Finnish Mystery Thriller ‘Icebreaker’ Wins MipDrama, the Industry Centerpiece at Cannes’ TV Market MipTV
The votes are in: Atmospheric (and claustrophobic) Finnish mystery thriller “Icebreaker,” already one of the most buzzed of projects hitting the competition, has been crowned the winner of the 8th edition of MipDrama, receiving its Coup de Coeur award.
Sold by About Premium Content, created by Mia Yl?nen, who exec produces with Aleksi Bardy, the Elisa Viihde-commissioned show “Icebreaker” is set on a stranded boat.
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As its crew members start to disappear, one by one, coastguard Sanna Tanner (Jessica Grabowsky) is trying to find answers – but what she is dealing with goes way beyond rational explanations.
“We wanted to build up slowly, like a classic whodunnit, but you get a sense there is something else going on. Something is lurking on this ship, but we don’t know whether it’s human or not,” creator Mia Yl?nen previously told Variety. The show is produced by Helsinki-filmi, an independent subsidiary of Aurora Studios.
“There are no ghosts and no zombies, but we wanted to bring in this mythological element and give it a new spice in terms of creating a thriller in the Nordics. We don’t want to go: ‘There is snow, there is darkness, there are people in trouble again.’ We don’t want to go the usual route. We want to add something extra.”
The show, it was revealed, is planned to span over the course of several seasons.
Yl?nen, who accepted the award in person, added: “I think the combination of a unique location – a contained, claustrophobic icebreaker – mixed with an eerie sense of dread in the otherwise beautiful frozen landscape is the key pull in our series. And it never hurts to have a complex and nuanced female character leading the show!”
Nine other titles were spotlighted during the showcase, hosted by journalist Olivia Kinghorst.
“They have not been previously presented at any other event or festival. Until now,” said MipTV director Lucy Smith, underlining that this year’s selection spanned 12 different languages.
Spain’s “Eva & Nicole” provided some glamor thanks to the titular duo: former friends-turned-foes fighting for the crown of the nightlife queen of the late 1980s Marbella. One of them, Nicole, already owns the most famous club in town. But then her rival returns: Eva. And she can’t wait to ruin Nicole’s perfect life.
Belén Rueda and Hiba Abouk, both dressed to kill, star in this Atresmedia TV production, made in collaboration with Good Mood, headed by legendary showrunner Daniel Ecija.
“Miss Austen” also promises delightful female characters, taking on the iconic writer that needs no further introduction. Starting right after her death, however, when her sister Casandra tries her best to protect her reputation – mostly by desperately looking for the potentially scandalous letters her famous sister left behind.
Produced by A Bonnie Productions and Masterpiece, in association with the BBC and Federation Stories, it’s based on Gill Hornby’s bestselling novel. Aisling Walsh, behind Sally Hawkins starrer “Maudie,” directs.
That being said, crime shows and dark topics still dominated the showcase, from Caracol Studios’ “Irreversible” – exploring such diverse subjects as mental health, homophobia and motherhood alongside the investigation in a small town “full of stories” – to “Palo Alto,” produced by Artza Productions and distributed by Keshet International.
“It’s ‘Mare of Easttown’ meets ‘Happy Valley,’” said Kinghorst, singling out the show’s complicated female lead. Who, at least according to one character, “tends to overcomplicate things just to avoid going home.”
Produced by Drama Apple Limited, “See Her Again” focuses on a police officer (and a father to a little girl) trying to trace a serial murder case across 25 years in Hong Kong. In the dynamic show, “crime meets time travel” – all thanks to a very unusual elevator.
Finally, “The Black Forest Murders” – distributed by Studiocanal – revisits real-life events that shook Germany. Now, a special team of detectives sets out to solve horrific murders, after two victims are found in the otherwise peaceful German countryside. The show is currently in post-production.
Beyond “Icebreaker,” Finland brought a second project to Cannes: “Valhalla Project” – also represented by Keshet International – which sees an ambitious climate scientist trying to find a path to a parallel universe previously researched by her father.
According to director and producer Juha Wuolijoki, “while incorporating sci-fi elements, this series focuses on unravelling the mysteries of the past. It has two storylines, 33 years apart, and it combines the Soviet ‘scientific utopia’ with a contemporary fight against the climate crisis.” With Sara Soulié (already leading another anticipated show, “Conflict”), it’s produced by Snapper Films Productions.
Supernatural elements – and plenty of humor – pop up in “We’re on It, Comrades!”
