Tel Aviv, ISRAEL/Denver, CO, USA – South African‐born Israeli author Larry Butchins, and Main Man Films of Denver, Colorado, USA, have signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of a TV series based on Butchins’ recently published novel, #Train in the Distance.
The book follows Butchins’ true‐life experiences as an investigative journalist in South Africa at the height of #apartheid in the early 1970s, and as an immigrant to Israel, arriving with his young family on the very day the First Intifada broke out. The book was published through Amazon at the end of July 2018 and has received enthusiastic 5‐star reviews.
The narrative tells of two young men from different racial and community backgrounds, with shared hopes and dreams for a better South Africa, flung in tragically opposite directions by the tempests of history, politics, and ideology.
According to Arthur O. Thomas, founder of Main Man Films, “Train in the Distance” has a huge measure of appeal as it deals with one of the most controversial and hated political systems of the 20th century, a system which both fascinates and repels people.
He is excited about the project.
“Larry’s story is both gripping and poignant; events based on his personal experiences in the robust world of newsroom journalism make for an action‐packed drama. It specifically raises issues that have generally received very little attention – namely the role of ‘white victims’ of apartheid.”
Butchins added: “We hear little about members of the white community who protested against the regime; who in their own small way – and defying the near certainty of imprisonment without trial, banning, physical abuse and even worse – fought the good fight, and did what they could to create change.”
The story is initially set in Johannesburg in the early 1970s. It tells of a young white journalist, working on tip‐offs provided by his Indian apprentice as he campaigns against apartheid, its symbols and often brutal ramifications – searching for truth and freedom…freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom from fear. His quest eventually brings him to Israel, where his dreams seem to be on the verge of realization, only to be dashed by personal loss in a terrorist attack. The chilling truth behind the attack sends him on a further mission…for revenge.
According to Larry Butchins: “We are planning a star‐studded cast, top-class directors from both Israel and South Africa, and a wide canvas of international locations, to bring excitement and intrigue to a story which is a natural fit to a dramatic original TV series…we’re thinking #Netflix, #AmazonPrimeVideo, #HBO…
Thomas adds: “This is our first collaboration with a writer from Israel, which is fast becoming a source of internationally‐acclaimed TV series and movies,” he said.
“I am excited to collaborate on this project and help identify the talents necessary to put ‘Train in the Distance’ in front of audiences everywhere,” he stated.
About the author:
Larry was born in Cape Town, South Africa, schooled in Durban and started in journalism as a cub-reporter on Durban’s morning newspaper, the Natal Mercury on the “routine” beat. He then joined the Sunday Tribune Johannesburg bureau; covered celebrities, political scandals, military affairs and student riots. Lured into PR; he eventually opened his own firm. It is this period on which he has largely based his story. After a family move to Israel in 1987, Larry branched into Marketing Communication for Israeli high‐tech. He also writes magazine articles, short stories, travel blogs and children’s books ‐ two of which have been published in the US and South Africa. He has been living in Israel for the past 31 years.