Belgrade-based Firefly Productions, one of the leading producers of high-end drama in the former Yugoslavia, is launching two new series as part of its slate at this year’s European Film Market.
“The V Effect” is an eight-episode drama series inspired by the real-life case of an actor who commits suicide on stage during a live theater production. After the renowned actor’s death, Inspector Sorga will try to find out whether it was an unfortunate accident, a suicide – or possibly murder.
“Domestic (Violence)” is a six-part true-crime anthology series set in a small town in Serbia. Each story is based on interviews conducted by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia with women who killed their abusers. Series creator Boban Skerlic will direct all six episodes.
Other titles that Firefly will lens in 2022 include “Absolute 100,” a six-episode series based on the hit film by Srdan Golubović, which tells the story of a talented amateur shooter who reluctantly kills a local criminal when her family is threatened. “Tremor” is an eight-part drama series directed by Bojan Vuletić (“Requiem for Mrs. J”). It’s based on the true story of a Serbian actor who was imprisoned for killing two men and whose prison journal became a best-seller across the Balkans. It stars 2019 European Shooting Star Milan Maric (“Dovlatov”) (pictured).
Also anticipated is the comedy-drama series “Frust,” directed by Oscar winner Danis Tanovic (“No Man’s Land”), which is being developed with Hungary’s Joyrider. The six-episode series follows a young writer struggling for recognition who suddenly becomes a local celebrity after accidentally shooting a petty criminal who’s been terrorizing his neighborhood.
Founded in 2018 by former BBC news producer Ivana Mikovic and Boban Jevtic, the former head of Film Center Serbia, Firefly has quickly become one of the most prolific producers of high-end scripted content in Southeast Europe, both leading and contributing to a boom in Balkan drama.
Critically acclaimed series produced by Firefly include “The Family,” a five-part miniseries directed by Vuletić which tells the inside story of the three days leading up to the arrest of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. Last summer it swept the Heart of Sarajevo TV Awards at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Also on the company’s slate is “Black Wedding,” a supernatural drama about a government agent investigating a killing spree and its links to ancient folklore, which is part of this year’s Berlinale Series Market Selects.
In addition, Firefly is building a sprawling studio complex on the outskirts of Belgrade, where it will both produce its own series and host some of the growing number of foreign productions shooting in Serbia. The studio is expected to be completed by October 2022.
“Firefly Productions’ EFM slate will be a rich one. It will cover different genres. Some series will be the development of existing titles such as ‘Tycoon’ and ‘Black Wedding,’ but the remaining ones will be true crime, original stories, film-based series,” said Mikovic. “Our ambition is to have a versatile slate, but most of all we want to have titles worthy of international acclaim.”