Our documentary “The Asian Financial Crisis and its Aftermath”, produced for ZDF/Arte, ZDF Info and Deutsche Welle, has reached 4 million views on Deutsche Welle’s website!
Prounen means objects in space. We are a production team in which producers and authors often have convertible roles.
recently completed
WORLD’S BEST DESIGNBARS + RESTAURANTS 5 x 26 min., with BR/ARTE
A journey to some of the most renowned bars + restaurants + to their designers in Oslo – Tokyo – Johannesburg – Stockholm – Singapore – Paris – Berlin – New York City – Madrid – London – Munich – Nairobi – Nuremberg – Vienna – Bangkok… in 5 episodes
THE TOUGHEST CAR RACE in the WORLD THE LE MANS MYTH 44/52 min., ZDF/ARTE
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is still regarded as the most dangerous car race in the world. There is no greater challenge for man and machine in motor racing. The drivers are pushed to their physical limits and beyond during the 24 hours. The Le Mans legend. It is an incomparably intense blend of the fastest and most enduring machines, the fastest and most enduring drivers and the thrill of mortal danger. The audience obviously loves it. The authors say: you don’t have to love it, you can fundamentally question it. But you can’t say that the LE MANS MYTH doesn’t exist.
OPERATION THUNDERBOLT
The Rescue of Jewish Hostages from the Hands of German Terrorists, 52 min., with ZDF/ARTE + ZDF History
July 4th 1976, Entebbe (Uganda): In a daring operation far from home, Israeli Army commando succeeds in rescuing over 100 passengers – most of them Israeli – of a French airbus, that had been captured by a German-Palestinian terror group. This counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission was Israel’s reaction to an attack that awoke dark memories on holocaust.
in pre-production
HOW DID LITHUANIA BECOME THE TALENT HUB FOR THE WORLD’ s OPERAS?
Last year, the title roles in Tosca, Elektra and Madame Butterfly at the Royal Opera in London were all sung by sopranos from Lithuania.
One of them is Asmik Gregorian, who has become a favorite of the most ambitious opera houses and festivals around the world. She stands for a whole generation of Lithuanian singers whose versatility is combined with an extraordinary dramatic talent, which unleashes a special emotional intensity in the performances.
THE MONEY of the MEDICI An economic thriller set 600 years ago
in pre-production, 90 min., 2×52 min. with ZDF/ARTE, PICASSO FILM, SD Cinematografica
Before Wall Street, multinational corporations, Cosimo de’ Medici and Nicolas Rolin transformed Florence and Bruges into strategic centers of economic power made of wool, letters of credit, commercial networks and the strength of two leaders who pursued rationally, far – sighted and sometimes ruthlessly their vision of a new/ modern Europe.
DEFEATING CANCER! The Race against the Master of Diseases
“It is a global, existential race against the “king of all diseases”, as oncologist and Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee calls cancer.
‘I decided at the outset that I wanted to push myself to the limits of my endurance. And I have never regretted it,’ say Prof. Angelika Eggert and Nobel laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier in unison.
‘We are at war with cancer!’ Professor David Agus, one of North America’s most renowned doctors and researchers, known for his books and his medical care of Steve Jobs.
This six-part series is a war report. We tell the story from the perspective of leading scientists and doctors who want to win the race against cancer. Who are therefore ‘on the front line’.
Previous documentaries are doing very well on the DW + YouTube + ARD platforms
ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS; 3 years measured; 13, 7 million views
REVOLUTION OF THE RENEWABLES (2 episodes); 14 months measured; 7, 94 million views
SECRETS OF THE STONE AGE (2 episodes); 6 years measured; over 41 million views
TOKYO – CITY CULTURE OF TOMORROW; 3 months; 2.4 million views ARD/Kultur/Arte.tv/YouTube
THE NOBLE COUNTRY VILLAS of TUSCANY since 2013 over 170 broadcast (in German language)
RICHARD SORGE – STALIN’ s JAMES BOND sold to more than 20 different territories
We develop the majority of these projects ourselves, from our offices in Berlin. We then share the initial concepts with producers and authors, directors and distributors all over the world: Germany, UK, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, before coming up with a detailed narrative. We are constantly learning from each other, while hoping to realise projects with a genuinely global perspective and relevance.
