Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed Spain and Portugal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe, on the Finnish suspense disaster drama “Seconds”, Variety has learned exclusively.
One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said. German co-production partner Ndr is due to launch it later this year.
Created by screenwriter Laura Suhonen (“Hooked”) alongside Fire Monkey co-founders Mikko Pöllä and Roope Lehtinen, the six-part series chronicles the aftermath of a horrific train disaster in a small Finnish town that claimed the lives of more than 60 people.
Accident investigator Marita Kail (Leena Pöysti) and her team are put in charge of the case and start digging into the events that led to the tragedy. The whole nation is rocked by the event, as is Marita’s psyche.
One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said. German co-production partner Ndr is due to launch it later this year.
Created by screenwriter Laura Suhonen (“Hooked”) alongside Fire Monkey co-founders Mikko Pöllä and Roope Lehtinen, the six-part series chronicles the aftermath of a horrific train disaster in a small Finnish town that claimed the lives of more than 60 people.
Accident investigator Marita Kail (Leena Pöysti) and her team are put in charge of the case and start digging into the events that led to the tragedy. The whole nation is rocked by the event, as is Marita’s psyche.
- 4/10/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Broadcasters from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have joined the Nordic Twelve group of European broadcasters to forge what they are calling the “biggest drama collaboration in Europe.”
Unveiling the news at a Mia Market press conference this afternoon, Zdf, Npo and Vrt from the three non-Nordic countries said they will join with Sweden’s Svt, Denmark’s Dr, Finland’s Yle, Iceland’s RÚV and Norway’s Nrk to form what is now titled the New8.
The octet of broadcasters will co-produce eight TV series a year and the initial agreement lasts three years. A “key aspect of the collaboration is ensuring broad distribution of each other’s projects,” the New8 said, with performance data set to be shared for all shows.
The first project will be announced in November at Content London, becoming available at the end of next year. Four series per year will come from the Nordics,...
Unveiling the news at a Mia Market press conference this afternoon, Zdf, Npo and Vrt from the three non-Nordic countries said they will join with Sweden’s Svt, Denmark’s Dr, Finland’s Yle, Iceland’s RÚV and Norway’s Nrk to form what is now titled the New8.
The octet of broadcasters will co-produce eight TV series a year and the initial agreement lasts three years. A “key aspect of the collaboration is ensuring broad distribution of each other’s projects,” the New8 said, with performance data set to be shared for all shows.
The first project will be announced in November at Content London, becoming available at the end of next year. Four series per year will come from the Nordics,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
“It is definitely the role of public money to shape the audience of tomorrow”
European public broadcasters must help fund diverse high-end drama content and nurture future audiences, according to speakers at a Sarajevo film festival CineLink Talks panel.
Watch the discussion above
Speaking at the ‘Public pockets for private dramas: The financing challenge?’ event, Julie-Jeanne Régnault, secretary general of European Film Agency Directors Association (Efad), said that out of Efad’s 37 members, 25 of these European film agencies are now actively “supporting TV series”.
This is a significant shift given that these agencies have previously been almost entirely focused on the theatrical film space,...
European public broadcasters must help fund diverse high-end drama content and nurture future audiences, according to speakers at a Sarajevo film festival CineLink Talks panel.
Watch the discussion above
Speaking at the ‘Public pockets for private dramas: The financing challenge?’ event, Julie-Jeanne Régnault, secretary general of European Film Agency Directors Association (Efad), said that out of Efad’s 37 members, 25 of these European film agencies are now actively “supporting TV series”.
This is a significant shift given that these agencies have previously been almost entirely focused on the theatrical film space,...
- 8/18/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Toledo, Spain — At this month’s Annecy, France’s Canal+, France Télévisions and even Gulli delighted the business by unveiling new production slates which boasted some of the boldest projects being brought to market at the French festival.
At one and the same time, major European broadcasters, the BBC and France Télévisions again, were talking up their streaming services at Annecy.
These used to be treated as a complement to their linear offering. Now it’s increasingly the other way round.
Annecy, of course, is animation. But could the same market forces be at work in live action TV and in Spain?
More than a hint of a step-by-step revolution at work at Rtve, Spain’s public broadcaster, was sensed at an upbeat showcase on Wednesday.
