The infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper has been transplanted to America in ViX Original Series “El Dentista” (“The Dentist”) (working title) with Oscar-nominated Demián Bichir (“A Better Life”) in the titular role. Behind-the-scenes pics of the series, now shooting in Mexico, have been exclusively shared with Variety.
Based on the novel by prominent Chilean scribe Julio Rojas, creator of podcast sensation “Caso 63” and a co-writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio,” the period thriller series is produced by Oscar-winning brothers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain and their powerhouse shingle, Fabula, along with the top Spanish pay TV/SVOD service Movistar Plus+, which will also handle international sales.
This is possibly the second time that Fabula handling a mythical figure after Pablo Larrain’s horror satire “The Count,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix. However, in “The Count,” Larrain reimagines...
Based on the novel by prominent Chilean scribe Julio Rojas, creator of podcast sensation “Caso 63” and a co-writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio,” the period thriller series is produced by Oscar-winning brothers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain and their powerhouse shingle, Fabula, along with the top Spanish pay TV/SVOD service Movistar Plus+, which will also handle international sales.
This is possibly the second time that Fabula handling a mythical figure after Pablo Larrain’s horror satire “The Count,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix. However, in “The Count,” Larrain reimagines...
- 10/26/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Stuart Ford’s AGC Television has boarded the series adaptation of F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel, ‘Primavera del Mal’ (‘The Spring of Evil’) alongside Mexican-American filmmaker Fernando Lebrija of Cielo Content and Irreversible Pictures.
To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-u.S. border.
In the world of illicit trade, adopted siblings Raul Duval and Miguel Ying have successfully grown their family’s opium enterprise. Their ambitions now extend beyond mere cultivation as they seek to broaden their reach and increase their political influence. However, their aspirations take an unexpected turn when American mobster Bugsy Siegel arrives in Mexico City, offering them a golden opportunity.
Situated strategically between Nogales, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, the Ying family steers their course through the treacherous waters of the drug trade bridging Mexico and the U.
To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-u.S. border.
In the world of illicit trade, adopted siblings Raul Duval and Miguel Ying have successfully grown their family’s opium enterprise. Their ambitions now extend beyond mere cultivation as they seek to broaden their reach and increase their political influence. However, their aspirations take an unexpected turn when American mobster Bugsy Siegel arrives in Mexico City, offering them a golden opportunity.
Situated strategically between Nogales, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, the Ying family steers their course through the treacherous waters of the drug trade bridging Mexico and the U.
- 10/17/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Variety’s Global Locations Panel Conversations kicked off Saturday with a focus on Spain in which Juan-Manuel Guimeráns, Spain Film Commission general secretary, posited a new further reason for shooting in Spain.
Much is made of the country’s Omg locations, highlighted in “Game of Thrones,” its talent and technical prowess, and now extraordinary incentives. Now, as big international companies seek cost control and to promote sustainability, increasing attention will be paid to the Spanish industry’s ability to produce quality, cost-effective film and TV content very largely shot on a limited number of soundstages. Variety’s John Hopewell, in conversation with Guimeráns, pointed to the example of milestone series from Spain, such as “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and the first two parts of “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”). In the final stretches of the conversation, Guimeráns drilled down on some of key projects and recently opened studio facilities in Spain.
Much is made of the country’s Omg locations, highlighted in “Game of Thrones,” its talent and technical prowess, and now extraordinary incentives. Now, as big international companies seek cost control and to promote sustainability, increasing attention will be paid to the Spanish industry’s ability to produce quality, cost-effective film and TV content very largely shot on a limited number of soundstages. Variety’s John Hopewell, in conversation with Guimeráns, pointed to the example of milestone series from Spain, such as “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and the first two parts of “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”). In the final stretches of the conversation, Guimeráns drilled down on some of key projects and recently opened studio facilities in Spain.
- 5/24/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Goteborg, Sweden — Fast consolidating as one of Europe’s highest-profile filmmakers, Sweden’s Ruben Östlund scored three of the biggest Oscar category nominations last Tuesday – picture, direction and original screenplay – for “Triangle of Sadness,” a send-up of the super rich.
His latest work, however, “This is Cinema!,” billed as “an on-site experience directed by Ruben Östlund,” has seen Östlund directing not a film, but it’s audience. The event took place on Saturday at Sweden’s Göteborg Festival, Scandinavia’s biggest film-tv event.
In it, Östlund climbed on stage to direct a local audience on how to play a far more active part in the cinema-going experience. Greeted with self-critical jubilation by attendees, Östlund’s show sees him join other leading lights on Europe’s film scene, such as Cannes head Thierry Frémaux, in campaigning for cinema as a collective social activity.
Ostlund’s “experience” also comes as art-house cinema...
His latest work, however, “This is Cinema!,” billed as “an on-site experience directed by Ruben Östlund,” has seen Östlund directing not a film, but it’s audience. The event took place on Saturday at Sweden’s Göteborg Festival, Scandinavia’s biggest film-tv event.
In it, Östlund climbed on stage to direct a local audience on how to play a far more active part in the cinema-going experience. Greeted with self-critical jubilation by attendees, Östlund’s show sees him join other leading lights on Europe’s film scene, such as Cannes head Thierry Frémaux, in campaigning for cinema as a collective social activity.
Ostlund’s “experience” also comes as art-house cinema...
- 1/29/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s J.A. Bayona, director of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” is developing an adaptation of Manuel Chaves Nogales’ short story collection “A sangre y fuego,” now considered by some in Spain as the best portrayal by a Spaniard of its ghastly Spanish Civil War.
Bayona is working with writer-director Agustín Díaz Yanes to develop a script, based on the book by Chaves Nogales who died in exile in London in 1944.
Talking on stage at the Seville European Film Festival, which opened on Friday, Bayona said he had been developing the project for several years and is “especially interested in the humanist vision” that Chaves Nogales showed in the fiction book.
Written over 1936-37 by Chaves Nogales in reaction to what he called “the stupidity and cruelty which lorded over Spain” during the Spanish Civil War, practiced by...
Bayona is working with writer-director Agustín Díaz Yanes to develop a script, based on the book by Chaves Nogales who died in exile in London in 1944.
Talking on stage at the Seville European Film Festival, which opened on Friday, Bayona said he had been developing the project for several years and is “especially interested in the humanist vision” that Chaves Nogales showed in the fiction book.
Written over 1936-37 by Chaves Nogales in reaction to what he called “the stupidity and cruelty which lorded over Spain” during the Spanish Civil War, practiced by...
- 11/6/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
There is no bigger swing this year from HBO Max in Spain than its original series “Garcia!” Produced by Madrid’s Zeta Studios, the company behind Netflix’s uber hit “Elite,” it also marks a push by HBO Max in Europe into series of broader appeal than the traditional HBO brand.
Dropping worldwide its first two episodes on HBO Max from Oct. 28, the six-part thriller played to applause at its world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest where the series’ Spanish director, Eugenio Mira, is a firm favourite, winning best director in 2005 for his feature debut, “The Birthday,” and screening there in 2013 “Grand Piano,” starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack.
“One of our obsessions, and mine in particular, is trying to do things which have not been done before,” Miguel Salvat, VP commissioning editor Spain for HBO Max, explained to Variety at San Sebastian last year at a presentation which included “Garcia!
Dropping worldwide its first two episodes on HBO Max from Oct. 28, the six-part thriller played to applause at its world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest where the series’ Spanish director, Eugenio Mira, is a firm favourite, winning best director in 2005 for his feature debut, “The Birthday,” and screening there in 2013 “Grand Piano,” starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack.
“One of our obsessions, and mine in particular, is trying to do things which have not been done before,” Miguel Salvat, VP commissioning editor Spain for HBO Max, explained to Variety at San Sebastian last year at a presentation which included “Garcia!
- 10/24/2022
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Jalmari Helander’s WWII action thriller “Sisu” has made good on its upbeat reception at Toronto Midnight Madness – Variety called it “outrageously entertaining” – winning the top award at this year’s Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia which is showing, like genre itself, clear signs of expansion.
The over 70,000 tickets sold at 2022’s Sitges were 10 up on 2019, and an all-time record. Sitges guests stood at 610, also the biggest figure ever, announced Mònica García Massagué, director of the Sitges Foundation.
One of the other big winners at Sitges was “The House of the Devil’s” Ti West, with “Pearl,” a prequel to porn shoot slasher “X” which plays like a cross between “Psycho” and “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” Variety announced in its review.
In further awards, Michele Garza’s body horror thriller “Huesera,” a probing motherhood drama and arresting mix of Lgtbq passion and genre innovation, added to...
The over 70,000 tickets sold at 2022’s Sitges were 10 up on 2019, and an all-time record. Sitges guests stood at 610, also the biggest figure ever, announced Mònica García Massagué, director of the Sitges Foundation.