If you think that Fox Mulder and Dana Scully had issues with their skeptical supervisors, imagine the mess they would be in if “The X Files” was suddenly transported back to communist Czechoslovakia. And they would be forced to look for Satanic messages in “imperialistic” songs, defuse Soviet bombs and deal with singers who, despite their best efforts, just can’t stop singing.
Robert Franke, VP of drama at ZDF Studios, told Variety in February: “In this show, two investigators from the Institute for Paranormal Phenomena try to solve mysterious cases, whether it’s alien abduction or an attack by the creepy goat monster. We are seeing a trend [in moving] away from classic mainstream series and towards productions that are a little more unexpected and unusual.”
Studiocanal’s action-packed, violent proposition “The Sentinels” might be answering to the very same need, showing a group of soldiers with superhuman abilities and strength -– thanks to mysterious serum developed in the army laboratory that now runs through their veins – who might actually be able to end the First World War.
“One of Canal+ most ambitious projects to date,” teased Kinghorst.
The full list of selected projects here:
“The Black Forest Murders”
Format: 4 x 45’
Genre: True Crime
Production Company: Lailaps Films, a Studiocanal Company
Distributor: Studiocanal
Original Broadcaster: SWR
Language: German
Two young women are brutally murdered in a peaceful German countryside. The case seems unsolvable, but a special team of detectives follow the path to the truth.
“Eva & Nicole”
Format: 8 x 50’
Genre: Comedy drama
Production Company: Atresmedia TV, The Good Mood
Distributor: Atresmedia TV International Sales
Original Broadcaster: Atresplayer
Language: Spanish
The rivalry between two women to control the nightlife in Marbella in the 80s.
“Icebreaker”
Format: 6 x 45’
Genre: Supernatural thriller with horror elements
Production Company: Helsinki-filmi
Distributor: About Premium Content
Original Broadcaster: Elisa Viihde
Language: Finnish
An icebreaker is stranded in a winter storm, and the rescue operation becomes a fight for survival and a freezing nightmare
“Irreversible”
Format: 6 x 50’
Genre: Crime
Production Company: Caracol Studios
Distributor: RTP – Radio Television Portugal
Original Broadcaster: RTP – Radio Television Portugal
Language: Portuguese
Love justifies everything. “Irreversible” tackles pressing contemporary themes, including mental health, illegal adoptions, bullying, homophobia, and motherhood.
“Miss Austen”
Format: 4 x 60’
Genre: Historical
Production Company: A Bonnie Productions and Masterpiece co-production, in association with the BBC and Federation Stories
Distributor: Federation Studios
Original Broadcaster: BBC/PBS
Language: English
An all-star production of Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel “Miss Austen,” adapted by BAFTA-winning writer Andrea Gibb, directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh.
“Palo Alto”
Format: 7 x 45’
Genre: Crime
Production Company: Artza Productions
Distributor: Keshet International
Original Broadcaster: Keshet 12
Language: Hebrew and Arabic
When an additional corpse appears in the lab of a medical school, police detective IRIS senses foul play, igniting a bloody struggle between local Jewish and Arab mobsters.
“See Her Again”
Format: 18 x 45’
Genre: Crime
Production Company: Drama Apple Limited
Distributor: Drama Apple Limited
Original Broadcaster: Tencent Video
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin
It tells the story of a police officer who traces a serial murder case across 25 years in Hong Kong, using clues from 1993 and technology from 2018.
“The Sentinels”
Format: 8 x 52’
Genre: Action
Production Company: Federation Studio France, Esprits Frappeurs
Distributor: Studiocanal
Original Broadcaster: Canal+ Creation Originale
Language: French, German
A mysterious group of French soldiers with superhuman abilities are sent on an undercover mission to put an end to the First World War.
“Valhalla Project” (working title)
Format: 6 x 45’
Genre: Drama/Thriller/Sci-Fi
Production Company: Snapper Films Productions
Distributor: Keshet International
Original Broadcaster: Elisa Viihde
Language: English, Finnish, Russian
A climate scientist is lured into a quest to find a path to a parallel universe researched by her father who disappeared in Lapland over 30 years ago.
“We’re On It, Comrades!”
Format: 8 x 60’
Genre: Drama/Paranormal
Production Company: Barletta, Network Movie
Distributor: ZDF Studios
Original Broadcaster: ZDF, Czech TV
Language: Czech
It’s the 80s in communist Czechoslovakia and the Cold War is raging: the Soviets as well as the Americans experiment with telepathy and paranormal activities.
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