The €4m Finnish thriller series produced by Rabbit Films for the leading local streamer, is due to start filming in May.

Pitched at last June’s Helsinki’s Scandinavian Screenings, Summer of Sorrow was one of the most buzzed about Nordic projects in development.

The national star actor/writer/director Jani Volanen who swept the floor at this year’s Finnish TV Venla awards for the series M/S Romantic is creator/writer/director of Summer of Sorrow.  Rabbit Films’ Head of Scripted Minna Haapkylä and CEO Olli Suominen are executive producers. 

Set in the early 1980s, in the idyllic Finnish suburb of Munkkivuori, the 10-part mystery thriller is the tale of one horrible summer, seen from the perspective of the local children. When a young child disappears, the lack of support from the police pushes the concerned parents to take justice into their own hands and launch a desperate manhunt. While summer friendships and adventures continue for the local children, they also take note of everything - eavesdropping, gossiping and drawing their own conclusions. A hidden secret from the past soon re-emerges. 

Sebastian Burkhardt, Keshet International’s MD of Global Content said: “Finnish fiction is emerging as the hotbed for distinctive drama from the Nordic Region. Jani Volanen is a stand-out creative force in Finland, and partnering up with him and Rabbit and Elisa Viihde on this, his latest project, is a real privilege.”

Ani Korpela, Head of Content at Elisa Viihde added: “This intriguing and gripping tale of revenge will deliver a compelling thriller with strong appeal for our audiences. Summer of Sorrow is a wonderful addition to our drama slate that has found audiences both in Finland and internationally.”

The series was backed by Business Finland, Nelonen, the Finnish Film Foundation and Keshet International (KI) via the KI Content Fund, set up by the major Israeli media group to bring high profile projects with global appeal to world audiences. 

Summer of Sorrow is the second foreign language series to receive support from the KI Content Fund after the Norwegian political crime show Fury (Furia) produced by Monster Scripted. 

Summer of Sorrow will premiere on Elisa Viihde in the Fall 2021.