One of the other big winners at Sitges was “The House of the Devil’s” Ti West, with “Pearl,” a prequel to porn shoot slasher “X” which plays like a cross between “Psycho” and “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” Variety announced in its review.
In further awards, Michele Garza’s body horror thriller “Huesera,” a probing motherhood drama and arresting mix of Lgtbq passion and genre innovation, added to...
- 10/16/2022
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Continuing to tap top series from Spain, Munich-based Beta Film has snapped up international distribution rights to “Simple,” the new dramedy by Anna R. Costa, the co-creator of Movistar Plus+‘s most-binged series, “Arde Madrid.”
Costa’s directorial debut, “Simple” world premiered earlier this week in San Sebastian as a Movistar Plus+ world premiere.
Produced by Movistar Plus+ in collaboration with Destrucción y Salvación, “Simple” turns on four young women in their twenties and thirties, who have reached a milestone in their lives: Sharing an apartment as truly independent adults. The series follows the flat mates, all of whom have disabilities, as they navigate the pressures of adulthood and the absurd norms imposed on them by society.
As Costa asked in a Variety interview: “How on earth has society relegated certain people to the margins based solely on their gender, race, cognition, forcing them into social isolation, challenging and abusing...
Costa’s directorial debut, “Simple” world premiered earlier this week in San Sebastian as a Movistar Plus+ world premiere.
Produced by Movistar Plus+ in collaboration with Destrucción y Salvación, “Simple” turns on four young women in their twenties and thirties, who have reached a milestone in their lives: Sharing an apartment as truly independent adults. The series follows the flat mates, all of whom have disabilities, as they navigate the pressures of adulthood and the absurd norms imposed on them by society.
As Costa asked in a Variety interview: “How on earth has society relegated certain people to the margins based solely on their gender, race, cognition, forcing them into social isolation, challenging and abusing...
- 9/23/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
After wowing a home crowd at the opening night of the San Sebastián Film Festival on Friday, looking dazzling at 48, Spain’s best-known actress, Penélope Cruz, spoke to a packed auditorium at the city’s Tabakalera culture center on Saturday when she was honored with Spain’s National Cinematography Prize.
“It is truly an honor for me to receive this National Cinematography Prize,” said Cruz speaking in Spanish.
“Cinema is and has been my passion since I was a child. Since I dreamed in the living room of my parents’ house of worlds to explore beyond our neighbourhood. The streets of my neighborhood sometimes became sets for incredible stories,” she went on. “My childhood was fantasizing about acting, living life so intensely to be able to encompass many lives through dozens of characters.”
Cruz received two standing ovations during the ceremony. Cruz was presented the award by Spain’s Minister of Culture and Sports,...
“It is truly an honor for me to receive this National Cinematography Prize,” said Cruz speaking in Spanish.
“Cinema is and has been my passion since I was a child. Since I dreamed in the living room of my parents’ house of worlds to explore beyond our neighbourhood. The streets of my neighborhood sometimes became sets for incredible stories,” she went on. “My childhood was fantasizing about acting, living life so intensely to be able to encompass many lives through dozens of characters.”
Cruz received two standing ovations during the ceremony. Cruz was presented the award by Spain’s Minister of Culture and Sports,...
- 9/17/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
“Alcarràs,” from Catalonia’s Carla Simón, won Berlin’s top Golden Bear in February. “One Year, One Night,” from Catalan Isaki Lacuesta, also played in main competition. This May “Pacifiction,” from Albert Serra, another Catalan, has scored a competition berth at Cannes.
Thanks to these three titles, Catalonia has more directors this year in the key section at Europe’s two biggest festivals than Italy (2), Germany (1) or the U.K. (none at all). Other Catalan productions to play at Cannes: Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” in Premiere and Anna Fernández’s “I Didn’t Make It to Love Her,” a Critics’ Week short.
If big fest selection is any measure, with just 7.6 million inhabitants and Barcelona as its capital, Catalonia is building as an upscale European movie powerhouse.
The build, however, is far broader based. In the pipeline, all from Barcelona-based Nostromo Pictures, are major Netflix titles such as David...
Thanks to these three titles, Catalonia has more directors this year in the key section at Europe’s two biggest festivals than Italy (2), Germany (1) or the U.K. (none at all). Other Catalan productions to play at Cannes: Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” in Premiere and Anna Fernández’s “I Didn’t Make It to Love Her,” a Critics’ Week short.
If big fest selection is any measure, with just 7.6 million inhabitants and Barcelona as its capital, Catalonia is building as an upscale European movie powerhouse.
The build, however, is far broader based. In the pipeline, all from Barcelona-based Nostromo Pictures, are major Netflix titles such as David...
- 5/18/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
From Berlin Golden Bear winner ‘Alcarrás’ to Cannes Competition title ‘Pacifiction,’ these projects will represent Catalonia at Cannes.
Alcarràs
Director: Carla Simón
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, a family farm drama marking the flagship title for Catalonia’s newest generation of cineastes.
Sales: MK2 Films
Amazing Elisa
Director: Sadrac González-Perellón
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González- Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, seeks revenge after her mother’s tragic death. La Charito Films produces.
Sales: Filmax
The Beasts
Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, selected for Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte.
Sales: Latido Films
The Communion Girl
Director: Víctor García
Film Factory’s genre play for Cannes: A revenge thriller drawing on an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress.
Sales: Film...
Alcarràs
Director: Carla Simón
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, a family farm drama marking the flagship title for Catalonia’s newest generation of cineastes.
Sales: MK2 Films
Amazing Elisa
Director: Sadrac González-Perellón
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González- Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, seeks revenge after her mother’s tragic death. La Charito Films produces.
Sales: Filmax
The Beasts
Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, selected for Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte.
Sales: Latido Films
The Communion Girl
Director: Víctor García
Film Factory’s genre play for Cannes: A revenge thriller drawing on an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress.
Sales: Film...
- 5/18/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Film Factory Entertainment has picked up international sales rights to Cristian Bernard’s thriller movie “Ecos de un crimen” (“Echoes”), successfully released in Argentina by Warner Bros Pictures and HBO Max.
Barcelona-based Film Factory, which previously handled hit Latin American titles such as “Wild Tales,” “La Llorona” and “The Clan,” will introduce “Echoes” to international buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Market.
After a Jan. 27 theatrical release, “Echoes” sold more than 105,000 tickets, becoming the biggest local hit at the Argentine box office since March 2020, the beginning of Covid-19 quarantine.
“Echoes” is produced by Particular Crowd, the original content label of WarnerMedia Latin America, alongside Buenos Aires-based Tieless Media, the production company founded by Fernando Abadi.
The film turns on Julian Lemar, an internationally renown suspense novel writer under pressure from his publisher to complete the last novel in his massively successful franchise, who goes on vacation with his family -– his supportive wife Valeria,...
Barcelona-based Film Factory, which previously handled hit Latin American titles such as “Wild Tales,” “La Llorona” and “The Clan,” will introduce “Echoes” to international buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Market.
After a Jan. 27 theatrical release, “Echoes” sold more than 105,000 tickets, becoming the biggest local hit at the Argentine box office since March 2020, the beginning of Covid-19 quarantine.
“Echoes” is produced by Particular Crowd, the original content label of WarnerMedia Latin America, alongside Buenos Aires-based Tieless Media, the production company founded by Fernando Abadi.
The film turns on Julian Lemar, an internationally renown suspense novel writer under pressure from his publisher to complete the last novel in his massively successful franchise, who goes on vacation with his family -– his supportive wife Valeria,...
- 5/12/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Prestige French distribution house Dulac Distribution has closed rights to France on “1976,” one of the most awaited of films to come out of Chile this year, which will world premiere next month at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The buzzed up title represents the first feature from young Chilean actor-turned-director Manuela Martelli, star of Andrés Wood’s “Machuca” and Alicia Scherson’s “Il Futuro.”
Worldwide sales rights on “1976” are represented by Paris-based Luxbox, adding to its lengthening list of high profile pick-ups from Latin America which include Nathalie Alvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola,” Alejandra Márquez’s “The Good Girls,” Marcelo Martinessi’s “The Heiresses” and Benjamín Naishtat’s “Rojo.”
The acquisition in a key territory for non English-language art films comes just weeks after “1976” walked off with three of the biggest awards at the Toulouse Latin American Festival’s Films in Progress, including the pix-in-post competition’s Grand Prix and Cine Plus...
The buzzed up title represents the first feature from young Chilean actor-turned-director Manuela Martelli, star of Andrés Wood’s “Machuca” and Alicia Scherson’s “Il Futuro.”
Worldwide sales rights on “1976” are represented by Paris-based Luxbox, adding to its lengthening list of high profile pick-ups from Latin America which include Nathalie Alvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola,” Alejandra Márquez’s “The Good Girls,” Marcelo Martinessi’s “The Heiresses” and Benjamín Naishtat’s “Rojo.”
