The First Original Latvian-Ukrainian Co-Production Series “Markuss”
On 10 October, Latvian viewers will be able to watch the first Latvian-Ukrainian co-production series, “Markuss”, featuring Latvian actors Rihards Lepers, Agnese Cīrule, eleven-year-old Aleksandrs Neikens and others. The kidnapping of a child, an investigation, schemes woven by criminals and, above all, the twists and turns of relationships and love – that is what “Markuss” promises its viewers. From 10 October, the series will be available at any time and on any device via Shortcut, the app for films, series and live broadcasts, which is also available on Helio iTV.
At the centre of the eight-episode crime drama “Markuss” is Polina (played by Yevgeniya Rozanova), a teacher whose life has been struck by a horrific tragedy. Five years ago, her little son Mark (played by Riga resident Aleksandrs Neikens) disappeared from his kindergarten. Now, while watching a television report from Riga, she unexpectedly spots her son, who is now called Markuss. Despite the inaction of the responsible authorities, Polina resumes her search for her son, this time with the help of Denis Denisov (Kirill Rubtsov), a former intelligence agency employee. Investigating the boy’s disappearance, they uncover the activities of a criminal group, and their trail leads to Riga, where Markuss lives with his foster parents – Lidija (Agnese Cīrule) and Rihards (Rihards Lepers). Will Markuss recognise his biological mother? Can the boy be happy at all if two families love him and want to keep him? And how dangerous will the scheme woven by the criminals prove to be?
The character played by Rihards Lepers will present an unexpected turn of character during the series, not only to his beloved wife but also to the viewers. However, R. Lepers draws attention to a trait that he and his character share – an absolute love for their family. “In my character, I put all the emotions associated with the kind of father I would like to be. There is no doubt that family means absolutely everything to me. Family means the people for whom I can fight to the very end, live and die, love and enjoy life, and show respect. I will fight for my family to the very end. Of course, every family has both happy and sad moments. But the key to success is overcoming the sad ones together. I speak from my own experience. I know that different things happen in life and that people go through various problems, and often those who overcome difficulties and perhaps have a harder time in life achieve much more. The question is how you overcome difficulties. Every hardship only makes you stronger.”
Viewers will also meet other Latvian actors in the series: Dainis Grūbe, Vilis Daudziņš, Ivars Auziņš, Toms Liepājnieks and Jana Herbste.
The crime drama, based on an original screenplay, is produced by “Helio Media” together with Ukraine’s leading television channel “Ukraina”. From 10 October, viewers will be able to watch the co-production series on the Shortcut app, which is also available on Helio interactive television. The creator of the series concept is Igor Volkov (Игорь Волков); the screenwriters are Lera Kolegaeva (Лера Колегаева) and Vladimir Skiba (Владимир Скиба), and the director is Anton Azarov (Антон Азаров).
