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. The six-hour drama series Red Water is based on Jurica Pavičić’s bestselling novel of the same name, which ranked among the top ten 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 CEE region.

Red Water follows a 17-year-old girl’s mysterious disappearance from a small Croatian costal 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 erode the bonds within the local community but mirror the fate of a whole nation, leaving everyone to reflect on their own personal responsibility.

Created by a multi-award-winning team, the crime series is directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, whose feature film Murina was honored at the Cannes Film Festival with a 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 ZDF/ARTE: “The script for Red Water is based on the popular novel by Jurica Pavičić, which has been translated into many languages and enjoyed great success across Europe. Regarded as one of the best European novels of recent years, it received numerous awards, including five prestigious literary prizes in France.

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 ARTE Germany and ARTE Coordinator at ZDF: “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. Following The Silence (Šutnja) and the multi-awarded Serbian series Operation Sabre, Red Water is the next Croatian drama series to emerge from the successful partnership between Beta and ZDF/ARTE within the CEE region.”

Anna Rohde-Seyfried, International Creative Executive Beta Film: “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.