Wiedemann & Berg Film Production
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Max Wiedemann, Quirin Berg |
| Headquarters | Munich , Germany |
| Products | Feature films, television productions |
| Parent | Leonine Holding |
| Website | w-b-film |
Wiedemann & Berg Film is a film production enterprise based in Germany, established in 2003 by Max Wiedemann and Quirin Berg. Their inaugural feature, The Lives of Others, received the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2007.
History
Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann founded Wiedemann & Berg Film during their studies at the University of Television and Film Munich.[1]
In December 2009, the company ventured into television by forming a partnership with the Dutch firm Endemol, creating Wiedemann & Berg Television. Both Berg and Wiedemann took on leadership roles within this TV division.[2]
April 2019 saw the acquisition of Wiedemann & Berg Film Production by the global investment entity Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). Notably, the television joint venture with Endemol Shine Germany was not part of this transaction and continues to operate independently.[3]
Starting January 2020, both entities became integrated into the studio group Leonine Holding. Berg and Wiedemann serve as shareholders and managing directors, directing Leonine’s fiction production efforts.[4]
Among their distinguished film projects are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Lives of Others (Oscar recipient), Never Look Away (which garnered two Oscar nominations), Baran bo Odar’s suspense film Who am I, and Simon Verhoeven’s comedy Welcome to Germany, which attracted an audience exceeding 3 million in 2016. Their fifth collaboration with Verhoeven, Nightlife, premiered in February 2020.[5]
Wiedemann & Berg has also established a presence in pay TV and video-on-demand sectors. In 2012, they delivered the first German-produced pay TV series for TNT Serie, followed by the acclaimed 4 Blocks. They were behind Dark, recognized as Germany’s initial Netflix Original,[6] as well as Pagan Peak, among Sky Deutschland’s pioneering original productions.[7] Currently, they are producing Tribes of Europa for Netflix.[8]
The founders, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann, hold memberships in prestigious organizations such as the Deutsche Filmakademie, British Film Academy, and the European Film Academy.[9]
Awards and accolades
Producers and productions from Wiedemann & Berg Film and Television have earned a wide array of distinguished honors. These include an Academy Award, Auszeichnung der Deutschen Akademie für Fernsehen (German Academy for TV Award), BAFTA, Bayerischer Fernsehpreis (Bavarian TV Award), Bayerischer Filmpreis (Bavarian Film Award), César, European Film Award, Hollywood Reporter Award, Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German TV Award), Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Award), Fernsehfilmpreis der Deutschen Akademie der Darstellenden Künste (TV Film Award of the German Academy of Performing Arts), Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera), Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), LA Critics Award, Magnolia Award, Rockie Award, Romy, and Golden Globe.