A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door will be available on Sky Documentaries in August.
Sky Documentaries has announced an engrossing new one-off film based on one of the most brazen attacks in recent times of a British citizen on home soil. This attack was carried out by a foreign regime. The film is titled The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door.
This is the most extraordinary true spy story in modern British history. The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door (90 min) is a cinematic portrait of loyalty and betrayal and a prescient tale of Russian aggression, which is relevant to us all today.
THE EVENTS
In March 2018, a former Russian intelligence officer, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury, England – a quaint, historic city where nothing normally happens. However, what starts as a local incident explodes into a geopolitical crisis. This crisis highlights the ongoing espionage war between Russia and the West.
At its heart, this is a story about loyalty and betrayal. It is also about the collision of two men: Sergei Skripal and Vladimir Putin, the dictator determined to settle an old score.
The film tells a compelling and dynamic story, offering a deeply human perspective on Skripal’s life as a spy. It uses his own words to vividly reconstruct his experiences and guides us through the dramatic events of his poisoning with the deadly nerve agent Novichok.
RARE INTERVIEWS
The film features rare interviews with a top-level cast of experts directly involved in the crisis: former Prime Minister Theresa May, former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, National Security Advisor Sir Mark Sedwill, MI6 Chiefs Sir John Sawers and Sir Richard Dearlove, counter-terrorism officers Neil Basu and Dean Haydon, and ex-KGB agents. Journalist Mark Urban also shares insight from his conversations with Sergei Skripal in the months following the poisoning.
RAW TESTIMONY
The film also features raw testimony from Salisbury citizens who experienced this story on the ground – a local priest and journalist, a shopkeeper who sold Sergei his groceries, and the doctor who saved Sergei and Yulia’s lives in the hospital. Furthermore, there’s an exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, the innocent local man who accidentally found the bottle of Novichok poison discarded by the Russian assassins. He gave it unwittingly to his partner, Dawn Sturgess, who died. She was an innocent victim of a secret war.
Interwoven through this story are exclusive scenes with investigative journalist Christo Grozev, the man who first exposed the culprits behind this attack. He remains in Putin’s crosshairs through his continued quest to take on the Russian regime. Christo conducted groundbreaking investigative work that was showcased in the Academy Award-winning CNN film Navalny. His contribution brings this story alarmingly up to date. In addition, he explores the current state of grey conflict between Russia and the West.
BEHIND THE DOCUMENTARY
Directed by BAFTA-winning Dan Vernon and produced by Alex Brisland with executive producers Hamish Fergusson and Kari Lia. CNN Films presents The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door, a Passion Pictures production. It is made in association with Propagate Content and West Buttermilk.
Sky acquired “The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door,” thanks to the efforts of Katie Keenan, Group Director of Acquisitions. And Amy Swinglehurst, Senior Acquisitions Executive. Propagate Content will manage international distribution.
The series will air on Sky and on streaming services on 4 August.
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