First Hand Films has picked up international rights on Seville-based Maestranza Films' forthcoming English-language "false documentary" Truth & Lies, a co-production with Germany's Broadview.tv and France's Dune.

Billed as a "journalistic thriller" mixing real events and news clips with fiction, Truth & Lies tells the story of two journalists investigating the mysterious death of fictionalised global media magnate Martin Zeman.

Emmy-nominated veteran TV director Javier Diez Moro wrote the script and will direct the film, which is set to begin shooting March 3 between Madrid, Paris, Cologne, Dusseldorf and New York. More than 20 actors from various countries, including several high-profile cameos, are expected.

Best known internationally as the producer behind Benito Zambrano's award-winning drama Alone (Solas), Perez is currently prepping Zambrano's next film, Havana Blues, and pending the theatrical release of Seville-set documentary South Polygon (Poligono Sur).

Founded in 1998 by Esther van Messel, the Zurich- and Berlin-based First Hand Films represents a catalogue of documentaries, feature films and series. Its first pick-up, The Long Way Home, received an Academy Award for best documentary feature.