‘Westend Girl’, starring Helena Zengel, picked up by Beta Film
Beta Film has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the thriller series “Westend Girl,” starring Helena Zengel, who co-starred with Tom Hanks in “News of the World” and Willem Dafoe in “The Legend of Ochi.”
Selected for the Berlinale Series Market showcase Up Next: Germany, the six-hour series centers on teenager Ronja, who is forced to grow up overnight when her parents are arrested for drug trafficking and her perfect life begins to crumble.
Zengel has been in demand since her breakthrough role at the age of 11 in the lead role of the Berlinale competition entry ‘System Crasher’, for which she won the German Film Award and was nominated for the European Film Awards. “News of the World” earned her Critics Choice and Golden Globes nominations.
Based on a true story, ‘Westend Girl’ follows Ronja (Zengel), who is about to turn 18 and is the best in the world. She grew up in a sheltered, wealthy neighborhood, just moved into her first apartment and is about to start medical school. But the day after her birthday party, everything changes: her beautiful parents are suddenly arrested and accused of running the largest cocaine ring in the region. Moreover, Ronja slowly realizes that the police see her not only as a witness, but also as a potential accomplice. But who can she trust?
Shot in and around Marseille, Dusseldorf and Berlin, “Westend Girl” was co-created by Richard Kropf (“Kleo,” “4 Blocks”) and Pola Beck (“Breaking Horizons,” “Druck”). Kropf also serves as head writer, with Luisa Hardenberg (“Push”), Katharina Brauer (“Para – Wir sind King”), Alexander Lindh (“A Better Place”) and Julian Gaupp-Maier (“How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)”) rounding out the writers room. Beck also co-directs the series with Stefan Schaller (“Five Years”). The director of photography is Yoshi Heimrath (“Berlin Alexanderplatz”, “How to sell drugs online (fast)”).
In addition to Zengel, the cast includes Frederic Balonier (“Maxton Hall”), Lucas Gregorowicz (“Call My Agent Berlin,” “Pagan Peak”), Luise Heyer (“Sound of Falling,” “Black Box”), Alexander Scheer (“From Hilde, With Love,” “House of Promises”), Samirah Breuer (“Shadow Leaks”) and Hanna Heckt (“Sound of Falling”).
Martin Heisler of Flare Film (“Forget Me Not,” “Funeral for a Dog”) produces the show; Maxim Juretzka of Flare Film (“Funeral for a Dog”) and Jan Wünschmann of Beta Film (“The Swarm”) are executive producers. The clients are Frank Tönsmann from WDR and Uta Cappel from ARTE.
Westend Girl is produced by Flare Film in co-production with WDR/ARTE, in collaboration with Beta Film. The series is financed by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the German Film Fund. Beta Film handles the worldwide distribution rights.
