The Ink Factory Builds Asian Slate

The Ink Factory, the independent studio behind such dramas as The Night Manager and The Little Drummer Girl, has set up an Asia slate and associated financing facility with backing from the media investment firm 127 Wall Productions.

The move aims to deliver adaptations of John le Carré’s work to the major markets of Asia and to create a global platform for the work of talent and creators from the region.

127 Wall was founded by Joe Tsai, co-founder of Chinese internet technology company Alibaba Group, and Arthur Wang, a former business leader now active in the arts and culture community in Asia, to support creativity in film and other media.

Tessa Inkelaar (Bombay Rose, Cold War) has been appointed as executive producer to manage the slate. Prior to working at The Ink Factory, Inkelaar was VP of creative at the Cinestaan Film Company and C International Sales, managing both the international and Hindi slates.

Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, co-founders and co-CEOs of The Ink Factory, said: “Contemporary Asia is both the world’s fastest-growing—and soon its largest—entertainment market, and the crucible of some of the world’s boldest and most exciting creative talent. We are thrilled to be embarking on this new initiative with our long-term partners Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang at 127 Wall. We look forward to building on the strength of le Carré’s reputation and the universality of his storytelling to delight audiences across Asia, as well as to working with some of the extraordinary range of creative talent that the region offers to support their storytelling in reaching the global audience it richly deserves.”

Tsai said: “We have a long-standing commitment to supporting Asian creativity in all its forms, to seeing Asian creators take their rightful place on the world stage and to Asian representation in the broadest sense in the Western world. We’re very pleased to be working with our partners at The Ink Factory, with their commitment to the highest creative standards, to further this ambition through building a bold, exciting and entertaining slate of projects.”

Wang added: “Fusing our love of Asia, our love of the creative world and our love of le Carré’s work into a slate of projects that push into groundbreaking territory could not be more exciting. We’re delighted to be embarking with The Ink Factory on this journey to create a powerful, globally relevant slate, with its heart in Asia and the Asian diaspora. Our goal is above all to entertain, but also to engage our audiences and to challenge preconceptions. We look forward to collaborating closely with Tessa and the team to bring these wonderful projects to fruition.”

Inkelaar added: “It’s a privilege to be taking the incredible library of le Carré to Asia, seeking out homegrown reinterpretations that can bring fresh perspectives to his enduring and universal stories. I am thrilled to be leveraging my experience working in the region to build a slate of content led by voices from Asia and the global Asian diaspora, which are urgent, authentic and singular.”