Fruitmarket says goodbye

In a letter to colleagues and friends, German filmmaker and producer Arne Birkenstock, has announced to close down his production company Fruitmarket:

 “Unfortunately, I have to announce that I will be closing my production company Fruitmarket for health reasons. I will continue to do my job, which I love very much, but in my current situation I cannot and will not hire any more employees or sign financing and co-production contracts as a company for projects that are planned over several years.”

Birkenstock thanked his “outstanding” team and pointed out that all of his former staff members have found new jobs at prestigious production companies like Leonine or Beetz Brothers, in film funds or film schools all over the country. He also thanked his Directors and crews and emphasized his gratefulness “for the privilege of working with all these wonderful people, artists, technicians and creatives, in all these years”:

 “Of course, that also makes me wistful, but above all, I look back with great gratitude on two decades that were exciting and eventful and in which I was able to work with wonderful people, artists and specialists, who gave me so much of their intelligence, their ideas and their talent by passionately working with me on our projects. I am extremely grateful for that!”

 Founded by Birkenstock in 2004, Fruitmarket has become one of the most prestigious company of documentary film production in Germany and beyond. Fruitmarket produced more than two dozen theatrical documentaries like “Beltracchi – The Art Of Forgery”, “The Congo Tribunal”, “Goldhammer”, “Stasi FC” and high end series like “Capital B” or “Till Murder Do us Part – Soering vs. Haysom”.

 Fruitmarket productions have been screened at Festivals all around the globe and have been awarded with numerous national and international film awards.

„POL POT DANCING” nominated for the Roman Brodman Award

“POL POT DANCING”, the documentary film by Enrique Sánchez Lansch has been nominated for the prestigious Roman Brodman Award. The ROMAN BRODMANN PRIZE is the most important award presented by the Haus des Dokumentarfilms. It honors the political documentary film with a special author's signature. This is the most important criterion for our jurors - what we as a selection committee associate most strongly with the namesake.”

Source: https://www.dokumentarfilm.info/37783-roman-brodmann-preis-2025-nominierungen

“STASI FC” starts in German theatres

After a sold out premiere in Cologne, our documentary “STASI FC” starts nationwide in German cinemas today. The film by Dan Gordon, Arne Birkenstock and Zakaria Rahmani.

“Hilarious... Touching... Informative... STASI FC pieces together a dense mosaic that illustrates how the East German secret police tried to exploit even anarchic phenomena like football for ideological purposes.”, writes EPD-FILM about the film which was produced by Fruitmarket and Corso in ccoperation with Embankment and Phiphen Pictures. THE GUARDIAN (UK) praised STASI FC as “the astonishing tale of the secret police’s football team (and) an astute look at the wild story of a Stasi-run East German club”.

 

More Awards for Capital B

After receiving nominations for Grimme- and Brodman Award, Florian Opitz widely celebrated documentary series “CAPITAL B – Who Owns Berlin” has been awarded the German Television Award for “Best editing” and the DAFfNE-Award of the German Television Academy for “Dramaturgy” and “Producing”. We congratulate Florian and our great team for this success.

“CAPITAL B - WHO OWNS BERLIN” HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE ROMAN BRODMANN AWARD

"Capital B“, the five part documentary series by Florian Opitz on Berlin since the fall of the wall until day has been nominated for the Roman Brodmann Award for political documentaries. Out of 130 films and series, ten were nominated:

"The ten finalists include the five-part documentary series "Capital B - Wem gehört Berlin?", the trilogy "Einzeltäter", the current short documentary "Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre" and seven feature-length individual films, most of them for cinema. cinema.

"More than ever, the productions submitted in 2024 highlight the interfaces between documentary and journalistic work," says Ulrike Becker, curator of the Roman Brodmann Award. "Documentary film is not produced in an ivory tower. Its makers face up to reality - sustainably and with staying power. The shortlist reflects the best of the past year's production.“

From the ten nominations, the main jury will select a production that will be awarded the Roman Brodmann Prize on April 19, 2024 at the Rhineland-Palatinate State Representation in Berlin. The members of the main jury are the producer and screenwriter Melanie Andernach, the film editor Andrew D. Bird and the producer, writer and director Ulrich Stein.

Capital B is a coproduction of Fruitmarket with Port Au Prince Films Berlin in coproduction with RBB and WDR in cooperation with ARTE. It has been supported my the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg.

