Ace of Diamonds | Red Collision

ONE LINER:

In the early 2000s, Talí, Lola and Hermes work for the administrative department of security in Colombia. These three characters create a gang that commits crimes from the very bowels of the state, but between secrets and bad moves, they will end up sealing their own destiny.

STORYLINE

Early 2000s, Neftalí, alias Talí, Lola and Hermes worked for the Administrative Department of Security (DAS). Talí in judicial police, Hermes in intelligence and Lola in data processing. These three characters make up a gang that commits crimes from the very bowels of the state. Their scope of crime is particular: to fill up their own pockets, they use secret state information to blackmail and steal from drug traffickers and corrupt politicians. Even though their actions label them as criminals, they are arguably ‘good rogues’, for they do not steal from just anyone, but from ‘real criminals’. The success of their little scams makes them more and more confident, without foreseeing that the bigger the hit, the greater the risk of being discovered, and that is how they dig their own grave and end up condemned.

SYNOPSIS

In 1999, Talí, a skillful and devious card player and gambler who works as a security agent for the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), forms a gang with his partner Hermes, a shy and reserved intelligence detective, and his sensual and clever colleague Lola, a data analyst. Together, they commit crimes from within the very bowels of the State.

The story begins with a lawful operation in which Talí, despite not being an active detective, performs outstandingly. This operation brings Talí and Hermes closer in their criminal intentions. Talí takes advantage of his close relationship with Lola, one of the information analysts, to co-opt her, as she can provide them with the information they need for each hit.

Lola and Talí exchange information using a poker card, the Ace of Diamonds. Their first coup involves collecting a bribe from a drug dealer to avoid arrest. The hit is successful and helps them fill the gaps in their fragile economy. For Talí, it means the savings needed for the down payment on his flat. For Lola, it boosts the financial strength needed to leave a bad relationship and support her five children. For Hermes, it pleases his cheeky wife. Lola has sexual relations with both men and manages to keep the betrayal a secret from each of them.

During the seizure of goods from a drug trafficker, the gang manages to exchange expensive pieces of art for cheap replicas. In this robbery, Talí appropriates a gigantic painting of a female nude, and in the loneliness of his house, the nude woman becomes his life companion.

Talí slowly sells the art pieces, which allows him to cheat his associates and provide his daughter with expensive toys. Their next hit is an illegal wiretap. They take advantage of the phones they are supposed to tap for the department and intercept the phones of some criminals. Several days of listening to trivial conversations lead them to a big fish; they discover a crime being planned. This two-pronged move, like Talí’s plays in billiards, allows for a successful outcome. At the same time, they collect money to get the criminal out of prison, swapping him with a character with a clean record. This fugitive affair brings more consequences than they anticipated, attracting the attention of the press. However, they move forward, and during the seizure of a batch of adulterated liquor, they manage to steal a few cases of legal liquor.

Although they are crooks, they are also parents, so they refuse to participate in the negotiation for a baby and use the information to bring down a gang. This makes them seem like heroes, making it easier for Talí to receive a medal and be seen as the model detective. No one suspects them because the press issues with the fugitive force the director of the Department to open an investigation.

While on a lawful mission guarding the entrance to a drug traffickers’ party and noting the number plates of the vehicles, they get drunk. Hermes breaks his leg, and Talí ends up inventing the plates, leading to a good number of innocent people being jailed. Hermes gets into trouble and decides to step aside. Lola and Talí pull off a new coup, managing to get the file on the wife of a famous drug trafficker out of the Directorate right in front of everyone. With the press and internal control watching them, they have to be more careful with every action, but they manage to do it, giving Talí enough money to pay off his flat. To celebrate, Talí throws a big party, but he forgets that one of his guests was at the raid on the drug dealer and recognizes the nude painting, and another guest, a colleague from the liquor seizure, discovers the stolen boxes. The party comes to an abrupt end when the agents learn that famous journalist Jaime Garzón has been murdered.

Talí’s constant triumphs in the Department lead his boss to put him in charge of the Minister of the Interior’s security. At the Ministry, he meets the President’s aide-de-camp, who asks him to clean up a file on a friend involved in the investigation for the murder of another well-known character, “La Monita Retrechera,” a high-profile case involving the previous government in relations with drug traffickers.

As Talí and Lola prepare for this coup, they realize they have been irrefutably discovered by the Director of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS).

