Tag: RTVE

Spanish streaming platform Filmin and Belgium’s Boucan Film Production have boarded the series “Robbery, Beating & Death” (“El pitjor atracament de la historia”) from “This is Not Sweden” producers, Funicular Films.

Upscale SVOD service Filmin also produces original shows and holds a vast catalog of classic films. It also hosts dedicated country channels, like that of Costa Rica.

Founded by producers Boris Van Gils and Michaël Goldberg, Boucan describes itself as a company that makes audience-driven auteur films with mainstream appeal. It has offices in Brussels, Abidjan and Paris. Among their notable credits are Stephan Streker’s “Noces,” nominated for a Best Foreign Film César award in 2018 and Belgian box office hit “Les Rayures du Zèbra.”

Participating in the Berlinale Co-Pro Series event, the series turns on two lifelong friends who are hired to create a television series centered on a bank heist. Eager for the acclaim they’ve always been denied, they cling to the bold, extreme philosophy of a mysterious artist they admire. Determined to prove themselves, they push their project beyond fiction—choosing not to film the story, but to carry out a real bank robbery instead.

Said Funicular’s Marta Baldó: “Framed as a playful guide to pulling off the greatest heist in the world, ‘Robbery, beating and death’ uses comedy to explore universal themes: friendship, family, loyalty, work, art, capitalism and the contradictions of our industry.”

“Like science fiction or dystopia, its meta layer lets us talk about the present human condition with political and philosophical bite,” she noted.

Marcel Borràs and Nao Albet have written and directed the series, in which they will also star. The rest of the cast has yet to be confirmed.

“Robbery, Beating & Death” received vital support from Catalan cultural agency, ICEC, a pillar of Catalonia’s robust audiovisual production landscape.

ICEC’s High-End TV Production Fund, launched in 2022, allots up to €1.5 million ($1.8 million) for Catalan-language series with a minimum budget of €4 million ($4.7 million).

“This Is Not Sweden,” first presented at Series Mania 2024, picked up the Best Performance award for Aina Clotet at Canneseries 2024. It also won the Prix Europa for Best European TV Fiction Series. Clotet has directed her first feature film, the love triangle drama “Oh Nora!” based on a screenplay she co-wrote with Valentina Viso. It is co-produced by Funicular and Ikiru Films and is currently in post.  

Bowing in Spain on Catalonia’s 3Cat and national pubcaster RTVE, “This is Not Sweden” follows a young couple, Mariana and Samuel who resettle, along with other yuppies, to a chic, leafy community perched on the western hills overlooking Barcelona, determined to create the best possible life for their young children.