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Beta Film has teamed up with ZDF/Arte and Antitalent to co-produce the Croatian crime drama “Red Water,” winner of the 2025 Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink
Industry Days.
“Red Water,” a six-hour series, is based on Jurica Pavičić’s bestselling novel of the same name, which ranked among the top 10 books of 2025 lists of the Financial Times and Sunday Times.
It is the next Croatian drama series to emerge from the successful partnership between Beta and ZDF/Arte in the Central and Eastern Europe region, following “The Silence” (Šutnja) and the multi-awarded Serbian series “Operation Sabre.”
“Red Water” follows a 17-year-old girl’s mysterious disappearance from a small Croatian coastal town. With the police inquiry yielding no results and the looming Yugoslav Wars diverting attention, the girl’s family is left with no choice but to embark on their own investigation.
Almost 30 years of pursuit not only erodes the bonds within the local community but mirror the fate of a whole nation, leaving everyone to reflect on their own personal responsibility.
The series is directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, whose feature film “Murina” was honored at the Cannes Film Festival with the Caméra d’Or, while Canneseries-winning writer Ljubica Luković (“Awake”) is responsible for the scripts, and the Academy Award-nominated Danijel Pek (“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”) is producing. Shooting is scheduled for 2027.
Simon Ofenloch, commissioning editor at ZDF/Arte, noted that the novel had enjoyed great success across Europe and was “regarded as one of the best European novels of recent years,” receiving numerous awards, including five prestigious literary prizes in France.
He added, “With this accomplished novel as its foundation, the series provides a gripping crime story, full of suspense and mystery and featuring complex characters. A chronicle of social upheaval, it offers an effortless insight into the major historical events in the Western Balkans following 1989 and marks an authentic portrayal of the final years of Yugoslavia up to Croatia’s present-day tourist-driven landscape.”
Wolfgang Bergmann, CEO of Arte Germany and Arte coordinator at ZDF, said, “The European context of ‘Red Water’ aligns well with Arte’s profile. The creative professionals involved form a European community, working together in a proven and trusted international collaboration. The result is a top-quality series from Europe, made in Europe – for the Arte audience across Europe.”
Anna Rohde-Seyfried, international creative executive at Beta Film, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with ZDF/Arte on ‘Red Water.’ Driven by a shared commitment to fostering European stories and talent, this collaboration combines Arte’s vision for distinctive European content with Beta’s expertise in bringing these productions to audiences around the world. We are very grateful for the creative mastery that our talented and visionary team including Antoneta, Ljubica, and Danijel bring to this project as they transform the acclaimed novel into a gripping and emotional series. ‘Red Water’ takes us on a truly complex and thrilling journey, while exploring how war shapes people’s identity and society overall.”
“Red Water” is produced by Antitalent in co-production with ZDF/Arte and Beta Film. Beta Film handles international sales.