SYNOPSIS PER EPISODE

CAPÍTULO UNO

Talí and Hermes participate in a DAS operation to capture a gang of drug traffickers. The criminals escape through the roofs, but thanks to Talí’s skill and cunning, they manage to capture them. During the operation, a large quantity of cocaine is seized. The two friends play billiards and talk about how easy it would have been to steal one of the packages of cocaine. The next day in the office, while Talí is waiting for the director, he talks to Lola, flirts with her, and tries to spy on her documents. Amid the flirting, they agree to help each other. Talí gives her a poker card, an Ace of Diamonds with one side blank. Days later, Lola gives him the card, now written on the blank side, with valuable information. Hermes and other intelligence agents wait in their cars to make an arrest. Talí calls the drug trafficker from a public telephone and asks for a large sum of money to avoid arrest. The drug trafficker hesitates but sees the vans parked in front of his house. The political humor of journalist Jaime Garzón is present in all areas of national life.

Capítulo Dos

The raid is carried out, and Hermes searches the bedroom but omits to check the wardrobe. The operation is not entirely successful because the drug dealer escapes, hiding in the wardrobe. Talí, Hermes, and Lola divide the loot. With the money, Hermes pleases his wife by buying her an expensive piece of jewelry. Talí and Lola’s relationship continues to develop. There is tension in the office due to bomb threats, reminders of the explosion in 1989 in which Lola’s first husband died, causing her panic attacks. The boss asks Talí to participate in a new operation. Talí prefers to be a guard but accepts. During the raid and seizure of drug trafficking goods, Hermes and Talí offer to take inventory and move the seized goods. They take advantage of this to exchange valuable pieces of art for worthless paintings and sculptures that are nothing more than scrap metal. From this theft, Talí appropriates a gigantic painting of a nude. The calling on politicians, punctuated with humor by journalist Jaime Garzón, cause a great stir in the country.

Capítulo Tres

Jaime Garzón’s acidic political humor steps on the toes of some of the country’s most powerful people. Talí’s flat is full of art pieces. A buyer is interested in the nude painting, but Talí does not negotiate that painting; it is his new flat mate. Talí leads a lonely life. His daughter visits, and he covers the painting. The girl plays with valuable pieces of art. During a card game with friends, it becomes clear that Talí is a skilled cheater, using an Ace of Diamonds card hidden up his sleeve. Lola hands him a new card with information about phone tapping. Hermes and Talí, posing as telephone company employees, are surprised by real employees, but Talí manages to trick them. Days later, while Talí waits for the person he guards, he listens to trivial conversations on the tapped lines. While driving the van with the escorted person, he overhears a conversation about a murder that is about to be committed. He gets distracted and almost crashes.

Capítulo Cuatro

Talí and Hermes play the recording of the man confessing to the crime in a phone call. He is trapped with no escape. After the interrogation, Lola thinks they failed, not understanding Talí’s strategy. The man is held in a cell arranged for four inmates but is alone. At night, Talí and Hermes exchange the prisoner for a similar-looking man. The false prisoner is left in place and goes to sleep. The next day, during visiting hours, the false prisoner puts on a jacket, blends with the visitors, and leaves without problems. Outside, Hermes, Talí, and Lola wait for him, pay him his money, and the man leaves. Lola, initially doubtful, celebrates with the others at Talí’s house. Talí talks to the nude painting as if it were his flatmate. Hermes suspects that some artworks are missing, but Talí distracts him and evidently cheats his associate. Talí falls asleep drunk, and Hermes and Lola have sex in his bed. Journalist Jaime Garzón receives death threats.

Capítulo Cinco

The next day, there is a big media scandal. A self-confessed murderer has escaped, and no one can explain how. Theories arise, but none come close to the switch made by the gang. The office is in commotion. Internally, Hermes is very scared and thinks they should stop. In this crisis, it becomes clear how the extra money helps everyone: Talí saves to buy his flat, Hermes pleases his wife, and Lola supports her five children. The media’s scrutiny makes them nervous. They make a new coup, stealing legal alcohol during a seizure of adulterated liquor. During a card game, Talí receives a tip-off about a baby being sold. Talí and Hermes argue; Hermes refuses to get involved in any business with babies. Talí investigates and learns about a gang of nurses stealing and selling babies. Journalist Jaime Garzón visits a prison to beg for his life to the paramilitaries.

Capítulo seis

Talí breaks up the baby-selling gang and captures the culprits, earning a medal. His boss asks him again to stop being a guard, but Talí refuses. The good operation reconciles Talí and Hermes. However, journalist Toledo is on their steps, and management decides to conduct an internal investigation, so they must be more careful. Hermes is given an intelligence mission to guard a drug trafficker’s party. In the middle of the night, Hermes and Talí write down the number plates of the cars entering the party. They drink the unsold liquor to stay warm. Hermes falls from a tree and breaks his leg, so Talí invents the number plates. The wrong plates cause new issues in the Department’s direction, resulting in the massive arrest of innocent people. The media pressures, and the Director is furious, demanding results from detective Narváez, who is in charge of the internal investigation. Hermes is in trouble because of the invented plates. Journalist Jaime Garzón denounces death threats in the media.

