Sergei Bespalov’s production, financing, worldwide sales and distribution company Sunrise Entertainment will adapt Ivan Turgenev’s play Fortune’s Fool into a feature.

The company anticipates a summer 2011 shoot in St Petersburg, Russia, and is financing with Benedick Bates, who made his Broadway debut alongside his father Alan Bates and Frank Langella in the Tony Award wining play.

Sunrise executive vice-president of development Richard Reid will producer the comedic tale about a budding statesman and his aristocratic wife who retreat to a country estate for their honeymoon. Mike Poulton will adapt for the screen.

“A period piece of this stature consistently garners the attention of the media and audiences and based on the overwhelming success of the various adaptations of the story, we believe it will thrive as a feature film,” Bespalov said.

Sunrise recently acquired sales rights to the Russian foreign language Oscar entry The Edge and is talking to buyers at AFM.

The company aims to release three to six features a year comprising in-house productions and acquisitions.

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