Icelandic THE TRIP, Finnish SECONDS series set to tempt financiers at MIA Market

The two Nordic TV premium series are among 14 international projects pitched at this week’s Drama showcase of Rome’s hybrid International Audiovisual Market or MIA, unspooling October 13-17. All are vying for the Paramount+ Best Drama Pitch Award.

The Trip (8x50’) reunites CASE co-creators Andri Óttarsson and Baldvin Z who will also serves as director.

The story centres on Sarah, an orphan raised in the US, now a freelance reporter, who arrives in a small town in Iceland, with an unbelievable information: she is a local girl who was abducted 22 years earlier when holidaying abroad with her parents, while her baby-sitter was brutally murdered. Her search for a family and belonging turns into a nightmare when she finds out that those responsible for her abduction are in the village.

The Icelandic crime thriller commissioned by Iceland’s top streaming service Síminn, is due to start filming in 2023. Glassriver producer Hordur Rúnarsson who is attending MIA Market in Rome, said he is counting on Iceland’s 25% tax incentives and looking for co-financiers.

Meanwhile Seconds (6x45’) is conceived by Fire Monkey’s in-house writer Laura Suhonen (Hooked, Black Widows) as a three-season suspense drama, with Finnish pubcaster Yle on board season 1.

The main protagonist is accident investigator Marita Kaila, responsible for researching the cause of major incidents to ensure those won’t happen again. The first case she investigates is a train accident where 60 people died.

Roope Lehtinen, Fire Monkey co-founder and executive producer of the show said Suhonen and creatives involved in the series, have worked closely with a real government accident investigation agency.

Lehtinen’s partner in Fire Monkey, writer Mikko Pöllä who attends MIA Market, said the spine of the story is Marita Kaila’s investigation as she tries to understand what has happened, but the storyline also draws its emotional chord from the local community hit by the train tragedy. The series is being discussed for global distribution.

MIA Market in Rome has expanded into a hot spot for audiovisual professionals looking for co-financing for TV dramas, as well as feature films and documentaries. A record 1,700 delegates are registered at the Italian event, luring many professionals coming straight from Mipcom in Cannes.

At the inaugural press conference on Wednesday in Rome, Italy’s Culture Minister Dario Franceschini reiterated the quintessential cultural role of cinema and television. He said that the Italian fund for the audiovisual sector has increased from €150 million in 2020 to €160 million, and “the €300 million recovery fund for the film industry has been essential in the recovery of the sector. (…) It is necessary to build synergies between online platforms and cinemas, in order to see a big growth in the market,”, he noted.

The parallel Rome Film Fest is unspooling October 14 to 24.