Slovakian political drama Our People has won the €50,000 Series Mania Forum best project sward.
Our People was one of 15 projects pitched at the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions on the first day of the Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival.
The six-part drama focuses on the murder of a journalist which overthrows the balance of power in Slovakia. It is produced by Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý for nutprodukcia and is written by Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra and directed by Tereza Nvotová.
It was selected by a jury led by Nina Lederman, evp global scripted development & programming, Sony Pictures Television.
Our People was one of 15 projects pitched at the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions on the first day of the Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania Festival.
The six-part drama focuses on the murder of a journalist which overthrows the balance of power in Slovakia. It is produced by Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý for nutprodukcia and is written by Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra and directed by Tereza Nvotová.
It was selected by a jury led by Nina Lederman, evp global scripted development & programming, Sony Pictures Television.
- 3/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
Slovakian drama series Our People has won the Series Mania Co-Pro Pitch and taken home a €50,000 development prize.
The pitch beat out competition from 14 other titles to win the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award following a day of pitching against projects from the likes of Japan, France, Germany and Eastern Europe.
The pitching team — Jakub Viktorín, Tomáš Hrubý and Miro Sifra — drew an impromptu round of applause from the audience following their presentation, which intrigued the audience by describing their eureka moment while researching the crime drama story, saying, it “Felt like the world of Fargo.”
The six-part political drama series, from Nutprodukcia, is based on the grim true-life tale about the killing of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, in 2018. “These are stupid criminals. They were getting advice [to commit murder] from fortune tellers,” said Hrubý.
Kuciak has been investigating tax fraud among top Slovakian criminals and several people...
The pitch beat out competition from 14 other titles to win the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award following a day of pitching against projects from the likes of Japan, France, Germany and Eastern Europe.
The pitching team — Jakub Viktorín, Tomáš Hrubý and Miro Sifra — drew an impromptu round of applause from the audience following their presentation, which intrigued the audience by describing their eureka moment while researching the crime drama story, saying, it “Felt like the world of Fargo.”
The six-part political drama series, from Nutprodukcia, is based on the grim true-life tale about the killing of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, in 2018. “These are stupid criminals. They were getting advice [to commit murder] from fortune tellers,” said Hrubý.
Kuciak has been investigating tax fraud among top Slovakian criminals and several people...
- 3/20/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
An explosive political drama retracing the 2018 murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, “Our People” claimed the best project award at this year’s Series Mania Forum.
Winning €50,000 in prize money and earning an enhanced international stature, the unflinching miniseries should now see an easier path forward – particularly given the chilly reception it found with funding authorities in native Slovakia.
“We thought it impossible,” said director Tereza Nvotova as she claimed the Series Mania prize. “We thought it was dead, because the government in Slovakia really doesn’t want this story told. And we think this story is so important not just because of what is happening in Slovakia, and not just because Jan and Martina were murdered.”
“We just want to tell the truth,” Nvotova continued. “The world is turning very dark, and I think we all can feel it. We are all scared and...
Winning €50,000 in prize money and earning an enhanced international stature, the unflinching miniseries should now see an easier path forward – particularly given the chilly reception it found with funding authorities in native Slovakia.
“We thought it impossible,” said director Tereza Nvotova as she claimed the Series Mania prize. “We thought it was dead, because the government in Slovakia really doesn’t want this story told. And we think this story is so important not just because of what is happening in Slovakia, and not just because Jan and Martina were murdered.”
“We just want to tell the truth,” Nvotova continued. “The world is turning very dark, and I think we all can feel it. We are all scared and...
- 3/19/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Our People, a political drama series from Slovakia, has won the prize for best pitch at the 2024 Series Mania television festival.
The series explores the true story of the 2018 assassination of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, at their home. Prior to his death, Kuicak had exposed corruption at the highest level of national politics, drawing connections between political leaders, mafia bosses and corrupt businessmen. The twin murders shocked the country and triggered a political crisis, eventually leading to the collapse of the Slovak government.
Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra co-wrote Our People, with Nvotová directing and Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý producing for nutprodukcia. Nvotová said she drew inspiration from the work of Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short) to combine humor with the dark subject matter of the series, which is based on more than 50,000 pages of case files.
A jury, headed by Nina Lederman,...
The series explores the true story of the 2018 assassination of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, at their home. Prior to his death, Kuicak had exposed corruption at the highest level of national politics, drawing connections between political leaders, mafia bosses and corrupt businessmen. The twin murders shocked the country and triggered a political crisis, eventually leading to the collapse of the Slovak government.
Tereza Nvotová and Miro Sifra co-wrote Our People, with Nvotová directing and Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý producing for nutprodukcia. Nvotová said she drew inspiration from the work of Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short) to combine humor with the dark subject matter of the series, which is based on more than 50,000 pages of case files.
A jury, headed by Nina Lederman,...
- 3/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Slovakia’s explosive political drama “Our People” will head to Series Mania’s Forum Co-Pro Pitching Sessions in March.
Produced by Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý for nutprodukcia and written by Miro Šifra, it will be directed by Tereza Nvotová.
The miniseries, inspired by tragic real events, depicts the killing of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová.
Kuciak used to focus on tax frauds committed by business figures and alleged connections between local politicians and the Italian mafia. They were assassinated in 2018 in their home.
“We not only have their family’s consent, but also tens of thousands of pages of case files,” said Šifra.
“These documents provide a detailed and fascinating glimpse into the interplay between the state and the mafia. They also highlight the courage of those who risk their lives to expose this.”
Talking to Variety, the team admitted to “drawing heavily” on over 50,000 pages of case files,...
Produced by Jakub Viktorín and Tomáš Hrubý for nutprodukcia and written by Miro Šifra, it will be directed by Tereza Nvotová.
The miniseries, inspired by tragic real events, depicts the killing of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová.
Kuciak used to focus on tax frauds committed by business figures and alleged connections between local politicians and the Italian mafia. They were assassinated in 2018 in their home.
“We not only have their family’s consent, but also tens of thousands of pages of case files,” said Šifra.
“These documents provide a detailed and fascinating glimpse into the interplay between the state and the mafia. They also highlight the courage of those who risk their lives to expose this.”
Talking to Variety, the team admitted to “drawing heavily” on over 50,000 pages of case files,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
In Karlovy Vary Film Festival competition entry “We Have Never Been Modern,” Czech director Matej Chlupacek takes on both the dangers of Utopian bubbles and the power of unbending faith in traditional gender concepts.
The story, set in a Slovak company town built by a visionary industrialist, takes place on the eve of World War II, as a murder mystery threatens to upset the idealized community. The factory director’s wife Helena, played by Eliska Krenkova, is an aspiring doctor who is soon to give birth. But her rosy future is suddenly darkened by the discovery of the body of a newborn intersex baby in the factory’s courtyard.
All these elements might seem like a heavy burden for a young indie filmmaker who eschewed film school and whose last effort at making a feature was a decade ago, “Touchless” – made when he was a 17-year-old debut writer-director.
But Chlupacek...
The story, set in a Slovak company town built by a visionary industrialist, takes place on the eve of World War II, as a murder mystery threatens to upset the idealized community. The factory director’s wife Helena, played by Eliska Krenkova, is an aspiring doctor who is soon to give birth. But her rosy future is suddenly darkened by the discovery of the body of a newborn intersex baby in the factory’s courtyard.
All these elements might seem like a heavy burden for a young indie filmmaker who eschewed film school and whose last effort at making a feature was a decade ago, “Touchless” – made when he was a 17-year-old debut writer-director.
But Chlupacek...
- 7/9/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Czech director Matěj Chlupáček may not even be 30 yet, but when his period drama We Have Never Been Modern (Úsvit) debuted in the main competition of the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival a few days ago, buzz was ringing through the fest halls that it could become the Czech submission for the 2024 Academy Awards.
