Vendôme Pictures Snags Narrative Rights to A Fire Within

Vendôme Pictures has acquired the remake rights to produce a scripted adaptation of the award-winning human rights documentary A Fire Within.

A Fire Within recounts the story of Ethiopian refugee Edgegayehu “Edge” Taye, a torture survivor who fled to the U.S., only to discover that her former torturer is living and working alongside her at her new job in a midtown Atlanta hotel. The feature documentary follows Taye’s attempt, along with two other Ethiopian women, to bring her torturer to justice in America.

Directed by Christopher Chambers (Aram, Aram), A Fire Within has won several awards on the film festival circuit. Mediawan Rights will be handling the worldwide sales for the doc.

Vendôme (CODA) will develop and package the adaptation. Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are producing, with Liya Kebede (Desert Flower) and Chambers attached to executive produce.

Kebede said: “There is nothing more fulfilling than to finally be able to tell our own stories. A Fire Within does exactly just that. It is a story of immigration. A reminder of why we come to America. A reminder that justice can still be upheld. I’m very much looking forward to adapting this documentary film into a narrative feature.”

Chambers commented: “It has been a powerful experience to see film festival audiences be so moved by the three inspiring women whose story we share in A Fire Within. I cannot imagine a better producer to shepherd this narrative version forward than Philippe Rousselet and his team at Vendôme, who brought CODA to audiences around the world with such artistry and sensitivity.”