ZDF Enterprises Closes Raft of Deals for ‘Ottilie von Faber-Castell’ (EXCLUSIVE)
ZDF Enterprises has sold the two-part drama “Ottilie von Faber-Castell” to broadcasters across Europe and to Globi, an up-and-coming AVOD streamer covering North America.
The miniseries, a story about a brilliant young woman navigating the pitfalls of 19th century business, family and forbidden love, has been picked up by Italy’s RAI 1, where it earned top ratings with an audience of more than 2.8 million. The show recently also enjoyed great success on RTP in Portugal, where it performed higher than the average for the time slot.
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Other licensees include YLE (Finland), RTV (Slovenia), RTVS (Slovakia), LTV (Latvia), Network 4 (Hungary), Inter TV (Ukraine), ETV (Estonia) and LRT (Lithuania).
Robert Franke, vice-president ZDFE.drama, ZDFD Enterprises, said: “Great storytelling travels and has the ability to win over audiences across different cultures, as witnessed by the success of ‘Ottilie von Faber-Castell’ in Iberia and these sales to a wide range of countries.”
The miniseries is set at the end of the 19th century in Germany, when a 16 year-old girl, Ottilie von Faber, inherits her grandfather’s global manufacturing business. In this male dominated world, Ottilie uses all her talent and knowledge to prove herself and steer the company to greater success. She marries Count Castell and starts a family, but the unconventional Ottilie finds herself deeply in love with someone else, the dashing Philipp von Brand.
“Ottilie von Faber-Castell” was commissioned by ARD Degeto and produced by Wiedemann & Berg Television in co-production with Wilma Film and in cooperation with ZDF Enterprises.
German film director and screenwriter Claudia Garde (“Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall,” “Doktor Martin,” “Tatort”) wrote and directed the series, which was nominated for Best TV Movie award at the 2020 Seoul International Drama Awards. The cast includes Kristin Suckow, Martin Wuttke, and Johannes Zirner.
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