Image from Costigan on RTÉ Storyland
Image from Costigan on RTÉ Storyland

#IrishAbroad: Irish TV series Costigan selected for Berlinale Co-Production Market

More good news from Berlin, where the Berlinale Co-Production Market has announced the eight drama series projects selected got their “CoPro Series” pitch event. One of the eight is Irish series Costigan from Shinawil and Against the Grain,

Costigan follows a former female Garda attempting to adapt after being released from prison, who at the same time is trying to expose her former colleagues that got her locked up in the first place.

Gary Duggan will write the series, which is based on the short that he created for RTÉ’s Storyland. That short starred Kelly Campbell, who helped write, and Rory Keenan. BAFTA and IFTA award-winning director Neasa Hardiman (Happy Valley) is also to be confirmed as director of the series. Aaron Farrell will produce for Shinawil with Ailish Bracken for Against the Grain.

Berlinale Co-Production Market will invite producers, commissioning editors, distributors, and other drama series financiers to the Zoo Palast for the exclusive pitch event “CoPro Series”, mounted as part of the “Drama Series Days” 2018 (February 19 – 21). In previous years, “CoPro Series” has hosted drama series projects looking for partners that have since become successful series, such as Babylon Berlin created by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Henk Handloegten, as well as Das Verschwinden (The Disappearance) by Hans-Christian Schmid, or Norway’s Valkyrien by Erik Richter Strand.

The main partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 17 – 21, 2018) are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union. The Networking Get-Together at “CoPro Series” at the Zoo Palast is held in cooperation with the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI).

The “Drama Series Days” are a joint initiative of the industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents, and are organised in close cooperation with Berlinale Series.

Projects selected for “CoPro Series” 2018 (in alphabetical order by production company):

  • Baby Alone (Writers: Judith Angerbauer, Matthias Luthardt; Dir: Matthias Luthardt), Akzente Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Germany
  • South (Writers: Edgar Medina, Guilherme Mendonça; Dir: Ivo M. Ferreira), Arquipélago Filmes, Portugal
  • In a Heartbeat (Writers: Shani Melamed Nitzan & Gaya Wildman; Dir: tba), Black Sheep Film Productions, Israel
  • Henkersbach (Writers: Friedrich Ani, Ina Jung; Dir: Dominik Graf), Cinecentrum Berlin Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Germany
  • Fury (Showrunner: Gjermund S. Eriksen; Dir: Roar Uthaug), Monster Scripted, Norway
  • Costigan (Writer: Gary Duggan; Dir: Neasa Hardiman, tbc), Shinawil & Against the Grain, Ireland
  • Black Port (Writer: Mikael Torfason; Dir: Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson & Gisli Orn Gardarsson), Vesturport, Iceland