GoQuest Media Inks Deal for RATS

GoQuest Media has partnered with the Czech production company Heaven’s Gate to take the international distribution rights for the crime thriller RATS.

RATS is set in the world of the Czech-Vietnamese meth syndicates that are led by an immigrant mafia funded by cryptocurrency. Monitored by the DEA, nobody wants to end up as a rat, but David doesn’t seem to have a choice. After cracking under interrogation and spilling the secrets of the syndicate, becoming an informant might be his best option. Cyril Dobrý (Das Boot, Ulice), Lenka Krobotová (Díra u Hanušovic), Václav Neužil (Bába z ledu) and Miloslav Pechácek star.

The six-part drama is based on true stories and made in collaboration with the National Anti-Drug Centre of the Czech Republic. RATS was created and written by Czech screenwriter Miro Šifra (Rédl) and directed by Viktor Tauš (Vodnik, Clownwise, Dom) of Heaven’s Gate and Matěj Chlupáček (Terapie) of Barletta Productions in association with Czech TV and MD4. RATS aired on Ceska televize in prime time in the spring.

Paula McHarg, head of Europe and North America at GoQuest Media, said: “From the first frame of RATS until its gripping conclusion we were nothing short of transfixed. Globally launching such an outstanding series from a region that’s currently bubbling over with potential is truly an honor and we have no doubt that the international marketplace will respond with as much enthusiasm as we have.”

Viktor Taus, CEO of Heaven’s Gate, added: “I believe that part of the reason for the global resonance is, paradoxically, the local specificity. Besides its thrilling content, a crime miniseries in 2020 also has to be an authentic report of the state of the world when the story takes place. RATS is like that. This is the world we live in. I’ve never met with such a deep interest to understand the story, its heroes, and the meaning of the storytelling visuality as with Paula and her team at GoQuest Media. Through them, RATS has been awarded a distributor with the same passion as the team we told the story with.”