WarnerMedia Strikes First-Look Deal With Fatih Akin, Director of ‘In The Fade,’ ‘Head-On’
WarnerMedia has struck a first-look deal with German-Turkish director Fatih Akin.
The tie-up marks the first exclusive deal of its kind for Akin in his 27-year career. The helmer is best known for such films as “In The Fade” (2017), “Head-On” (2004) and “Soul Kitchen” (2009). His new film, “Rheingold,” is currently shooting.
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The WarnerMedia deal, which will span multiple years and several projects, will cover German and Turkish-language movies and series for theatrical release, TV and HBO Max. As the latter streaming service continues to roll out across Europe, a deal like this with an internationally renowned director such as Akin will help WarnerMedia build out its reputation for film and arthouse players in Europe.
The company has worked together with Akin on three movies to date. These include the Golden Globe-winning “Aus dem Nichts” (“In the Fade”), for which Diane Kruger received a best actress Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival; “Der Goldene Handschuh” (“The Golden Glove”), which garnered multiple award nominations throughout Europe, including a Golden Berlin Bear nomination; and the forthcoming “Rheingold,” starring Emilio Sakraya, which will have its theatrical release on Oct. 27.
It’s not immediately clear what the theatrical release strategy for any of Akin’s films with WarnerMedia would be. Any Warner Bros. movies landing on HBO Max receive a 45-day theatrical window before moving to the SVOD.
Hannes Heyelmann, executive VP of programming for EMEA at WarnerMedia, said: “We’ve worked with Fatih Akin for a number of years now and this deal furthers our fantastic relationship together. We know how important local content is to our audiences and together with Fatih we want to produce some great German and Turkish language content. We are looking forward to continuing our work with this incredibly talented director and writer.”
Akin added: “Warner Bros. Pictures has inspired me all of my life. Some of the most important movies of all time were made by the studio. After three amazing collaborations, I feel that I’m in very good hands with WarnerMedia.”
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