London-based sales outfit Canoe Film is making its debut in series global distribution with “Mutiny,” a Latvian war drama and call to action against the Russian totalitarian regime, set to officially launch at Mipcom in Cannes.
The brain behind the seven-part series “Mutiny” is Andrejs Ēķis, the Latvian mogul and founder of the major prodco and filming facility Cinevilla Studios which housed Beta Film’s “Sisi” and the Shudder original genre pic “Raven’s Hollow.”
Ēķis serves as director-producer of the intense drama, penned by Latvia’s Ivo Briedis, together with Ukrainian duo Vitaly Dokalenko and Anastasiia Dudchenko.
As explained by Ēkis, the story of Captain Valery Spagin and his attempted mutiny aboard a Soviet warship, is based on true events that unfolded in 1975.
“He [Spagin] successfully convinced a crew of over 200 people to revolt against the Soviet regime and set sail for Leningrad to demand a new revolution,” Ēkis explained. “This story is not only about a historical event, but also about how individuals within the military can recognize that the real fight is not against an external enemy, but against a system that needs to be changed from within.”
““Mutiny” is the mad true story of idealism and a call to action, perhaps more relevant today than ever before,” said Ēkis who compared his main character Spagin (played by Dainis Grūbe) to a “Don Quixote of 1975, a man who stood up against the vast [Soviet] system, fully aware of how dangerous that was.”
Detailing the making of the series, the showrunner said the biggest challenge on the production side was to recreate the Soviet military of 1975, “a massive machine with huge ships and thousands of people. To bring that to the screen,” said Ēkis, “we used various modern visual effects technologies and collaborated with the Latvian army, used various ships, including an icebreaker, and detailed sets for the interiors. But even more than the technical challenges, our primary task was to capture the atmosphere of that time,” he noted.
“The Soviet Union in 1975 was a place filled with a sense of oppression and depression, with its grey, stifling colours that weighed heavily on people’s minds and how they viewed the world. Our job was to recreate that feeling, not only visually but also through the actors’ performances, their emotional state under constant pressure and fear. This was our greatest battle.”
On a personal level, Ēkis said the challenge was “to witness life in Ukraine in real-time”, as both Dokalenko and Dudchenko still live in the war -torn country. “The writing process was complicated, as Zoom meetings were often interrupted because they had to go to bomb shelters,” the director said. “We didn’t know when we would hear from them again – a surreal and scary feeling that made all of us even more aware of the importance of the ‘Mutiny’ story to be told as soon as possible.”
The completed series produced by Ēķis with Dita Cimermane, Aija Ansone and Vitaliy Dokalenko for Cinevilla Films, was co-produced by Latvian telco operator TET, partly-owned by Swedish giant Telia, with backing from the National Film Centre of Latvia and the React-E.U. Fund.
Launched domestically last April, the show became number one on TET for its first few months with 32% of active users.
Caroline Stern, Canoe Film’s honcho and long-time collaborator to Ēkis, said the series perfectly fits her company’s profile. “We’re interested in projects that appeal broadly, but also have strong identifiable and underserved niches,” she said, adding: “Quality is extremely important, as is underlying creative and social value that we can really get behind. “
“We’re also proud of the work we’ve been doing with Latvian feature films, both from an international sales standpoint and in the remake space,” she said in reference to the Latvian comedy hit “Accidental Santa” which sold to Sony Pictures International Productions for remake rights in eight territories including North America, the U.K., Germany and France.
“The Baltic states have gained due recognition for the quality of their productions over recent years, and I hope buyers view this as an exciting proposition from one of the region’s leading producers,” Stern said.
Following its official launch at the content market Mipcom in Cannes (Oct. 21-24), “Mutiny” will travel to Tallinn, Estonia where it will be showcased at the inaugural TV Beats Forum Screening Day Nov. 20, part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.
Mutiny
Credit: Cinevilla