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10 selected books offer material for film or series adaptations 

 On 14 February 2022, ten exceptional books that are particularly well-suited to adaptation for the screen will be presented by the Berlinale Co-Production Market at “Books at Berlinale” in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse. “Books at Berlinale” will take place online on 14 and 15 February as part of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (12–16 February). In addition to Frankfurter Buchmesse, one of the event’s founding partners, the “Books at Berlinale” pitch is also being supported by Spain, Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse. 

Books at Berlinale will again be moderated by Syd Atlas in 2022. The event allows interested film producers to make contact with film rights holders – renowned, internationally active publishers and literary agents.  

A total of 190 suggestions from over 30 countries were submitted for “Books at Berlinale”. Titles were subsequently chosen that had been recommended by publishers, literary agents and authors from Brazil, Cameroon, France, Georgia, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and the UK. The selected titles reflect the diversity of the international literary landscape and stand out due to the exceptional potential they offer for adaptation as a film or series. In addition to the new or forthcoming books by authors such as David Grossman, Nino Haratischwili, Monika Helfer, Bernhard Schlink and Emma Stonex, the novels of Anne Eekhout, Esther Garcia Llovet, Khuê Phạm and Micheliny Verunschk also await discovery.

The following titles will be presented at “Books at Berlinale 2022 (English title / original title, listed alphabetically by presenting organisation):

The Riff-Raff / Die Bagage (Monika Helfer, Germany), Carl Hanser Verlag / Sibylle Seidel Medienagentur, Germany 

The Sound of the Jaguars Roar / O som do rugido da onça (Micheliny Verunschk, Brazil), Companhia das Letras, Brazil 

Mary / Mary (Anne Eekhout, Netherlands), De Bezige Bij, Netherlands 

More Than I Love My Life / איתי החיים משחק הרבה (David Grossman, Israel), Deborah Harris Agency, Israel 

The Granddaughter / Die Enkelin (Bernhard Schlink, Germany), Diogenes Verlag, Switzerland 

Spanish Beauty / Spanish Beauty (Esther Garcia Llovet, Spain), Editorial Anagrama, Spain 

Lack of Light / Das mangelnde Licht (Nino Haratischwili, Georgia), Graf & Graf Literatur- und Medienagentur, Germany 

The Lamplighters / The Lamplighters (Emma Stonex, UK), Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency, UK 

Impatients / Les Impatientes (Djaïli Amadou Amal, Cameroon), Mediatoon Audiovisual Rights, France 

Wherever You Are / Wo auch immer ihr seid (Khuê Phạm, Germany), Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe, Germany

The chosen books cover a wide range of genres, themes and perspectives of literary and social relevance and urgency. For example, in her novel Impatients / Les Impatientes, author and human rights activist Djaïli Amadou Amal from Cameroon decries forced marriage and violence against women in the Sahel. Published in France, the bestselling book has sparked debate and received numerous awards. 

Along with publishers and literary agents, film producers who are or would like to become active in the area of literary adaptations have until 9 February to register for the online book presentation by e-mailing books@berlinale.de. A matchmaking event will take place on 15 February as part of the “Books at Berlinale” initiative, allowing selected representatives of publishing houses and literary agencies to come together with film producers at individual online meetings. The matchmaking event is being organised in cooperation with the Netherlands Film Fund. 

The Berlinale Co-Production Market (1216 February 2022) is supported by MDM  Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. “Books at Berlinale” is a joint initiative of Frankfurter Buchmesse and the Berlinale Co-Production Market and has been taking place since 2006.

Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communication, Frankfurter Buchmesse, press@buchmesse.de
Kathrin Grün, Head of Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@buchmesse.de