‘Divided We Stand’ Portrays the Divisions in Germany With a Light Touch
variety.comLeo Barraclough International Features EditorCrime show “Divided We Stand,” which will premiere in Germany on the public broadcaster ARD on Feb.
22 with the title “ZERV,” screened this week at the European Film Market in the Berlinale Series Market Selects section. World sales are being handled by Beta Film.The show, based on true events, follows a group of police officers from West Germany who are sent to Berlin to form a special investigations unit, called ZERV, which aims to root out crimes committed in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the Communist era.
However, as the officers dig deeper into the crimes in the East they start to find that many of them had originated in the West.
Speaking to Variety, exec producer Gabriela Sperl says the clash of cultures, values and ideologies was not only interesting, but also held the promise of some darkly comic moments as the West Germans try to “teach the East Germans what democracy means.” Sperl sees this show as picking up from where her 2019 drama “Preis der Freiheit” – which portrays the hypocrisies and corruption evident during last days of the GDR – left off.
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