Berlin: Netflix Acquires Jamie Dornan's 'Jadotville'

The streaming service will premiere the war thriller in 2016.

Netflix acquired Jamie Dornan's Jadotville at the Berlin Film Festival, it was announced Monday.

The war thriller, co-starring Guillaume Canet will go into production in April and is set to premiere on the streaming service in 2016.

The film is based on the 1961 siege of an Irish UN battalion by 3,000 Congolese troops, led by French and Belgian mercenaries working for mining companies. Dornan will play the Irish commander Patrick Quinlan and Canet will play a French commander.

Jadotville will be directed by Richie Smyth and produced by Alan Moloney for Parallel Films. The screenplay was written by Kevin Brodbin.

Alex Walton's Bloom brought Jadotville to Berlin's European Film Market. The deal with Netflix was negotiated by UTA's Independent Film Group.

“The story of how Pat Quinlan led his troops against an overwhelming force without losing a single man is one of the great stories of the 20th century, and we are proud to be working with such a talented and committed team to bring it to life,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “This film will be an amazing addition to our global original films initiative.”

Maloney added: “As filmmakers, we are constantly looking for new ways to bring a movie to the largest possible audience. Netflix has already reinvented the TV market and is now moving front and center into the film business. We are proud and excited to be part of their story and innovation."

Dornan is repped by UTA and U.K.-based United Agents. Canet is repped by CAA and France's UBBA. Brodbin is repped by CAA and Generate.

The acquisition is just the latest move into original, scripted films by Netflix. The streaming service, which has had success with original TV series like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, is now ramping up its narrative-film production and distribution business. Netflix recently announced plans to make a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is set to hit Imax theaters and the streaming service on Aug. 28.

The company also announced plans to make four movies with Adam Sandler, which will debut exclusively on Netflix. In addition, the Duplass brothers have struck a four-movie deal with Netflix.

Sarandos previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the streaming service is looking to make 10 to 14 movies a year.

Netflix has had success distributing original documentaries like the Oscar-nominated titles, The Square and Virunga.

The streaming service also recently acquired the Rashida Jones-produced doc, Hot Girls Wanted, about the amateur porn industry, out of Sundance.