GoQuest Media and SOMOS Next Strike Deal For “Traitor” and “Civil Servant”
Global independent content distributor GoQuest Media has struck a deal with Miami based SOMOS Next for two compelling series from the company’s expanding drama portfolio to be offered in SOMOS Next’s SVOD service FlixLatino.
The deal sees SOMOS Next (part of the SOMOS Group) license the streaming rights for the Estonian espionage drama Traitor (6 x 58’) and the Serbian drama Civil Servant for its fast growing SVOD service.
Flix Latino is an SVOD service that targets the Spanish speaking and bilingual market in the US and Puerto Rico, with a mix of entertainment consisting of movies, series, documentaries, and animation, among other genres. The service is widely distributed via the web, online stores, Telcos and Pay TV companies and has experienced significant growth in recent years, satisfying the demand in a rapidly expanding market, given the changing TV watching habits.
The award-winning series Traitor is produced by multi-service provider Elisa Estonia and Estonian public broadcaster ERR. Written by prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Martin Algus (Best Screenwriter Award at Estonian Film and Television Awards 2019) and directed by Ergo Kuld the series stars Tambet Tuisk (The Little Comrade, O2, Zero Point, The Poll Diaries), winner of the Best Actor Award for Traitor at the Estonian Film and Television Awards 2020. Inspired by recent spy scandals in Estonia, the captivating thriller begins in 2004 just before Estonia joined NATO and became a top target for Russian intelligence. Greed and the need for recognition leads recruit Alfred Vint (Tambet Tuisk) to cooperate with Russian intelligence, leading to a thrilling cat-and-mouse game with determined young Estonian counter-intelligence officer Marko Arrak (Veiko Porkanen) as they navigate the challenges faced in their personal lives.
Civil Servant (S01: 12 x 50’ & S02: 12 x 50’) is a spy thriller produced by Telekom Srbija and Film Danas. Created and produced by Predrag Antonijevic (Savior, Dara of Jasenovac) and directed by Miroslav Lekic and Ivan Zivkovic, the gripping thriller follows a young, ambitious Serbian Secret Service (BIA) agent, Lazar Stanojević (played by Milan Marić, who recently received the Shooting Stars Award at Berlinale and the Chopard Talent Award at the Moscow Film Festival) as he negotiates the rules of the international spy game in the modern world. He quickly learns that all is not what it seems, and he is left fighting the distrust that he has for everything he thought to be true. Despite this his sense of duty still makes him make dangerous decisions to protect his nation, his family and himself. Will Lazar emerge from being a servant of the state to its ultimate protector?
Luis Guillermo Villanueva, COO of SOMOS Next, commented, “GoQuest’s series ‘Traitor’ and ‘Civil Servant’ represents an important addition to our catalogue. In SOMOS Next, and particularly for FlixLatino, we focus on first quality content, with good production values, plots, and attractive casting. Latinos have learnt to appreciate audio-visual content from different sources, as long as they deliver good entertainment. These criteria guide our acquisition policies and are responsible for our growth”.
Mikaela Perez, Sales – LatAm, Spain & US Hispanic at GoQuest Media added, “We are pleased to start the year off by celebrating our partnership with Somos Next, and with FlixLatino. ‘Civil Servant’ and ‘Traitor’ will bring to the FlixLatino Spanish speaking audience the brilliant work of the charismatic actors, Milan Maric and Tambet Tuisk, and the challenges of international conflicts, espionage, and homeland. We look forward to being Somos’ ally in curating the best content produced worldwide and taking the Spanish-speaking audience to exciting new locations”.
The third season of ‘Civil Servant’ will air in Spring 2022 on Serbia’s most-watched TV channel Superstar TV.