6 x 90 minutes
Art Crime
How did two Van Gogh disappear in Amsterdam to resurface in Naples fourteen years later in the kitchen of a Camorra dealer? Seven masterpieces of Italian Renaissance were taken in Budapest in the middle of the cold war. How did they end up in the garden of a Greek Monastery? What happened to the famous Nativity with Saint Francis by Caravaggio in the hands of mafia boss Badalamenti?
Art Crimes will take us inside the most unbelievable and intriguing international art robberies of the century. From Amsterdam to Athens, from Rome to Miami, Naples to Bucharest, each documentary thriller will bring us behind the story of one famous art theft with exclusive access to the criminals behind each robbery and the detectives that caught them or tried to.
Through highly cinematic multi-camera interviews, surveillance camera footage, trial records as well as the exclusive access to protagonists and incredibly realistic reconstructions each film brings each investigation back to life on the hunt of the world’s most famous masterpieces.
From dodgy art dealers in Amsterdam to undercover Scotland Yard investigators, from small town thieves to the most well planned actions, discover six unbelievable stories with plot twists and the unexpected scenarios of a Hollywood film. Yet it’s all rea and better than fiction!
Production: Unknown Media GmbH / Doclab SRL
Broadcaster: RBB / Arte ( Germany / France) , SKY Italia (Italy)
Format: Series 6 x 90min Stand Alone Episodes
Broadcast: Autumn 2022 to Spring 2023 (on ARTE , RBB and Sky Italia)
Producer / Showrunner: Stefano Strocchi.
Directors: Strocchi, Barbieri, Andersen, Morell, Sambuchi.
Photography: Jakob Stark.
Montage: Christian R. Timmann.
Musics: Giorgio Li Calzi, Moritz Denis, Eike Hosenfeld, Uwe Bossenz, Fabio Viana, Mario Congiu.
WORLD SALES: MetFilmSales
https://www.metfilmsales.com/
EPISODE 1 VAN GOGH: AMSTERDAM 2002
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2002. SOLVED in 2016 Naples 2007. An International Narco-traffic investigation brings procurator Vincenza Marra on the of two Van Gogh paintings stolen in 2002 and never found. While in Amsterdam thieves Octave Durham and Henk Bijslein recall their incredible theft, the investigation by Dutch and Italian police will take them closer to the paintings.
Director: Stefano Strocchi
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Giorgio Li Calzi
E2 MUNCH: OSLO 1994
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2002. SOLVED in 2016 Naples 2007. An International Narco-traffic investigation brings procurator Vincenza Marra on the of two Van Gogh paintings stolen in 2002 and never found. While in Amsterdam thieves Octave Durham and Henk Bijslein recall their incredible theft, the investigation by Dutch and Italian police will take them closer to the paintings.
Director: Stefano Strocchi, Stig Andersen
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Moritz Denis, Eike Hosenfeld
E3 RAPHAEL: BUDAPEST 1983
Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary 1983. SOLVED in 1984.
In the middle of the cold war, seven masterpieces by Italian Reinassence masters,
including world famous Holy Mary of Esterhazy disappear from the Budapest Museum.
One year later, the paintings reappear inside a Greek monastery. Yet all traces lead
to an Italian group of criminals. Finally out of prison, Giordano Incerti takes us back
to what really happened in 1984.
Director: Giotto Barbieri+
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Moritz Denis, Eike Hosenfeld
E4 FRANS HALS: GOTHA 1979
Friedenstein Castle, Gotha, Germany 1979. SOLVED in 2019.
Gotha, East Germany, 1979. Five Dutch masterpieces disappear from the
Friedenstein Castle. Police and Stasi investigations lead nowhere, the master pieces
are lost. In 2019 a mysterious lawyer offers the paintings to the Mayor of Gotha.
Inspector Rene’ Allonge opens an investigation that takes him 40 years in the past
and allows him to finally solve the case.
Director: Stefano Stocchi, Chiara Sambuchi
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Uwe Bossenz
E5 CARAVAGGIO: PALERMO 1969
Saint Lawrence Church, Palermo, Italy 1969. UNSOLVED
Two small-town thieves steal the last painting by Caravaggio “Nativity with Saint
Francis and Saint Lawrence” in Sicily in 1969.
Since then, all traces of the masterpiece disappear, amidst rumors that the painting
has been burnt by the Mafia. In 2016 anti-mafia procurator Marzia Sabella finally finds traces of the masterpiece, thanks to the collaboration of two Mafia bosses.
Director: Andreas Morell, Stefano Strocchi
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Giorgio Li Calzi
E6 BRUEGHEL: NICE 2007
Musee Chéret, Nice, France 2007. SOLVED in 2009
A French criminal in Miami stumbles upon the opportunity of his lifetime: a group of Narcos is looking for European works of art. Soon after, two Brueghel, a Monet and a Sisley disappear from the Nice Fine Arts Museum in a spectacular hit. To Patrice Lhomme and his gang it seemed the perfect crime: in and out in 5 minutes with rich clients waiting to buy them. But they missed something important…
Director: Stefano Strocchi
Photography: Jakob Stark
Montage: Christian R. Timmann
Music: Fabio Viana
Behind the Scenes
About
Unknown Media is a Berlin-based independent production company mainly dedicated to high- end documentary series, founded in 2019 by producer and director Stefano Strocchi. Unknown Media develops and produces series for the international broadcasting and streaming market, with a specific focus on entertainment through true crime, arts and culture and incredible human stories.
In 2022 Unknown Media produced the 6 x 90 min thriller documentary series ART CRIMES in co- production with Doclab (Italy), rbb/ARTE, SKY Italia, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg and Creative Europe.
In 2025 the true crime 3 x 35 min series “Millionen Fake” (Master Forger) premiered on ARD Mediathek, realized in co-production with Indyca (Italy) and ARD Kultur, WDR, NDR, rbb and SWR, with the support of Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, Creative Europe, MIC, IDM and Film Commission Torino Piemonte.
Unknown Media is on a constant journey to experiment with the serial format by mixing genres from true crime to comedy. The goal is to create original and engaging narrative experiences with exceptional access to protagonists and stories through an innovative fusion of documentary and fiction.
Contact
info@unknownmedia.de
Sales world wide
sales@metfilm.co.uk