The sinking of the MS Estonia on 28 September 1994 is one of the greatest disasters of our time and a national trauma in several countries. Malin Persson was two years old when she lost her father in the ferry disaster. Now she plays one of the characters in the new dramatization “Estonia”.
– It’s a story I grew up with, she says.
Despite the fact that it is almost 30 years since 852 people died when the passenger ferry sank in the Baltic Sea, the Estonia disaster has never stopped touching, not only for the relatives. Many have launched their own theories about why the ferry sank in several documentaries.
Now also comes the first big drama series about Estonia. The series, which premieres behind a paywall on TV4 Play on October 15, has cost almost SEK 200 million to make. It is a co-production between Sweden, Finland and Estonia with actors from all three countries in the roles.
The actor Malin Persson herself does not remember the accident when she was only two years old, but has grown up with the story when her father died on the ferry. Now she herself participates in the series.
– It has been very meaningful for me to be involved, she says in Nyhetsmorgon.
– Acting is a lot about fantasy for me and the biggest fantasy of my life has been what happened to my father, so somehow these two have come together, which created a lot of meaning.
“Unreal”
The drama in the series is very much about the accident commission’s investigation. Who was responsible for the disaster? Despite decades of commissions, analysis groups and several new investigations, no one has been convicted in court as being responsible for what happened. Something that upsets the director Måns Månsson after he sat down with the issue during the preparatory work for the television recording.
– It is unreal that 852 people can lose their lives and that no one bears any responsibility for this, he tells TT.
“Estonia” premieres on TV4 Play on October 15 and on TV4 on October 30.
Stream Estonia here
Reality-based drama series about one of the worst ferry disasters of modern times, from the initial distress call to the accident commission’s final report.