Double's Dilemma

Pitchees: Esra Saydam and Mauricio Leiva-Cock (writers/producers)

Double's Dilemma
Nuh is a low-level criminal in his 20s who runs an underground business with a gang of misfits in Istanbul. Because of his albinism, Nuh has struggled his entire life. The world has failed to accept him as a normal human being except for his best friend, Ibrahim, another outsider, but one that comes from wealth.

Ibrahim and Nuh are like soulmates. They go to prayers together, they discuss comic books non-stop together. Ibrahim, a devout Muslim with great curiosity about science, loves to invent for Nuh because he can sense Nuh’s yearning to belong. The day arrives for Ibrahim when he introduces his masterpiece to Nuh: a machine that can print hyper-realistic masks that can be used as facial replicas of anyone they want. By creating these masks, Ibrahim aims to give Nuh, finally, the ability to be normal and belong. The paradox is that Nuh can achieve this only by adopting somebody else’s face.

Initially this doesn’t seem to be a problem as the friends enjoy their new toy. Nuh expands his criminal business as he begins to work as the double for his new shady clients wearing these masks. However, as he dives deep into the lives of his clients, he becomes irreversibly seduced by the privileges the masks offer and he gradually abandons his own identity, and life, putting his friends and himself in grave danger.

Based on the best-selling novel by Murat Mentes.

Project Information:
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
Format: 8x45’
Writers: Esra Saydam and Mauricio Leiva-Cock
Director: TBC
Producers: Esra Saydam, Mauricio Leiva-Cock and Atilla Salih Yucer
Partners: Karlakum Film, Fidelio Films, Yaka Film (production companies)
Development stage: Treatment
Planned shooting start:March 2022
Shooting location: Istanbul, Turkey
Languages: Turkish
Total budget: €5.202m
Budget per episode: €650,300
Financing already in place: €780,400 (15%)

Looking for from the International Business:
TV studios, major production houses and distributors (broadcasters and streamers) that are open to international coproductions and can co-finance and co-develop our show.

Company profile:
Yaka Film
Founded in Istanbul by Atilla Salih Yucer, known for his production work and collaboration with auteurs like Jim Jarmusch, Steve McQueen and Yorgos Lanthimos. Currently, Atilla focuses on developing TV content in the Turkey region with partners like Netflix.
Credits (as himself): Shame (2011), Halloween (2018), The Favourite (2018), The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Contact: [email protected]

Fidelio Films
An independent production company with offices in Bogota, Mexico City, Toronto and Zurich. Fidelio has taken its projects to audiences worldwide focusing on modern-day cross-cultural narratives producing and developing content in four continents. Its first feature, Copenhagen, won the Audience Award at Slamdance and the Grand Jury Award at Florida FF and Candelaria, directed by Johnny Hendrix, picked up the top prize at Venice Days 2017.
TV Credits: Ruido Capital (2020, Movistar), Green Frontier (2019, Netflix), Tijuana (2019, Netflix) and Emmy winner Falco (Amazon, Telemundo and TNT)
Contact: [email protected]

Karlakum Film
Founded in Istanbul by Esra Saydam as the sister company of Sand & Snow Films (New York). Both companies aim to create borderless thought-provoking projects and provide production and casting services to other projects.
Credits: Across The Sea (2014, Audience Award at Slamdance), Music of Strangers (2016, HBO), Rebel Music (2015, MTV), A Period Piece (2020, SXSW), I'm No Longer Here (2020, Netflix)
Contact: [email protected]