The acquisition in a key territory for non English-language art films comes just weeks after “1976” walked off with three of the biggest awards at the Toulouse Latin American Festival’s Films in Progress, including the pix-in-post competition’s Grand Prix and Cine Plus...
- 4/25/2022
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Rapidly emerging as one of Spain’s foremost hothouses for new producer and creative talent, the Ecam Madrid Film School’s Incubator program has chosen five titles for its 2022 program:
“Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” “Disposable,” “Macrame,” “Festina Lente” and “Ripli.”
Launched to connect early career talent in Spain with Europe’s film industry, the 5th Incubator runs from Feb. 23 through July.
The program will be overseen by writer-director Rafa Alberola, who serves as the new manager of The Screen, Ecam’s industry initiative umbrella.
This year’s lineup announcements comes as one Incubator project, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby,” is set to world premiere in Berlin’s Panorama section later this week.
Chema García Ibarra’s “Sacred Spirit” proved a standout at August’s Locarno Festival, another Incubator debut, Javier Marco’s Javier Marco’s “Josefina” was for many the most notable Spanish feature debut...
“Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” “Disposable,” “Macrame,” “Festina Lente” and “Ripli.”
Launched to connect early career talent in Spain with Europe’s film industry, the 5th Incubator runs from Feb. 23 through July.
The program will be overseen by writer-director Rafa Alberola, who serves as the new manager of The Screen, Ecam’s industry initiative umbrella.
This year’s lineup announcements comes as one Incubator project, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby,” is set to world premiere in Berlin’s Panorama section later this week.
Chema García Ibarra’s “Sacred Spirit” proved a standout at August’s Locarno Festival, another Incubator debut, Javier Marco’s Javier Marco’s “Josefina” was for many the most notable Spanish feature debut...
- 2/8/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Indian helmer Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” walked off on Saturday with the top prize, the Golden Spike, at the 66th Valladolid Intl. Film Festival, one of Spain’s biggest and oldest film events and a bastion of festival-prized art film titles.
The French-Indian co-production marks Nalin’s homage to celluloid and is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy whose life is turned on its head after he watches his first film at the cinema. World premiering at Tribeca, it became the first foreign-language feature to score as the first runner up for Tribeca’s Audience Award.
Writer and director Pan Nalin said: “What we started in our solitude in a remote countryside of Gujarat has now started to echoing in multitudes the world over. Winning the best picture Golden Spike at the Seminci is like belonging to the rich history of cinema that Valladolid has stood for nearly seven decades.
The French-Indian co-production marks Nalin’s homage to celluloid and is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy whose life is turned on its head after he watches his first film at the cinema. World premiering at Tribeca, it became the first foreign-language feature to score as the first runner up for Tribeca’s Audience Award.
Writer and director Pan Nalin said: “What we started in our solitude in a remote countryside of Gujarat has now started to echoing in multitudes the world over. Winning the best picture Golden Spike at the Seminci is like belonging to the rich history of cinema that Valladolid has stood for nearly seven decades.
- 11/1/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Based out of the U.S. and Spain, 34T Sales has taken international rights to surrealist romcom “The Queen of Lizards,” directed by Nando Martínez and Juan González, who go by the name of Burnin’ Percebes.
The feature is produced by Pedro Hernández at Madrid-based Aquí y Allí Films which first caught notice with “Here and There,” the debut feature of Antonio Méndez Esparza, which won Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize in 2012. Carlos Vermut’s “Magical Girl” scooped San Sebastian’s Golden Shell in 2016, while another Aqua y all production, Méndez Esparza’s “Life and Nothing More,” was proclaimed an “essential film2 of 2017 by Variety.
The Spanish producer has proven to have a keen eye for discovering young original talent working on stories deeply rooted in memorable characters.
Martínez and González broke out with their first feature, 2014’s “Searching for Meritxell,” then made “Ikea 2,” two low-cost indie features which confronted classic scenarios,...
The feature is produced by Pedro Hernández at Madrid-based Aquí y Allí Films which first caught notice with “Here and There,” the debut feature of Antonio Méndez Esparza, which won Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize in 2012. Carlos Vermut’s “Magical Girl” scooped San Sebastian’s Golden Shell in 2016, while another Aqua y all production, Méndez Esparza’s “Life and Nothing More,” was proclaimed an “essential film2 of 2017 by Variety.
The Spanish producer has proven to have a keen eye for discovering young original talent working on stories deeply rooted in memorable characters.
Martínez and González broke out with their first feature, 2014’s “Searching for Meritxell,” then made “Ikea 2,” two low-cost indie features which confronted classic scenarios,...
- 10/21/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Market
ITV Studios has unveiled a raft of pre-sales for several of its titles and released details about its scripted slate of shows which the company will present to buyers from around the world at its Fall Festival Drama day, Wednesday Oct. 6.
Commissioned by ITV and Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent), the new drama series “Litvinenko,” from writer George Kay, is a four-part true-crime drama starring David Tennant. The series, which is produced by Patrick Spence, ITV Studios and Tiger Aspect Productions, recounts the real-life story of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian Federal Security Services and Kgb officer was killed by polonium poisoning in 2006, initiating one of the Metropolitan Police’s most complicated investigations in its history.
Pre-sales deals announced by ITV Studios include major series “The Ipcress File,” “The Long Call,” and “Showtrial,” and a number of shows will hit the market next week including “Our House” (Red Planet Pictures...
ITV Studios has unveiled a raft of pre-sales for several of its titles and released details about its scripted slate of shows which the company will present to buyers from around the world at its Fall Festival Drama day, Wednesday Oct. 6.
Commissioned by ITV and Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent), the new drama series “Litvinenko,” from writer George Kay, is a four-part true-crime drama starring David Tennant. The series, which is produced by Patrick Spence, ITV Studios and Tiger Aspect Productions, recounts the real-life story of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian Federal Security Services and Kgb officer was killed by polonium poisoning in 2006, initiating one of the Metropolitan Police’s most complicated investigations in its history.
Pre-sales deals announced by ITV Studios include major series “The Ipcress File,” “The Long Call,” and “Showtrial,” and a number of shows will hit the market next week including “Our House” (Red Planet Pictures...
- 9/30/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Uruguayan filmmaker Manuel Nieto’s social thriller “The Employer and the Employee,” starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (“Persian Lessons” and “Bpm” (Beats Per Minute), comes to the San Sebastian Film Festival to close the Horizontes Latinos sidebar on Thursday, Sept. 23. It’s a journey that began at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight where it world premiered after winning development prizes at Toulouse’s Latin Film Festival, Mar del Plata’s LoboLab and San Sebastián’s Wip Latam.
Picked up by Latido Films in the run-up to Cannes in July, “The Employer and the Employee” is Nieto’s third feature after his debut “The Dog Pound,” followed by “The Militant.” If there’s a thru line to find among his films, Nieto sees several: “The leads are masculine, the father figure is always present, they deal with youth in different stages and weights of responsibility and invariably touch on the concepts of legacy, identity,...
Picked up by Latido Films in the run-up to Cannes in July, “The Employer and the Employee” is Nieto’s third feature after his debut “The Dog Pound,” followed by “The Militant.” If there’s a thru line to find among his films, Nieto sees several: “The leads are masculine, the father figure is always present, they deal with youth in different stages and weights of responsibility and invariably touch on the concepts of legacy, identity,...
- 9/23/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s San Sebastian Film Festival is in mourning as Spanish director Mario Camus, celebrated for his sober but caring adaptations of distinguished Spanish novels such as “La Colmena” – written by Nobel prize winner Camilo José Cela – Ignacio Aldecoa’s “Young Sánchez” and “The Holy Innocents” by Miguel Delibes, died on Saturday in Santander, northern Spain, the city where he was born. Camus was 86.
Among his career achievements, Camus took the Berlin Golden Bear for best film with “La Colmena” (1983), a Cannes Prize Ecumenical Jury prize for “The Holy Innocents” (1984). Such films proved a highpoint in Spain’s ruling socialist left’s dream, pushed when Pilar Miró took over as head of Spain’s Icaa film institute in 1982, of maintaining Spanish cinema’s social edge but priming its production levels and taking it onto a European stage.
Camus also participated in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight and at the Moscow Festival...
Among his career achievements, Camus took the Berlin Golden Bear for best film with “La Colmena” (1983), a Cannes Prize Ecumenical Jury prize for “The Holy Innocents” (1984). Such films proved a highpoint in Spain’s ruling socialist left’s dream, pushed when Pilar Miró took over as head of Spain’s Icaa film institute in 1982, of maintaining Spanish cinema’s social edge but priming its production levels and taking it onto a European stage.
Camus also participated in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight and at the Moscow Festival...
- 9/20/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish producer Piluca Baquero (“Lo que sé de Lola”) is teaming with former Btf Media executive Miguel Bueno to launch Ramen Story & Content Studio, a new – and ambitious – TV-film production venture.
