The TELESA Book Series by author Lani Wendt Young has been optioned for a movie by New Zealand production company Multinesia.
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It has also been awarded development funding by the New Zealand Film Commission through their He Ara Development Programme.
The primary purpose of the He Ara Fund is to support NZ Maori and Pasifika film makers and help them create a diverse range of quality films.
The award is significant in that it’s not only funding for the development stage of the project, but it also provides the mentoring support of the NZ Film Commission and other industry professionals.
The application to the NZFC was led by NZ-Cook Islander, Karin Williams, an award winning producer who has worked on documentaries for American television, several short films and plays.
TELES is one of three projects submitted by Multinesia that has been successful in the 2015 He Are application. The initial proposal was for a feature length film, but the NZFC has suggested that Multinesia consider making TELES a high-end international television series – similar to the ‘The Outlander’, ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ – which are all successful television adaptations of books. Karin and her team have a year to make that decision, partner with a scriptwriter and a film studio, and pitch the TELES screen project to investors – both in NZ and abroad.
There are four books in the bestselling TELES Series, with another one due to be released later this year. TELES is a Young Adult Fantasy Romance set in contemporary Samoa, available worldwide in both ebook and paperback format from Amazon.
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