Flesh, a television drama series conceived by local content developer Spacegrow, attracted interest from international channels and distributors at the major international content market MIPCOM, held in October in Cannes, France. The series, which centres on a suspense drama about a spree of shocking serial killings in Cape Town, was initiated in January 2009 and a pilot episode was shot in Johannesburg and Cape Town in July.
Well respected South African screenwriter and producer Franz Marx will produce the thriller. Marx was responsible for acclaimed long-form television content since 1979 and initiated the popular M-Net soapie Egoli, which, after an 18 year run, will come off air in March 2010 followed by a theatre release of Egoli The Movie.
Marx studied novel and telenovela formats in Rio de Janeiro and the United States. In order to ensure that the content would appeal to an international market, Spacegrow and Marx also engaged the services of a number of well-regarded consultant producers in the United States.
ÒThe development process was fairly complicated,Ó says SpacegrowÕs Morne Ebersohn, Òespecially due to the fact that the preferences of various television markets often differ in quite subtle ways.Ó
Read more in the November/December 2009 issue of Screen Africa
