Documentary produced by Gabriela Sperl for Sky Studios and rbb/ARD
Plus drama series for Sky in Germany
Acclaimed film-maker Gabriela Sperl ( NSU - Mitten in Deutschland', Preis der Freiheit', Tannbach') and producer SFFP (Sperl Film und Fernsehproduktion GmbH) are developing a feature-length documentary on the Wirecard scandal for Sky Studios.
The documentary will be directed by Benji and Jono Bergmann of BABKA ( Gelato'), who will also co-produce.
The documentary will chart the rise and fall of Wirecard, a financial payments firm once seen as the posterchild for German tech innovation that collapsed in scandal in June 2020 following the uncovering of a 1.9bn accounting black hole. The story rocked the financial sector across the globe, following years of suspected lies, cover ups and an international web of money laundering. Today, Wirecard's CEO Markus Braun remains in custody with COO Jan Marsalek on the run, following the issuance of an international arrest warrant.
Following many years of journalistic investigation, Sperl will bring the story to screen with exclusive access to those closest to the Wirecard scandal, plus those who, like Sperl, followed the story closely as the company unravelled earlier this year.
In addition to the documentary, Gabriela Sperl is also developing a fictional mini-series on the same topic for Sky Studios.
Gabriela Sperl, producer SFFP said: "Wirecard is a global story of corruption and greed, of masterminds and narcissists, of the driven, dreamers and power mongers who, trapped in their own realities, carried others away in their insatiable desire for more.
In the 90-minute documentary and limited series, we will tell the thrilling drama of the rise and fall of Wirecard, set against an international backdrop of lies and misplaced trust. This is a story of betrayal, lack of responsibility and loss of values - and its about the brave ones who, despite persecution, ridicule and malice, did not let themselves be stopped from bringing the truth to light. Wirecard is also a story of the upright, a story about moral courage, about role models, who we need today more than ever. Among the informants who we were able to engage exclusively for our documentary are the two award-winning reporters from WirtschaftsWoche, Melanie Bergermann and Volker ter Haseborg, who will publish a book in November: The Wirecard story - the story of a billion-dollar lie.
Marcus Ammon, Senior Vice President Sky Original Production, said: "A financial crime thriller of this dimension, the mystery of a fraud of epic proportions and its mysterious protagonists, is not only material for an insightful documentary, but also contains countless narrative strands and complex characters as the basis for a fictional series.
We are happy to get to the bottom of this monstrous story together with Gabriela Sperl. Gabrielas unique network and her unbroken will to enlighten and bring the truth to light are the best conditions for these two exciting projects.
Martina Z llner, head of film and documentary at rbb/ARD, said: "How could it come to such an irrational decoupling of intoxicating high-flying and economic reality? And why did so many people share in the Wirecard dream? This is what our joint film wants to work out using the disinfecting power of documentary to do so.
For Sky Germany, Julia Jaensch will oversee both projects, working within Frank Jastfelder's team. Rolf Bergmann will oversee on behalf of rbb.
Shooting for the documentary will start soon in early autumn. Sky holds the first broadcast rights on pay TV before the documentary will be shown on ARD. The mini-series will be shot next year and will be shown on Sky and rbb/ARD in Germany.
ENDS
About Gabriela Sperl
GABRIELA SPERL is an award-winning author and producer focused on socio-political films. From 1998-2002 she was Head of the Drama, Fiction and Documentary Department at the Bayerischer Rundfunk/ARD.
In 2003, Gabriela Sperl left the BR to concentrate on writing and producing. Her productions have brought her numerous Grimme Awards, the Goldene Kamera, the Deutsche Fernsehpreis and Filmpreis, the Bambi, as well as awards in Shanghai, Paris and Cannes. Some of her most notable productions include "Stauffenberg for SWR/ARD, "Die Flucht" for ARD and "Operation Zucker" for BR/ARD. Tannbach" for Wiedemann&Berg TV, ZDF , "NSU - Mitten in Deutschland for ARD, and most recently "Preis der Freiheit for ZDF which won 3 major awards at the Deutsche Fernsehpreis in June 2020: best series, best leading actor and best leading actress.
About rbb/ARD
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) is the joint broadcasting corporation under public law of the German federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg. rbb operates six radio channels - rbb 88.8, Antenne Brandenburg, Fritz, Inforadio, Radioeins and rbbKultur -, the Dritte channel rbb TV with its own rbbtext teletext service, and an extensive online offering under rbb24. rbb contributes to the joint public service ARD programme Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen with programmes such as Kontraste, Tatort and Polizeiruf 110. It also participates in the satellite channels 3sat, ARTE, KI.KA and PHOENIX.
rbb is managed by director Patricia Schlesinger who has just been selected by the broadcasting council for a second period of five years. rbb has numerous freelance and 1,500 salaried employees. Its main broadcasting studios are in Berlin and Potsdam, it also operates studios in Cottbus, Frankfurt (Oder) and regional offices in Perleberg and Prenzlau. rbb participates in the ARDs joint foreign correspondent network with correspondents in London, Warsaw, Mexico City and Beijing.
About Sky Deutschland
Sky Deutschland is one of the leading entertainment companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, offering a world class range of content from the best li
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Documentary produced by Gabriela Sperl for Sky Studios and rbb/ARD 
