Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak‘s Booker Prize-nominated novel “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World,” which is set in the world of Istanbul sex workers, will be adapted into a feature film by Madrid-based ISB Films and Turkey’s Limon Film.
Shafak, who is Turkey’s most widely read female author, is known for her vast body of work spanning a dozen novels that have been translated into 50 languages. They often delve into themes of human rights, freedom of expression and identity. “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World” is the first of her novels to be adapted into a feature film.
More than a decade ago, she moved from Turkey to the U.K. after her book “The Bastard of Istanbul” – which touches on the mass killings of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire – led her to be tried for “insulting Turkishness,” for which she was eventually acquitted.
Shafak’s taboo-breaking “10 Minutes 38 Seconds” takes its cue from the scientifically proven premise that our brains can remain active for more than 10 minutes after death. It’s the story of Leila — or “Tequila Leila,” as she is known — a sex worker in Istanbul who is murdered at the start of the story. As her brain continues to function, she has a series of memories and flashbacks. Woven into the narrative are remembrances of five cherished friends that had become her surrogate family after her increasingly religious father disowned her.
ISB Films is a recently established production and financing company that is a standalone offshoot of Madrid-based International Sports Broadcasting, which specializes in broadcasting and distribution of live sports events including the Olympics. The shingle is headed by U.S. producer Paul Miller, a former Doha Film Institute head of finance whose production credits include David Gordon Green’s “Snow Angels,” John Travolta starrer “A Love Song for Bobby Long” and, more recently, Saudi Arabian drama “Norah,” which was the country’s first film to make the cut for the Cannes official selection.
Other ISB Films projects in various stages include Lone Scherfig’s “The Movie Teller” and upcoming Poland-set Cold War thriller “The Winter of the Crow,” starring Lesley Manville (“The Crown”).
Limon Film’s productions include “Avlu,” the popular Turkish adaption of Fremantle’s hit Australian drama “Wentworth,” which is a Netflix Turkish original and set in a female prison in Istanbul.
“We are excited to combine our international outlook and financing resources with Limon’s in-depth knowledge of Turkish culture and production,” ISB Films CEO Ursula Romero said in a statement. “This partnership promises to create a unique fusion of creative visions that will elevate the adaptation of Shafak’s work.”
Miller, who is shepherding this rare case of cinematic collaboration between Europe and Turkey, is currently in the process of finding a screenwriter to transpose “10 Minutes 38 Seconds” for the big screen.
Commented Limon CEO Hayri Aslan, “I look forward to the start of a constructive collaboration with ISB Films to create a truly special and successful film.”
