EXCLUSIVE: Guido Rud’s FilmSharks International has prevailed in a bidding war, acquiring feature rights to Abel Basti’s Latin American publishing sensation.

Buenos Aires-based Rud is developing the project with Amsterdam-based European Film Company, the company behind Kidnapping Freddy Heineken that is understood to be bringing equity and soft money to the table.

Rud is aiming for a studio-level feature, preferably in Argentina, and will commence pre-sales at the AFM.

In After Hitler’s Steps Basti produces evidence purporting to show how the Führer survived WWII and fled to Argentina and Paraguay, where he lived until his death in the 1970s.

The world-renowned authority on the Third Reich and the flight of Nazis to Latin America and the US is adapting the screenplay. His previous work has been acquired by the BBC and he wrote a documentary that aired on History Channel called Hitler’s Escape (El Escape De Hitler).

Producing is Pablo Bossi, Fabian Bielinsky’s producer on Argentinian hits The Aura (El Aura) and Nine Queens who brings Argentinian and Spanish soft money.

Bossi is also producing family adventure The Games Maker starring Joseph Fiennes, which Disney distributes worldwide and has already released across Latin America including Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.

The filmmakers said they were in talks with a major Iberoamerican director.

“We are very proud and excited to announce the development and production of After Hitler’s Steps with Guido Rud of Film Sharks,” said European Film Company managing partners Daniel Koefoed and Guirec van Slingelandt.

“This will be the first project of a long-term partnership between our European and South American entities.”