Moderated by José Pastor, Rtve’s director of film and fiction, the show-case, Rtve Co-Productions on Board, featured three shows, “Allende, the Thousand Days,...
At one and the same time, major European broadcasters, the BBC and France Télévisions again, were talking up their streaming services at Annecy.
These used to be treated as a complement to their linear offering. Now it’s increasingly the other way round.
Annecy, of course, is animation. But could the same market forces be at work in live action TV and in Spain?
More than a hint of a step-by-step revolution at work at Rtve, Spain’s public broadcaster, was sensed at an upbeat showcase on Wednesday.
Moderated by José Pastor, Rtve’s director of film and fiction, the show-case, Rtve Co-Productions on Board, featured three shows, “Allende, the Thousand Days,...
- 6/28/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
The 7th edition of Spain’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, the Europe-Latin America TV and networking forum, will dedicate this year its countries focus to Poland and Mexico.
For the first time ever, the event will also host a Spanish Content Showcase, integrating a series of activities to highlight the freshest and most attractive contents and formats from top Spanish distributors.
Conecta Fiction unspools June 26-29 for the second year running at the El Greco Palace of Congress in Toledo, the capital of Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha, just south of Madrid.
The 4th Rtve Showcase will run parallel to Conecta Fiction over June 27-28, bringing buyers from 30 countries and sparking synergies such as a showcase of Rtve’s ongoing international co-productions at a Conecta Fiction panel.
“We will offer an in-depth analysis of Mexico and Poland as focus countries; workshops to optimise budgets and develop new funding models; keynotes in which trends such as eSports,...
For the first time ever, the event will also host a Spanish Content Showcase, integrating a series of activities to highlight the freshest and most attractive contents and formats from top Spanish distributors.
Conecta Fiction unspools June 26-29 for the second year running at the El Greco Palace of Congress in Toledo, the capital of Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha, just south of Madrid.
The 4th Rtve Showcase will run parallel to Conecta Fiction over June 27-28, bringing buyers from 30 countries and sparking synergies such as a showcase of Rtve’s ongoing international co-productions at a Conecta Fiction panel.
“We will offer an in-depth analysis of Mexico and Poland as focus countries; workshops to optimise budgets and develop new funding models; keynotes in which trends such as eSports,...
- 6/26/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Riot officers were dispatched to the violet carpet yesterday in Lille as nationwide protests against pension reforms hit Series Mania.
The protestors fighting against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for reform were pushed back and order soon restored. However, unrest was seen by witnesses elsewhere in the historic city throughout the evening.
Deadline heard sirens and saw multiple police vans and ambulances heading to incidents and we’ve seen pictures on delegates’ phones of street fires and riot police clashing with protestors.
By late evening, the roads were quiet again as the protests died down.
Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images
Civil unrest has sparked across France over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and Lille was unable to escape. The reforms were passed without a vote in parliament, igniting protests in cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
A general strike has been planned for Thursday (March 23), leaving many...
The protestors fighting against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for reform were pushed back and order soon restored. However, unrest was seen by witnesses elsewhere in the historic city throughout the evening.
Deadline heard sirens and saw multiple police vans and ambulances heading to incidents and we’ve seen pictures on delegates’ phones of street fires and riot police clashing with protestors.
By late evening, the roads were quiet again as the protests died down.
Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images
Civil unrest has sparked across France over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and Lille was unable to escape. The reforms were passed without a vote in parliament, igniting protests in cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
A general strike has been planned for Thursday (March 23), leaving many...
- 3/22/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Lille, France — “Unspoken,” a war drama series wrapping in a thriller format one of ordinary people’s most relatable nightmares and the urgent relevance of a real-life game-changing conflict, walked off Tuesday night with the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award, the highest-profile industry prize at the biggest TV festival in Europe.
Given to one of 15 drama series projects pitched Tuesday on the first day of proceedings at the Series Mania Forum in its centerpiece Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, the Award carries a €50,000 cash prize, enough to boost seriously continued development on the TV show.
Produced by Match & Spark (Poland), Toy Cinema and 2Brave Productions (Ukraine), the six-episode series is created by Filip Syczyński, who is co-writing with Zhanna Ozirna.
“Unspoken” unfolds during the very first days of full-scale war in Ukraine. It follows Evgeniy, who travels from Poland to Ukraine, hell-bent on saving his wife and kids from Russian invasion.
