Antena 3 Films to co-produce terrorist drama Kazajo

Hot Spanish talent Alex Pina [pictured] is to write and direct terrorist comedy-drama Kazajo with backing from Cangrejo Films, Antena 3 Films and Globomedia, the co-producers behind smash hits Three Meters Above The Sky and Brain Drain.

Kazajo is being co-written by Pina and Ivan Escobar, who worked together on hit TV series The Boat, and tells the story of a suicide terrorist who boards a plane for New York, but whose plans are thwarted by a snow storm which forces the pilot to land in a remote place where all the passengers have to stay together in a hotel for a few days. The terrorist reluctantly gets to know some of the passengers and eventually befriends them, becoming torn about what to do when they are airborne again.

The producers are still deciding whether to make it in Spanish or English, but are aiming for a quality international cast. Shooting is expected to take place at the end of this year.

Antena 3 Films has also joined Futbolin, the new animation film from The Secret In Their Eyes director Juan Jose Campanella as co-producers, alongside Spanish outfit Plural-Jempsa and in collaboration with Argentinian production company Jempsa and broadcaster Canal +.

Futbolin is a 3D animation based on a report written by journalist Roberto Fontanarrosa called Memories Of A Right Wing (Memorias De Un Wing Derecho) about the adventures of a a young fussball player called Amadeo who has to take on his old rival called The Crack, but this time on a real football pitch.

Campanella is writing the script with Secret In Their Eyes co-writer Eduardo Sacheri, Axel Kuschevatzky and Gaston Gorali. Sergio Pablos, creator and executive producer of the worldwide hit animation Despicable Me, has joined the project as animation supervisor.

“As with Kazajo we keep betting on new talented directors to maintain our good box office track record and connection with the public, just as we did with Fernando Gonzalez (Three Meters Above The Sky) and Guillem Morales (Julia’s Eyes),” Mercedes Gamero, general director of Antena 3 Films, told ScreenDaily. “At the same time we are also opting for established directors with great international potential like [Juan Carlos] Fresnadillo, Rodrigo [Cortes] and Campanella to make a powerful, commercial and quality slate of people.”

In further news, Warner Bros will distribute Tengo Ganas De Ti in Spain. The sequel to Three Meters Above The Sky, Spain’s most successful title at the local box office last year taking $11.5m. Both films are co-produced by Antena 3 Films.

Other forthcoming Antena 3 Films projects include Don’t Call It Love, Call It XXX, which will premiere in Spain through Vertice 360 on May 6, The Opposite Of Love (Sony, August 26), Intruders (Universal, October 7), Blind Alley (DeaPlaneta) and Red Lights (Warner Bros).