Neon, Double Agent and the U.K.’s Film4 are partnering on the documentary “2073,” from “Amy” director Asif Kapadia.
A vague description of the film indicates that it will “tackle some of the biggest challenges imperiling our future.” The synopsis continues: “Kapadia’s decision to create a genre-bending thriller set in a dystopian future was inspired by Chris Marker’s iconic 1962 featurette ‘La Jetée’ about a time traveler who risks his life to change the course of history and save the future of humanity.”
The companies will co-finance and executive produce the project with Kapadia and George Chignell producing. Davis Guggenheim, Nicole Stott, and Jonathan Silberberg will act as executive producers for Concordia Studio alongside Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films.
Kapadia said: “I want to make an epic about the state of the world, using elements of science fiction as a lens through which to examine the huge questions we are facing as a species and hopefully find solutions, before it’s too late.”
The Oscar winner is best known for his all-archive documentaries “Amy,” “Senna” and “Diego Maradona,” which have premiered at Cannes, Venice, Telluride and Sundance film festivals. Kapadia’s debut fiction feature “The Warrior,” starring the late Irrfan Khan, won two BAFTA film awards.
For “2073,” Kapadia will reunite with his regular creative team, including editor Chris King and composer Antonio Pinto.
Said Dana O’Keefe, president of Double Agent, a non-fiction joint venture between Black Bear Pictures and New Regency: “We bet on filmmakers, and Asif is among the very best out there. His track record really speaks for itself as he consistently delivers unparalleled storytelling, so this is a truly formidable team between Neon, Film4, Concordia, and Left Handed. We are all proud to be joining forces on this innovative, bold and unconventional look at the future.”
Ollie Maddne, director of Film4, added: “Asif is a consistently ground-breaking filmmaker who we’ve been lucky enough to work with on a number of his previous films. This new project, a documentary-style vision of the future, as terrifying as it is an urgent call to action, had us immediately hooked. We can’t wait to see what Asif and his expert team create.”
The deal was negotiated by Jeff Deutchman, Stefanie Fahrion, Michael Heimler, Don McNicholl, Dana O’Keefe and Eric Sloss. Kapadia is represented by lawyers Carlos K. Goodman, Hannah Mulderink, and Jacqueline Hurt as well as Independent Talent Group, WME and Cinetic Media.