Makers hope The Banker to be a huge global success
Creators of the new TV series The Banker which will be shot in Bahrain are expecting the series to be a global success.
The rehearsals for The Banker, a TV series based on New Zealander Keith Bulfin’s experiences working undercover for USA’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), will begin next week, it was announced yesterday. Bulfin is the Director of the series, Ramez Tomeh is the Producer and Valarian Joseph is the Executive Producer.
Bulfin was an investment banker who had to spend time in prison after he pleaded guilty to a fraud charge. He was recruited by the DEA to infiltrate Mexican drug cartels because while in prison he had established a friendship with a man who had links to the drug cartel.
Speaking at a press conference at K Hotel in Juffair yesterday, Bulfin said that the fact that the series was based on a true story featuring the drug cartel could make it a massive success. “We are thrilled because we have a lot of local actors participating in this series. The Banker is based on the book Undercover, which is an international bestseller. The first part of the book talks about Mexico and the drug cartels and the second and third part focuses on the Middle East. We are going to shoot all the scenes hopefully here in Bahrain. We have got strong support from the Ministry of Information and also from the Ministry of Interior,” he said.
He said that the series hoped to replicate the success of the American political thriller television series Homeland. “This is a follow-on from a very successful series, Homeland, which has 48 million viewers worldwide. So, Bahrain will be put on the stage. If people did not know about Bahrain before, they will certainly have the opportunity now. So I think from our perspective we are very excited,” he said, adding, “We are going to start rehearsals effectively next week. Our film crew are flying in and they will be here for about a week, shooting various scenes,” he added.
Present at the conference were Shaikh Fawaz bin Abdulla bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Shaikha Hannah bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Al Ansari Group Chairman A. Jaleel Al Ansari, German Embassy consul second secretary Mohamed Hans Lamprecht, Indian Embassy Second Secretary Om Prakash.
Photo Caption: From left) Valarian Joseph, Shaikha Hannah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikh Fawaz Bin Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Al Ansari Group Chairman A. Jaleel Al Ansari and Producer Ramez Tomeh.
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