Capítulo siete

With Talí and Hermes’ help, Lola gets her ex-husband arrested for not paying child support. However, Hermes notifies them he is quitting. Lola’s life, her five children, her financial difficulties, and her secret relationships with each partner are explored. Journalist Toledo and investigator Narváez, competing and very close to discovering them, add to the tension. Lola steals a file, hides it in her underwear, and gives it to Talí in the Department’s bathroom while everyone searches for it. It belongs to the wife of a famous drug trafficker. Talí hides the file in a pizza box to leave the department. He delivers the file to the drug dealers and receives a large sum of money, which allows him to sign the downpayment to his flat. To celebrate, he throws a party with lots of alcohol. Some colleagues notice the nude painting and the stolen drink boxes in the kitchen. The party ends abruptly with the news of journalist Jaime Garzón’s murder.

EPISODE 8

Talí appears in front of the Minister of the Interior, appointed as his bodyguard. While waiting, he is approached by the president’s executive assistant, who invites him for coffee. In conversation, the assistant offers him a service, initially faking rectitude, fearing a trap. The aide needs a favor: altering an exhibit in a trial. Talí gives Lola an Ace of Diamonds card with the mission. She reluctantly agrees, as rumors spread that the DAS director was involved in Jaime Garzón’s murder. Hermes has left, and Lola plans to leave too. She manages to give Talí the file. Almost immediately, they are confronted by the department head and the detective investigating them. In the chief’s office, Talí, Hermes, and Lola are surprised by the strength of the evidence against them. Talí initially takes responsibility for the license plates, but it is nothing in comparison to: the confession of the narco who hid in the wardrobe, the seized nude painting, the art pieces, the liquor found in his flat, and above all, the video recordings of him entering the prison with one man and leaving with another, plus the file in his hand.

CHARACTER’S PROFILE

NEFTALÍ REYES

CHARACTER’S PROFILE

HERMES ZAPATA

The son of a large upper-middle class family, owners of an electrical appliance store, he was raised by his father in the mystique of responsibility at work. Despite being shy and withdrawn, he was always an outstanding student married to Lorena, daughter of a wealthy family from the north of the city. He works in the intelligence section of the Administrative Department of Security, then, with the rise of detective films, it occurred to him that maybe he could be an investigator there. He has a couple of children, a house, a family, a car – in other words, he feels he has achieved all his life goals. He lacks money because the salary in the Department is very low, he thinks his wife could work, but he doesn’t want to put pressure on her either. He is shy, quiet, reserved and has an analytical personality. He has an affair with his co-worker Lola.

CHARACTER’S PROFILE

DOLORES FANDIÑO

Dolores is the second daughter in a family of four women. Working as a secretary in a court, she met the DAS agent who became her husband and with whom she had four children. Her husband was a victim of the DAS bombing in 1989 and she was widowed. She married another man with whom she had another child, but this husband turned out to be irresponsible and she has many problems with him. She works as a systems analyst at the Department. She is 36 years old, has five children, and is going through a complicated divorce. She is pretty, likes to dress attractively, very smiling, flirtatious and charismatic. She is an easy-going woman, who has no problem establishing sexual relations. The money from the DAS robberies helps her to solve her divorce problem and the conflicts with her ex-husband.

CHARACTER’S PROFILE

ALFREDO MÁRQUEZ

Director of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS). He is a retired policeman who was appointed to this position thanks to his contacts with the politicians of the day. He has obscure relations with the paramilitaries and uses the Department to persecute the political enemies of his friends and to free them from illicit drug trafficking activities. He is serious, quiet, authoritarian and analytical.

CHARACTER’S PROFILE

ALFREDO MÁRQUEZ

Right-hand man of the DAS director, he is the person in charge of the internal control office. He has no problem in committing crimes if it helps his boss in his business.

FERNANDO TOLEDO

Investigative journalist for one of the country’s most prestigious print media. He is inquisitive, persistent and knows that by investigating the DAS and its agents he is behind a big story.

SCREENWRITER'S STATEMENT

The DAS was a state agency in charge of intelligence and counter-intelligence for the Colombian state. Its elimination in 2011 was especially motivated by the discovery that it had become a nest of criminals. With the rise of drug trafficking in the 1980s and 1990s, some of its officials found in this branch of crime an excellent opportunity for profit. Ace of Diamonds seeks to take advantage of these circumstances to, in thriller and comedy format, accompany Talí, Lola and Hermes in their dangerous gamble of “stealing from the criminals”. The story of the underbelly of the DAS has not been told in Colombia and, with ACE OF DIAMONDS, we find a valuable opportunity to connect with audiences around the world.

