Press Release
Beta Film / Autentic Distribution acquire crime thriller series and documentary about the mysterious real-life “Dyatlov Pass” case
Beta Film has acquired worldwide rights to the crime thriller series Dead Mountain – The Dyatlov Pass Incident. The series (eight hours) is based on the famous real-life case of the mysterious death of a group of Russian hikers in 1959. It will be introduced to international buyers at MIPCOM, alongside the corresponding documentary The Dyatlov Pass Incident, distributed by Beta’s factual subsidiary Autentic Distribution. Both, the fictional series and the documentary will premiere this fall on TNT (Russia) and PREMIER.
Dead Mountain – The Dyatlov Pass Incident is created by 1-2-3 production’s Evgeny Nikishov and Valeriy Fedorovich, both serving as directors, producers and showrunners, and screenwriter Ilya Kulikov. As basis for the script served de-classified material from the 1959 case to which they got access to, as well as the diaries of the dead students. Shot on 16mm film, the series reflects a certain retro atmosphere, with a look reminiscent of 1950s cinema.
Beta Film’s Leonid Godik: "Dead Mountain – The Dyatlov Pass Incident proves Beta Film’s ongoing commitment to Russian content made a few years ago. Apart from its internationally famous story, it is in the style of Soviet noir, a unique genre, which is quite popular in Russia, but not well known abroad. Since this show is produced on an international, high level of quality, we know that it will appeal to global audiences as well.”
January 1959, Soviet Union. In the icy Ural Mountains, a group of nine students sets out on a ski trek. Even though they all are well-experienced hikers, they never reach their destination. As their bodies turn up a month later, it leaves local investigators puzzled. Their tent was cut open from the inside, they are found frozen stiff in their underwear spread around the camp, some are even partially mangled. When Oleg, a KGB major, arrives in the province, his inquiry is to be held strictly confidential. Troubled by his past as a WWII veteran, he has a sixth sense and death seems to follow him around as he digs deeper into the mysterious incident. With the help of Katya, the local medical examiner, Oleg is hell-bent on finding the truth. But the more he learns, the more it becomes clear: The reason the students died will never see the light of day.
The documentary crime series The Dyatlov Pass Incident follows the true events behind fictional series that remain unsolved for over 60 years. The official investigation hit a dead end long ago, while dozens of private investigators and researchers around the world are proposing new versions of what had actually happened: ranging from runaway prisoners’ attack to yeti involvement, from secret military tests to aliens. One of them is mountaineer and traveler Teodora Hadjiyska. During her investigation, other researchers and amateur detectives from 40 countries have joined her. Can they solve the 60-years-old mystery that professional investigators failed to unlock?
Producer Valery Fedorovich states: “The Dyatlov Pass Incident is not just Russia’s greatest mystery, but also an international media phenomenon: As soon as a new piece of information about it appears in the Russian news, the biggest international news outlets pick it up immediately.” His co-producer Evgeny Nikishov follows: “During the investigation, KGB Major and our protagonist Oleg Kostin studies all the main theories around the tragedy, gradually eliminating them one after another. Our series is a kind of anthology of everything known about the story of Dyatlov Pass. In the finale, the viewers will receive an answer to the key question of what happened to the students on the night of February 2nd 1959, on Kholat Syakhl Mountain.”
The eight-hour fictional series and corresponding documentary are both produced by 1-2-3 Productions. Beta Film distributes the fictional series, world sales of the documentary are handled by Autentic Distribution, the sales division of Autentic GmbH.
See a selection of press coverage:
Dead Mountain – The Dyatlov Pass Incident is created by 1-2-3 production’s Evgeny Nikishov and Valeriy Fedorovich, both serving as directors, producers and showrunners, and screenwriter Ilya Kulikov. As basis for the script served de-classified material from the 1959 case to which they got access to, as well as the diaries of the dead students. Shot on 16mm film, the series reflects a certain retro atmosphere, with a look reminiscent of 1950s cinema.
Beta Film’s Leonid Godik: "Dead Mountain – The Dyatlov Pass Incident proves Beta Film’s ongoing commitment to Russian content made a few years ago. Apart from its internationally famous story, it is in the style of Soviet noir, a unique genre, which is quite popular in Russia, but not well known abroad. Since this show is produced on an international, high level of quality, we know that it will appeal to global audiences as well.”
January 1959, Soviet Union. In the icy Ural Mountains, a group of nine students sets out on a ski trek. Even though they all are well-experienced hikers, they never reach their destination. As their bodies turn up a month later, it leaves local investigators puzzled. Their tent was cut open from the inside, they are found frozen stiff in their underwear spread around the camp, some are even partially mangled. When Oleg, a KGB major, arrives in the province, his inquiry is to be held strictly confidential. Troubled by his past as a WWII veteran, he has a sixth sense and death seems to follow him around as he digs deeper into the mysterious incident. With the help of Katya, the local medical examiner, Oleg is hell-bent on finding the truth. But the more he learns, the more it becomes clear: The reason the students died will never see the light of day.
The documentary crime series The Dyatlov Pass Incident follows the true events behind fictional series that remain unsolved for over 60 years. The official investigation hit a dead end long ago, while dozens of private investigators and researchers around the world are proposing new versions of what had actually happened: ranging from runaway prisoners’ attack to yeti involvement, from secret military tests to aliens. One of them is mountaineer and traveler Teodora Hadjiyska. During her investigation, other researchers and amateur detectives from 40 countries have joined her. Can they solve the 60-years-old mystery that professional investigators failed to unlock?
Producer Valery Fedorovich states: “The Dyatlov Pass Incident is not just Russia’s greatest mystery, but also an international media phenomenon: As soon as a new piece of information about it appears in the Russian news, the biggest international news outlets pick it up immediately.” His co-producer Evgeny Nikishov follows: “During the investigation, KGB Major and our protagonist Oleg Kostin studies all the main theories around the tragedy, gradually eliminating them one after another. Our series is a kind of anthology of everything known about the story of Dyatlov Pass. In the finale, the viewers will receive an answer to the key question of what happened to the students on the night of February 2nd 1959, on Kholat Syakhl Mountain.”
The eight-hour fictional series and corresponding documentary are both produced by 1-2-3 Productions. Beta Film distributes the fictional series, world sales of the documentary are handled by Autentic Distribution, the sales division of Autentic GmbH.
See a selection of press coverage: