Scripted

Keshet International (KI) today announces that it is developing a drama co-production, Diamonds with leading Belgian producer, De Mensen. This Flemish, English and French speaking project focuses on an ultra-orthodox Jewish family who work in the Diamond industry.

Based on an idea from De Mensen’s Jan Theys, who will be producing the series, Diamonds will be written by Israeli writers Rotem Shamir (Fauda, Hostages, 300) and Yuval Yefet (Stardrive7, Last of You) who are working in association with Belgian writer Paul Piedfort (Aspe, The Hell of Tangiers, The Rodenburgs, Professor T).

Diamonds is largely set in Belgium and follows the story of the Wagner family. When their youngest son commits suicide his long-estranged brother, Noah, who has abandoned the orthodox life, returns from America shrouded in mysterious intentions.

He soon learns that his supposedly successful family is in fact on the brink of collapse. A devastatingly shady deal and has been made in a last-ditch fight for survival. When confronted with this Noah decides to take charge and fix things his own way. As a result he is forced to dig deep into the dark criminal underbelly of the diamond trade.

This co-production is in line with Kl’s on-going commitment to build creative cross-border partnerships designed to pair off-screen talent with the Company’s vast network of producers. A key aim is to exploit projects rich in international potential and simultaneously to bolster De Mensen’s ambitions to strengthen its international development as well as the vast appeal of its successful Flemish productions.

Atar Dekel, Head of Global Original Drama, Keshet International, said: “We are delighted to be working with our valued partners De Mensen to develop this series. We knew instantly what a brilliant idea it was when Jan Theys pitched it to us early last year. We all loved the story immediately. This co-development, brokered by Anke Stoll, our Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, shows the strength of KI’s ability to attach highly talented Israeli writers and directors to International projects. We want to give stories like Diamonds an organic and true co-production model.”

Jan Theys, Executive Producer for De Mensen, added, “There couldn’t be a more natural combination of talent to tell this unique story about the diamond trade. KI and De Mensen are both ambitious companies, driven by creativity in content and Diamonds will be reflective of that.”

Keshet and De Mensen have started talks with potential international co-producers and co-financiers.

De Mensen is a leading fully independent audiovisual producer in Belgium. Founded 25 years ago, De Mensen first established itself as a creative producer of non-scripted TV shows, before moving into scripted television five years ago. De Mensen has had recent international success with scripted series such as Salamander, Professor T, Beau Séjour, Chaussée d’Amour and Team Chocolat.

The co-production partnership builds on several recent projects between KI and De Mensen including the recent Keshet Studios remake of De Mensen’s crime drama Salamander (piloted in the US in May 2017) and the comedy satire series Generation B which was launched to the international market by KI at MIPCOM.