Written by on Jan 6, 2015. Posted in On Location

BBC to film historical miniseries War and Peace in Russia and northern Europe

The BBC will film a new miniseries of War and Peace on location in Russia, Lithuania and Latvia. Tom Harper will direct the six-part drama telling Leo Tolstoy’s story of Russian aristocrats against the backdrop of the French invasion of Russia in the early 19th century.

Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton will star in the series, which is being produced by BBC Cymru Wales Drama, The Weinstein Company and BBC Worldwide/Lookout Point.

“War and Peace will be a major event drama on BBC One and it is only fitting that Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece has attracted such a fine cast of actors to Andrew Davies’ stunning scripts,” said Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One.

Lithuanian capital Vilnius recently doubled for Jerusalem for the BBC’s upcoming TV production The Eichmann Show (above). The drama tells the true story of the 1961 Jerusalem trial of former prominent Nazi Adolf Eichmann and features Martin Freeman as TV producer Milton Fruchtman.

“We have a large pool of extremely professional and seasoned actors and crew who provide first-rate services,” said Artūras Zuokas, Mayor of Vilnius, on the set of The Eichmann Show.

“The fact that the BBC has chosen Lithuania for telling such an important story speaks to the fact that producers, directors and actors recognise the talent that we have to offer and we’re proud of the part that the Vilnius Film Office has played in making productions go as smoothly as possible.”

Lithuania offers production support through the Vilnius Film Office and the country launched a 20% filming incentive in mid-2013. Neighbouring Latvia also offers incentive support.

The BBC already films extensively in Eastern Europe. Adventure series The Musketeers (above) has filmed two seasons on location in Czech Republic, doubling the country for period France. Upcoming historical drama The Last Kingdom – set in the 9th century before the formation of modern England – is filming partly in Hungary.

(Images: BBC)