Akbar Hussain’s 2022 crime novel Truth Is A Flightless Bird is being adapted into a series. Akoroko announced this development on X on February 9, 2024.
The series adaptation of the book is a collaboration between British-Nigerian production company Chudor House founded by trio sibling Odiri, Nnenne and Chukwudi Iwuji, and the US-based Artist International Group.
Set in Kenya and the United States, Truth Is A Flightless Bird is “a brutal love letter to the frontier town that is present-day Nairobi. A studied observation of the failure of bare-knuckled capitalism, the inequality machines our cities have become and ultimately the profoundly irrational human capacity to hope, to risk everything to have something in which to believe,” read the press release.
It tells the story of Theresa also known as Nice, who leaves her life and UN job at Mogadishu for Nairobi, to escape her drug dealer boyfriend. On arrival, she meets an American pastor, Duncan who is unaware of her past. Their journey turns perilous when Duncan’s car crashes, leading to his capture by a corrupt policeman and Nice’s disappearance.
Screen written by Nnenne Iwuji, with Adam Targum (Cinemax’s Banshee) as the showrunner, and Odiri Iwuji and Aleksey Ageyev in production, the film will explore the depths Duncan must navigate in Nairobi’s underbelly to save Nice, challenging his faith and identity amidst the city’s moral complexities.
In an interview with Deadline online magazine, Odiri said, “When we optioned Akbar Hussain’s novel, we knew that we needed a very experienced and passionate creator to help bring it to life for the screen. Adam embodies both. We are thrilled to have both Adam and Nnenne deliver Akbar’s uniquely captivating story to an international audience very soon.”
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