Brazilian film director Fernando Meirelles will direct "Blindness," a film based on the novel of Portuguese author Jose Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998.

"Blindness" will be an independent film to be produced by Britain's Potboiler Productions, in association with companies from Brazil, Canada and Japan.

The production budget is estimated at 20 million U.S. dollars, and part of the investments will come from the tax incentive system for films in Brazil.

Meirelles said that there was no major studio involved in the production of the film and he intended to start shooting the film in mid-2007.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, and the Canadian city of Toronto will serve as locations for "Blindness," which is expected to be launched in March 2008.

"When I started to read the script, I immediately got interested," said Meirelles.

The 2002 Brazilian hit "City of God," made Meirelles internationally famous and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director in 2004.

He launched his international career in the film industry in 2005 with "The Constant Gardener", which received four Oscar nominations this year.

Editor: Donald