Rivalry meets Entrepreneurship: Global Screen picks up aviation drama series TURBULENT SKIES

Apr 10th, 2019

German World Sales company Global Screen has picked up international distribution rights for high-end European event series TURBULENT SKIES – TWO PIONEERS, ONE DREAM. The 8 x 50 min drama series is set in the 1920s and is inspired by the true story of the brilliant, fun-loving engineer Anthony Fokker and hardworking family man Albert Plesman, founder of the Netherlands’ first airline KLM. Despite their large personal differences and mutual despise, they joined forces and brought their vision of civil and commercial aviation to life.

“We are thrilled to pitch TURBULENT SKIES to our buyers here at MIPTV”, states Alexandra Heidrich, Head of TV Sales & Acquisitions at Global Screen. “It is a gripping and universal story and it is highly inspiring to witness how passionately our two protagonists worked and fought to make come true one of humanity’s biggest dreams: to fly.”

Producer Idse Grotenhuis states, “For TURBULENT SKIES we have outstanding talent on board - it is written by the critically acclaimed writers-team Winchester-McFly and is directed by award-winning director Joram Lürsen. TURBULENT SKIES will be an adventurous story about two pioneers who moved mountains. Their drama is embedded in the history of The Roaring Twenties and The Dirty Thirties that has been shown relatively little in TV drama, so our audiences worldwide will have plenty to discover.

TURBULENT SKIES – TWO PIONEERS, ONE DREAM features thousands of VFX shots, reproducing the delicate propeller-driven aircrafts of the time in a lavish 7.9 million Euro production. TURBULENT SKIES – TWO PIONEERS, ONE DREAM is a Topkapi Films production (“The Commune”, “Broken Circle Breakdown”) in coproduction with Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS and partially funded by The NPO Fund and Dutch Film Fund. It is directed by multiple Dutch-Film-Award-winning helmer Joram Lürsen.

TURBULENT SKIES – TWO PIONEERS, ONE DREAM will start shooting in June. Global Screen will start selling the highly anticipated series at current MIPTV (Palais-1/K2).