Cover of Alan Furst's best-selling novel
The story is a thrilling spy drama set in Poland, Paris, London and Berlin in the years leading up to the Second World War. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield.
At the French embassy, the new military attaché, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier (Tennant in Doctor Who), a decorated war hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw.
At the same time, the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with Anna (Montgomery in Human Target), a Parisian lawyer for the League of Nations. Their complicated love affair intensifies as German tanks drive through the Black Forest.
Richard Klein, Controller of BBC Four, told the BBC that the strength of the series lies in the source material, remarking "Spies Of Warsaw is Alan Furst at his best - a tense, passionate and sexy love story set against the increasingly strident clang of the coming war. I think David Tennant playing Mercier and Janet Montgomery as Anna is such an exciting way to explore Furst's hugely convincing central characters".
The two 90-minute film adaptations are directed by Coky Giedroyc, who has worked on such productions as the BBC's Sherlock and The Hour. The story is also personal for the director, whose father, Polish-Lituanian Michal Giedroyc, spent time in a Siberian prison during the war. Piotr Derewenda, TVP’s producer and editor, said: "We are also delighted that Coky Giedroyc [...] will be joining the production. With her extraordinary talent and the potential for some outstanding actors, we believe Spies of Warsaw will be a big hit with international audiences".
The historical spy drama was adapted for the screen by Dick Clement and Ian de Frenais, and is being produced by Fresh Pictures. Richard Fell, head of drama at Fresh Pictures told the BBC that they are optimistic about shooting in Poland, calling it "a remarkable and beautiful country, and incredibly exciting to work in the range of authentic and rarely seen locations". While the city of Warsaw takes centre stage in the production - with principal photography taking place in and around the Polish capital's old town district - it will not be an easy feat to turn it into a believable backdrop for the late 1930s. Historian and Professor Tadeusz Cegielski told TVP Info that "It will not be straightforward to get [the city] close to that aura of the time, but whoever manages will certainly attain incredible results".
The cast includes Polish actors Marcin Dorociński, Mirosław Zbrojewicz, Radosław Kaim and Piotr Baumann.
Scheduled to première on BBC Four and TVP1 in the autumn of 2012, The Spies of Warsaw is a Fresh Pictures production co-produced by Apple Film Production for BBC Four and TVP in association with ARTE France and BBC Worldwide.
Author: Roberto Galea, May 2012
