Gigolò for Jesus
Synopsis:
GIGOLO FOR JESUS tells the story of the most successful serial seducer ever – Helg Sgarbi. A conman who charmed some of the most glamorous women in Europe and defrauded them of millions. But as the truth, and the law, catches up with him, the story takes an extraordinary and unexpected turn. This accomplished gigolo is himself in thrall to someone else – Ernani Barretta – the bizarre leader of an obscure Italian cult who claims he is sent from God and able to cure people with his semen and saliva. A stranger-than-fiction story about love, loyalty and deceit. And it reveals a simple truth: how devastating it can be when our human weakness for love and for money collide.
Producer: Matthias Miegel
Director: Heike Bachelier
Nation: Germany
Estimated length: 5 x 45 minutes, 4 x 60 minutes
Screenplay: Heike Bachelier
Editing: Thomas Krause
Photography: Susanne Schüle
Production: Kundschafter Filmproduktion GmbH
Budget forecast: 150.000€
Funding confirmed: 50.000 €
Missing resources: 100.000 €
Objective: PRE-SALES, ACQUISITION, DISTRIBUTION
Shooting start: February, 2024
Planned end of shooting: May, 2025
Director’s notes:
Due to online dating, so-called “love scamming” cases are increasing rapidly today and the topic is more relevant than ever. Gigolo for Jesus remains the biggest ever case in the history of “love scamming”. Even though Helg Sgarbi’s betrayal of his most famous victim Susanne Klatten became public knowledge in Germany, the stories of the many other victims and the bizarre backstory of the Italian sect leader remain untold. The swindled millions are still missing and the two conmen can operate relatively unperturbed – until today.
Production notes:
Our vision for Gigolo is to make an equally entertaining, exciting and explosive series, that will reach a wide audience. To this end, the author has collected an almost unbelievable wealth of stories and storylines, and developed a well-structured narrative. The treatment for the five part series is available.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
Heike Bachelier is a filmmaker and writer working both in Germany and the UK. Her cinema documentaries have been screened at A-list film festivals internationally, and broadcast by ZDF, BBC, Channel 4, France 3 and streamed by Netflix. And have won multiple awards, including FEINDBERÜHRUNG winner PRIX EUROPA, THE MOO MAN nominated for the Grand Jury Prize Sundance and nominated for the British Independent Film Award. Bachelier is the author of “Ein ganz normaler Feind” (A Totally Normal Enemy).
PRODUCTION Kundschafter Filmproduktion GmbH | PRODUCER Matthias Miegel | CONTACTS mm@kundschafterfilm.de
Kundschafter Filmproduktion GmbH was founded in August 2011. Its managing partners Andreas Banz, Matthias Miegel, and Robert Thalheim produce documentary and feature films as well as television shows and series. Their work endeavors to capture social developments and translate them into a realistic film language, engaging a broad audience with humor and sincerity.