Also on board areMiguel Arnas, José Antonio Bosch and Jesus Gómez, Baquero will serve as an executive producer on titles, Bueno, who worked making commercials for much of his career, is director of content at Ramen.
Ramen is focusing on two projects to begin with but “we are not setting a fixed limit” when it comes to annual output, Baquero said at the San Sebastian Festival on Sunday where the partners unveiled the new company.
First out the gate is the sci-fi drama series “Solar.” Kike Maillo, who burst onto the scene with his feature debut “Eva,” is attached to direct, working from scripts by Alex Mendíbil, co-writer of HBO Max’s Spanish comedy “Sin Novedad.”
A documentary, “The Kicks of the Future,...
Also on board areMiguel Arnas, José Antonio Bosch and Jesus Gómez, Baquero will serve as an executive producer on titles, Bueno, who worked making commercials for much of his career, is director of content at Ramen.
Ramen is focusing on two projects to begin with but “we are not setting a fixed limit” when it comes to annual output, Baquero said at the San Sebastian Festival on Sunday where the partners unveiled the new company.
First out the gate is the sci-fi drama series “Solar.” Kike Maillo, who burst onto the scene with his feature debut “Eva,” is attached to direct, working from scripts by Alex Mendíbil, co-writer of HBO Max’s Spanish comedy “Sin Novedad.”
A documentary, “The Kicks of the Future,...
- 9/20/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Brazilian media giant Globo has forged a long-term strategic partnership with Google Cloud in its bid to become a full-fledged mediatech company. The new deal aims to bring more scale, efficiency and innovation to Globo’s operations and distribution.
The brand new alliance dovetails with Globo’s recent digital transformation, with a restructuring focused on direct-to-consumer deliveries.
Starting April 2021, over the next seven years, Globo will use Google’s experience in data management, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (Ml), as well as its global, scalable and secure infrastructure, to bolster the company’s digital evolution.
“In recent years, we dove deeply into our processes, so that the company was in fact prepared for the many challenges of the future,” said Globo CEO Jorge Nóbrega, adding: “This strategic partnership will help us accelerate the main pillars of our transformation, such as focus on the public, data management, partnership for innovation and new business models.
The brand new alliance dovetails with Globo’s recent digital transformation, with a restructuring focused on direct-to-consumer deliveries.
Starting April 2021, over the next seven years, Globo will use Google’s experience in data management, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (Ml), as well as its global, scalable and secure infrastructure, to bolster the company’s digital evolution.
“In recent years, we dove deeply into our processes, so that the company was in fact prepared for the many challenges of the future,” said Globo CEO Jorge Nóbrega, adding: “This strategic partnership will help us accelerate the main pillars of our transformation, such as focus on the public, data management, partnership for innovation and new business models.
- 4/7/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
One of the Spanish-speaking world’s biggest sales forces, Film Factory Entertainment has swooped on sales rights to thriller “Two” (“Duo”), directed by Mar Targarona and the latest production from top Spanish genre auteur producer Rodar y Rodar.
Producer of two milestone titles of Spain’s genre auteur scene – J.A Bayona’s “The Orphanage” and Guillem Morales’ “Julia’s Eyes,” Targarona has built her own directorial career on suspense thrillers that prove unexpected and unpredictable in tone and resolution, such as 2016’s “Boy Missing” and “The Photographer of Mauthausen” – part true-events inspired record, part edge-of-set entertainment – in particular drawing strong notices. “Two” looks no exception. Its singular premise sees two strangers, a man and a woman in their 30s, wake up in an unknown place, naked and glued to each other by their stomachs. They struggle to understand how and why they got there – becoming increasingly terrified as they discover clues and the truth emerges.
Producer of two milestone titles of Spain’s genre auteur scene – J.A Bayona’s “The Orphanage” and Guillem Morales’ “Julia’s Eyes,” Targarona has built her own directorial career on suspense thrillers that prove unexpected and unpredictable in tone and resolution, such as 2016’s “Boy Missing” and “The Photographer of Mauthausen” – part true-events inspired record, part edge-of-set entertainment – in particular drawing strong notices. “Two” looks no exception. Its singular premise sees two strangers, a man and a woman in their 30s, wake up in an unknown place, naked and glued to each other by their stomachs. They struggle to understand how and why they got there – becoming increasingly terrified as they discover clues and the truth emerges.
- 3/15/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
“The Fam” (“La Mif”), Swiss filmmaker Fred Baillif’s bruising, raw portrait of the residents and staff of a Geneva, Switzerland, teen girl care home, has won the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus Grand Prix
“Like a rushing, energetic, pulsing heartbeat, this film pushes its characters and viewers in brutal honesty through different stories and incidents. Carried by captivating and strong acting performances, it never loses its balance between power and vulnerability. The film pulls you in, never lets go and hits straight to the heart,” the jurors said in their praise of the pic.
“The Fam,” which features remarkable performances for non-pro actors, is produced by the director’s own outfit, Freshprod, and Rts, the Swiss French-language public television. It is sold by Latido Films.
A Special Mention in the category Feature Film Generation 14plus went to U.S. director Dash Shaw’s animated fantasy “Cryptozoo,” which premiered at Sundance.
“Like a rushing, energetic, pulsing heartbeat, this film pushes its characters and viewers in brutal honesty through different stories and incidents. Carried by captivating and strong acting performances, it never loses its balance between power and vulnerability. The film pulls you in, never lets go and hits straight to the heart,” the jurors said in their praise of the pic.
“The Fam,” which features remarkable performances for non-pro actors, is produced by the director’s own outfit, Freshprod, and Rts, the Swiss French-language public television. It is sold by Latido Films.
A Special Mention in the category Feature Film Generation 14plus went to U.S. director Dash Shaw’s animated fantasy “Cryptozoo,” which premiered at Sundance.
- 3/4/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Stienette Bosklopper of the Netherlands’ Circe Films and Meike Martens of Germany’s Blinker Filmproduktion have boarded “Do Fish Sleep With Their Eyes Open?,” the latest film from director Nele Wohlatz, whose 2016 documentary hybrid “The Future Perfect” won best feature in Locarno.
The co-production partnerships add European support and financing muscle to an Argentine project produced by Buenos Aires’ Ruda Cine, which has already attracted a Brazilian partner, CinemaScópio.
In “Do Fish Sleep With Their Eyes Open?” German filmmaker Wohlatz continues her examination of the immigrant experience via a feature film set in the bustling Brazilian city of Recife.
The project, which is taking part in the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart co-production market, follows three young Chinese travelers, two immigrant workers and a tourist, and explores themes of belonging and constant movement.
The film’s protagonists don’t event “try to make Recife a home, since tomorrow they might go somewhere else,...
The co-production partnerships add European support and financing muscle to an Argentine project produced by Buenos Aires’ Ruda Cine, which has already attracted a Brazilian partner, CinemaScópio.
In “Do Fish Sleep With Their Eyes Open?” German filmmaker Wohlatz continues her examination of the immigrant experience via a feature film set in the bustling Brazilian city of Recife.
The project, which is taking part in the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart co-production market, follows three young Chinese travelers, two immigrant workers and a tourist, and explores themes of belonging and constant movement.
The film’s protagonists don’t event “try to make Recife a home, since tomorrow they might go somewhere else,...
- 1/18/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Few content industries have been harder hit by Covid-19 than Latin America’s. Brazil has the second highest mortality rate in the world. Argentina is still in first-phase lockdown, its Incaa state film-tv fund decimated. Chile hasn’t been able to shoot.
In such a context, one sector, animation, has stood tall in 2020, demonstrating a “resilience” that will see it emerge fortified from Covid-19 crisis, according to a just-released report by Spain’s annual Quirino Awards, which celebrate outstanding animation in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
Published in the long build-up to 2021’s 4th Quirino Awards – scheduled for May 27-29 in the Canary Islands’ Tenerife, with a call for applications running through Jan. 7 – the study, “Animation Resilience,” draws, a nuanced but upbeat picture of how one of Latin America’s strongest bets for 2021 rode out Covid-19 in 2020.
In general, the larger the country, the greater its capacity to maintain animation output levels,...
In such a context, one sector, animation, has stood tall in 2020, demonstrating a “resilience” that will see it emerge fortified from Covid-19 crisis, according to a just-released report by Spain’s annual Quirino Awards, which celebrate outstanding animation in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
Published in the long build-up to 2021’s 4th Quirino Awards – scheduled for May 27-29 in the Canary Islands’ Tenerife, with a call for applications running through Jan. 7 – the study, “Animation Resilience,” draws, a nuanced but upbeat picture of how one of Latin America’s strongest bets for 2021 rode out Covid-19 in 2020.
In general, the larger the country, the greater its capacity to maintain animation output levels,...
- 12/28/2020
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
“The Maus” director Yayo Herrero is preparing a second feature, “Los Quinquis,” a standout at this year’s edition of Madrid’s Ecam film school Incubator program, which he will take to this year’s San Sebastian Festival to pitch in the Meet Them! section for projects.
