Menu
Paris, July 4, 2024
For immediate release
Federation Studios is delighted to announce key international sales for SAMBER, the series by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade produced by Whats’Up Films in co-production with Federation Studios and Versus Production for France Televisions.
Following record breaking ratings and exceptional press reviews when first aired on France 2 last November, SAMBER has successfully entered the international market.
The BBC has purchased the series (as they announced earlier today). This is an exceptional acquisition given the rarity of French series purchases by the English broadcaster. In the UK, the series has been retitled as Sambre – Anatomy of a Crime.
In France, Max, the newly launched HBO platform has acquired the second window rights.
The series has also been sold to RTBF in Belgium, NOS in Portugal, Movistar in Spain, LRT in Lithuania, Blue TV in Switzerland and VRT in Flemish Belgium.
Beyond Europe, it has been snapped up by Viasat (CIS), Quebecor in Canada and Hot in Israel.
SAMBER (6 X 1 hour episodes) is a crime thriller based on true events.
In Northern France in the late 1980’s, women are being sexually assaulted along the same road by the Sambre river – with attacks taking place early mornings and in a similar style. The police fail to get to grips with the extent of these assaults or make a connection between the cases. The justice system is overwhelmed by the accumulating cases. It will take 30 years to catch a man, who never stopped attacking women and is responsible for at least 54 cases of rape or sexual assault. Samber is a thriller following the progression of the investigation, its repercussions from the 80’s through to 2018 and the beginning of the #Metoo era.
The cast brings together Alix Poisson (The returned, Six Women), Clémence Poesy (The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Tenet), Olivier Gourmet (Oussekine, La Promesse), Noémie Lvovsky (Camille Rewinds, Farewell, My Queen), Jonathan Turnbull (Soldiers), Pauline Parigot (Soldiers, HPI) and more.
Sambre is directed by Jean-Xavier De Lestrade (The Staircase, Murder on a Sunday morning), written and created by Alice Géraud and Marc Herpoux, and is based on the investigation by Alice Géraud. Produced by What’s Up Films and Federation Studios in coproduction with Versus Production, originally commissioned by France Televisions.
SAMBER just won the Magnolia award of Best foreign Mini-series at the prestigious 29th Shanghai TV Festival.
Further prestigious sales will be announced soon.
