Business and Legal Affairs

Kai May’s expertise stems from 15 years of experience in the film industry as a managing director/CEO of film production companies. His area of practice, therefore, covers not only the legal but also the business aspects of film and TV productions and other media and entertainment products. He advises national and international clients on the full life cycle of audiovisual content (film, TV, OTT) from rights acquisition through the stages of development, financing, structuring, and (co-) production, until exploitation and distribution, including the evaluation of film libraries and the improvement of revenue streams. He is also a lecturer at Film University Babelsberg. Kai is Lawyer and Partner at Unverzagt Rechtsanwaltwälte.

Maria-Christine has been managing all legal and business aspects of audio-visual content (film, TV, format), ranging from development (including rights acquisition) to financial structuring, (co-)production, and the distribution of over 400 hours of media content. She has been the interface to talent, producers, broadcasters, major studios, streamers, etc.

In her previous role as the Head of Legal and Business Affairs Content Sales International at ORF Enterprise, she was responsible for ORF and third-party content distribution contracts, applying her acquired knowledge from working at copyright law firms in Munich and Vienna and her postgraduate studies. Maria-Christine is currently Head of Legal at Terra Mater Studios.

Stéphanie Berland is a French qualified lawyer with 20 years of experience in entertainment, media and communication law, intellectual property and technology law, and data protection in both counselling and litigation. Stéphanie heads the IP-IT/Data & Media Department of STEERING LEGAL, a multidisciplinary French law firm with offices in France and abroad (UAE, Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Niger). She graduated from HEC Paris Grande Ecole Program (2000) and holds a master’s degree in business law & tax from Pantheon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1).

Charlotte advises clients in the film and audiovisual sector on international, EU, and national copyright and regulatory matters. Following her law degree from the University of Copenhagen, she interned with the European Commission, practiced EU competition law in Brussels, and headed the International Video Federation. She maintains a strong personal interest in and passion for filmmaking, including as a member of the European Film Academy.

Stephan Mallmann entered the film industry in 1989. Key roles included financial controller at Constantin Film in Munich before joining Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company in London in 1994 and becoming a founding shareholder of its sister company, Hanway Films, in 1998. He served as C.O.O. of both companies until 2012. Since then, he has been acting as an independent consultant/associate producer, working with filmmakers such as Wim Wenders (e.g., “PINA”, “Anselm”) or Rupert Everett (“The Happy Prince”), as well as on a number of high-end animation features.