Hot on the heels of the crews who made Shetland and the dancing pony commercial, another film unit is due in the islands shortly to make a Hollywood thriller.
'Sacrifice' , a novel by SJ Bolton, is the inspiration for a feature film starring Connie Nielsen, Charles Dance and Rupert Graves. The story centres on consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton, who, not long after moving to Shetland, makes a gruesome discovery, the body of a young woman from which the heart has been brutally removed. There are mysterious rune marks on the body, which it seems are linked to an ancient legend. Ignoring advice to let the matter rest, Tora finds herself drawn into a disturbing, threatening drama.
The novel, Ms Bolton's first, was voted 'Best New Read' on Amazon.co.uk and was one of Waterstone's 'Best of the New Blood' promotions. It was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers' Best First Novel award, the Mary Higgins Clark award and, in France, the Prix du Polar.
The screenplay is by Peter Dowling, who will also direct the film. It will be shot in Shetland, Ireland and Manhattan.
Meanwhile, the BBC has announced that six further episodes of Shetland have been commissioned for BBC1. Preparations for filming, which will take place later this year, are well under way.