The Ink Factory (“Fighting with My Family”, “The Night Manager”, “The Little Drummer Girl”) and German production company Amusement Park (“All Quiet on the Western Front”, “Munich Games”) are partnering to produce a TV series adaptation of international bestseller The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili.
The project has recently been awarded a funding grant from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg which will enable accelerated development.
Award-winning writer and producer Sarah Lambert is attached as showrunner for “The Eighth Life”, which has been envisioned as a returning, English language series. Her credits include forthcoming Amazon Studios adaptation “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart”, produced by Amazon Studios, Made-Up Stories and FIFTH SEASON, and starring Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning actor Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, Alien) and AACTA award winner Asher Keddie (“Nine Perfect Strangers”, “Offspring”); the recent adaptation of Markus Zusak’s novel, “The Messenger” for Lingo Pictures and ABCTV, and the multi-award winning drama “Lambs of God”, an adaptation of the Marele Day novel of the same name again for Lingo Pictures and Foxtel.
Fusing music, dance and the great tides of the Red Century, “The Eighth Life” is a mythic tale that follows its courageous characters across time and place as they fight for freedom: from ancient, mountainous cave cities to the turbulent streets of Tbilisi, from Soviet Russia to revolutionary Prague and 1960s Soho. A journey framed by the haunted city of Berlin where, as in the book, traces of the past inhabit the present day. This is where our passionate story of dreams, revolution, forbidden love, revenge, betrayal and deep humanity will begin, and where hope for the future will finally be found.
Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, co-CEOs and Founders at The Ink Factory, said: “Nino Haratischvili’s book is timely, powerful and remarkable, and we are honoured to have the opportunity to adapt it, together with our illustrious colleagues at Amusement Park and the multi-talented Sarah Lambert. A metaphor for our own lives and described as a ‘War and Peace’ for the 21st century, ‘The Eighth Life’ is a 1000-page masterpiece full of pain, joy and romance, and it has already established itself as one of the great works of literature of the last fifty years. We are grateful to the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg for their faith in this project and their shared vision of its extraordinary potential.”
Malte Grunert and Amelie von Kienlin, partners in Amusement Park, said: ““The Eighth Life” is a bold, emotional and sovereign piece of literature that gives a strong voice to the women of that era, and indeed of the present day. It screams to be adapted into a series. We are incredibly excited to become part of this ambitious project and to be partnering with our long-time collaborators at The Ink Factory, and the outstanding showrunner Sarah Lambert.”
Sarah Lambert said: “Nino Haratischvili’s brilliant novel is an utterly compelling and emotionally powerful story of one family navigating the sweeping tides of Georgia’s tumultuous history. “The Eighth Life” cast a spell over me, gripped me from beginning to end, with its extraordinary cast of characters and unique female lens on the Red Century. I’m so thrilled to be working alongside Nino and the fabulous creative teams at The Ink Factory and Amusement Park to bring this epic story to audiences around the world.”
Author Nino Haratischvili said: “I am incredibly excited and grateful that “The Eighth Life” will be brought to another life by these wonderful people. I can’t wait to meet my characters on screen. It’s a wonderful odyssey that I’ve been looking forward to for so long, and the fact that it’s now starting to take shape, that the great Sarah is taking on the book to translate it into another medium, makes me look forward to the future with hope and joy.”
The series will be produced by Malte Grunert, Amelie von Kienlin and Susanne Kapitzky for Amusement Park; Simon Cornwell, Stephen Cornwell and Michele Wolkoff for The Ink Factory; and Maggie Boden.
Academy Award winning Amusement Park was one of the co-producers on The Ink Factory’s 2014 feature A Most Wanted Man directed by Anthony Corbijn and starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and Daniel Brühl, based on John le Carré’s bestseller of the same name. Brühl is a partner at Amusement Park, alongside founder Malte Grunert, Amelie von Kienlin and Klaus Dohle. The two companies are also currently collaborating on a series adaptation of A Most Wanted Man, adapted by “Snabba Cash” Creator Oskar Söderlund.
Picture copyright – G2 Baraniak
Jon Creamer
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