Multi award-winning studio Gutsy Animations has announced that they have joined forces with UK production company Lime Pictures to co-produce its first adult-targeted drama series Beyond Nature. The drama is based on Katariina Souri’s novel Pohjan Kosketus.
Currently in development, the 6 x 50’ English-language psychological drama will blend live-action with VFX and CG animation. Beyond Nature is created by Gutsy Animations’ chief creative officer and founder Marika Makaroff and Paavo Westerberg (The Violin Player).
“Beyond Nature is a project like no other – the mix of Stella’s real world and her haunting visions, combined with the contrasting settings of an industrial English city and a remote Lapland village, make this a truly distinctive series,” said Makaroff.
“It’s a pitch-perfect project with which to extend our reach into non-kids’ drama and we are very happy to be partnering with Lime Pictures and such a talented team of writers to bring it to life. Tackling themes of sisterhood; family secrets; hidden memories; mental instability; and nature- both human and environmental- Beyond Nature promises to be both a challenging and compelling watch,” she added.
Expressing a sense of delight, Lime Pictures’ managing directors Kate Little and Claire Poyser said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Gutsy Animations to bring such a gripping, atmospheric and breathtakingly visual series to screen.”
The series is set to be shot between England and Lapland.
The innovative, powerful psychological drama will follow Stella, a young Finno-British artist, as she searches for her true self, and her family’s past. Set against the ancient magical traditions and wilderness of the far North, and the urban landscapes of Britain, the drama explores the alienation of humans from the natural world of which we are all part.
When Stella leaves the UK and returns to her family roots in Finland to sell her childhood home, the fabric of her inner life begins to shift and change. She experiences visions which seem connected to the vast, ancient natural landscape of Lapland and its mythological past, and which invade her art. Predictions, or perhaps warnings, propel Stella into unravelling a dark mystery in which to survive, she must confront, and connect with, her true nature.
Gutsy Animations, known for Emmy Award-nominated Moominvalley series, have taken writers Jessica Ruston (Harlots), Kevin Rundle (EastEnders) and Phoebe Éclair-Powell (Two Weeks to Live) on board for the project.
The studio has tapped Gary Carter, as a consultant with a remit focused on sales and development, specifically to spearhead the studio’s move into adult-skewing drama with Beyond Nature. Carter has previously held senior creative and leadership positions at Endemol, Fremantle, Shine and Endemol Shine.
