Showcase: GoQuest Media

A former corporate diva ends up creating a secret business to take down shady corporations in Troll Farm, a Lithuanian comedy-drama from Dansu Films that GoQuest Media has added to its expanding slate of titles for the international stage.

“Troll Farm first caught our attention in 2021, when it became the inaugural winner of the most promising project award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s TV Beats Forum,” explains Rakesh Vasani, global head of content acquisition at GoQuest. “It went on to be one of the 16 new series to be featured in EFM’s Berlinale Series Market this year.”

“In Gabija Siurbyte, the producer’s own words, ‘Troll Farm germinated from the ambition to create Lithuania’s first-ever high-end drama series with a strong female lead.’ This fits strongly with two goals we always have when finding content for the GoQuest slate: It needs to be a high-quality production suitable to feature across platforms and networks, and the series has to have a powerful story and a strong lead,” he says.

The five-part drama follows as Ana, played by Siurbyte, is fired from the cosmetic empire she founded as a scapegoat for its wrongdoings and embarks on a crusade of vengeance. Armed with Agriculture for Dummies and extensive corporate experience, she ends up running two farms to cover her underground business, Troll Farm, targeting exploitative companies. As she becomes blinded by her desire for revenge, however, she begins to turn into the same manipulative person she is determined to fight.

Vasani and the GoQuest team were eager to take on the title, as “the exciting topical subject and the fact that the characters are completely relatable make Troll Farm a great watch and a show with exceptional format potential.”

The series was directed by Ernestas Jankauskas, who runs Dansu Films with Siurbyte. His previous directorial ventures Sasha was Here and I Am Fine, Thankswere nominated for awards at the Odesa International Film Festival and the Warsaw International Film Festival, respectively. “Ernestas brings this passion into Troll Farm, directing a very competent cast led by Gabija and riding on a powerful story debating moral rights and wrongs in a society led/misled by online news and content,” Vasani says.

Siurbyte not only acts in and produces the series through Dansu Films, but also serves as showrunner. She “is a multihyphenate,” Vasani says. “Gabija leads Troll Farm with mastery, playing the role of an ousted CEO-turned-vigilante with strength and emotion.”

The title adds to GoQuest’s slate of dramas from Central and Eastern Europe, which have been finding success internationally. “We have sold titles like Traitor, Civil Servant and Rats from Estonia, Serbia and the Czech Republic, respectively, in Latin America, Australia, India and Europe to major international platforms, including Disney+ Hotstar, Voyo, Telemundo, SBS, Globoplay and more,” says Vasani.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen numerous examples of non-English-language titles that have topped popular lists on streaming giants and international television awards,” Vasani continues. “We’re also in interesting times, where, with writers in the U.S. on strike, more and more commissioners are venturing out to look at content from literally all parts of the world. The economics of the market call for greater visibility on catalogs like ours, and this series enriches our offering.”

Troll Farm was the perfect addition to the catalog in GoQuest’s eyes, since it “aligns with our focus and commitment to find and bring to the world hidden gems from non-traditional markets,” he says. “It also fits with how global audiences are responding to shows that are not from Hollywood and the U.K.”

See GoQuest Media’s Showcase here.