Greta Scacchi and Juergen Prochnow are the leads in US director Reuben Leder's poltical thriller Baltic Storm which began shooting on location in Berlin on November 5.

The co-production between Babelsberg-based Top Story Filmproductio, Denmark's Smile Entertainment and the UK sales agent IAC centres on the sinking of the Baltic ferry 'Estonia' in September 1994 and the subsequent investigations by a German woman journalist and Swedish lawyer to discover the truth behind the tragedy.

Apart from Scacchi and Prochnow, the film's cast includes Dieter Laser, Axel Milberg, Andreas Guenther and Ralf Herforth. The Euros 6m film is being executive produced by Leder's director sister Mimi (The Peacemaker) and will be distributed theatrically in Germany by Buena Vista International. IAC are handling international sales.

After locations in Berlin and Brandenburg, the production will move on to Lower Saxony, Malta, and Denmark, with a second unit team shooting in Estonia and Sweden.

Baltic Storm has also received public funding from the German Federal Film Board (FFA), Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg and nordmedia and backing from broadcasters Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and ARTE. The Mediterranean Filmstudios in Malta, Hannover-based AZ Media Entertainment and Berlin-based postproduction FX specialist tvt Postproduction are also serving as production partners on the project.

Topics