Gebrueder beetz filmproduktion and OneGate Media (former Studio Hamburg) announce that their true crime series "Reeperbahn Special Unit 65" will be the first documentary series to run in the fiction competition of the Hamburg International Film Festival, on 6th October. The series tells the story of the fight between Special Unit 65 – Germany’s first-ever police unit to fight organized crime – and its illustrious adversaries including the US Mafia, Hells Angels and Germany’s most notorious serial killer.
"Reeperbahn Special Unit 65" is the first documentary series in the fiction competition of Hamburg International Film Festival, which reflects a new genre of high-end documentaries with special narrative arcs and elements. Entering the fiction competition is a testament to the fact that, in terms of storytelling, production value and style, the series is comparable with high-end fiction projects and skillfully navigates the challenging balance between documentary and entertainment.
Tania Reichert-Facilides, Managing Director, OneGate Media says: ”True Crime has a huge and growing fanbase that is extremely engaged, making it one of the hottest genres right now. The style of this documentary series brings a new dimension to how we tell true crime stories. gebrueder beetz have done an excellent job of crafting a narrative which is produced in the style of a US cop series, and its entry into the fiction competition reflects this. We are very happy to be the co-production partner on this project with them that will appeal to audiences not just in Germany, but around the world.”
"Reeperbahn Special Unit 65" is the first documentary project to ever be financed by renowned German Motion Picture Fund, which had previously only funded high-profile fiction projects such as "Babylon Berlin" and "The Queen’s Gambit." The series was produced by multi-Emmy and Oscar-nominated producer Christian Beetz ("The Cleaners") and his production house gebrueder beetz filmproduktion. OneGate Media co-produced the series, and has world distribution rights.
Producer Christian Beetz says: "After our Netflix Original 'A Perfect Crime', we decided to produce this new high-end docuseries together with German public broadcasters. With 'Reeperbahn Special Unit 65' they are perfectly set to embark on their counterattack against streamers’ dominance in reaching younger audiences. Moreover, I’m delighted for our series to take a whole new look at the Reeperbahn, 'the planet’s most sinful mile.'"
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