STOCKHOLM – Trotsky, the 8-part Russian historical drama, has been picked up by channels in Denmark and Mexico following international sales concluded by distributor Eccho Rights.

 

Charting the rise of the Bolshevik revolutionary from his early days as an imprisoned political dissident, through to his assassination at the hands of rival Stalin, the series sparked wide interest in the international market with a spectacular launch at MIPCOM 2017.

 

Synopsis:

In May 1940, on the outskirts of Mexico City, a detachment of Mexican Communists dressed as policemen attack the house of the former leader of the Russian revolution, Leon Trotsky. For a quarter of an hour they shoot at the house, but by an incredible coincidence, Trotsky and his wife survive. Having lost during the eleven years of expulsion almost all close ones and relatives, Trotsky understands: his eternal enemy, Stalin, will continue to pursue him until the end of his days. He decides to leave a political testament, for the first time to tell in full and sincerely how a man from an oppressed minority managed to become a prophet of a new world and overthrow an empire. To write his memoirs, Trotsky invites his ideological opponent, a Canadian journalist sympathetic to Stalin, to convert him into his faith, so that he in turn can convert the whole mankind.

 

In Denmark, state broadcaster DR has picked up the series, following Canal 22 in Mexico which became the first international channel to air Trotsky earlier this summer. The series was originally made for Russia’s Channel One by Sreda Production Company, premiering to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution in 2017.

 

“Russia has been in the spotlight lately, with the centenary of the October Revolution late last year, and the football world cup taking place this summer,” said Nicola Söderlund, Managing Partner of Eccho Rights. “This high budget, premium costume drama is a great acquisition for buyers looking to seize on this interest in Russia’s rich history.”