Faculty
The DFFB’s rich network of industry contacts has enabled SERIAL EYES to secure highly respected scriptwriters, producers, directors and commissioning editors as instructors and guest lecturers. Top US-based showrunners are invited to lead workshops drawing on their particular expertise, while master classes and hands-on modules concentrate on the scriptwriting process and other vital aspects of serial production – always with a practical focus.
Instructors
Roberto Amoroso
Creative Director (Italy)
Under his creative supervision, Sky has produced several tv-movies and tv-series, including “Romanzo Criminale”, a 22-part series that has been sold in over 60 countries. He was at Sky since its launch in 2003, and has defined the identity and the brand of the Cinema Channels. Before that he has worked for Sundance Channel in …
Jeffrey Bell
Showrunner (USA)
Jeffrey Bell is a showrunner, writer, director and executive producer. He began his television ccareer writing for The X-Files. He then joined, Angel, the Series, as a writer/director/producer. He was promoted to executive producer and showrunner for the series final two seasons. Bell then spent four years under an overall deal at BBC developing, writing, …
David Bianculli
TV critic, author, editor and columnist (USA)
David Bianculli has been the TV critic for National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air,” where he also appears as occasional guest host, since 1987. He’s worked as a TV critic for newspapers in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York (in that order), most recently for the New York Daily News from 1993-2007. Currently, he is editor …
Olivier Bibas
Co-Managing Director of ATLANTIQUE PRODUCTIONS (France)
Olivier Bibas is an executive producer and Co-Managing Director of ATLANTIQUE PRODUCTIONS which is a subsidiary of Lagardère Studios. Since 2011, he has been overseeing the development and production of numerous international TV series, including Midnight Sun (Canal+/ SVT – 8 episodes), Borgia (Canal+ / ZDF – 3 seasons, 38 episodes), Jo (TF1 / SAT1 – 8 …
Jimmy Desmarais
Producer (France)
Graduated from Sciences Po Paris and after a Master in Law of Audiovisual communication, Jimmy follows a famous French screenwriting class in 2003 (CEEA). In 2006 he joins Haut et Court and brings in, along with Caroline Benjo, the development of audiovisual programs for television and in particular TV series like Xanadu by Podz and …
Vegard S. Eriksen
Executive producer (Norway)
Executive producer of “Home ground”, 10 episodes series starting shooting March 2017. Showrunner, producer and creator of “Mammon” 1 & 2 (2014-2016), Executive producer “Mammon” season 3 (2017- ) and Producer of “Sky Blue” and “Brothers”. Vegard has been working as head of Drama for NRK during the production of the mini-series “Eyewitness” (2014) and “Struggle for …
Luke Franklin
Development Producer (UK)
Luke has over a decade’s experience as a script editor and development executive, having worked on dramas for ITV, Mammoth Screen, Sky, and the BBC before joining Big Light in 2015 on ‘The Man in the High Castle’. Since March ‘16, he’s worked on the script development and in the writers’ room of ‘Ransom’, a …
Ellis Freeman
Writer (UK)
Starting out as a print and TV journalist, Ellis is a screenwriter born in London and currently living in Berlin where he is Head of Screenwriting and Development at the DFFB. His screenwriting credits include the feature Princesa, which screened at Sundance and won best foreign narrative at the LA Outfest; comedy feature, January 2nd …
Katrin Goetter
Producer (Germany)
Born 1974. Studies of Social Science. As of 1998 producer in the field of advertising. Assistant director for feature films, series and documentaries. Script writer in the Series division, studies at dffb (German Film and Television Academy) in Berlin. Prior to completing her studies at dffb in 2004, Katrin was already working for teamWorx Television …
Piodor Gustafsson
Producer (Sweden)
Piodor Gustafsson has more than twenty five years of experience within film, TV and advertising. Since September 2012 Peter is running his and Tomas Alfredson’s production company Another Park Film. Peter joined SVT in October 2009 and was until August 2012 a member of the board of Programming. He was Head of Programming and Commissioning …
Ben Harris
Writer and Producer (UK)
Ben Harris is a writer and producer with over ten years experience in the industry. His writing jobs include BBC One dramas ‘The Musketeers’, ‘Hunted’ and ‘The Paradise’, alongside his numerous original projects in development with UK production companies. Ben began his career on Sky One’s award-winning cult drama ‘Dream Team’ where, after three seasons …
