Finnish Vertigo takes Sea of Lies - A Good Family to Content London

The Finnish spy thriller in development Sea of Lies is part of 10 international TV projects vying for the £30,000 C21 Best Int’l Drama Pitch to be handed out December 1^st on the closing day of the four-day development market and conference Content London.

The 6x45’ series is co-written by Matti Laine (The Paradise, Bordertown) and UK/Iranian writer Ali May, whose upcoming original series Revolution has been bought by Israel’s Spiro Films (Israel) and is being co-developed with France’s Haut et Court.

Sea of Lies is inspired by extraordinary true events that unfolded in the summer 2009 when the cargo ship Arctic Sea was allegedly hijacked by pirates, not off the coast of Somalia but in the quiet EU waters of the Baltic. The Russian-crewed ship en route from Finland to Algeria, was ‘lost’ late July and eventually located August 14, 2009 near the Cape Verde islands where it was seized by the Russian army. Its mysterious disappearance led to speculations that instead of its official timber supply, the cargo was smuggling illicit weapons.

In the fiction show, Finnish intelligence agent Otto Sakara is asked to investigate the vanishing of the Arctic Sea cargo, but the deeper he digs, the more he finds links to illicit weapons smuggling from Kaliningrad to all over the world. Mossad agent Ella Mizrahi is sent to collaborate on the case and shares his belief of a possible cover-up operation. The duo soon uncovers a powerful network of Russian spies and diplomats, who all report back to Moscow.

Producer Minna Virtanen says co-writers May and Laine have worked for more than a year on the story, researching the Arctic Sea case, one of the biggest modern-day maritime puzzles. “The truth on what really happened was never made public,” notes Virtanen, who says Finnish authorities at the time probably preferred to “close their eyes”, not to rock the boat with the giant Russian neighbour.

“Today with the Russian war in Ukraine, it’s time to bring this controversial topic to the forefront, says Virtanen, who feels Sea of Lies is the perfect material for a global platform, with its true crime theme and international set up.

The producer will bring a first draft in English and a pitch deck to potential co-financiers in London. So far the €6m project has received development support from the Finnish Film Foundation.

Vertigo’s other TV series A Good Family (Musta valo) will be presented on Thursday at the Focus Finland spotlight in the UK capital.

The psychological thriller co-created by Virtanen with writer Antti Pesonen is another sample of Vertigo’s character-driven dramas with strong emotional fibres. “We deliver content that goes straight to the heart” claims the seasoned producer.

The series toplines Maria Sid and Samuli Edelmann as homicide detective Anna and her husband Henrick, a crime novelist, suddenly thrust into a dangerous underworld, when their son brings a heinous crime to their doorstep.

Parental instincts quickly overcome morality as the couple does everything they can to protect their family.

Other cast members include Tommi Korpela (Bubble, M/S Romantic), Janne Hyytiäinen (The Other Side of Hope, Hooked) and Elias Salonen (Man in Room 301).

TO SEE THE TRAILER CLICK HERE.

The six-part series directed by Pete Riski (Bullets) is due to premiere domestically on the streamer C More December 8. APC (About Premium Content) handles global sales.

Another Finnish series will compete for the C21 Drama Series Best Pitch Award:

Crème de la Crème, produced by Mutant Koala Pictures for Yle. The 8x40’ comedy co-created and produced by Jukka Vidgren (Heavy Trip) tells of two childhood friends who start a sperm business. Shooting for the €3.4m series is set to start in the summer 2023.