Given to one of 15 drama series projects pitched Tuesday on the first day of proceedings at the Series Mania Forum in its centerpiece Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, the Award carries a €50,000 cash prize, enough to boost seriously continued development on the TV show.
Produced by Match & Spark (Poland), Toy Cinema and 2Brave Productions (Ukraine), the six-episode series is created by Filip Syczyński, who is co-writing with Zhanna Ozirna.
“Unspoken” unfolds during the very first days of full-scale war in Ukraine. It follows Evgeniy, who travels from Poland to Ukraine, hell-bent on saving his wife and kids from Russian invasion.
- 3/21/2023
- by John Hopewell and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s Berlinale Series Market kicks off Monday as Spanish series “The Snow Girl,” a missing girl suspense thriller produced by Spain’s Atípica Films, has attracted huge heat for Netflix, punching 101.7 million hours watched in its first three weeks. Doing so, it ranked as the streamer’s No. 1 non-English show in the world over Jan. 30 – Feb. 5.
In all, Spain has more shows and movies in Netflix’s all time non-English Top 10s than any other country in the world, seven to France’s two, for example.
Spain, it could be argued, has cracked online. But its drama series industry wants to ring more options.
As scripted commissions look to have dropped from second half 2022 in not only the U.S. but also Europe and Latin America, an energetic posse of Spanish producers and stars are rolling into Berlin to present new productions. These look set to explore an...
In all, Spain has more shows and movies in Netflix’s all time non-English Top 10s than any other country in the world, seven to France’s two, for example.
Spain, it could be argued, has cracked online. But its drama series industry wants to ring more options.
As scripted commissions look to have dropped from second half 2022 in not only the U.S. but also Europe and Latin America, an energetic posse of Spanish producers and stars are rolling into Berlin to present new productions. These look set to explore an...
- 2/19/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
‘Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway’ Gets Behind-The-Scenes Doc Treatment
ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway is getting the behind-the-scenes doc treatment. In Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway: Behind the Screens (w/t), ITV Studios indie Lifted Entertainment and the host’s shingle Mitre Studios will take a fly-on-the-wall approach to the making of one of ITV’s biggest entertainment shows. Documentary makers will embed themselves within the production team for the upcoming 19th season, in a show that regularly dominates the ITV entertainment schedules. Ant & Dec are stalwart ITV hosts, who also helm I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and various one-off specials. The news comes with ITV entertainment set for a shake-up, with The Masked Dancer and Ninja Warrior being rested this year and The Masked Singer set for more mashup specials. “Saturday Night Takeaway is one of the biggest live entertainment shows on television...
ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway is getting the behind-the-scenes doc treatment. In Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway: Behind the Screens (w/t), ITV Studios indie Lifted Entertainment and the host’s shingle Mitre Studios will take a fly-on-the-wall approach to the making of one of ITV’s biggest entertainment shows. Documentary makers will embed themselves within the production team for the upcoming 19th season, in a show that regularly dominates the ITV entertainment schedules. Ant & Dec are stalwart ITV hosts, who also helm I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and various one-off specials. The news comes with ITV entertainment set for a shake-up, with The Masked Dancer and Ninja Warrior being rested this year and The Masked Singer set for more mashup specials. “Saturday Night Takeaway is one of the biggest live entertainment shows on television...
- 2/17/2023
- by Max Goldbart and Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The Audiovisual Producers Finland (Apfi) today announced the slate of new series its members are bringing to Berlin (scroll down for the full list) alongside a new industry event titled Focus on Finland to be held during the festival.
Focus on Finland will be an official part of the Berlinale Series Market schedule and will feature an industry panel titled ‘Why So Series?’ which will focus on Nordic scripted comedy and drama series.
The panel will take place at CinemaxX Theatre on Potsdamer Platz on February 20 and will feature writer Brendan Foley (The Man Who Died), producer Jackie Larkin (Strike), commissioner Arttu Nurmi (Modern Men), and distribution executive Jean-Michel Ciszewski (Bnei Aruba). The panel will be moderated by Marike Muselaers, Chief Content & Partnerships Officer, Lumiere Group.
“This year we’re focusing on expanding the industry and audience perceptions of what makes Nordic Noir,” said Laura Kuulasmaa, Executive Director of Apfi.
