France's TF1 International is in negotiations to co-produce and handle world rights on Spanish production The Devil's Beauty, an ambitious English-language project in development at Madrid-based Kino Vision.

The $35m project has attracted international attention since it was announced last year. The script, which is being adapted by Enrique Urbizu, who will also direct, is based on the novel by French writer Laurent Haloche.

Set at the turn of the 19th century, the story is part thriller and part epic drama. After witnessing her parents' execution, a young girl escapes America to Europe where she embarks on a career as a chef. Only her lover, an older man committed to protecting her no matter the cost, knows of her penchant for using human body parts as ingredients.

Kino Vision chief Inaki Nunez says casting will take place in the US and Europe, and shooting is scheduled for February 2002. Via Digital has pay-TV rights in Spain.

Best known as the originator of 1999's The Ninth Gate, director Roman Polanski's blockbuster thriller starring Johnny Depp and co-scripted by Urbizu, Kino Vision is the start-up production arm of twin Spanish distribution houses Araba Films and Escarlata Films, which between them handle about ten commercial and independent titles per year. Nunez also owns 36 cinema screens in Spain, mostly located between the Basque Country and Madrid.

Topics