Greek Island Murder Mystery ‘The Beach’ Puts Dark Spin on Summer of Love, Proves to Be Primetime Hit
Even before it became a primetime sensation last fall, Greek drama “The Beach” had all the elements of a smash hit. Set during the summer of free love in a hippie commune on the island of Crete, the sun-splashed series takes a dark turn with a mysterious murder, setting into motion events that have captivated Greek audiences across more than one hundred episodes to date.
For the creative team at Foss Productions, which co-produced the show with public broadcaster Ert, “The Beach” was an opportunity to push the envelope in a way that hadn’t been done before on Greek television.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try to approach a long-running show in the same way that we approach a mini-series,’” says Orestis Plakias, of the Athens-based outfit behind shows like the Netflix original series “Maestro in Blue” and 2023 Series Mania competition selection “Milky Way.”
“We wanted to introduce something different to the long-running shows,...
For the creative team at Foss Productions, which co-produced the show with public broadcaster Ert, “The Beach” was an opportunity to push the envelope in a way that hadn’t been done before on Greek television.
“We thought, ‘Let’s try to approach a long-running show in the same way that we approach a mini-series,’” says Orestis Plakias, of the Athens-based outfit behind shows like the Netflix original series “Maestro in Blue” and 2023 Series Mania competition selection “Milky Way.”
“We wanted to introduce something different to the long-running shows,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Who should own the intellectual property (IP) of a creative project, and who has the right to earn profits from it?
Those were some of the questions tabled this afternoon on the first day of Agora series — the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s hybrid film-series industry symposium. The festival’s panel on IP was chaired by Alexandra Lebret, Managing Director of the European Producers Club. Speakers included Alex Traila, Programme Μanager at Council of Europe, Amanda Livanou, founder of Neda Film, IP expert Elli Filippopoulou, Beta Film producer Ferdinand Dohna, and Paper Entertainment CEO Julien Leroux, who appeared to have the most definitive answer to the day’s questions.
“The profits need to be shared. And, for that, we need to find a balanced solution where rights and IP can be shared,” Leroux said.
“All the fights with the guilds in the US are really about this. There is no reason why all the profits,...
Those were some of the questions tabled this afternoon on the first day of Agora series — the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s hybrid film-series industry symposium. The festival’s panel on IP was chaired by Alexandra Lebret, Managing Director of the European Producers Club. Speakers included Alex Traila, Programme Μanager at Council of Europe, Amanda Livanou, founder of Neda Film, IP expert Elli Filippopoulou, Beta Film producer Ferdinand Dohna, and Paper Entertainment CEO Julien Leroux, who appeared to have the most definitive answer to the day’s questions.
“The profits need to be shared. And, for that, we need to find a balanced solution where rights and IP can be shared,” Leroux said.
“All the fights with the guilds in the US are really about this. There is no reason why all the profits,...
- 11/4/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
When the Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, kicks off this week in Greece’s second city, organizers will be looking to expand upon recent additions to a time-tested formula that’s served the event across nearly two decades as a launching pad and incubator for Greek and regional talent.
“We’ve been doing the Agora since 2005, and we have slowly but steadily established it as one of the markets where you can find new talents and emerging directors from this region,” says industry head Angeliki Vergou, who took over from longtime Agora topper Yianna Sarri last year. “I think we are maintaining the essence of Agora that we have developed all these years, but just tweaking it a little bit to make it more available and more open to bring in new opportunities.”
In her second year in charge of the Agora, Vergou is looking to build...
“We’ve been doing the Agora since 2005, and we have slowly but steadily established it as one of the markets where you can find new talents and emerging directors from this region,” says industry head Angeliki Vergou, who took over from longtime Agora topper Yianna Sarri last year. “I think we are maintaining the essence of Agora that we have developed all these years, but just tweaking it a little bit to make it more available and more open to bring in new opportunities.”
In her second year in charge of the Agora, Vergou is looking to build...
- 11/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Agora Series, a hybrid film-series industry strand, returns this year for its sophomore outing with Paper Entertainment CEO and Tehran executive producer Julien Leroux serving as program consultant.
This year’s Agora series program will run for two extended days, starting November 4, with a focus on the creative process of series screenwriting. The schedule will feature a range of masterclass sessions from local and international series professionals. Canadian filmmaker Jeremy Podeswa will host a masterclass on the future of storytelling titled From Six Feet Under to the Top: The Evolution of Contemporary Television at the Pavlos Zannas Theatre on November 4. Podeswa — who was recently announced as the lead director of the Blade Runner 2099 mini-series at Amazon — will discuss the evolution of series content throughout the years and his personal journey in the business. Podeswa’s credits include Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones,...
This year’s Agora series program will run for two extended days, starting November 4, with a focus on the creative process of series screenwriting. The schedule will feature a range of masterclass sessions from local and international series professionals. Canadian filmmaker Jeremy Podeswa will host a masterclass on the future of storytelling titled From Six Feet Under to the Top: The Evolution of Contemporary Television at the Pavlos Zannas Theatre on November 4. Podeswa — who was recently announced as the lead director of the Blade Runner 2099 mini-series at Amazon — will discuss the evolution of series content throughout the years and his personal journey in the business. Podeswa’s credits include Six Feet Under, Game of Thrones,...
- 10/12/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The Thessaloniki Film Festival launched its inaugural Agora Series strand on Nov. 10 with a host of international TV executives and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in attendance, highlighting the determination of both the government and the local industry to jump-start the domestic TV sector.
Addressing a full house at the historic Olympion Cinema, where he outlined government efforts to support the Greek screen industries through measures like its 40 cash rebate and a 30 tax relief program, Mitsotakis announced: “We hope that this is just a beginning.”
Buoyed by the cashback scheme, the sun-splashed Mediterranean nation hosted 20 international TV productions last year, according to the prime minister, including the Apple TV Plus spy thriller “Tehran.”
Local production on prestige drama series is ramping up — and foreign buyers are taking notice. Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it had acquired worldwide rights to the drama series “Maestro” (pictured), directed by and starring Christoforos Papakaliatis,...
Addressing a full house at the historic Olympion Cinema, where he outlined government efforts to support the Greek screen industries through measures like its 40 cash rebate and a 30 tax relief program, Mitsotakis announced: “We hope that this is just a beginning.”
Buoyed by the cashback scheme, the sun-splashed Mediterranean nation hosted 20 international TV productions last year, according to the prime minister, including the Apple TV Plus spy thriller “Tehran.”
Local production on prestige drama series is ramping up — and foreign buyers are taking notice. Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it had acquired worldwide rights to the drama series “Maestro” (pictured), directed by and starring Christoforos Papakaliatis,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has come on board to co-produce eight-part Italian period drama series “La Storia,” based on Elsa Morante’s bestselling novel, continuing its successful partnership with Picomedia. Shooting for the production has started in Rome under the helm of director Francesca Archibugi (“Romanzo famigliare”), before moving to Naples and Lazio later in the year. Beta handles world sales.
The cast is led by Jasmine Trinca (“The Gunman”), starring as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution during the end of World War II and post-war Rome. Also starring are Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
The series adapts one of the most critically acclaimed novels of the 20th century, published in two dozen languages. Morante is a landmark figure of feminist literature and the literary role model of Italian star author Elena Ferrante,...
The cast is led by Jasmine Trinca (“The Gunman”), starring as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution during the end of World War II and post-war Rome. Also starring are Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
The series adapts one of the most critically acclaimed novels of the 20th century, published in two dozen languages. Morante is a landmark figure of feminist literature and the literary role model of Italian star author Elena Ferrante,...
- 6/30/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.