27/06/2023 - David Pérez Sañudo is one of the creators of the show being directed by Esteban Crespo and Violeta Salama, which stars Malcolm Treviño Sitté alongside Itsaso Arana and Unax Ugalde

l-r: Creator David Pérez Sañudo, actor Malcolm Treviño Sitté, actress Itsaso Arana and director Esteban Crespo during the shoot for Detective Touré (© David Herranz)

In early June, the shoot started in Bilbao for the series Detective Touré, created by the winner of the 2021 Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, David Pérez Sañudo (Ane Is Missing [+see also:
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interview: David Pérez Sañudo
film profile]), and by Carlos Vila Sexto (the series Los misterios de Laura), with the involvement of screenwriter Flora González Villanueva (the series Nacho), and based on the novels by Jon Arretxe. Filmmakers Esteban Crespo (Black Beach [+see also:
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Malcolm Treviño Sitté (Lo nunca visto [+see also:
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The lead actor is backed up by well-known thesps, such as Unax Ugalde (seen recently in The Man from Rome), Itziar Ituño (Las buenas compañías [+see also:
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interview: Itsaso Arana
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film profile], with his work rewarded with a Goya), Goize Blanco (Veneciafrenia [+see also:
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The plot introduces us to Touré, a Guinean immigrant who has settled in Bilbao and who earns a living as a rough and ready, small-time detective. His skill, intuition and peculiar sense of humour earn him the trust of the Ertzaintza (the Basque autonomous police force) and immerse him in a complex investigation during which he will face myriad dangers: he will gain an intimate knowledge of real-estate corruption, the shady hustle and bustle of the troublesome and multicultural San Francisco neighbourhood, and will even come face to face with the Nigerian mafia.

This is the first small-screen adaptation of a work by Jon Arretxe, considered to be one of Spain’s great thriller novelists. The majority of his books, originally published in Basque, have become bestsellers in Navarre and the Basque Country. Lucía Mbomio, a journalist, member of Espacio Afro and winner of the APDHE’s (Human Rights Association of Spain’s) Communication Award in 2020, and Mamadou Ngom, an intercultural mediator from Médecins du monde and coordinator of the Bilbao Pan-African Movement, have been hired to consult on the project to ensure it is accurate in its representation of African characters.

Detective Touré, which will be shot during June, July, August and September in some of Bilbao’s most emblematic locations, such as the Arriaga Theatre, is a co-production by Tornasol Media, DeAPlaneta, Detective Touré AIE, RTVE and EITB, which boasts support from the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. Its six episodes will be aired on TVE and EITB in the coming year.

(Translated from Spanish)