Benjamin Harris
Head of Programme
Benjamin Harris is Head of Programme for Serial Eyes. As such, he is responsible for the curricular and administrative oversight of the programme. Prior to that, Benjamin was the Assistant Director of the MFA Producers Program in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television for eleven years. He is a TV writer and a …
Kirsten Ittershagen
Writer (Germany)
KIRSTEN ITTERSHAGEN is a German TV Writer-Producer who produces German and international TV series with passion and precision. Kirsten Ittershagen was born and raised in Hamburg. After completing her MA studies in Sociology, Cultural Studies, Politics and Psychology at the University of Hamburg, she began working in advertising, but dreamed of a career in the …
Nicola Lusuardi
Writer (Italy)
Since 1990, Nicola Lusuardi has been working as a playwright for several production companies and as a screenwriter, story editor and supervisor for television networks RAI, MEDIASET, SKY (In treatment italian version, Barabba, Il segreto di Thomas, La monaca di Monza). He also works as a script consultant and tutor in TorinoFilmLab-Interchange and Biennale College; …
Denise Mann
Producer (USA)
Denise Mann has been the head of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Producers Program since 1996 and is a professor in the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. In that capacity, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on contemporary entertainment industry practices as well as critical studies seminars on film and …
Steve Matthews
VP Executive Producer, Drama Development, HBO Europe
Steve was Consulting Producer on all three series of Neil Jordan’s series The Borgias for Showtime Networks, and produced four series of RTE’s award winning Dublin gangster series Love/Hate. He was formerly Head of Development at Ray Winstone’s Size 9 Productions. He worked as a script editor at the BBC on Silent Witness and …
Sonya Moyersoen
Writer, Story Editor (France)
Born in 1966, Sonia Moyersoen first made a Law degree and studied theatre before becoming an actress. In 1994, she changed for the other side of the camera as Head of Developement at GMT Productions (France). During the next 13 years, she developed around a hundred TV movies, including some of the most regarded and …
Maggie Murphy
Co-head of Shaftesbury U.S., (USA)
Maggie Murphy is the Head of Shaftesbury U.S., the company’s newly launched division located in Los Angeles and focused on development for the U.S., Canadian and International markets. Shaftesbury US has a dozen projects currently in development with projects set up at the major networks in the US, Canada, as well as the one hour …
Isabelle Pechou
Consultant (France/Denmark)
Isabelle Péchou recently founded The Drama Agency, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The consultancy company sets up coproductions on an international scale. The projects are mainly coming from Scandinavia. The Drama Agency also scouts scripted formats and ready-made and draws up fiction trends. Isabelle is also a fiction expert for Media.Prior to that, Isabelle has been …
Mayte Kappel Rovira
Coach (German)
As a Berlin-based coach, trainer and facilitator, Mayte is an expert in designing, planning and supporting human development processes for groups and individuals. Her work focusses on good collaboration, leadership, collective ideation and storytelling. Besides a university degree in Fine Arts, Performative Arts, Philosophy and Cultural Management, she holds certificates in Systemic Coaching and Facilitating …
Donna Sharpe
Writer (UK and Germany)
Donna is currently working as co-writer on WEST OF LIBERTY, the ZDF/SVT/ITV Global screen adaption of Thomas Engstrøm’s award-winning, Berlin-set espionage novel. She was also co-writer on international crime/intelligence thriller THE TEAM S2 (ZDF and DR) and is in the Writers Room for supernatural drama series TEUFELSBERG (Arté/SWR). Donna also has the following Original Commissions …
Frank Spotnitz
Showrunner (USA)
Award-winning American Executive Producer and writer, Frank Spotnitz is the Chief Executive and Founder of Big Light Productions, and began his 20+-year career with The XFiles. Most recently, Spotnitz co-created and executive produced the comedy-drama series The Indian Detective, starring international comedian Russell Peters, for Bell Media/CTV and Netflix; Ransom for CBS in the US, …
Cyril Tysz
Writer, Story editor, Producer (France/USA)
