Colombia’s Expanding Fidelio Films, Turkey’s Karlakum Film in Development on Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Double’s Dilema’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Hot off its announcement of strategic co-production alliances for film and TV with Gaumont and Spain’s Planeta and Amor y Lujo, Colombia’s Fidelio Films has linked up with Karlakum Film in Turkey.
In its latest international collaboration, Fidelio partner Mauricio Leiva Cock is partnering with Esra Saydam, founder of Karlakum Film, to adapt Murat Menteş’ best seller “Double’s Dilemma” into an eight-episode TV series.
The show follows an albino orphan named Nuh Tufan who confidently moves through Istanbul’s underworld as the leader of the small, yet successful criminal organization known as Black M-Agency. When his best friend invents a machine that can print hyper realistic masks that allow the wearer to look like anyone they want, the eyes of the mafia and the streets of Istanbul will start paying attention to what the two friends can do with such revolutionary tech.
This high-end concept thriller looks set to drive into dark comedy and sci-fi, always maintaining a social commentary in the line of “Mr. Robot” or “Money Heist.” The complex structure of Menteş’ novel allows the co-creators to add flair with Gondry-esque imagery and expand on its rich lore for following seasons.
Above all else, the alliance marks a meeting of independent productions from southern regions of the world that stress the great value that lies in collaboration, both in terms of production and in introducing new voices to the international market.
“With other developing countries there is a thematic affinity and we can together improve our narratives” said Leiva-Cock
He added. “To us, it begs the question: How do we avoid telling the same stories and instead take risks in Latin America? How do we tell new stories with the volume and quality with which they are made in Europe and North America?’”
“I love to produce via international collaboration, bypassing the main highways. I don’t need to reach out to Colombia through North America or Europe, we can build our own bridges,” said Saydam, a Berlinale talent whose work as a director and producer have been seen at festivals such as Raindance and Warsaw.
She went on: “I feel close to South American culture, especially in our family values. I think it might be in our DNA. What we have in common is that sometimes Western culture limits how we are portrayed. We are always shown as exotic, but sometimes we don’t want to be seen that way.”
As the century leaps forward in technological terms, new generations of filmmakers in developing countries, raised in a globalized culture that offers them access to all types of audiovisual content, now understand that their voices are louder and more interesting when put together.
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