Apart from its inclusion at Ecam’s Incubator, the film took part in a writing lab organized by Spain’s Sgae authors’ collection society. Herrero himself attended February’s Berlinale Talents.
Himself a twin, Herrero’s project turns on Adan and Lois, twin brothers living on the outskirts of Madrid who share everything. Raised in The Red Tower, a building for rehoused residents controlled by East European organized crime groups, the boys must rely on one another to escapea seemingly endless cycle of crime and poverty.
Herrero discussed the project with Variety ahead of this year’s Meet Me!
In “The Maus,” one...
Apart from its inclusion at Ecam’s Incubator, the film took part in a writing lab organized by Spain’s Sgae authors’ collection society. Herrero himself attended February’s Berlinale Talents.
Himself a twin, Herrero’s project turns on Adan and Lois, twin brothers living on the outskirts of Madrid who share everything. Raised in The Red Tower, a building for rehoused residents controlled by East European organized crime groups, the boys must rely on one another to escapea seemingly endless cycle of crime and poverty.
Herrero discussed the project with Variety ahead of this year’s Meet Me!
In “The Maus,” one...
- 9/20/2020
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Santiago Segura’s “Father There Is Only One 2” has punched €2.14 million ($2.5 million) across its first five days in Spain over July 29-Aug. 2, according to Comscore, maintaining its bid to become Europe’s first Covid-19 era blockbuster.
With some cinema theater takings still to come in, the box office trawl is at least 21% up on opening figures for the family comedy franchise’s first installment, which went on to become Spain’s biggest movie release of 2019, earning a final €14.2 million ($16.1 million) from an Aug. 1 bow.
This year’s opening box office has been made on one more day at the box office, with the sequel bowing on a Wednesday, and the first installment on a Thursday. But “Father 2” grossed $2.5 million from 23% fewer screens in Spain, according to Comscore — some movie theaters remain closed because of Covid-19 — and largely over a weekend that caught many Spaniards going on or returning from vacation.
With some cinema theater takings still to come in, the box office trawl is at least 21% up on opening figures for the family comedy franchise’s first installment, which went on to become Spain’s biggest movie release of 2019, earning a final €14.2 million ($16.1 million) from an Aug. 1 bow.
This year’s opening box office has been made on one more day at the box office, with the sequel bowing on a Wednesday, and the first installment on a Thursday. But “Father 2” grossed $2.5 million from 23% fewer screens in Spain, according to Comscore — some movie theaters remain closed because of Covid-19 — and largely over a weekend that caught many Spaniards going on or returning from vacation.
- 8/3/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Warner Bros. is reaching out to international exhibitors about a possible late August launch for Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.” If it takes place, it would mean that the twisty spy thriller, which was expected to be among the highest-grossing summer releases, will have some sort of popcorn season debut.
Exhibitors in the U.K., France and Spain have been told by the studio to plan for an Aug. 26-28 launch. The dates are not confirmed, though sources indicate that talks are positive. It’s understood the studio is also aiming to release the film early in Asia, with exhibitors in the region expecting to receive a new date in the next few days. It’s worth noting, however, that given the fast-changing nature of the global health crisis, these plans could change if the situation worsens and more hotspots emerge.
One exhibitor contacted by the studio, who asked to remain anonymous,...
Exhibitors in the U.K., France and Spain have been told by the studio to plan for an Aug. 26-28 launch. The dates are not confirmed, though sources indicate that talks are positive. It’s understood the studio is also aiming to release the film early in Asia, with exhibitors in the region expecting to receive a new date in the next few days. It’s worth noting, however, that given the fast-changing nature of the global health crisis, these plans could change if the situation worsens and more hotspots emerge.
One exhibitor contacted by the studio, who asked to remain anonymous,...
- 7/24/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Germany’s Zdf Enterprises, experts in crime and the production and sales outfit behind Nordic Noir original “The Bridge” and Swedish mega-hit crime thriller “Before We Die,” is at it again. This time round, the commercial arm of German public broadcaster Zdf has greenlit “Body of Water,” an eight-part crime drama showrun and written by Brendan Foley. Production is scheduled for 2021.
A Northern Irish writer, Foley has built up Nordic Noir credentials, co-writing Lionsgate and Viaplay series “Cold Courage” and adapting Finnish crime drama “Man Who Died” for Elisa.
Production partners include Nucleus Media Rights, with offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Mumbai and Seoul, and Italy’s 3zero2, part of France’s Euro Media Group.
Euro Noir “Body of Water,” which Zdfe will bring onto the market, begins when the bodies of a man and woman are dredged up three years apart from the River Thames and a Venice canal,...
A Northern Irish writer, Foley has built up Nordic Noir credentials, co-writing Lionsgate and Viaplay series “Cold Courage” and adapting Finnish crime drama “Man Who Died” for Elisa.
Production partners include Nucleus Media Rights, with offices in London, Los Angeles, Milan, Mumbai and Seoul, and Italy’s 3zero2, part of France’s Euro Media Group.
Euro Noir “Body of Water,” which Zdfe will bring onto the market, begins when the bodies of a man and woman are dredged up three years apart from the River Thames and a Venice canal,...
- 7/22/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema around the world, has unveiled the participants of the fifth edition of its Face to Face With German Films campaign, which this year is dedicated to screenwriters.
The writers chosen for Face to Face, which “turns the spotlight on the most influential names in the German audiovisual and film industry and represents some of its most dynamic figures,” are Jana Burbach (“Bad Banks”), Katharina Essyen (“Holiday Secrets”), Hanno Hackfort, Bernd Lange, Rafael Parente (“8 Days”) and Laila Stieler.
The campaign will kick off on March 26 with a panel discussion at Séries Mania in Lille, France, about modern storytelling, in partnership with Variety and Séries Mania. Entitled “Serious About Series: Elements of Innovation in Modern Storytelling,” the panel will be led by John Hopewell of Variety, in conversation with the six screenwriters.
Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, said: “Now in its fifth year,...
The writers chosen for Face to Face, which “turns the spotlight on the most influential names in the German audiovisual and film industry and represents some of its most dynamic figures,” are Jana Burbach (“Bad Banks”), Katharina Essyen (“Holiday Secrets”), Hanno Hackfort, Bernd Lange, Rafael Parente (“8 Days”) and Laila Stieler.
The campaign will kick off on March 26 with a panel discussion at Séries Mania in Lille, France, about modern storytelling, in partnership with Variety and Séries Mania. Entitled “Serious About Series: Elements of Innovation in Modern Storytelling,” the panel will be led by John Hopewell of Variety, in conversation with the six screenwriters.
Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, said: “Now in its fifth year,...
- 3/9/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Disney-owned production company Buena Vista Original Productions has announced a new series inspired by the life of legendary Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, titled “Centauro del Norte” (Centaur of the North).
A fictionalized version of Villa’s life story, the series will begin with the historical figure, real name Doroteo Arango, as a young bandit during his adolescence in the Mexican pueblo of Durango, and tracks his rise and eventual establishment as the most influential player in the Mexican Revolution before his eventual death, resulting from an ambush.
The 10-hour series, produced with Mexico’s Btf, will film on location across Mexico, in many places made famous through Villa’s exploits.
Looking to shed a light on lesser-known parts of Villa’s life, the series will take a multi-layered look at his historical legacy, his interpersonal contradictions and his life before becoming a revolutionary. Described in a press release as: “cruel,...
A fictionalized version of Villa’s life story, the series will begin with the historical figure, real name Doroteo Arango, as a young bandit during his adolescence in the Mexican pueblo of Durango, and tracks his rise and eventual establishment as the most influential player in the Mexican Revolution before his eventual death, resulting from an ambush.
The 10-hour series, produced with Mexico’s Btf, will film on location across Mexico, in many places made famous through Villa’s exploits.
Looking to shed a light on lesser-known parts of Villa’s life, the series will take a multi-layered look at his historical legacy, his interpersonal contradictions and his life before becoming a revolutionary. Described in a press release as: “cruel,...
- 2/13/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon Prime Video in Latin America has added four new Amazon Original Series to their catalog from Argentina, Chile and Colombia, the first Originals from the territories. The series will be available on the platform in more than 200 countries and territories.
Chile’s “La Jauría” (“The Pack”) already broadcast on domestic network Tvn, will be joined by three series set to begin production in 2020: “Iosi, El Espía Arrepentido,” “Colonia Dignidad” and “Noticia de un Secuestro.”
From Chile, “La Jauría” is directed by award-winner filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, whose 2007 feature “Xxy” won four prizes at the Cannes Festival. The series stars Chilean Oscar-nominated “A Fantastic Woman” lead actress Daniela Vega in a story of a Catholic school girl who starts a protest against a deadly online game in which men are recruited to commit acts of violence towards women. The girl disappears and her story goes viral when a video of...
