Producer Regina Ziegler – recently honored with an INTERNATIONAL EMMY AWARD for THE WOLVES OF BERLIN in the category Best TV Film or Mini-Series – and Tanja Ziegler, the two CEOs of Ziegler Film GmbH & Co. KG, are now launching the movie label ZIEGLER CINEMA. In this way Ziegler Film will strengthen its commitment to the production and exploitation of feature films, and in future all the company’s cinematic activities will be concentrated under this label.
“The cinema is the place where the greatest stories are told," says Regina Ziegler. "Even today, in the age of YouTube and iTunes, this place has sacrificed none of its magic. This is where I want to tell the stories that interest me. Consequently this strengthening of our commitment in the realm of cinema, while based on an extremely sound artistic and economic concept, is also a very personal matter. I am greatly looking forward to working with ZIEGLER CINEMA."
"We are constantly in search of powerful material," adds Tanya Ziegler." And the most powerful stories deserve to be told on the big screen. This is why we want to focus our cinema know-how in ZIEGLER CINEMA - a process which will also be beneficial in the area of television, in both technical and aesthetic terms."
Regina Ziegler and Tanja Ziegler have been able to secure the services of Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann at the helm of ZIEGLER CINEMA, and she will be responsible for the cinematic productions of Ziegler Film with immediate effect. Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann has been active in the field of film rights. She was Head of Acquisitions and Sales for the film rights section of CONSTANTIN FILM AG before taking the position of Head of License Transactions at TELEPOOL GmbH. In her capacity as Head of Acquisitions at CONSTANTIN FILM AG Higuchi-Zitzmann shared responsibility for cinema hits including LES CHORISTES (Arthur Cohn Production), ASTERIX AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES (comedy with Michael “Bully“ Herbig) and LA VIE EN ROSE (Oscar-winning biography of Edith Piaf). On the subject of her new position Higuchi-Zitzmann says: “It is a wonderful challenge for me to work together with such outstanding producers as Regina Ziegler and Tanja Ziegler. In the film business ZIEGLER FILM is regarded as a synonym for the highest levels of quality, originality and continuing success”.
The feature films will be developed and produced in close co-operation with the company locations in Cologne (CEO Elke Ried) and Munich (CEO Rita Serra-Roll).
The most recent in a long list of impressive productions from Ziegler Film is the magnificent historical epic HENRI 4, which goes on general release in Germany in March 2010. This lavish co-produced film version of the international bestseller “Henri Quatre” by Heinrich Mann, produced by Regina Ziegler, tells the moving story of Henri de Navarre, who reconciled Protestants and Catholics when he came to the throne of 16th century France. HENRI 4 is a hugely impressive visual extravaganza with a depiction of the epoch of religious wars which is thoroughly convincing in its modernity. The film is directed by Jo Baier and features in leading roles Julien Boisselier, Armelle Deutsch, Joachim Król, Chloé Stefani, Ulrich Noethen and Hannelore Hoger. With a production budget of 19 million euros HENRI 4 is one of the most opulent European productions of recent years.
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The following feature films are in the planning stage and will appear on the ZIEGLER CINEMA label:
FRISCH GEPRESST (FRESHLY SQUEEZED, WT), a romantic comedy based on the bestseller by Susanne Fröhlich. This witty film with a heightened sense for the absurd deals with the search for Mr Right, along with the 9 gripping months in the life of a woman – and the turbulence that fills the lives of men during this time…
BAU AUF! BAU AUF! (BUILD! BUILD!, WT), a realistic, dry East-West comedy based on an original idea from the writing team of Ralf Günther, Moritz Netenjakob and Roger Schmelzer.
WAS IN ZWEI KOFFER PASST (WHAT FITS IN TWO SUITCASES, WT) is the film version of a best-selling biography of Veronika Peters which provides a fascinating insight into an unknown universe: the world of a Benedictine convent.
DIE KONKUBINE VON SHANGHAI (THE CONCUBINE OF SHANGHAI, WT), a passionate drama about an orphan who succeeds in attaining the powerful position of mistress to a Triad boss in Shanghai at the beginning of the 20th century, based on the novel by the great Chinese writer Hong Ying.
DIE HEXE UND DIE HEILIGE (THE WITCH AND THE SAINT, WT), a historical epic based on the bestseller by Ulrike Schweikert; this is the tale of two sisters who couldn’t be any different, fighting for survival and independence in a gruesome period of superstition and persecution.