Focus on Finland will be an official part of the Berlinale Series Market schedule and will feature an industry panel titled ‘Why So Series?’ which will focus on Nordic scripted comedy and drama series.
The panel will take place at CinemaxX Theatre on Potsdamer Platz on February 20 and will feature writer Brendan Foley (The Man Who Died), producer Jackie Larkin (Strike), commissioner Arttu Nurmi (Modern Men), and distribution executive Jean-Michel Ciszewski (Bnei Aruba). The panel will be moderated by Marike Muselaers, Chief Content & Partnerships Officer, Lumiere Group.
“This year we’re focusing on expanding the industry and audience perceptions of what makes Nordic Noir,” said Laura Kuulasmaa, Executive Director of Apfi.
- 2/8/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
More than 70 speakers from 17 countries, including “Skam” showrunner Julie Andem, “It Takes Two” game creator/filmmaker Josef Fares, and top commissioners from Viaplay, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Dr, Svt, Nrk and Yle will take center stage at Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision.
The festival’s flagship drama confab will run Feb. 1-2 both on-site in Sweden’s second largest city, and online, with all streamed sessions open to accredited professionals.
A record 542 delegates – including 39 online visitors – have signed up for the sold-out event, set under the overarching theme “Navigating Disruption and Cultivating Talent.”
”It’s been a challenge to set the core of this year’s program, considering the drastic changes in the drama industry, fuelled by the macroeconomic uncertainties, streaming wars and changing strategies,” acknowledges TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström. “But our top industry guests will offer inspiring best-practices on how to navigate these changing times, cultivate talent and innovate in storytelling.
The festival’s flagship drama confab will run Feb. 1-2 both on-site in Sweden’s second largest city, and online, with all streamed sessions open to accredited professionals.
A record 542 delegates – including 39 online visitors – have signed up for the sold-out event, set under the overarching theme “Navigating Disruption and Cultivating Talent.”
”It’s been a challenge to set the core of this year’s program, considering the drastic changes in the drama industry, fuelled by the macroeconomic uncertainties, streaming wars and changing strategies,” acknowledges TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström. “But our top industry guests will offer inspiring best-practices on how to navigate these changing times, cultivate talent and innovate in storytelling.
- 1/23/2023
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The Göteborg Film Festival’s annual TV industry event, TV Drama Vision, has unveiled its program, which focuses on sustainability and healthy working conditions at a time of hyper-competition in the drama space.
TV Drama Vision is set to unspool both in-person and online over Feb. 2-3.
As opening keynote, Johanna Koljonen, author of the anticipated Nostradamus Report, will kickstart the event’s conference strand, which is also due to new paths for creative producers, public funding at a crossroads, green filmmaking, diversity, changing business models and storytelling.
“The program, designed as always in close collaboration with the industry, will reveal how the streaming disruption, accelerated by the pandemic, is affecting us all. It’s important for all partners to find common grounds and reflect on long-term plans to create a sustainable industry,” says Göteborg head of industry Cia Edström, who will be hosting the event with moderators Johanna Nunnu Karppinen,...
TV Drama Vision is set to unspool both in-person and online over Feb. 2-3.
As opening keynote, Johanna Koljonen, author of the anticipated Nostradamus Report, will kickstart the event’s conference strand, which is also due to new paths for creative producers, public funding at a crossroads, green filmmaking, diversity, changing business models and storytelling.
“The program, designed as always in close collaboration with the industry, will reveal how the streaming disruption, accelerated by the pandemic, is affecting us all. It’s important for all partners to find common grounds and reflect on long-term plans to create a sustainable industry,” says Göteborg head of industry Cia Edström, who will be hosting the event with moderators Johanna Nunnu Karppinen,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Following on 2019 MipTV hit “Invisible Heroes,” set in 1973 Chile, “The Paradise” marks the second time in under 12 months that Finnish public broadcaster Yle has reached out to set – and co-produce – a primetime drama in the Spanish-speaking world.
Neither are commonplace dramas. Produced by Finland’s Mrp Matila Röhr Productions, behind “All the Sins,” winner of the 2019 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, “The Paradise” begins with a softly-sung song, ·”Viento, viento de la montaña” and aerial shots of a caravan wending its way through low-wooded sierra to Fuengirola, an enclave on Spain’s sun-kissed Costa del Sol. “I’m so happy,” a young wife says in Finnish to her husband wo drives the caravan as they embrace, surveying Fuengirola below them.
