for Frank Doelger’s The Swarm producer Intaglio Films, a joint ZDF venture with Beta Film. Prior to this, she shepherded the Berlinale Series – the Berlin Film Festival’s TV sibling – over four years. Under her watch, the series grew, issuing its first Awards, launching a market-skewing Series Market Selects strand and expanding to showcase content from regions such as Latin America and China. Berlin subsequently reduced the size of its series sidebar.
She also worked for many years as a choreographer for film and television productions, including Babylon Berlin, Das Licht and A Cure for Wellness.
Fidel said: “I am so pleased about my new role at ZDF. What drew me particularly to this job was the combination of film and series acquisitions. With a well-experienced and highly motivated team on my side, I am looking forward to many screenings, meetings and new challenges in the coming year.”
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