Elisa Viihde Commissions New Original Cold War Thriller With the Working Title of SPHERE OF SHADOWS with AJ Annila Set to Direct | The Fan Carpet Ltd • The Fan Carpet: The RED Carpet for FANS • The Fan Carpet: Fansites Network • The Fan Carpet: Slate • The Fan Carpet: Theatre Spotlight • The Fan Carpet: Arena • The Fan Carpet: International

Elisa Viihde Commissions New Original Cold War Thriller With the Working Title of SPHERE OF SHADOWS with AJ Annila Set to Direct


09 July 2018

AJ Annila to direct the Cold War thriller

Spy thriller, Sphere of Shadows (working title – in Finnish: Nyrkki), set in the 1950s, is a ten-part series written by Katri and Kirsti Manninen.

Production will commence in autumn 2018 and the series will be available on Elisa Viihde in autumn 2019.

Teea Hyytiä and Sari Lempiäinen from Zodiak Finland will produce the series with London and Paris based About Premium Content handling international distribution.

Elisa Viihde, the leading digital entertainment service in Finland, has commissioned a new original series which will be directed by AJ Annila. Spy thriller, Sphere of Shadows (working title – in Finnish: Nyrkki), set in the 1950s, is a ten-part series written by Katri and Kirsti Manninen. Production will commence in autumn 2018 and the series will be available on Elisa Viihde in autumn 2019. Teea Hyytiä and Sari Lempiäinen from Zodiak Finland will produce the series with London and Paris based About Premium Content handling international distribution.

Previously, AJ Annila has directed Jade Warrior, Sauna, and The Eternal Road, for which he won the Jussi Award for Best Director. Having written for both film and TV, as well as the stage and books, Sphere of Shadows marks the third collaboration by mother and daughter duo Katri and Kirsti Manninen.

During the 1950s, Helsinki was the focal point of the Cold War, as global powers and their intelligence agencies coalesced in the small neutral country that stood between the East and the West. Sphere of Shadows is an international spy thriller that follows a secret intelligence team whose mission is to defend the independence of Finland no matter the cost. And with the upcoming presidential election in Finland, the stakes are higher than ever.

 

 

“Sphere of Shadows is inspired by true historical events, and it introduces a new genre to the range of original series on Elisa Viihde. Sphere of Shadows is a good example of the type of fascinating storytelling that we want to keep offering to our customers”, says Ani Korpela, Head of Content at Elisa Viihde.

“I was immediately sold having read the first scripts from the Manninens. Their spy thriller, which is based on true historical events, was a puzzle that was boldly exciting, entertaining and cruelly beautiful. The concept felt right for me, and I haven’t seen anything like it as a viewer either,” says director AJ Annila.

Emmanuelle Guilbart, Joint-CEO and Co-Founder at APC adds “APC is delighted to sign a new series from Finland, which is rapidly becoming the home of high-end drama and talent. We are also very happy to partner with Zodiak and Elisa Viihde, a digital entertainment service which shares our ambition and passion for quality drama.”

About Elisa Viihde
Elisa Viihde is the leading digital entertainment service in Finland. Elisa Viihde covers all your entertainment needs – original series, the largest selection of Finnish movies and the latest Hollywood films, an extensive range of TV shows and sports you can't see elsewhere. The service offers subscription video-on-demand services, rental movies, and an extensive range of pay-TV packages. Over 300,000 households enjoy Elisa Viihde entertainment services.

Elisa is a telecommunications, ICT and digital service company operating mainly in Finland and Estonia. We serve over 2.8 million customers who have over 6.2 million subscriptions. We provide environmentally sustainable services for communication and entertainment, and tools for organisations to digitalise their operations and improve productivity. As the market leader, we are also a pioneer in new network technologies and innovations, such as 5G. Cooperation with Vodafone and Telenor, among others, enables globally competitive services. Elisa is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Large Cap with approximately 190,000 shareholders. In 2017, revenue was 1.79 billion euros, and the company employed 4,700 people in 13 countries. www.elisa.com, Facebook (@elisasuomi) and Twitter (@ElisaOyj).

About About Premium Content
About Premium Content (APC) is headed by experienced principals Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel and is a boutique coproduction and distribution company that help independent producers and content creators in the financing of their projects, partnering with them as early as the development stage. APC has a growing slate of fiction from a range of European producers including stylish series A Very Secret Service (Arte), Valkyrien, Young and Promising (NRK), crime thriller Deadwind (YLE) and Gigantes (Movistar).

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