Seriesly Berlin: Former EFM Head Dennis Ruh & Berlinale Series Market Programmer Matija Dragojevic Tapped To Join TV Festival

EXCLUSIVE: Organizers behind Seriesly Berlin, the German capital’s new international festival for series, have confirmed multiple executive hires and moved their operational dates as they gear up for their inaugural edition this fall. 

We understand former European Film Market Director Dennis Ruh has joined the festival as a consultant. Ruh has brought with him Matija Dragojevic, a veteran of the European festival circuit and most recently Conference Programmer at the Berlinale Series Market. Dragojevic will serve as Head of Programming, working alongside Silvia Taha, who will be Program Coordinator. Taha previously worked at Pluto Film Distribution and has a background in the festival business. Bastian Asdonk, managing director of the production company Hyperbole and creator of Seriesly Berlin will also serve as a festival consultant.

The Seriesly team has also pushed forward its dates. The festival will now happen on September 16 and 17, ten days earlier than initially slated. We understand the move was made to avoid the cluster of other series festivals such as Italy’s MIA Drama Series, Spain’s Iberseries, and Mipcom, which all take place in early to mid-October. The event will still happen at Fotografiska Berlin. 

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Public Enterprises are both partners and financial sponsors of the event. 

The festival program will unravel across several rooms at Fotografiska Berlin, a multi-purpose arts and cultural venue in Berlin-Mitte. Organizers have said there will be a competitive festival strand for series projects alongside an industry portion, including conferences, panels, masterclass sessions, and networking events such as speed-date pitches for writers, producers, and industry professionals working in fiction and nonfiction. Festival screenings will be open to the general public.

For the first edition, the industry strand will focus on the following topics: the production of high-quality material in times of tight budgets, and the possibilities of international co-production. Other central themes explored will be the new draft of the German Film Subsidies Act and its impact on the production landscape, the creative, legal, and economic implications of artificial intelligence on the industry, and diversity and representation in storytelling and casting.