UK-born, Cologne-based director Steve Hudson has launched his own production company GRINGO Films with producer Sonja Ewers to develop and produce international features.

They are in Berlin to meet potential partners to board their first two feature projects which are currently at the stage of script development.

The first project, Zen And The Art Of Archery, based on the international bestseller by German philosopher Eugen Herrigel, is being developed with Japanese co-producer Kiyoshi Mizokami's company Twin-M, which originally approachedGringo Films with the idea for the film.

'We optioned the book in German and it is intended to have a Japanese director to direct. There could be some shooting and postproduction work done in Germany,' Hudson told Berlinale ScreenDaily.

Script funding has been granted by the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

In addition,Gringo Films is working with pioneering MTV presenter Steve Blame on Take The Blame about the rise, fall and wild excesses of the 1980s London nightclub scene. The screenplay is being co-written by Blame with Hudson and has received backing from Filmstiftung NRW.

Hudson and Ewers had previously worked together on Hudson's feature debut True North, the 2006 German-UK-Irish co-production which was produced by Ewers' other company Ariel Films.