Iznik, the sunken enigma

ended

The sunken basilica of Iznik is an incredible discovery. Perhaps one of the most important archaeological finds of the last decade. In 2014, during a simple surveillance flight over the lake that archaeologist Mustafa Sahin discovered, fascinated, the remains of this Byzantine basilica from the 4th century. When Pascal Guérin, the writer and director of this incredible project, told us about this story, we couldn't resist making this film with him. It is thus our first objective.At the crossroads of science, history, mythology and mystery, this discovery is the subject of a long-term european and international investigation that will result in a fascinating documentary. This discovery and the securing of an exclusivity on the site (our second objective) with the scientific and archaeological teams will, we believe, give birth to a European documentary which will be released in 2023 with a very important audience potential. The third main objective is to secure the international financing. The type and number of persons benefiting from the project will therefore be proportional to the audiences usually registered in the slots of the countries that will broadcast it. The broadcasters and partners involved to date belong to the European ecosystem and have been reaching large and consolidated audiences for years. Indeed, the broadcasters who are to comitted the film raise on average more than one million viewers on these slots. Regarding the expected results and outputs, a 90-minutes documentary and a 52-minutes version for the international market will be produced. The film will be shot in 4 European territories, Turkey and the United States, and will also include 5 languages. It will also be declined in a virtual reality experience. The project will also allow to be witnesses to science in motion as we will have the chance to assist in the preservation of a major archaeological site in the face of climatic issues that endanger it.