Born in Paris, Cyril first studies filmmaking at Sorbonne, then at UCLA, where he is granted the Alan Jacobson Award for best first student short film. He then learns hands on production on the sets of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands and Laurence Kazdan’s produced film Dizziness. After serving in the French army as camera operator …
Johnathan Young
VP Original Production, HBO Central Europe
Johnathan Young is a producer and executive producer with a long history in the television industry. He joined HBO Europe as an Executive Producer in 2014, and was responsible for Mamon in the Czech Republic and Pakt in Poland in 2015, and Pakt2 and Valea Muta in Romania in 2016. In January 2017 he became …
Klaus Zimmermann
Managing Partner, Dynamic Television (Germany/ France)
Born in 1966, Klaus Zimmermann has a DEA (Master) degree in general private law (Sorbonne) and a masters degree in management science with a special mention for international business studies (Paris Dauphine). He started his career in 1993 at the German company KirchGruppe. For two years, he worked in Munich alongside the company’s director of …
Special Guest Speakers
Sven Clausen
Producer (Denmark)
As Executive Producer with DR TV (Danish Broadcasting Corp.) Sven Clausen became a three time Emmy winner for the drama series Unit One (2002), The Eagle (2005), and The Protectors (2009). After retiring as producer Sven worked throughout 2013 as Head of Fiction at the commercial Danish TV2 and is now a consultant with major …
Ferdinand Dohna
Ferdinand Dohna studied Archeologie, Ancient History and Greek in Bonn, Heidelberg and Rome. From 2000 until 2002 he worked as a producer for Kirch Media (International Coproductions). In 2002 Dohna founded EOS Entertainment together with Jan Mojto and is responsible for the international coproductions of Betafilm since 2005. Dohna founded the Italian production company „dog’s …
Channing Dungey
Ms. Channing Dungey has been President of ABC Primetime Entertainment since February 17, 2016. Ms. Dungey served as Senior Vice President of Drama at ABC Primetime Entertainment since June 2009. She served as Senior Vice President of Drama Development at Touchstone Television Productions, LLC (formerly ABC Television Studio) and also served as its Vice President …
Tom Fontana
Writer and Producer (USA)
Tom Fontana has written and produced such ground breaking television series as St. Elsewhere, Homicide: Life On The Street, Oz, The Philanthropist, and Copper. He recently finished filming Borgia for Netflix and Canal+. He has received, among others, three Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, three Writers’ Guild Awards, four Television Critics Association Awards, the Cable …
Petra Fried
Petra Fried has worked at Clerkenwell Films for 14 years. Most recently she has been executive producer on five series of the multi-award winning Channel 4 comedy drama Misfits. She also worked on two series of the supernatural drama Afterlife for ITV1, and the single dramas Persuasion, Quite Ugly One Morning, Jekyll and Hyde and …
Jeppe Gjervig Gram
Writer (Denmark)
Winner of the BAFTA for Best International Series, 2012 Jeppe Gjervig Gram was born 1976 in Odense, Denmark. After university studies, he worked for 6 years as a drama series consultant for Danish network TV 2, dealing with acquisition of international series as well as commissioning of original Danish series, before enrolling in the screenwriting …
Dominique Jubin
CANAL+ (France)
Dominique Jubin is Director of french drama and co-productions of Canal Plus since 2006. She has been part of the development of the ‘Original Programming’ series, mini series and political movies with Fabrice de la Patellière, head of french drama and co-productions. Dominique Jubin graduated the Femis’ fifth promotion in screenwriting department’.
Jed Mercurio
Writer (UK)
Jed Mercurio is one of the few UK script-writers to work as an American-style showrunner. His most recent credit, Line of Duty, is the most watched BBC2 drama series in the multichannel era. His other credits include Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Critical, Strike Back, Bodies, The Grimleys, Invasion:Earth and Cardiac Arrest. Line of Duty and Bodies …
Abi Morgan
Writer (UK)
Abi Morgan’s plays include SKINNED and SLEEPING AROUND (Paines Plough); TINY DYNAMITE (Traverse); TENDER (Hampstead); SPLENDOUR and FUGEE (National Theatre), LOVESONG (Frantic Assembly) and 27 (NTS) and The MISTRESS CONTRACT (Royal Court) . Her television work includes MY FRAGILE HEART, MURDER, SEX TRAFFIC, TSUNAMI – THE AFTERMATH, WHITE GIRL, ROYAL WEDDING, BIRDSONG and THE …