The BBC and Fremantle‘s Dancing Ledge Productions have unveiled a pair of behind-the-scene pictures from “Prisoner 951,” a brand new drama sequence primarily based on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s real-life imprisonment in Iran.
Starring Narges Rashidi (“Gangs of London,” “Below the Shadow”) and Joseph Fiennes (“Pricey England,” “The Handmaid’s Story”), “Prisoner 951” tells the story of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who in 2016 was torn from her child daughter and accused of espionage in Iran, dealing with years of jail time.
“1000’s of miles away, in London, her husband Richard refuses to surrender hope,” the present’s synopsis reads. “When it’s revealed that Nazanin is a pawn in a decades-old political dispute, Richard is pressured to battle tyranny overseas and seeming indifference at house. Spanning six harrowing years, this highly effective true story charts one household’s extraordinary braveness and resilience: a mom’s nightmare, a husband’s mission and a household’s unbreakable bond.”
The four-part sequence, premiering on BBC One and iPlayer Nov. 23, is written by Stephen Butchard (“This Metropolis Is Ours,” “5 Daughters”) and directed by three-time BAFTA winner Philippa Lowthorpe (“Three Ladies,” “The Crown”). It’s primarily based on the forthcoming ebook “A Yard within the Sky,” written by Nazanin and Richard Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Joseph Fiennes behind the scenes of “Prisoner 951.”
BBC/Dancing Ledge
In an announcement, Butchard stated the sequence “exhibits how unbelievable we will be at occasions beneath duress.”
“By some means, we are able to summon the energy to maintain going ahead, to maintain hoping, to maintain preventing. Lots of people will determine with that, all of us have our struggles to numerous levels. It’s what we do, we discover a approach ahead, we glance to the sunshine,” he added. “A few of the girls within the jail [Evin prison in Tehran] are nonetheless there however they’re nonetheless wanting in direction of the sunshine. It’s about discovering hope in every day and I feel that’s vital. Regardless of the subject material it may be a extremely uplifting story.”
Butchard continued: “This can be a very human story but it surely additionally it brings in a thriller factor. It may be gripping in locations, traumatic and uplifting in others. Hopefully, it’ll be one thing that stays with the viewers and makes them speak about it the following day. I feel that’s the job of drama.”
Director Lowthorpe referred to as “Prisoner 951” a “devastating story, however a narrative of affection and of hope as nicely, which is what makes it so compelling.”
She added, “I assumed this can be a crucial story to inform to spotlight the plight not solely of what Nazanin went by means of, however of all different hostages who’re taken for political causes everywhere in the world. By telling Nazanin and Richard’s story, we are able to spotlight what it’s wish to be a state hostage. Folks don’t actually know what it’s wish to be in solitary confinement, to have countless faux trials or for use as a political pawn. I feel this story illuminates what it was like for Richard and Nazanin to undergo this horrible expertise.”
“Prisoner 951” was produced by Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Fremantle is dealing with worldwide gross sales.