Chile’s “La Jauría” (“The Pack”) already broadcast on domestic network Tvn, will be joined by three series set to begin production in 2020: “Iosi, El Espía Arrepentido,” “Colonia Dignidad” and “Noticia de un Secuestro.”
From Chile, “La Jauría” is directed by award-winner filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, whose 2007 feature “Xxy” won four prizes at the Cannes Festival. The series stars Chilean Oscar-nominated “A Fantastic Woman” lead actress Daniela Vega in a story of a Catholic school girl who starts a protest against a deadly online game in which men are recruited to commit acts of violence towards women. The girl disappears and her story goes viral when a video of...
- 1/24/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
On June 27, 1994, the bodies of a nightclub owner and two dancers were found shot dead in Miramar, Florida. Pablo Ibar, a Spanish-American of Cuban descent was arrested on the basis of a blurry VHS tape, which showed the face of one of the assailants.
Despite a lack of conclusive evidence, in 2000, Ibar was convicted of triple homicide and sentenced to death. His story is now brought to the screen by Movistar Plus, Studiocanal and Bambu Producciones, in “On Death Row,” a four-part miniseries that is a Mipcom Market Screening.
The series, created by Bambu’s Ramon Campos and Gema R. Niera, and based on the non-fiction book of the same title by Spanish journalist Nacho Carretero and research by Olmo Figuredo at Spanish production house La Claqueta, the series charts Ibar’s legal battle to prove his innocence and the support of his family, which has never given up on him.
Despite a lack of conclusive evidence, in 2000, Ibar was convicted of triple homicide and sentenced to death. His story is now brought to the screen by Movistar Plus, Studiocanal and Bambu Producciones, in “On Death Row,” a four-part miniseries that is a Mipcom Market Screening.
The series, created by Bambu’s Ramon Campos and Gema R. Niera, and based on the non-fiction book of the same title by Spanish journalist Nacho Carretero and research by Olmo Figuredo at Spanish production house La Claqueta, the series charts Ibar’s legal battle to prove his innocence and the support of his family, which has never given up on him.
- 10/14/2019
- by Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
TNT is hitting the highways and byways of the United States in its latest Spanish original series, “Road Trip,” produced by Atresmedia Studios and featuring local personalities Nuria Roca and Esty Quesada.
The factual show will accompany the odd-couple celebrities on a car trip that begins in Miami, where Roca, a popular TV host, and Quesada, who rose to fame with her provocative YouTube show “Soy una pringada,” will first get to know each other. As they set off on their to explore the U.S., they will share their views of the people and places they encounter and their own personal journeys of self exploration.
“I don’t know Esty, I don’t know this kind of format, I don’t know Miami, I don’t know the East Coast of the U.S.,” Roca said. “I’m dying to embark on this story and see where it takes me.
The factual show will accompany the odd-couple celebrities on a car trip that begins in Miami, where Roca, a popular TV host, and Quesada, who rose to fame with her provocative YouTube show “Soy una pringada,” will first get to know each other. As they set off on their to explore the U.S., they will share their views of the people and places they encounter and their own personal journeys of self exploration.
“I don’t know Esty, I don’t know this kind of format, I don’t know Miami, I don’t know the East Coast of the U.S.,” Roca said. “I’m dying to embark on this story and see where it takes me.
- 8/30/2019
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
El Gouna Film Festival ’18: The WinnersThe past couple of years Middle Eastern and North African (Mena) films have been especially strong.
Another Day of Life from Poland and Spain is, like Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles, animation made for adults. Directed by Raúl De La Fuente, Damian Nenow and produced by Jarosław Sawko, Ole Wendorff-Østergaard, Amaia Remirez nd Raúl De La Fuente it has won several awards including Al Gouna (Egypt) Film Festival’s Jury Citation Cinema for Humanity, an Audience Award reserved for a film that exemplifies a humanitarian theme. The award includes a trophy and Us $10,000. It also won the Audience Award in San Sebastian 2018.
A gripping story of a three-month-long journey that renowned Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski took across Angola ravaged by a war in which the front lines shifted like a kaleidoscope from one day to the next; his dilemma arose when Cuba entered the fray.
Another Day of Life from Poland and Spain is, like Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles, animation made for adults. Directed by Raúl De La Fuente, Damian Nenow and produced by Jarosław Sawko, Ole Wendorff-Østergaard, Amaia Remirez nd Raúl De La Fuente it has won several awards including Al Gouna (Egypt) Film Festival’s Jury Citation Cinema for Humanity, an Audience Award reserved for a film that exemplifies a humanitarian theme. The award includes a trophy and Us $10,000. It also won the Audience Award in San Sebastian 2018.
A gripping story of a three-month-long journey that renowned Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski took across Angola ravaged by a war in which the front lines shifted like a kaleidoscope from one day to the next; his dilemma arose when Cuba entered the fray.
- 8/14/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Mediapro Chile, the Chilean arm of Spanish production powerhouse The Mediapro Studio, is launching its first TV drama project, crime thriller “El acantilado” (“The Cliff”), chosen as one of the 10 finalists at Conecta Fiction’s 3rd Pitch Copro Series.
“The Cliff” features a high-profile creative team that takes in film director Martín Hodara and writer Enrique Videla, a co-scribe on Pablo Larrain’s HBO Latin America “Fugitives” and Lucía Puenzo’s “La Jauría,” a first Fabula-Fremantle-co-production.
Argentina’s Tomas Coste, a triple Cannes Lions winning commercials, is the series creator and co-director.
Benjamín Vicuña and Mariana di Girolamo (“Ema”) are attached to the star.
Mixing classic series noir and strong protagonists with large and involved character arcs, “The Cliff” follows Miguel, a 50 year-old bus driver, played by Vicuña, who triggered a tragic accident and holds himself responsible even if he’s been absolved in a court of law.
Miguel has...
“The Cliff” features a high-profile creative team that takes in film director Martín Hodara and writer Enrique Videla, a co-scribe on Pablo Larrain’s HBO Latin America “Fugitives” and Lucía Puenzo’s “La Jauría,” a first Fabula-Fremantle-co-production.
Argentina’s Tomas Coste, a triple Cannes Lions winning commercials, is the series creator and co-director.
Benjamín Vicuña and Mariana di Girolamo (“Ema”) are attached to the star.
Mixing classic series noir and strong protagonists with large and involved character arcs, “The Cliff” follows Miguel, a 50 year-old bus driver, played by Vicuña, who triggered a tragic accident and holds himself responsible even if he’s been absolved in a court of law.
Miguel has...
- 6/18/2019
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s newly-launched The Mediapro Studio and Sony Pictures Television (Spt) have announced a co-development and co-production arrangement which will kick off with upcoming thriller series “Implacables – Mexico.” It’s the first such agreement between the two media high-profile media players.
Under the new deal, which embodies a new era of true co-production and co-distribution, Spt will hold distribution rights on the series for the U.S., Latin America and Canada, with Mediapro distributing to the rest of the world.
“Implacables – Mexico” is the serialized version of project “35 Years and Counting,” a co-creation developed by “Homeland” creator and primetime Emmy Award-winner Ran Tellem, now Mediapro’s head of international content development, and Spanish writer-producer Mariano Baselga.
The series follows four detectives from different generations who band together to track down a serial rapist who has remained active and un-captured for 35 years. Initially hoping a solution will bring closure to a...
Under the new deal, which embodies a new era of true co-production and co-distribution, Spt will hold distribution rights on the series for the U.S., Latin America and Canada, with Mediapro distributing to the rest of the world.
“Implacables – Mexico” is the serialized version of project “35 Years and Counting,” a co-creation developed by “Homeland” creator and primetime Emmy Award-winner Ran Tellem, now Mediapro’s head of international content development, and Spanish writer-producer Mariano Baselga.
The series follows four detectives from different generations who band together to track down a serial rapist who has remained active and un-captured for 35 years. Initially hoping a solution will bring closure to a...
- 5/17/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Laureled abroad and lauded at home, a young generation of women Catalan filmmakers started breaking through two years ago, led by Carla Simon’s 2017 Berlin first-feature winner “Summer 93.” Since then a bevy of female directors have emerged, making intimate character-driven dramas rich in observational psychological detail, some drawn from personal experience.
The ranks of women Catalan helmers have swelled substantially with, in various states of production, Clara Roquet’s “Libertad,” Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” Ángeles Hernández ’s “Isaac,” Lucía Alemany’s “Innocence” and Pilar Palomero’s “Girls.”
“It’s remarkable the impact that so-called small films have had on festival circuits,” says Roquet, whose “Libertad” won the Arte Kino Intl. Prize at San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin American Co-Production Forum in September.
Many, like Simón, whose “Alcarrás” was a Berlinale Co-Production Market winner in February, are onto their second or even third feature.
Women are exploring new terrain, in...
The ranks of women Catalan helmers have swelled substantially with, in various states of production, Clara Roquet’s “Libertad,” Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” Ángeles Hernández ’s “Isaac,” Lucía Alemany’s “Innocence” and Pilar Palomero’s “Girls.”
