ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast  — Producer Alex Berger of “The Bureau” and “La Maison” fame, delivered a rousing keynote speech on the Thursday opening day of the Worldwide Salon for Audiovisual Content material (SICA) in Abidjan, drilling down on “Eldorado,”one of the formidable sequence at France’s Arte and why it had been “important” to shoot the sequence within the Ivory Coast.

The keynote proved a spotlight in first day proceedings at SICA. It additionally supplied a roadmap for a way Ivory Coast can transfer ahead as a shoot native and worldwide co-producer.  

Berger stated the six-episode sequence owed its Ivory Coast backdrop to relationships constructed throughout his first journey to Africa eventually yr’s November version of SICA.

“I’d by no means been to sub-Saharan Africa earlier than,” Berger advised Selection. “I got here to SICA realizing little or no, and left realizing that this was the place the story needed to come to life.” 

The ensuing sequence, “Eldorado,” which Berger describes as a “wild journey based mostly on a real story,” facilities on a Belgian entrepreneur within the late Nineteen Sixties who units out to seek out water in Africa solely to turn out to be entangled with a French oil firm desperately seeking to discover oil.  

Written by up-and-coming expertise Tarek Haoudy, “Eldorado” took three years to develop underneath the steering of Berger’s Paris-based manufacturing outfit, TOP, and director Louis Farge, who helmed Prime Video sequence “Culte.”

Berger’s curiosity in Ivory Coast was sparked throughout candid conversations with native ministers, producers, and filmmakers at SICA 2024. 

“They’d an actual imaginative and prescient for the long run,” he recalled, including, “However I used to be trustworthy. You may’t simply supply a backdrop. You need to construct an ecosystem. Which means attracting extra productions and making certain native crews develop with every undertaking.” 

Taking his personal recommendation to coronary heart, Berger shifted the undertaking to Abidjan after initially scouting Senegal, convincing the remainder of the workforce to comply with swimsuit. As soon as the present’s government producer went to Abidjan, Berger stated he understood his imaginative and prescient.  

That call formed manufacturing. Berger estimates that simply 20 members of the 80-strong crew flew in. Many of the workforce was composed of native expertise, supported by an Abidjan-based manufacturing firm. “That was essential to me,” Berger stated. “You may’t say you imagine in native expertise with out placing your cash the place your mouth is.” 

When it got here to financing for the sequence, Berger obtained inventive, inking a co-production cope with Belgium to maximise tax incentives for the undertaking. Berger additionally praised Arte for green-lighting a present set up to now exterior its conventional European consolation zone. “The story needed to come to Africa. So there was little question from day one. I feel that Arte trusted us so much,” he relayed.  

The present’s historic inspiration, the Nice Oil Sniffer Hoax, a scandal that captivated French media in over 1979-84, has modern resonance. “It’s a loopy, high-stakes story,” Berger said. “And telling it right here, with individuals who stay this actuality, was important.” 

Berger is already seeking to deepen his ties to the area. Although tight-lipped about future tasks, he hinted at attainable collaborations with Ivorian director-producer Alex Ogou (“Invisibles” on Canal+), Ivory Coast-based Nigerien producer Mamane (“Bienvenue au Gondwana”), and Abidjan-based Kimberly Azria (“Legends”).  

Whereas Berger is cautious to handle expectations, particularly in terms of infrastructure and coaching, his optimism is palpable. “There are nonetheless actual challenges,” he acknowledged. “I actually hope that in that room goes to be that producer that’s going to make that distinction and provide you with that natural concept from right here. If I will be a part of it, it might be wonderful. If not, I’ll simply be joyful.”