Joint forces, joint brains, joint networks in a producer’s alliance
Prounen Film/Berlin – sd cinematografica/Rome – Picasso Film/Prague – The Flying Kick Asia/Singapore + Taiwan – eyeconic works/Berlin – Flix Oven/Seoul – Endless Blue Films/Lisbon – Palapagos Film/Padua
We see our task as being able to realize landmark projects that remain valid over a longer period of time. And thus function successfully in analogue TV. But also as magnets on the platform = other projects can dock on (immediately or later) in order to attract and satisfy interest in the long term. That is our ambition.
We have formed a producer’s alliance to bring together talent, production infrastructure and international networking. That will enable us to guarantee stable and efficient structures, bring international co-financing with us and produce faster and more cost-effectively through existing international networks, especially in Europe, East Asia and North America.
The films explore a wide range of subjects, drawing inspiration from science, history, contemporary events, art and culture. Over the past few years, we’ve produced a number of short documentaries featuring remarkable individuals who have played a pivotal role in shaping our current landscape, showcasing their unique contributions in online series.
We are tackling some of the most fundamental challenges of our time. These include transitioning to sustainable energy sources, rethinking our approach to food, tackling the complexities of megacities and urban planning, managing increasing resource scarcity, and racing to find solutions to emerging scientific threats. We also delve into the fascinating stories of the development of the microchip, proteomics and healthcare.
Our focus and questions tend to be global in scope, because the challenges of our time often require global solutions. We believe strongly in the power of cross-cultural learning and collaboration to address the pressing issues of our time.
Our team reflects this global perspective. Above all, we are committed to mutual learning, which enables us to deliver projects in a way that is both relevant and sustainable.
Development in progress
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THE (irresistible) SUCCESS STORY of pasta
We have commenced pre – production of this 52 min. in length (charming) story on how pasta became first an Italian modern lifestyle brand and then a global success story.
In co – operation with ARTE and Bayerisches Fernsehen and in coproduction with SD Cinematografica, Rome.
Pasta is thus multi – diverse under just one term. It embodies regions and regions within regions. It thus reflect Italian identity, because regions come first, nationality second.
And when Italian films and stars like Sophia Loren and Fernadel and others propagated and exemplified this attitude to life in America and were then enthusiastically taken up by American stars who also travelled to Italy themselves and became fans of this popular yet complex and grounded Italianità, it was only then that Italians began to identify with their pasta and live everything that is associated with it. And so, step by step, pasta becomes a global success.
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RHYTHM – THE PULSE OF LIFE
RHYTHM arises when chaos, fear, grief, struggle, passions are so strong experienced and felt — or this was felt long ago, in archaic times — that they threaten(ed) the order and balance of the community.
The willingness not to perish as a community takes the elements of chaos and threat and begins to transform them into a rhythm. Chaos becomes an initially brittle and fragile, then increasingly suggestive form, not infrequently ecstatic. The greater the threat of chaos and affect, the greater the force of the rhythm, the success of which turns chaos into positive form.
The existential, extremely affect-related origin of the rhythms presented is what makes the series so attractive. All rhythms here have an archaic core; they always also signify the triumph of culture over nature and affect.
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CITIES LIKE MOUNTAIN-LANDSCAPES – CHINA’S MEGA URBANISATION
A film by Ying Jiang, Claire Floquet and Michael Trabitzsch
Urbanisation is transforming 21st century culture around the world. Nowhere is this transformation more palpable than in Asia, and nowhere in Asia more than in China.
From the West, from Europe, it looks like the herald of the apocalypse, like a synthesis of chaos, noise, narrowness, loss of individuality. That may be so, for many people, for many years. But these urban centres are the source of growth and progress in China and around the world. They will not only help to shape the culture of the 21st century, they will significantly influence it.
A report on some of China’s megacities. Role models for the city of the future?
Team
Emilia Zieser
Berlin
Cristina Beretta
Berlin
Julius Mwelu
Nairobi
Miho Abe
Tokyo
Thorsten Pengel
Berlin
Ying Tong Chng
Singapore