Jan Mojto’s Beta Film Gears Up Pan-European Production Operation
In the first joint venture between building blocks of Beta Films’ new pan-European production operation, Stockholm-based Dramacorp is teaming with Paris-based Isolani Pictures to co-develop TV drama “Rare,” about a parallel future where the Earth is running out of air.
Written by Sweden’s Alex Haridi following the critically acclaimed “Real Humans,” “Rare” will be directed by France’s Thierry Poiraud after upcoming France2 thriller “Black Spot.” It’s another addition to the genre of choice of many international creators: sci-fi, with a big contemporary flavor.
Dramacorp was set up last year by Jan Mojto’s Beta Films with high-flying TV exec Patrick Nebout (“Midnight Sun”). Isolani Pictures is Beta’s new French production house.
In “Rare,” main character Hannah, who has heart problems, does her best to survive in a world without hope or help. To ensure life on Earth as the planet runs out of air, its healthiest inhabitants are frozen for two centuries.
Described by Poiraud as a sci-fi drama with “an independent, character-driven, unsettling vibe,” the show follows in the path of “Real Humans,” a next-generation robot thriller that brought Haridi to notice.
“Rare” is executive produced by Nebout (“Midnight Sun,” upcoming spy-thriller “Hamilton”) and Mia Sohlman, the creator-producer of SVT’s hit political thriller “Blue Eyes,” as well as Isolani Pictures’ Alexandre Richardot, Thierry Poiraud’s longtime collaborator, and Daniel J. Cottinn, whose credits include Netflix’s “Chef’s Table France” and NBCUniversal’s “Metal Hurlant Chronicles.”
“The unique premise of our show – oxygen on Earth is vanishing- allows us to create a brand-new world. I have this vision of a ‘low-tech’ future,” said Poiraud.
“Nordic and Baltic landscapes are the perfect backdrop for our story, he added.
“The sci-fi-genre is very close to my heart,” Hariri said. “The stories that can be told within ‘Rare’s’ simple yet exciting premise are limitless.”
Beta Films is part of the wave of European production houses that are buying into companies or setting up joint ventures and subsidiaries across borders as a way to snag key talent and offset risk. Companies such as Studiocanal and FremantleMedia are also tapping into other state backing and TV funds while maintaining control of the creative process.
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