The drama series will have its world premiere at Berlin International Film Festival 2023, as part of the Berlinale Series and competing for the section’s newly established awards.
Created by Adina Sădeanu and Kirsten Peters, it tells the story of a week in the life of Victor Glodeanu (Alec Secăreanu, known for God’s Own Country), a Romanian Secret Service agent, direct consultant to Nicolae Ceaușescu, who is holding a dark secret and is getting caught up in the web of his own lies. A high-ranking spy from the Eastern Bloc defecting to the West in the 1970 is the starting point used by creators Sădeanu and Kirsten to ensure a thrilling game of spy poker between the CIA, Securitate, KGB and Stasi in which no one puts their cards on the table.
“It has some very strong Romanian arthouse pedigree in it: Cristian Mungiu’s Mobra Films and Proton Cinema are involved and so is Adina Sãdeanu, who wrote it together with Kirsten Peters,” noted Julia Fidel, head of Berlinale Series, about the Cold War story.
Filmed in Bucharest and Budapest, the series have been directed by Christopher Smith and has a very international cast comprising of Alec Secăreanu, Parker Sawyers, Svenja Jung, Ana Ularu, Laurențiu Bănescu
“It’s a really great show that HBO is bringing to us. It has incredible images and fantastic acting. We aren’t really focusing on historical dramas this year, but this one felt very relevant today. People would look at it differently before Russia invaded Ukraine.”, continued Fidel.
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Spy/Masterby Adina Sădeanu, Kirsten Peters (Creator), Christopher Smith (Director) | with Alec Secăreanu, Parker Sawyers, Svenja Jung, Ana Ularu, Laurențiu Bănescu
Romania / Germany 2023
Berlinale Series | World premiere | Broadcaster: HBO Max, Warner TV Serie | 2/6 episodes
Executive producers: Antony Root, Johnathan Young şi Anke Greifeneder. Creative producer: Ioanina Pavel. Mobra Films producer: Tudor Reu. Proton Cinema: Viktória Petrányi şi Judit Sós.