“It’s remarkable the impact that so-called small films have had on festival circuits,” says Roquet, whose “Libertad” won the Arte Kino Intl. Prize at San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin American Co-Production Forum in September.
Many, like Simón, whose “Alcarrás” was a Berlinale Co-Production Market winner in February, are onto their second or even third feature.
Women are exploring new terrain, in...
- 5/16/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Laureled abroad and lauded at home, a young generation of women Catalan filmmakers started breaking through two years ago, led by Carla Simon’s 2017 Berlin first-feature winner “Summer 93.” Since then a bevy of female directors have emerged, making intimate character-driven dramas rich in observational psychological detail, some drawn from personal experience.
The ranks of women Catalan helmers have swelled substantially with, in various states of production, Clara Roquet’s “Libertad,” Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” Ángeles Hernández’s “Isaac,” Lucía Alemany’s “Innocence” and Pilar Palomero’s “Girls.”
“It’s remarkable the impact that so-called small films have had on festival circuits,” says Roquet, whose “Libertad” won the Arte Kino Intl. Prize at San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin American Co-Production Forum in September.
Many, like Simón, whose “Alcarrás” was a Berlinale Co-Production Market winner in February, are onto their second or even third feature.
Women are exploring new terrain, in...
The ranks of women Catalan helmers have swelled substantially with, in various states of production, Clara Roquet’s “Libertad,” Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” Ángeles Hernández’s “Isaac,” Lucía Alemany’s “Innocence” and Pilar Palomero’s “Girls.”
“It’s remarkable the impact that so-called small films have had on festival circuits,” says Roquet, whose “Libertad” won the Arte Kino Intl. Prize at San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin American Co-Production Forum in September.
Many, like Simón, whose “Alcarrás” was a Berlinale Co-Production Market winner in February, are onto their second or even third feature.
Women are exploring new terrain, in...
- 5/15/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Barcelona – Soon set to be seen at Cannes’ in Pedro Almodóvar’s competition contender “Pain and Glory.” Penélope Cruz will receive the 2019 Donostia Award for career achievement at the 67th San Sebastian Festival, which runs Sept. 20-28 at the Basque resort city.
The Spanish actress will be honored doubly way, as she will also be the official image on this year’s festival poster.
No other Spanish actress has received the international recognition of Cruz, nor her number of top-echelon prizes and nominations as she has battled to broaden the roles open to Latin actresses.
She demonstrated a range most memorably perhaps winning a best supporting actress Academy Award and Bafta winner for her performance as Maria Elena in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
“Cruz, who officially graduated from sex kitten to powerhouse melodramatic actress in ‘Volver,’ is in full Anna Magnani mode here, storming up and down mountain...
The Spanish actress will be honored doubly way, as she will also be the official image on this year’s festival poster.
No other Spanish actress has received the international recognition of Cruz, nor her number of top-echelon prizes and nominations as she has battled to broaden the roles open to Latin actresses.
She demonstrated a range most memorably perhaps winning a best supporting actress Academy Award and Bafta winner for her performance as Maria Elena in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
“Cruz, who officially graduated from sex kitten to powerhouse melodramatic actress in ‘Volver,’ is in full Anna Magnani mode here, storming up and down mountain...
- 5/10/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Chilean animation producers Lunes Animation Studio has released its highly-acclaimed animated short “Waldo’s Dream” on YouTube, where it can be accessed for free around the world.
The short was written and directed by the company’s trio of José Ignacio Navarro Cox, Jorge Campusano and Santiago O’Ryan, who have worked together since meeting in a master program for screenwriting.
“Waldo’s Dream” competed at 2018’s Annecy International Animated Film Festival in the short film category, where it impressed with its classic 2D animation style, colorful imagery and scathing, almost prophetic criticism of an unchecked growth of Disney the corporate entity, while paying homage to the art created there.
“We’ve actually met with people from Disney, and at first we were afraid they would want to hit us or something,” Navarro Cox told Variety in a conversation at Santiago’s Sanfic Festival. “But in the end they said they loved it,...
The short was written and directed by the company’s trio of José Ignacio Navarro Cox, Jorge Campusano and Santiago O’Ryan, who have worked together since meeting in a master program for screenwriting.
“Waldo’s Dream” competed at 2018’s Annecy International Animated Film Festival in the short film category, where it impressed with its classic 2D animation style, colorful imagery and scathing, almost prophetic criticism of an unchecked growth of Disney the corporate entity, while paying homage to the art created there.
“We’ve actually met with people from Disney, and at first we were afraid they would want to hit us or something,” Navarro Cox told Variety in a conversation at Santiago’s Sanfic Festival. “But in the end they said they loved it,...
- 5/8/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Lille, France — Ana María Orozco, who broke through to international renown playing the protagonist in the original Colombian “Ugly Betty,” will play one of the female leads in “Perdida,” an Atresmedia Original Series, made with Mediapro’s Madrid-based Big Bang Media, which underscores the ambition of current Spanish scripted content.
The series will go into production in the next coming days. A thriller with strong family context, it turns on Antonio, to be played by Spain’s Daniel Grao. An attractive middle-aged Spaniard, Antonio is arrested in Bogota for charges of drug smuggling. He’s placed in one of Colombia’s most notorious prisons, with his lawyer the only ally who believes in his innocence.
Cut to 13 years earlier, in another life Antonio lived on Valencia’s Mediterranean coast, happily married with a young daughter. But she goes missing, turning Antonio’s life upside down.
Orozco will play Milena, described by Atresmedia as a strong,...
The series will go into production in the next coming days. A thriller with strong family context, it turns on Antonio, to be played by Spain’s Daniel Grao. An attractive middle-aged Spaniard, Antonio is arrested in Bogota for charges of drug smuggling. He’s placed in one of Colombia’s most notorious prisons, with his lawyer the only ally who believes in his innocence.
Cut to 13 years earlier, in another life Antonio lived on Valencia’s Mediterranean coast, happily married with a young daughter. But she goes missing, turning Antonio’s life upside down.
Orozco will play Milena, described by Atresmedia as a strong,...
- 3/27/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Lille, France — Belgian production company De Mensen, which has just been acquired by France’s Newen, has teamed with Reel One Entertainment on a new cross-continental thriller series, “Capturing Big Mouth.
The series will be pitched Monday at this year’s Series Mania Forum Co-pro Pitching section. It chronicles the unlikely rise and eventual fall of the infamous Somali pirates, based on the true story of Mohammad Abdi Hassan. For a decade Hassan helmed one of Somalia’s most successful pirate gangs, acquiring millions of dollars in ransom payments. In 2013 he declared he had retired, but authorities weren’t ready to just shrug it off, and the U.N., MI5 and the FBI combined on a five-year manhunt leading to Hassan’s eventual capture.
In the series’ fictionalized version of the tale, Belgian counterterrorism officer Peter Van Osselaer and British-Somali former MI6 agent Naomi Abdallah join forces to chase down the pirate leader Big Mouth,...
The series will be pitched Monday at this year’s Series Mania Forum Co-pro Pitching section. It chronicles the unlikely rise and eventual fall of the infamous Somali pirates, based on the true story of Mohammad Abdi Hassan. For a decade Hassan helmed one of Somalia’s most successful pirate gangs, acquiring millions of dollars in ransom payments. In 2013 he declared he had retired, but authorities weren’t ready to just shrug it off, and the U.N., MI5 and the FBI combined on a five-year manhunt leading to Hassan’s eventual capture.
In the series’ fictionalized version of the tale, Belgian counterterrorism officer Peter Van Osselaer and British-Somali former MI6 agent Naomi Abdallah join forces to chase down the pirate leader Big Mouth,...
- 3/23/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Bordeaux, France — Frédéric Corvez’ Urban Distribution International (Udi) has taken international rights to French animation legend Jean-François Laguionie’s “Slocum” a feature project in development presented at last year’s Cartoon Movie.
The sales deal was closed at this year’s Cartoon Movie, Europe’s premier co-production and sales forum for animated features, which is also taking place in Bordeaux.
An animation pioneer in France, Laguionie’s recent features take in 2016’s “Louise by the Shore,” a Grand Prize winner at the Ottawa Festival, and the Cesar-nominated “The Painting” (2011).
Produced by Camille Raulo and Laguionie at Jpl Films, which also backed “Louise by the Shore,” the film is penned by Laguionie and Anik Leray, his regular co-writer since 2004’s “Black Mor’s Island.”
Returning to the 2D and 3D mix of “Louise on the Shore,” and using an exquisite soft-toned water-color palette which endows the film with a retro air...
The sales deal was closed at this year’s Cartoon Movie, Europe’s premier co-production and sales forum for animated features, which is also taking place in Bordeaux.
An animation pioneer in France, Laguionie’s recent features take in 2016’s “Louise by the Shore,” a Grand Prize winner at the Ottawa Festival, and the Cesar-nominated “The Painting” (2011).
