Smashing Dandelions, the recently launched film and television production company founded by The Mauritanian producer and writer Michael Bronner and writer/producer and scholar Bhakti Shringarpure, has announced its latest feature film project: an adaptation of Ghost Season, the debut novel by Sudanese-American author Fatin Abbas.
Set on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, Ghost Season is a haunting and lyrical portrait of five strangers — a white American geographer, a South Sudanese translator, a northern Sudanese cook, a Sudanese-American filmmaker, and a local boy — who find themselves entangled at an NGO compound in the fictional town of Saraaya. As civil war looms, their tenuous bonds are tested by emotional entanglements, unlikely alliances, and the crushing weight of betrayal. [Read Brittle Paper‘s review of the novel here.]
The adaptation marks the narrative feature debut of South Sudanese filmmaker Akuol de Mabior, who is attached to write and direct the film. De Mabior, best known for her award-winning documentary No Simple Way Home, shared her attachment to the novel in a press release: “What stays with me about Ghost Season is its attention to atmosphere — the way it lingers in moments of waiting and unease. The story moves between isolation and intimacy, tracing the quiet negotiations people make with themselves and each other as instability gathers at the edges.”
Bronner and Shringarpure, who will serve as producers, describe the novel in the same press release as “a character-driven political drama that embodies our commitment to nuanced, globally conscious storytelling.” They add, “Fatin Abbas has given us a moving story that explores characters forced to make difficult choices as war looms on the horizon. This adaptation aligns perfectly with our mission to bring underrepresented perspectives to the screen through bold, engaging, and entertaining stories.”
The rights to the novel were secured in a deal brokered by The Wylie Agency on behalf of Abbas, and Linda Lichter of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark, Inc. on behalf of Smashing Dandelions.
Founded in 2024, Smashing Dandelions is based in Paris and specializes in politically urgent, globally resonant narratives that bridge investigative journalism and cinematic storytelling. The company is currently executive producing Nuur, a feature film from director Lula Ali Ismaïl, starring Sabrina Elba and based on Youth of God by Hassan Ghedi Santur.
With Ghost Season, Smashing Dandelions continues its mission to amplify underrepresented voices and reframe global narratives through sensitive and courageous storytelling.
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