4 months ago
Following nan completion of its first characteristic film, Aylin Tezel’s “Falling Into Place” – which Global Screen has conscionable acquired for waste astatine Cannes – Glasgow-based emerging indie Compact Pictures has optioned “The Pharmacist” for development. The novel, nan debut by Scots-Egyptian writer Rachelle Atalla, was chosen arsenic a Sunday Times Book of nan Week and nominated for nan Scottish National Book Award.
Laura McBride from Compact Pictures primitively identified nan book arsenic a cleanable communicative for nan company. The task is moving into improvement pinch Atalla attached to accommodate for nan screen, pinch Compact hoping to unafraid liking successful nan movie during its first outing to adjacent week’s Cannes Film Market.
“The Pharmacist,” hailed arsenic a compulsive and wonderfully compassionate read, is simply a female-led, psychological communicative astir bunker-dwelling survivors successful a post-nuclear world. Wolfe is nan bunker’s pharmacist, doling retired medicine nether nan watchful oculus of an progressively erratic and paranoid leader. When nan leader starts to inquire things of her, favours she tin hardly opportunity nary to, it seems her luck is moving out. Forming improbable alliances, she is forced to navigate nan powder keg of life underground wherever 1 misstep will ray nan fuse. The walls that support her safe besides person her trapped.
John McKay, CEO and lead shaper astatine Compact Pictures, said: “’The Pharmacist’ is simply a stand-out caller and will make an atmospheric, claustrophobic adjustment – successful nan lo-fi, speculative vein of ‘Children of Men,’ but pinch a beardown female perspective. We are thrilled to beryllium moving straight pinch Rachelle; she is simply a charismatic, original and move storytelling sound pinch striking and timely things to opportunity astir women, their bodies and nan authorities of control. Her communicative besides has immoderate uniquely British DNA, and it’s nary coincidence that she has been compared to George Orwell. Even though it’s early days, we person precocious hopes for this project: nan communicative is exceptionally strong, and it readily opens itself to divers casting and unique ocular styling.”
Atalla added: “I americium delighted to beryllium moving pinch John, Laura and nan squad astatine Compact to bring my first caller to nan screen. Even though we are conscionable getting started, they person an unthinkable imagination for my activity and it’s an breathtaking imaginable for maine to move nan book into a screenplay and past spot it travel live connected screen.”
Compact Pictures optioned nan book done Atalla’s agent, Nick Marston astatine Curtis Brown. Atalla is simply a postgraduate of Chris Young’s renowned Skye Film programme and Write4Film. Her 2nd novel, “Thirsty Animals,” has conscionable been published by Hodder and Stoughton to captious acclaim.
In summation to having precocious completed “Falling Into Place,” a co-production pinch Weydemann Bros, Compact Pictures’ different existent characteristic projects see James Ley’s sparkling cheery romcom, “Lovesong to Lavender Menace,” which has conscionable been selected for Inside Out 2023, nan finance forum successful Toronto, and “Spyglass,” an original family action characteristic from YA writer David Solomons (“Not Another Happy Ending”). Compact Pictures besides has a increasing slate of TV drama, including “The Hum,” an eight-part, sophisticated, high-concept thriller created by writer James Mavor (“Reichenbacj Falls”).
