‘The Madigan Chronicles’ Optioned By Particle6
Mystical book series The Madigan Chronicles is to be turned into a TV series by UK indie Particle6 Productions. Particle6 has acquired the rights to Marieke Lexmond’s six-book series, which includes the likes of The Dagger, The Magical Tarot Deck and The Wand. The books tell the story of three generations of headstrong witches and their struggle to work together to keep a centuries-old promise and stop a dark witch from claiming a powerful elemental object. While a pilot is being penned for The Dagger, Particle6 is taking a unique approach to the deal by seeking to drive further demand for the IP by creating viral TikTok videos and by developing Magical Spell necklaces, which will be promoted via social media. “Particle6 is big on testing and analytics, and we always work hard to identify the right audience for every project,” said Eline van der Velden, who founded the indie. “Given what Marieke and [illustrator] Nicole [Ruijgrok] have already established, we have a brilliant opportunity to build on that and test and grow the market.”
BFI Sets London Film Festival Juries
The BFI has set the jury for this year’s London Film Festival competition strands. Mexican filmmaker Amat Escalante will lead the Official Competition jury. His latest feature, Lost in the Night, is also playing in the thrill strand at LFF. The First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) jury will be headed by Rye Lane filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller. Rubika Shah will lead the jury documentary competition while Scrapper filmmaker Charlotte Regan will lead the jury selecting the best short film. “I’m honored to have such esteemed filmmakers, curators, and industry leaders join us in London this year, and look forward to the unique perspective that each jury member will bring to the films in competition,” LFF head Kristy Matheson said. This year is Matheson’s first year at the helm.
First Arabic-Language Musical Feature To Debut Next Month
The first Arabic-language musical feature has been forged by MBC and will debut across MENA next month. Sukkar follows the journey of the protagonist and her friends who live in an orphanage, waking up every day with hopes of transforming their lives into something more meaningful and colourful. Created by Heba Mashari Hamada and featuring original songs, Sukkar draws inspiration from Jean Webster’s famous epistolary novel Daddy-Long-Legs. The movie will be released October 12 by Empire Entertainment. Directed by Tamer Mahdy, Sukkar stars Hala Turk in the lead role, alongside a host of young newcomers from around the GCC and Middle East, including Yasmina El Abd, Hajar Mohammed, Wedeema Ahmad, Maria Jumaah, Moataz Hesham, Mohammad Al-Harbi, Bavly Remon, and twins Abdullah Khaled and Omar Khaled. Also starring in the production are Magda Zaki, Reham Al Shanawany and Mohammed Tharwat.
