SYNOPSIS:

The Secret Letters of Mary Queen of Scots traces the extraordinary story of amateur codebreakers Satoshi Tomokiyo, George Lasry and Norbert Biermann who collaborated across continents to decipher a mysterious cache of coded letters and discovered they were from Mary Queen of Scots. With whispers of spies and a treacherous son, the unlocked codes bring new insights into Mary’s long years of captivity in Elizabethan England, her power plays, complaints and clandestine methods for communicating with her followers. Set against Mary’s dramatic journey - from infant queen, through civil war, abdication and years of captivity - the film examines the lengths Mary went to conceal her words and the ingenuity needed to decode her letters today, even with the help of 21st century computing.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

After studying cinema at INSAS (Brussels), Augustin directed short programmes (Canal+, TF1, M6) beforedevoting himself to documentaries on culture, nature and exploration for most broadcasters (France Télévision, Arte, Canal+). He signs the image of the films he directs andalso works as a cinematographer on other projects than

his own. Always attentive to the formal treatment of his productions, Augustin is inspired by his passion for cinema. He is the author of a feature film script, «Selva», developed with the production company Nord-Ouest Films.