Watch The Trailer For Netflix Original Docu-Series SOPHIE: A MURDER IN WEST CORK Ahead Of Its Launch On June 30

SOPHIE: A MURDER IN WEST CORK

Netflix releases trailer for Sophie: A Murder In West Cork, from Lightbox is coming to Netflix on 30th June, 2021

The three-part series examines one of Ireland’s most famous murders, that of French documentary producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier, in West Cork in 1996, and includes exclusive contributions from members of Sophie’s family including her son Pierre-Louis Baudey, parents George and Marguerite Bouniol, uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau, aunt Marie Madeleine Opalka, and her cousin, Frédéric Gazeau, who also serves as an associate producer on the series.

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork is from Oscar winning producer of Searching for Sugar Man and Man on Wire, Simon Chinn. It is produced by Chinn’s company, Lightbox, for Netflix.

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork is directed by BAFTA nominee John Dower (The Thriller in Manila, The Mystery of D.B. Cooper), executive produced by Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn and Suzanne Lavery (Til Death do us Part, The Traffickers), and produced by Sarah Lambert (Captive/Hunt for the Boston Bombers).

Executive producer, Suzanne Lavery said “In making this documentary we wanted to honour Sophie, her family and that rural community in the West of Ireland. Even now, I find it genuinely astonishing that something so terrible could have happened not just to a woman who appeared to have such a gilded life but in such a beautiful place and to a community that prided itself on its peacefulness, its safety and inclusivity. It’s what drew Sophie there. What does seem so tragic, is that Sophie’s perfect escape turned out to be where she lost her life. And the shock of it still reverberates in that community 25 years later.”

Producer, Sarah Lambert added “It's been our privilege to explore who she was and to bring that to the audience. We hope we have done her justice.”

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork was filmed in West Cork, Ireland and in France. Alongside the exclusive contributions from members of Sophie’s family, the series includes interviews with residents from Schull and the local press, who are all close to the story.

“I’m a great believer in ensemble filmmaking with a large cast of storytellers, because a story is never simple,” says Director, John Dower.  “You need all those different takes and angles to get to the richer, more compelling stories. I also always look for people who have genuinely lived the story we are telling.”

About Sophie: A Murder in West Cork
Sophie’s brutal murder in one of the most beautiful and remote regions of Ireland shocked the country and triggered one of the biggest investigations it had ever seen - and over the next two and a half decades became a national obsession in both Ireland and France. With access both to the victim's family and those involved in the story, the series unravels this extraordinary story from its beginnings and offers a unique window into the ongoing battle to find justice for Sophie.

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork will launch on Netflix on 30th June.

Contributors:

Murder victim:

Sophie Toscan du Plantier

Prime suspect:

Ian Bailey

Family and Friends of Sophie Toscan du Plantier:

George and Marguerite Bouniol – Sophie’s parents

Pierre Louis Baudey Vignaud – Sophie’s son

Jean Pierre Gazeau – Sophie’s uncle

Marie Madeleine Opalka – Sophie’s aunt

Frédéric Gazeau – Sophie’s cousin

Agnes Thomas - Sophie’s Friend

Past and present members of the Schull Community:

Len Lipitch: Jewellery Designer

Peter Bielecki:  Sculptor

Elizabeth Wassell : Writer

Diane Martin : Psychic

Toma McCullim : local artist

Denis Quinlan: Former Landlord of The Courtyard Pub in Schull

Billy O’ Sullivan - Publican - O’Sullivans

Florence Newman - Schull Local

Claire Wilkinson - Actress and former Schull Resident

Journalists involved in the story

Michael Sheridan – Sunday Independent

Barry Roche – Irish Times

Paul Byrne – Virgin News Media

Lara Marlowe – Irish Times Paris Correspondent

Daniel Caron- Ireland and UK Correspondent RTL

Viv Hargreaves - Gloucester Citizen

Reconstruction Actor

Anne Cahalane

Witnesses called to testify against Ian Bailey

Irune Reed : Neighbour and mother of Malachi Reed

Malachi Reed: Schull resident

Billy Fuller:  Schull resident

Richard and Rosie Shelley : Schull residents (note: Rosie Shelley died in Jan 2020)

Marie Farrell – Schull shopkeeper

Arianna Boarina – Italian visitor staying with Bailey and his partner, Jules Thomas at the time of the murder.

Detectives, Lawyers and forensic experts

Eugene Gilligan : Garda Forensic detective

Dermot Dwyer : Garda Detective Superintendent

Frank Buttimer – Ian Bailey’s solicitor – 2005- present

About Netflix
Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 208 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About Lightbox
Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, Lightbox is a multi-platform media company creating high quality non-fiction content for an array of distribution platforms.  It was founded by two-time Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching for Sugar Man, Whitney) and Emmy® Award-winning producer Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, American High, Whitney). Lightbox’s recent productions include feature documentary TINA,  directed by Academy Award®-winners TJ Lindsay and Daniel Martin, for HBO Documentary Films and HBO Max, Sky Documentaries and theatrical release, Whitney, a major theatrical feature documentary directed by Academy Award® winner Kevin Macdonald, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; Netflix feature documentary Tell Me Who I Am, which premiered to critical acclaim at Telluride and the London Film Festival; Academy Award®-nominated Black Sheep; Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein, a theatrical documentary which premiered at Sundance 2019 and aired on BBC2 and Hulu; feature documentary Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn for HBO Documentary Films; music- based documentary series Hip Hop Uncovered for FX and Supervillain for Showtime; high-profile Netflix hit series Murder Mountain and Diagnosis, an innovative Netflix Original eight-part documentary series. The company is currently in production on projects for a range of US, UK and international broadcasters, platforms and for theatrical release.