ACE OF DIAMONDS is an entertaining and commercial story, in which we dive into the lives of three fictional characters to talk about cases inspired by the strong corruption that took place in Colombia’s intelligence agencies towards the end of the last century. The identity of the series, its characters and its narrative ensure a striking project that we want to make you part of, and all based in true events.

MOODBOARD

References: “Nueve Reinas” (Fabian Bielinsky), “MindHunter” (David Fincher), “True Detective” (Nick Pizzolatto) y “Fargo” (Noah Hawley), “Los Simuladores” (Damián Szifron).

Some elements to be explored are the mobility of the camera, a palette of ochre, blues and turquoise blue, with dots of colour in yellows, to contrast and raise the point of maximum interest, naturalistic acting and an agile montage of short shots.

MOODBOARD

MOODREEL

universo:

ACE OF DIAMONDS is an eight-episode series based on real events that took place in Colombia in 1999. It explores the criminal relations derived from drug trafficking during the government of Andrés Pastrana, after the scandal of the 8000 process under Ernesto Samper, which revealed the deep connection between politics and drug trafficking. In a context of social and political conflict marked by guerrilla violence, kidnappings and the rise of paramilitarism, the series reflects how these groups committed atrocious crimes against the civilian population and social leaders in order to control productive land in complicity with drug traffickers.

The influence of drug trafficking permeated Colombian society, imposing a culture of easy money and cheating, affecting all levels of public and private life. Despite the human cost, many Colombians adopted attitudes of collaboration and tolerance towards drug trafficking due to economic precariousness and lack of state attention. This environment of corruption spread to the police, the army, banking, and public administration, establishing a culture of looting that persists to this day.

The Administrative Department of Security (DAS), created in 1946, played a controversial role in Colombia’s recent history, culminating in its closure in 2011 due to multiple scandals under the government of Juan Manuel Santos. The DAS was implicated in illegal interceptions, complicity in state crimes and numerous misdemeanours by its agents, from bribery and theft to illegal trade and extortion. These acts of corruption and abuse of power eroded public confidence in the entity, contributing to its eventual dismantling.

This is the universe in which the story is set. Our three characters are apparently honest, middle-class people who, after several years in the department, end up being seduced by the culture of easy money and, knowing that they have the protection of the Department, cross the line and, from fighting crime, end up connecting with it and profiting from it.

The gang makes use of the qualities of each of them. Tali’s cunning and people skills, Hermes’ intelligence and calculation and Lola’s information skills. Tali is a trump card within the department, so as to ward off any suspicions – who can doubt an exceptional agent?

All three are cheats, not only Tali with his cards and his petty theft from colleagues; Hermes uses them because his cowardice prevents him from taking risks and Lola has secret sexual relations with both of them.

Apparently their crimes can be excused by the fact that their victims are delinquents, but this fact is what ends up complicating them.

The series moves between thriller and picaresque comedy, with high doses of adrenaline and agile moments of playfulness.

SCREENWRITER'S BIOGRAPHY

Director, screenwriter and teacher with more than 20 years of experience in filmmaking and series. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the National University of Colombia and developing multiple feature film projects that are close to release.

Screenwriter and Director: MATIAS The Puppeteer (Feature Film), RED COLLISION STUDIOS, (Development)

A CERTAIN ALONSO QUIJANO (Feature Film), RED COLLISION STUDIOS (2021)

HER (Feature Film), DOS DE DOS PRODUCCIONES (2015)

THE HISTORY OF THE PINK TRUNK (Feature Film) , FELIS FILMS (2005)

Director:

I CALL THEM “SOULS” (Feature Film), RED COLLISION STUDIOS (Postproduction)

THE TRAIL (Feature Film), RED COLLISION STUDIOS (Postproduction)

COMPANY’S PROFILE

Red Collision, founded in 2017 is an audiovisual production company with over six years of experience redefining the entertainment landscape with original films and captivating genre series, also offers top-notch production services and has a slateof projects in development for sale.

El equipo de Red Collision ha trabajado en producciones de StudioCanal, Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Discovery, CBS, Max, entre otros.

In 2020 they produced their first feature film called A CERTAIN ALONSO QUIJANO, directed by LIBIA STELLA GÓMEZ with the support of Dago García Producciones and Caracol Televisión; it premiered in 2021 with a digital strategy, reaching more than 500 thousand viewers.

The feature film THE TRAIL is a crime thriller that won the FDC in the post-production category and will be released in 2024. Four other projects are underway, two in post-production: I CALL THEM “SOULS” and ENEMY IN THE MIRROR. Two are scheduled to be shot in 2024, and all will be released between 2025 and 2026.

In early 2024, Red Collision created “Red Script Factory”, a dynamic writers’ room, a space of constant idea creation where captivating stories and epic scripts are born to revolutionise the world of original content and redefine storytelling.