NEWS
Melchior the Apothecary This trilogy of feature films in production is based on the series of crime novels Melchior the Apothecary by writer Indrek Hargla. The film series, with a budget 6,000,000 EUR, is a coproduction between Estonia, Latvia and Germany. By EFI Photos by Robert Lang
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ESTONIAN FILM
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irstly, there will be three full length feature films, and also a 6 episode TV series made. The producers of the film are also preparing a multi-level marketing campaign and an entire “promotional eco-system” in order to establish and strengthen the new franchise. The director of the medieval crime trilogy is Elmo Nüganen; screenplay by Indrek Hargla, Elmo Nüganen and Olle Mirme. Producers of the film are Kristian Taska (Taska Film), Esko Rips (Nafta Films), Armin Karu (HansaFilm), Tanel Tatter and Veiko Esken (Apollo Film Productions). Latvian co-producer is Jānis
Kalējs (Film Angels Productions), German co-producer is Philipp Kreuzer (Maze Productions). The main protagonist of the film, Melchior Wakenstede, is a clever and curious apothecary who, in addition to healing the sick, solves murders that shake the town. In a medieval world where people look for signs of God or the Devil in everything, Melchior’s detective work appears to be truly magical – it’s even believed that he can speak with the dead. Melchior’s actual “secret weapon” is his knack for noticing traitorous details and his ability to understand the darkest desires of the human soul.