Yet, in its first two episodes at least, “The Paradise” marks two other people’s story of renewal: Hilkka Mäntymäki, a crime detective in sub-Arctic city of Oulu,...
Neither are commonplace dramas. Produced by Finland’s Mrp Matila Röhr Productions, behind “All the Sins,” winner of the 2019 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, “The Paradise” begins with a softly-sung song, ·”Viento, viento de la montaña” and aerial shots of a caravan wending its way through low-wooded sierra to Fuengirola, an enclave on Spain’s sun-kissed Costa del Sol. “I’m so happy,” a young wife says in Finnish to her husband wo drives the caravan as they embrace, surveying Fuengirola below them.
Yet, in its first two episodes at least, “The Paradise” marks two other people’s story of renewal: Hilkka Mäntymäki, a crime detective in sub-Arctic city of Oulu,...
- 1/17/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Goteborg, Sweden — “Peacemaker,” produced by leading company Mrp Matila Röhr Productions for Finnish pubcaster Yle, is the first Finnish drama pick-up for newly launched Nordic sales outfit REivent Studios.
The company’s sales & marketing director Helene Aurø said the political drama, set in an international arena, with a strong female lead (“Bordertown”’s Irina Björklund) has immediately attracted attention from leading international players such as Benelux’s Lumière Group, first to acquired licencing rights.
The ten-part series set between Turkey, Syria and Spain tells of the world of peacemakers, international arms trade dealings and the deep-layered relationships with people in power. A.J. Annila, known for his strong visual style and unconventional choices, will be helming a strong international cast. Besides Björklund, toplining the show are Louise Peterhoff and Kardo Razzazi (“Arne Dahl”).
Mrp producer Johanna Enäsuo and screenwriter Eriika Etholen have spent the last three years developing the idea.
The company’s sales & marketing director Helene Aurø said the political drama, set in an international arena, with a strong female lead (“Bordertown”’s Irina Björklund) has immediately attracted attention from leading international players such as Benelux’s Lumière Group, first to acquired licencing rights.
The ten-part series set between Turkey, Syria and Spain tells of the world of peacemakers, international arms trade dealings and the deep-layered relationships with people in power. A.J. Annila, known for his strong visual style and unconventional choices, will be helming a strong international cast. Besides Björklund, toplining the show are Louise Peterhoff and Kardo Razzazi (“Arne Dahl”).
Mrp producer Johanna Enäsuo and screenwriter Eriika Etholen have spent the last three years developing the idea.
- 1/30/2019
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The second edition of the Finnish Film Affair, scheduled for Sept 24-26 in Helsinki, will again showcase hot local titles and works in progress.
This year’s event boasts an expanded guest list of sales agents, buyers and festival programmers, including representatives from Zdf/Arte, Celluloid Dreams, Wild Bunch, Hanway, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Rotterdam and Locarno. About 200 industry experts will attend.
“The first edition introduced the Finnish Film Affair to international decision makers,” said Sara Norberg, executive director of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which launched the event. “We’re very proud that the success of last year’s works-in-progress and the positive buzz around the event has attracted even more interest from the international industry.”
The new films to be screened include Toronto-bound titles Concrete Night by Pirjo Honkasalo and Heart of Lion by Dome Karukoski, in addition to other festival selections such as Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart by Mika Ronkainen and Alcan Highway by Aleksi...
This year’s event boasts an expanded guest list of sales agents, buyers and festival programmers, including representatives from Zdf/Arte, Celluloid Dreams, Wild Bunch, Hanway, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Rotterdam and Locarno. About 200 industry experts will attend.
“The first edition introduced the Finnish Film Affair to international decision makers,” said Sara Norberg, executive director of the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which launched the event. “We’re very proud that the success of last year’s works-in-progress and the positive buzz around the event has attracted even more interest from the international industry.”
The new films to be screened include Toronto-bound titles Concrete Night by Pirjo Honkasalo and Heart of Lion by Dome Karukoski, in addition to other festival selections such as Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart by Mika Ronkainen and Alcan Highway by Aleksi...
- 8/21/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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