Beta Film has released a swashbuckling, pulse-pounding trailer for “Rise of the Raven,” its epic 10-part drama series based on the bloody 15th-century battle that changed the course of Europe. The show will world premiere at Mipcom in the Grand Auditorium of Cannes’ Palais des Festivals on Oct. 22.
Adapted from author Bán Mór’s bestselling novels, the series tells the story of the Hungarian warrior Janos Hunyadi, who defeated the Ottoman army in 1456 at the Battle of Belgrade, halting its march across Europe and marking a turning point in the history of the continent.
The series is produced by veteran Canadian producer Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films (“The Sweet Hereafter,” “Eastern Promises,” “Crimes of the Future”) and Beta Film, the production and distribution powerhouse behind series including “Gomorrah” and “Babylon Berlin.” The Munich-based company is also repping the show internationally as part of a packed Mipcom slate.
In a trailer shared exclusively with Variety, Hunyadi (Kádár L. Gellért) delivers a rousing speech to the army he’s recruited to fight off the Ottoman threat, with his warrior wife Elizabeth Szilagyi (Vivien Rujder) fighting by his side. Meanwhile, the heroic general’s first love, the Serbian princess Mara Brankovic (Franciska Töröcsik), commits the ultimate sacrifice to save her people when she agrees to join the royal court of Sultan Murad II (Murathan Muslu) as a concubine.
Amid the torrid love affairs and alliances, epic battles and betrayals, the future of Europe hangs in the balance. Here’s a first look at the scintillating trailer:
“Rise of the Raven” is among the more anticipated premieres at this year’s Mipcom and is being billed as one of the most expensive European TV productions ever made, with Lantos describing its budget as “on par with what similar shows would cost that have been made for global broadcasters or streamers.”
“I suspect that in the world of non-English language production, this is probably the most ambitious ever, based simply on its scope, its size and its cost,” the producer told Variety. “Pulling the financing together was kind of miraculous. I don’t know if I would ever want to do it again — or if I could.”
Shot on location in Hungary and at the state-owned NFI Studios complex outside Budapest, the production was epic in scope and rich in period detail, with local craftsmen constructing lavish sets to recreate 15th-century Vienna, Milan and Edirne — the second capital of the Ottoman Empire, located in modern-day Turkey — as well as the imposing ramparts and watchtowers of Belgrade Castle. “The stories that we deliver are delivered in their full majesty,” said Lantos.
The series is a passion project for the Hungarian-born producer, who recalled being captivated when he was handed the first novel in the bestselling series. “I devoured it. And then I wanted to read the next volume, and the one after that. And I thought, ‘What an extraordinary story,’” he said. “That led me into the life of Janos Hunyadi, and the intrigues and love affairs and betrayals and treasons and heroic actions surrounding his life and that era in the history of Central Europe.”
The longtime industry veteran knew he’d stumbled upon a story that was fit for the screen, but “it was way too long, too sprawling, for it to be contained in a two-hour movie,” he said.
Nevertheless, Lantos was enticed by the “fantastic challenge” of “doing something that was at the epicenter of the history of the country where I was born, and at the same time impacted all of Europe, which virtually no one knows anything about outside of…Hungary.”
In order to do the story justice, however, he insisted that “Rise of the Raven” would have to be faithful to the era in which it was set. “I really wanted to do this in a unique way that has never been attempted before,” he said. “A production of this size would invariably be shot in English with English-speaking actors in order to design it for global consumption. I certainly have done that in the past.” (Lantos’ credits include the Hungarian period drama “Sunshine,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, and the France-set “The Statement,” with Michael Caine and Tilda Swinton.)
“I did not want to do that again,” he continued. “That was the biggest hurdle and the most fun — to persuade everybody that the most authentic way to make a historical piece like this…is to honor the languages spoken by the historic characters involved. And to cast accordingly. Which means foregoing the notion of casting the usual suspects who might help give the show instant recognition all over the world.”
He added: “In exchange, what we have is truth. We have something real.”
“Rise of the Raven” is financed by Hungary’s National Film Institute and Beta and produced by Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta. Co-producers are Hungary’s TV2 Network, which will broadcast the show in Hungary and Slovenia. Austrian public broadcaster ORF was announced this week as a co-producer and will broadcast the series in Austria.
Also producing are Tibor Krsko (“Fateless,” “Children of Glory,” “The Song of Names”), Cecilia Hazai, Kinga Hazai and Ari Lantos (“Remember,” “Barney’s Version”), alongside Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm of MR Film (“Vienna Blood”) and Beta CCO Koby Gal Raday.
