Chile’s Clara Films and Barcelona-based VFX studio Unbound Hub have forged a strategic development pact for the upcoming dystopian TV series, “Numana.”
Created by Argentine writers Jesica Arán (“Pájaros Negros”) and Soledad Velasco (Disney+’s “Dreaming High”), the project participated atConecta Fiction’s High End Pitch session.
“We are thrilled to partner with Unbound Hub in the development of ‘Numana,’” said producer Clara Larrain of Clara Films.
“Nowadays, investors fear unpredictable budgets that a series like this can mean, so having Unbound Hub on board this early will be instrumental not only in bringing our dystopian vision to life, but in reducing risk.”
“Together, we aim to create an immersive and captivating viewing experience that will maximize production value and simplify our VFX journey,” she added.
“Numana” is set in the year 2069 when babies are made on demand by an all-powerful company called Numana. Alex and Mia are among those babies-on-demand. Alex is flawed while Mia is the perfect version. Years later they find out that they were accidentally swapped as babies and the only way for them to survive is to overthrow the omnipotent Numana.
“The ontological question asked by this TV show is: What are we willing to sacrifice for our own salvation? As soon as we become products, we lose the essence of what makes us unique: Remaining human,” said Velasco and Arán, adding: “Being Numano [a genetically modified product of the Numana Babies program], is a way of losing some of our humanity.”
Inspired by the dystopian near-future universes of such classics as Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” as well as Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go” and “Klara and the Sun,” the show promises to offer a thought-provoking world view on the human condition.
This is thesecond Chilean sci-fishow to emerge from Conecta Fiction, perhaps signalling a new wave of genre projects that steer away from the many politically-themed projects that tap Chile’s traumatic past under the Pinochet regime.
Founded by Hector Acosta and Pablo Pueyo, Unbound Hub has worked on such acclaimed series as HBO Max’s “A Thousand Fangs” (“Mil Colmillos”) by the late Colombian director-creatorJaime Osorio, feature film “Siete Cabezas,” winner of the Premio Macondo for visual effects, and Netflix series “Bienvenidos al Eden,” among other projects.
Expressing his excitement over Unbound’s new collaboration with Clara Films, Acosta said: “By combining our technical prowess and creative visions, we will deliver high quality visual effects that enhance the storytelling and transport viewers into the heart of this dystopian world.”
Additional details, including showrunner and cast, will be unveiled in the coming months.
Clara Films’ credits include: “White is for Virgins,” available on HBO Max, “Atacama” and “HomoNova.” “Aullido de Invierno” by Matías Rojas is set to premiere this year.
Meanwhile, it’s in post on “What Was Left Unsaid” by Ricardo Valenzuela (FFA Production 2021) and is in pre-production on “The Ivy” (“La Hiedra”) by Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán (Ikusmira Berriak, Cinemart, Ibermedia Coproduccion), “You Tell Me” by Jacqueline Pepall and “Detrás del Mar” by Paula Romaní (FFA Production 2023).
