France TV Distribution is launching mystery thriller “The Island of Lies” (“Sans Retour”) at this year’s Mipcom TV market in Cannes.
Produced by Fontaram Productions and Ramona Productions for France Télévisions, the six-part series centers on Emma, whose life is starting over at the age of 33.
To uncover the truth, Emma has no choice but to return to the Breton island of Kerlann, where tragedy struck and where everyone rejects her — including her son, who sees her as his father’s murderer. What if proving her innocence turns out to be even more dangerous than remaining guilty?
“The series is a compelling and captivating whodunit that keeps the tension and stakes high until the final episode.”
“The island was both an aesthetic and dramatic choice: an open-air chamber piece where the beauty of the sea and the natural surroundings contrasts with the suffocating insularity of a community on edge, close to breaking apart. Two families bound together by tragedy confront and tear each other apart. In such close quarters, hatred and suspicion are intensified, while the countdown imposed on Emma heightens the tension.”
True crime stories also happen to be a particular forte for the creative team, stressed François Aramburu, co-producer at Fontaram Productions.
“This theme resonates with our shared interest in major criminal cases: Pascal Fontanille wrote about the Daval case (‘The Daval Mystery,’ TF1), Olga Vincent about the Marie Besnard case (‘The Poisoner,’ TF1) and Julien Seri directed a docufiction series about the Ranucci case (‘Dolores, the Curse of the Red Sweater,’ Canal+).”