The film, with a screenplay by Miro Šifra, is set in 1937’s Czechoslovakia and follows Helena (Eliška Křenková, Bird Atlas, Winter Flies) who is about to give birth and face a rosy future in a modern city as the wife of a successful young factory manager. “However, all her illusions soon perish, as the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory,” a plot description highlights. “Helena needs to find out what happened here for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
The film, with a screenplay by Miro Šifra, is set in 1937’s Czechoslovakia and follows Helena (Eliška Křenková, Bird Atlas, Winter Flies) who is about to give birth and face a rosy future in a modern city as the wife of a successful young factory manager. “However, all her illusions soon perish, as the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory,” a plot description highlights. “Helena needs to find out what happened here for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
- 7/6/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A lacquered Czech period piece with surprisingly topical interests at its core, “We Have Never Been Modern” rather ambitiously borrows its title from a key text by the late French philosopher Bruno Latour — in which he argued that humanity’s distinction between nature and our own culture is a wholly modern development, and one we’d do best to move away from. While Latour’s ideas can indeed be mapped onto a story that charts modern society’s fixation on human advancement against its rejection of human difference, Matěj Chlupáček’s gripping, gleamingly produced second feature isn’t as academic as all that: Ultimately a humane message movie planting flags for both women’s liberation and queer rights, this Karlovy Vary competition premiere could easily resonate with festival and arthouse audiences away from home turf.
Following extensive work in TV, shorts and music videos, Chlupáček’s return to the big...
Following extensive work in TV, shorts and music videos, Chlupáček’s return to the big...
- 7/4/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK has boarded “We Have Never Been Modern,” a Czech period drama inspired by the true story of intersex people in the 1930’s. The film has been selected at Karlovy Vary and will be released in Czech Republic by Bontonfilm.
The movie, which marks the feature debut of Matěj Chlupáček (“Zrádci”), follows Helena, who is about to have a baby with an affluent factory manager. All her illusions soon perish when the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory. Helena needs to find out what happened there for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
“We Have Never Been Modern” stars Eliška Křenková, Miloslav König and newcomer Richard Langdon.
Chlupáček, who also produced the film, said he “chose to tell the story of ‘We Have Never Been’ because it communicates current and important topics, such as...
The movie, which marks the feature debut of Matěj Chlupáček (“Zrádci”), follows Helena, who is about to have a baby with an affluent factory manager. All her illusions soon perish when the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory. Helena needs to find out what happened there for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
“We Have Never Been Modern” stars Eliška Křenková, Miloslav König and newcomer Richard Langdon.
Chlupáček, who also produced the film, said he “chose to tell the story of ‘We Have Never Been’ because it communicates current and important topics, such as...
- 5/30/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Hardy To Narrate Sky And Netflix Nature Doc ‘Predators’
Mad Max: Fury Road and Venom star Tom Hardy will narrate the upcoming Sky Nature and Netflix doc series Predators. The show, unveiled earlier this year, is the first co-pro between Sky and Netflix and comes from Sky-owned True to Nature and Sky Studios, in association with the streamer. It follows five apex predators as they face the ultimate test of survival in drastically changing environments across the globe. “To bring Predators to life with one of the UK’s most gifted and reputable talents, who has a passion for environmental causes, is a great pleasure,” said Sky’s Director of Documentaries and Factual, Poppy Dixon. In the UK, Germany and Italy, the show is set to launch on Sky Nature and streaming service Now in December. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global Distribution is selling the show internationally.
European...
Mad Max: Fury Road and Venom star Tom Hardy will narrate the upcoming Sky Nature and Netflix doc series Predators. The show, unveiled earlier this year, is the first co-pro between Sky and Netflix and comes from Sky-owned True to Nature and Sky Studios, in association with the streamer. It follows five apex predators as they face the ultimate test of survival in drastically changing environments across the globe. “To bring Predators to life with one of the UK’s most gifted and reputable talents, who has a passion for environmental causes, is a great pleasure,” said Sky’s Director of Documentaries and Factual, Poppy Dixon. In the UK, Germany and Italy, the show is set to launch on Sky Nature and streaming service Now in December. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global Distribution is selling the show internationally.
European...
- 9/28/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
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