‘Gomorrah’ Writers Join Citizen-Journalism Series ‘The Kollective’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Stewart Clarke
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli, writers on hit Italian drama “Gomorrah,” have signed on to be writers and showrunners on “The Kollective,” another true-life-inspired scripted series.
The show hails from Amsterdam-based producer Submarine. It is inspired by its well-received feature documentary “Bellingcat – Truth in a Post-Truth World,” which was directed by Hans Pool. It followed the citizen journalism collective . The series will follow a fictional U.K.-based group called The Kollective, which is at the cutting edge of investigative journalism.
The Fasoli and Ravagli-penned series will trace events after a member of The Kollective dies in mysterious circumstances in Cairo, Egypt. While investigating what happened, his friends and colleagues find themselves trapped in a plot that threatens global democracy. The series will be predominantly English-language and unfold across various international locations.
“We love investigating what is happening in the world around us and tackling difficult questions through our work,” said Fasoli and Ravagli. “We feel the battle for truth against fake news exploited in order to direct the public opinion is the battle for freedom in our time, a fight for the millennial generation. ‘The Kollective’ explores these urgent issues through the narrative – ‘Is the truth dead? And if not, what is the price we are ready to pay in order to keep the truth alive?’”
“The Kollective” was pitched at the Series Mania event in March, at which point Submarine had a bible, but had not attached writers. No broadcaster or platform is yet on board the project, but established and timely source material and a high-caliber writing team makes “The Kollective” a strong package as a European co-production, or for a streamer or pay TV outfit. Fasoli and Ravagli’s other credits include the series “ZeroZeroZero,” which is in the official selection at the Venice Film Festival.
In its review of “Bellingcat – Truth in a Post-Truth World,” Variety said “Hans Pool’s cutting-edge documentary profile of citizen journalist collective Bellingcat feels like a spy thriller at times.”
“When I was producing the Bellingcat documentary and got to know the founder and some of the other members and got deeper into the story, and looking at what’s happening in the world today, it just seemed such a natural idea for a drama series,” Submarine co-founder Femke Wolting told Variety.
“It’s not an adaptation – but it took inspiration from the documentary and is about a small group of young people who go out looking for the truth,” she added. “It will be a contemporary style thriller about a group using the same methods as Bellingcat.”
