International entertainment studio MFF & CO has optioned the rights to William Urey’s book “Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict.” The company will develop a fictional world inspired by negotiators’ extensive experience mediating high-pressure situations such as nuclear conflicts, labor disputes, and peace negotiations across four continents.
The original book provides a practical framework on how to deal with conflict, introducing techniques devised by Ury, such as the Path to Possibilities and the “Victory Speech” and “Balcony” as tools for radical collaboration. MFF & CO welcomed the author to Los Angeles last week to introduce the project at “The Assembly,” a salon-style conversation series held at the company’s offices. A select group of industry professionals were also welcomed to the event and met with the authors.
At the center of this adaptation is a fictional anthropologist and backchannel negotiator working in some of the world’s most volatile environments. The project will examine “both the geopolitical stakes of global conflicts and the personal costs borne by those trying to resolve them.”
MFF & CO founders Estela Renner and Marcos Nisti will produce the project within their expanding film and television properties. Yury will serve as executive producer along with Alexandre Chade, president of the Brazilian chapter of Abraham’s Pass, the international peace initiative he founded. The author is co-founder of the Harvard University Negotiation Program and co-author of the best-selling negotiation book Getting to Yes.
“In a world where conflict often seems inevitable, the real frontier is not victory, but possibility. This project aims to show that even across our deepest divides, there are human paths to understanding, and that these paths can shape our common future. Behind every conflict is a human being with fears, needs and hopes,” Yury said of adaptation.
Miura Kite, president of global content at MFF & CO, praised Yury’s work for “shaping the way leaders and communities around the world approach negotiation.” She added, “The need for this kind of collaborative philosophy has never been greater. This project allows us to translate these principles into powerful, emotionally resonant storytelling that is as inspiring as it is captivating.”
“This project is very close to our core as a company,” Nisti added. “We believe that stories can open up spaces for dialogue where it seems impossible, and ‘Possible’ is about exploring that space with honesty, scale, and imagination. At a time when polarization and conflict seem to define the world, we feel an urgent need for stories that offer hope and expand what we believe is possible.”
Based in Los Angeles, MFF & Co is the international expansion of Maria Farinha Filmes, the leading Brazilian impact entertainment company behind the hit series Ararunas and the successful documentary series The Beginning of Life.
The company’s rapidly expanding slate includes “Pegasus,” created by Ron Leshem (“Euphoria”) and Amit Cohen (“False Flag”); “Failsafe” was directed by true crime pioneer Joe Berlinger (“Paradise Lost”) and “Esperanza” was directed by Fernando Meirelles, the famous director of “City of God” and “The Two Popes.”
Earlier this year, MFF & CO announced that American authors Alexander Maggio, Jenny Lin and Ted Sullivan would adapt the Globo telenovela for North American audiences. The entertainment studio’s partnership with the Brazilian media giant will see the writers reimagine the original in English across several seasonal formats. This landmark agreement was first announced in August 2025.