FRUITMARKET WITH „THE MOST IMPORTANT PRISONERS“ @ HotDocs Deal Maker

Director Zakaria Rahmani (Fruitmarket) and Coproducer Michael Mallie (Ard Mhacha) will pitch the documentary feature „THE MOST IMPORTANT PRISONERS“ at Hot Docs Deal Maker pitch. The film portrays and has exclusive access to two cousins, who after 9/11 find themselves at the center of the global War on Terror:

One ends up being Guantanamo Bay’s highest value detainee while his cousin, a close advisor to Usama bin Laden, is detained in Iran, where he becomes the most important prisoner. Captured by opposing sides in the War on Terror, the two cousins shared the same fate of becoming the most important prisoners. There struggle for survival offers a unique and untold view on the war on terror, its causes and consequences. 

A coproduction of Fruitmarket with Ard Mhacha from Ireland. Development has been funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW

Source:
https://hotdocs.ca/industry/conference/selected-projects

“IHR JAHRHUNDERT” (Century of Women) by Uli Gaulke will have its theatrical release on march 7th

They are five impressive women who together have spent more than 500 years on this earth. They come from Cuba, Israel, Austria, India and Turkey and have inspired the people around them through their strength and actions. With a strong will and a firm belief in themselves, they have transcended stereotypical roles and realized their dreams. They are an incentive for all women to consistently follow their path and stand up for equal rights. YOUR CENTURY - WOMEN TELL THE STORY is 100 years of emancipation from very different perspectives.

 
 

The theatrical documentary by Uli Gaulke (“Havana mi amor”, “Comrades in Dreams”, “Sunset over Hollywood”) will be released in German theatres on march, 7th.

 

“POL POT DANCING” premieres at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

POL POT DANCING (directed by Enrique Sánchez Lansch), a coproduction of Fruitmarket and UpNorth Films, has its world premiere in the international competition at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. Director Enrique Sánchez Lansch, Editor Julia Oehring and the Producers Arne Birkenstock and Laryssa Stone will be present for the premier on march, 8th in Thessaloniki.

 
 

In POL POT DANCING we follow a star dancer at the Cambodian royal court, who lovingly raises her husband’s little brother as her own son. Years later, she discovers that her foster son is none other than the dictator Pol Pot himself. 

Source:

https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/all-news-en/28779-26th-thessaloniki-international-documentary-festival-films-in-the-competition-sections-world-premieres-and-a-ticket-to-the-oscars

Fruitmarket Production “CAPITAL B – who owns Berlin” nominated for the Grimme Award

Florian Opitz five-part documentary series has been nominated for the Grimme Award, one of the most prestigious TV awards in Germany.

 
 

In “Capital B” Opitz tells the story of Berlin from the fall of the wall until today and covers more than 30 years in a thrilling and multilayered series. “Capital B” is a coproduction between Fruitmarket and Port Au Prince for ARTE, RBB and WDR. The Grimme Awards will be announced in march, the award ceremony will take place on April 26th at the Grimme-Institute in Marl.

 

Source:

https://www.grimme-preis.de/60-grimme-preis-2024/nominierungen

Fruitmarket Production „TILL MURDER DO US PART - Soering vs. Haysom“ is global Number 2 on netflix

 

In the 5 days since its launch, our mini series “TIL MURDER DO US PART - Soering vs. Haysom“ has had 4.7 million views with 15,2 million hours watched. The true-crime series is globally the 2nd most popular show on Netflix this week and in 41 countries within the top ten.

 

 

Our true-crime mini series TIL MURDER DO US PART - Soering vs. Haysom“ has been launched worldwide on Netflix on nov., 1st. The show has been written and directed by Lena Leonhardt and André Hoermann. Executive producers were Arne Birkenstock, Sebastian Lemke, Emma Tutty and Laryssa Stone.

 

On March 30, 1985, Elizabeth Haysom’s parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, were brutally murdered. A young German expat named Jens Soering later confessed to — and was convicted of — the murders. His girlfriend, Elizabeth, was charged as an accessory. But when Soering recanted his confession on the stand, the trial became a high-profile case of he said, she said. Was Soering really the killer, or was he taking the fall for his girlfriend? Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom investigates the controversies surrounding the Haysom case and what’s happened since. 

 

NRW Premier of VIENNA CALLING at the International Film Festival Cologne.

