Jan Kounen, the French director behind the stylish and hyper-violent 1997 comic-book adaptation Dobermann, is to show another side of his character with the launch of a new series of spiritual and eco-friendly documentaries.

Kounen, who is just completing post-production of Blueberry, a stylised fantasy Western, that weighs in with a massive Euros 34m budget, is now preparing a five part-documentary series, Another Reality. The films span the world's forgotten peoples, overlooked traditions and the diverse forms of shamanism.

The Euros 1.5m-Euros 1.8m per-episode series is to be produced by Les Productions De La Roche and distributed internationally through venerable TV sales outfit Tele-Images.

Some episodes will be directed by Kounen himself and others by Laetitia Merli, George Oxley and Jean-Paul Seresin. Locations include India, the Himalayas, an island in the South China Sea and west Africa.

"People will be surprised. Jan [Kounen] has changed a lot," said series producer Manuel De La Roche. "He has a message of peace which we all need."

Blueberry (aka Muraya, l'Experience Secrete De Mike Blueberry) which stars Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen and Juliette Lewis, is set to be given a major teaser campaign at Cannes and a very wide French release at Christmas.

Topics