The new mini-series from Oscar-winning director Jane Campion, Top of the Lake, will begin production in early-February in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Campion (The Piano) penned the screenplay with Gerard Lee (Sweetie), and will be directing alongside Australian director Garth Davis (Love My Way).
Top of the Lake follows the troubling search for pregnant 12-year old, Tui, who disappears after last being seen standing chest deep in a frozen lake. The haunting case pushes the boundaries of detective Robin Griffin as she loses herself in the investigation in order to find the missing girl, colliding with Tui’s drug lord father and a guru at a local women’s camp in the process.
The series stars Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss; actor Holly Hunter, who won an Oscar for her role in Campion’s The Piano; BAFTA nominee Peter Mullan of Trainspotting fame, and AFI Award winner David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings). Academy Award winners Emile Sherman and Iain Canning (The King’s Speech) of See-Saw Films will produce the show alongside Philippa Campbell (Black Sheep) of Escapade Pictures.
Set in the remote mountainous regions of New Zealand’s South Island, a statement from BBC Worldwide describes Top of the Lake as a “powerful and haunting mystery about the search for happiness in a paradise where honest work is hard to find”. The mini-series will consist of six one-hour episodes.