Beta Film has sold the epic European period drama Rise of the Raven to the global entertainment company Lionsgate for the United States and the United Kingdom. Produced by acclaimed producer Robert Lantos, the series immediately reached No.1 on Netflix Hungary, after setting all-time ratings records on its broadcast television premiere on TV2 Hungary.

The deal marks an international milestone for a Hungarian production, as foreign-language series rarely travel to the US and UK. Rise of the Raven was also sold to CBC in Canada, Rai in Italy, SBS in Australia, Telekom Deutschland in Germany, LG Uplus in South Korea, Yes in Israel and across the MENA region, among other territories.

The ten-part series is directed by Oscar-nominated Robert Dornhelm (Vienna Blood, Maria Theresa, War and Peace), Orsi Nagypál (Robin Hood, The Outpost) and Attila Szász (Tall Tales), with Balázs Lengyel (HBO's Golden Life) serving as showrunner and director of the final episode. Producer Robert Lantos’ credits include Oscar Nominees Eastern Promises, Being Julia, Barney’s Version and The Sweet Hereafter (winner of the Grand Prix in Cannes). Other credits include Berlin Silver Bear winners eXistenZ and Museo, Cannes Jury Prize winner Crash and Golden Globe Best Picture nominee Sunshine. Rise of the Raven’s producers include Tibor Krsko, Kinga Hazai, Cecilia Hazai and Ari Lantos.

Based on Mór Bán's bestselling novels, Rise of the Raven tells the story of fearless army commander János Hunyadi (Gellért L. Kádár), who devotes his life to defending Europe against an Ottoman invasion. His life is plagued by scandal, political power plays, and conspiracies between noble families from Italy, Poland, Austria, Serbia, and Hungary. His closest allies are the women in his life: Erzsébet (Vivien Rujder), the wife who not only stands by him, but fights alongside him, and Mara (Franciska Törőcsik), his first love, who becomes the chief concubine at the court of Sultan Murad (Murathan Muslu). When the Ottoman Empire mobilizes an army of unprecedented size to march west with the objective of conquering the Vatican and Europe, Hunyadi leads his small but mighty army to the battlefield, sealing a hard-fought victory. In celebration, Pope Callixtus III orders that churches all over the world shall ring their bells every day at noon. Five centuries later, they still do.

Rise of the Raven is produced by Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta Film, co-produced by Hungary's TV2 Network and Austrian public broadcaster ORF, with the support of the National Film Institute of Hungary. Beta Film handles international sales.