Produced by Camille Raulo and Laguionie at Jpl Films, which also backed “Louise by the Shore,” the film is penned by Laguionie and Anik Leray, his regular co-writer since 2004’s “Black Mor’s Island.”
Returning to the 2D and 3D mix of “Louise on the Shore,” and using an exquisite soft-toned water-color palette which endows the film with a retro air...
- 3/7/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Isabel Coixet is making feature film “Snow in Benidorm” with Pedro and Agustin Almodovar’s shingle El Deseo. The story is about the British and Spanish communities in the titular seaside resort.
Coixet is a Berlinale regular, having served on the jury; her feature “The Bookshop” screened in the Special Section last year. This time out, her black-and-white period picture for Netflix, “Elisa & Marcela,” is in competition.
She will switch to contemporary Spain for the Benidorm movie. The city on Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast has been a longtime favorite haunt for holidaying Brits – who often reject local food and culture for homegrown comforts – and for the Spanish for far longer.
Coixet told Variety that she wants to “explore the atmosphere of people reproducing the way of living in England, but in another landscape.”
Benidorm is “a very, very peculiar place” Coixet said, explaining her interest in the locale. “It’s a very divided city,...
Coixet is a Berlinale regular, having served on the jury; her feature “The Bookshop” screened in the Special Section last year. This time out, her black-and-white period picture for Netflix, “Elisa & Marcela,” is in competition.
She will switch to contemporary Spain for the Benidorm movie. The city on Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast has been a longtime favorite haunt for holidaying Brits – who often reject local food and culture for homegrown comforts – and for the Spanish for far longer.
Coixet told Variety that she wants to “explore the atmosphere of people reproducing the way of living in England, but in another landscape.”
Benidorm is “a very, very peculiar place” Coixet said, explaining her interest in the locale. “It’s a very divided city,...
- 2/9/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Barcelona — Paris-based Reel Suspects has acquired world rights on the second fiction feature as a director of multi-prized Spanish producer Luis Miñarro, “Love Me Not.” It is produced by Miñarro and Mexican producer Julio Chavezmontes at Piano, whose recent credits take in Sebastian Hoffmann’s Sundance winner “Time Share” and Venice competition player “The Accused.”
“Love Me Not” will have its world premiere at the upcoming Rotterdam Film Festival in its Signatures showcase, which is devoted to cutting-edge movies from preeminent auteurs.
A producer of over 30 films, including Cannes Palme d’Or laureate “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe winner “The Mosquito Net” and “Finisterrae,” which took a Rotterdam Festival Tiger, Miñarro’s movies as a director have established him as one of Spain’s most accessibly non-conformist filmmakers frequently featured at larger festivals.
Lauded by many Spanish critics – one, Carlos Losilla, has called...
“Love Me Not” will have its world premiere at the upcoming Rotterdam Film Festival in its Signatures showcase, which is devoted to cutting-edge movies from preeminent auteurs.
A producer of over 30 films, including Cannes Palme d’Or laureate “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe winner “The Mosquito Net” and “Finisterrae,” which took a Rotterdam Festival Tiger, Miñarro’s movies as a director have established him as one of Spain’s most accessibly non-conformist filmmakers frequently featured at larger festivals.
Lauded by many Spanish critics – one, Carlos Losilla, has called...
- 1/4/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Argentina’s Pablo Salarz, one of Latin America’s best-known film and TV writer-directors, has entered a non-exclusive financing relationship with C International Sales, the international arm of Cinestaan Film Company. Although non-exclusive, the deal is an early example of international companies moving to court or tie-down key talent in Latin America.
The deal was negotiated by C International director of sales Paul Hudson, Cinestaan head of international operations Deborah Sathe, and Solarz himself. According to a press release, an important part of the negotiations was that the deal be non-exclusive, allowing Solarz to maintain full creative control of his projects from start to finish.
The first-look deal is for any upcoming projects to be written or directed by Solarz, and includes a minimum guarantee component on each. The deal marks Cinestaan’s push further into international production, having earlier this year executive produced this year’s Cannes best director Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,...
The deal was negotiated by C International director of sales Paul Hudson, Cinestaan head of international operations Deborah Sathe, and Solarz himself. According to a press release, an important part of the negotiations was that the deal be non-exclusive, allowing Solarz to maintain full creative control of his projects from start to finish.
The first-look deal is for any upcoming projects to be written or directed by Solarz, and includes a minimum guarantee component on each. The deal marks Cinestaan’s push further into international production, having earlier this year executive produced this year’s Cannes best director Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,...
- 12/11/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Buenos Aires — “You can’t condition Cannes on an event which takes place in Hollywood the following March,” said Thierry Frémaux in a keynote speech at Ventana Sur, “Questions on the Present of Cinema,” which took in Netflix, “Roma,” and the need to educate audiences for more complex cinema.
Cannes Festival’s charter insisted that it should show films from over the world, not just from Hollywood, Frémaux insisted, hitting back at criticism of the relative lack of big U.S. titles in this year’s edition.
It was, however, on Netflix that Frémaux talked for greater length, sometimes surprising the Ventana Sur audience. Admitting to being a Netflix subscriber – it will release Springsteen on Broadway” on Dec. 15, a record of the one-man concerts of a musician Frémaux revers – Frémaux said Netflix and the Cannes Festival are in some ways very similar, a remark met with guarded laughter by a...
Cannes Festival’s charter insisted that it should show films from over the world, not just from Hollywood, Frémaux insisted, hitting back at criticism of the relative lack of big U.S. titles in this year’s edition.
It was, however, on Netflix that Frémaux talked for greater length, sometimes surprising the Ventana Sur audience. Admitting to being a Netflix subscriber – it will release Springsteen on Broadway” on Dec. 15, a record of the one-man concerts of a musician Frémaux revers – Frémaux said Netflix and the Cannes Festival are in some ways very similar, a remark met with guarded laughter by a...
- 12/11/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Los Cabos, Mexico — Latam Pictures’ Mineko Mori, one of Mexico’s best-regarded distributors, is making her feature debut as a screenwriter with the upcoming “#Lady Rancho.”
The film is produced by Mori and Alex Garcia, founder of Latam Pictures.
To aid in the process, Mori enlisted the help of co-writer Molo Alcocer, a promising young screenwriter who trained at the American Film Institute now living in Mexico.
“I had just read a script of his I fell in love with,” Mori said of her writing partner in a conversation with Variety at the Los Cabos Festival. “I had written this story so I called him to do the screenplay. It was a wonderful creative experience for me.”
The film turns on a spoiled 21 year-old girl, still living at home, who has unlimited access to daddy’s credit card. With too much money and not enough sense, Camila constantly finds herself at odds with authority,...
The film is produced by Mori and Alex Garcia, founder of Latam Pictures.
To aid in the process, Mori enlisted the help of co-writer Molo Alcocer, a promising young screenwriter who trained at the American Film Institute now living in Mexico.
“I had just read a script of his I fell in love with,” Mori said of her writing partner in a conversation with Variety at the Los Cabos Festival. “I had written this story so I called him to do the screenplay. It was a wonderful creative experience for me.”
The film turns on a spoiled 21 year-old girl, still living at home, who has unlimited access to daddy’s credit card. With too much money and not enough sense, Camila constantly finds herself at odds with authority,...
- 11/12/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — Chilean director Ignacio Jurucic will world premiere his debut feature “Enigma” in the Horizontes Latinos section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff) on Thursday afternoon. Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s first trailer.
Sold by Sandro Fiorin’s Miami-based FiGa Films and produced by Santiago-based Inefable, “Enigma” comes to San Sebastian as a highly-anticipated title from a director whose 2015 short, “Lost Queens,” won a Queer Palme and was runner-up for the Cinefondation Prize at the 2015 Cannes Festival. Juricic was also selected as one of Variety’s 10 Chilean Directors to Track ahead of the 2017 Sanfic Festival held each August in Santiago, Chile.
“Enigma” turns on Nancy, a dowdy 54-year old hairdresser, who is offered to appear on a true-crime TV show which could shed light on the violent death of her lesbian daughter 8 years prior, when she was beaten to death after leaving a gay club.
Sold by Sandro Fiorin’s Miami-based FiGa Films and produced by Santiago-based Inefable, “Enigma” comes to San Sebastian as a highly-anticipated title from a director whose 2015 short, “Lost Queens,” won a Queer Palme and was runner-up for the Cinefondation Prize at the 2015 Cannes Festival. Juricic was also selected as one of Variety’s 10 Chilean Directors to Track ahead of the 2017 Sanfic Festival held each August in Santiago, Chile.
“Enigma” turns on Nancy, a dowdy 54-year old hairdresser, who is offered to appear on a true-crime TV show which could shed light on the violent death of her lesbian daughter 8 years prior, when she was beaten to death after leaving a gay club.
- 9/27/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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