VIENNA CALLING had its NRW premiere as part of the International Film Festival Cologne. Afterwards, there was a Q&A with Philipp Jedicke, producer Arne Birkenstock, the crew and the protagonists from Esrap and Gutlauniger. Both also played live at the subsequent premiere party at JAKI (Stadtgarten) in Cologne. The film will be released in German Cinemas on November 16, 2023, distributed by Mindjazz Pictures.

THREE FRUITMARKET PRODUCTIONS AT DOKFEST MUNICH

With the docu-series "CAPITAL B – Who owns Berlin?" and the documentaries "GOLDHAMMER - the retired whore" and "VIENNA CALLING" three of our productions will premiere at the Munich DokFest.

 

CAPITAL B, created by Florian Opitz

After German reunification, Berlin became one of the country’s most exciting cities and a magnet for people from across the globe. However the city’s transformation has led to challenges: the political structures are complex, its capability to govern is questioned and its chequered history leads to a clash of interests. CAPITAL B tells the exciting story of how Berlin became what it is today. 

 

Screening dates: 

SUNDAY, 05/07/23, 20:30, DEUTSCHES THEATER

THURSDAY, 05/11/23, 20:30, PASINGER FABRIK

 

VIENNA CALLING, directed by Philipp Jedicke

The Vienna music scene is full of great artists: Der Nino aus Wien, Voodoo Jürgens and EsRap, to name but a few. They are people who do not allow themselves to get sucked up by the mainstream and give themselves the space and the time that they need. This entertaining music documentary by Philipp Jedicke goes deep into the night and gives us a dazzling display of musical fireworks.

 

Screening dates:

MONDAY, 05/08/23, 18:00, HFF – AUDIMAX

FRIDAY, 05/12/23, 17:30, CITY 1

SUNDAY, 05/14/23, 21:00, DEUTSCHES THEATER

 

GOLDHAMMER, directed by Pablo Ben Yakov und André Krummel

Marcel Goldhammer does not want to be pigeonholed – as an openly gay model, actor and former sex worker, then a journalist who converted to Judaism and did his military service in Israel. As a millennial, this is all just fodder for his social channels. Yes, even the sex with his punters. And next? Politics!

 

Screening dates: 

THURSDAY, 05/04/23, 21:00, CITY 3

FRIDAY, 05/05/23, 20:30, RIO 2

Goldhammer - The Retired Whore premieres at 44. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis 2023

The new film by André Krummel & Pablo Ben Yakov will premiere on the 25.01.2023 at the 44. Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken! Fruitmarket produced the film together with Glotzenoff, Corso Film, the Filmakademie BaWü as well as SWR and RBB.

The Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival is considered the most important newcomer film festival in the German-speaking world, giving voice and presenting the works of new talents from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 


Marcel Goldammer, a retired gay sex worker, wants to enter politics and move up quickly. Not only out of conviction, but above all because it works. And he wants to join the new right-wing. However, Marcel leads his life less close to home than cosmopolitan, less conservative than queer. He is not the typical "little man," but an intellectual without a degree and a bon vivant with addiction problems. Born a German Christian, he now lives as a Jewish Israeli in Tel Aviv and Berlin, in a relationship with a young Shanghainese man whose seemingly endless wealth makes Marcel's dissolute lifestyle possible. The film looks behind the facade of a millennial on his way to becoming a populist and traces a biography that could hardly be more contradictory and for that very reason seems to fit perfectly into our time.



Major production funding for Milo Raus new film “The Massacre” from NRW, CNC/FFA, BKM and EURIMAGES

After Film- and Medienstftung NRW, the French German coproduction fund by CNC and FFA, the federal cultural film fund BKM, also Eurimages has funded Milo Rau’s new hybrid documentary drama “The Massacre”, a coproduction between Fruitmarket (D), Langfilm (CH) and Les Contes Modernes (F). Shooting starts in autumn 2022.

Biennale di Venezia presents “The Congo Tribunal” and “The New Gospel” in a great Milo Rau retrospective


Our Fruitmarket productions “The Congo Tribunal” and “The New Gospel”, directed by Milo Rau, will be presented again at the Biennale Teatro di Venezia. Milo Raus films
“Orestes in Mosul: The Making Of” (72’), “The Congo Tribunal” (100’), “Familie” (80’) and “The New Gospel” (107’) will be screened at the Lido on june, 26th, 28th, 30th and on july, 3rd. Milo Rau will be present in Venice for lectures, workshops and Q&As.