Carlos Bardem has (pick)pocketed a new project…

The 53-year-old Spanish actor is set to star in the tentatively titled film Carteristas, the drama set in the capital of Colombia, Bogota.

Peter Webber, renowned for his Oscar-nominated The Girl with a Pearl Earring, will direct the film, his first Spanish-language pic.

Carteristas tracks a 16-year old street urchin who, together with two pals, learns the art of pickpocketing from a master in the sleight of hand.

Bardem plays mentor to the 16-year old played by newcomer Emiliano Pernia, the son of Colombian actress Marcela Mar, who appears as his onscreen mother. Natalia Reyes and theatre actor Duban Prado complete the triad of friends.

Principal photography kicked off on Sunday, October 23 in Bogota with Colombian filmmakers Diana Rico and Richard Decaillet serving as associate directors.

“I’ve been visiting Colombia regularly for over a decade, and have shot some documentary material here,” said Webber. “The chance to make a feature film set in Bogota, one of the world’s most gritty and cinematic cities, is very exciting,” he added. Fluent in Spanish, Webber has previously worked in Japanese and Arabic.

Bardem, the brother of Javier Bardem, has previously appeared in the film’s Paradise Lost, The Debt and Days of Grace.