CANNES: Ahead of its world premiere in Cannes this MIPCOM night, Beta Film has secured a row of international deals for its prestigious series The Same Sky (ZDF/UFA Fiction/Beta Film). The multi layered family drama set in Cold War-Berlin heads to European broadcaster Rai, France 3, Belgium’s VRT and RUV (Iceland). Netflix is premiering it in certain territories, among them the English speaking world. Contracts with the major Scandinavian broadcasters SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway) and YLE (Finland) had been closed earlier this year.
The six hour series by Academy Award nominated director Oliver Hirschbiegel will celebrate its world premiere at the famous Cannes Film Festival Palace on Monday night, October 17th, 6.30 pm in the presence of multiple awarded creator/writer Paula Milne and the international cast Sofia Helin (“The Bridge”), Tom Schilling (“Generation War”) and Friederike Becht (“The Reader”).
Beta CEO-Jan Mojto: “The Same Sky combines European talent: Paula Milne as an exceptional British creator/writer, German born director Oliver Hirschbiegel and a German/international cast. It’s wonderful to see this program conquering the world.”
Oliver Hirschbiegel (“Downfall”, “Billions”): “If you want to reach the world, you’ve got to stand by your own identity rather than denying it. The Same Sky tells a universal story, which can be understood everywhere in the world without losing the specific German perspective. And then there are sometimes small miracles, like the chemistry between Friederike Becht, Tom Schilling, and the truly wonderful Sofia Helin. It’s simply a pleasure watching them bringing these characters to life”.
Paula Milne (“The Politician’s Wife”, “The Virgin Queen”): “The Same Sky is about divided families in a divided city. It is the timeless story of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary time – and the choices they are forced to make”.
The Same Sky centers around the relationship between an East German agent (Tom Schilling) and his target (Sofia Helin) in the West, the woman he has to seduce for the sake of his country – a relationship driven by passion but built on deceit. The series recreates the uniquely charged atmosphere in the Cold War city by portraying the fates of two families, one on each side of the wall, in a tale interweaving East German dissidents and informers and West German hustlers and agents, as well as American and British diplomats. Divided by ideology, the only thing the people of Berlin all share is the sky above.
The Same Sky is an UFA FICTION / Beta Film production for ZDF in co-production with Mia film in association with Rainmark Films.
