EXCLUSIVE: Berlin-based production company Flimmer has secured the screen rights to German writer Takis Würger’s bestseller The Club, delving into the secretive and sometimes toxic world of members clubs at Cambridge University.

The company is currently in the throws of developing an English-language feature film adaptation of the work first published in German in 2017, with rising filmmaker Mischa Gurevich attached as writer and director.

Set largely in Cambridge, The Club follows a young outsider who becomes entangled in the secretive and elite world of a prestigious university society. As he is drawn deeper into its rituals and power structures, the story becomes an exploration of privilege, loyalty, and moral descent.

German-London-based filmmaker Gurevich recently completed his short film Below the Open, starring Sebastian Koch, Maja Bons, Taddeo Kufus, and Jonathan Berlin. Having spent a year studying in Cambridge as an exchange student himself, he brings a personal connection and authentic perspective to the material.

The novel is based loosely on Würger’s own experiences at Cambridge University when he took time out from his award-winning foreign correspondent career in his late 20s to study the history of ideas the prestigious institution.

“What excites me most is that this story is now being told by the very generation it portrays. And with Mischa Gurevich, who has himself been in Cambridge, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting voice to bring this world to the screen,” says Würger.

Gurevich adds: “I am most interested in how insecurity during adolescence can translate into different forms of violence, and how important it is to search for a language that is truthful and one’s own. The setting also allows for a certain musicality, which I’m excited to explore.”

Flimmer has already worked with Gurevich as the producer of his upcoming short film and MD Christopher Zwickler said the company had been impressed with his “creative determination” and “ artistic vision”.

“We are convinced that, in combination with this outstanding novel that Takis created, he will attract an exceptional ensemble cast and bring The Club to life in a compelling and distinctive way for international audiences,” he said.

Flimmer recently wrapped production on 23,000 Live for Netflix. Shot across Malta and Berlin, it follows a group of young people set out to rescue refugees in distress in the Mediterranean and is set for release later this year.

The company’s documentary The Talented Mr. F. was also recently honored with a prestigious Germany Grimme Prize TV award.

Flimmer plans to initiate first conversations with distributors, broadcasters and sales partners on its The Club adaptation during the upcoming Cannes market.