In Alejandra Márquez Abella’s latest film, A Million Miles Away, we are invited into the extraordinary life of Jose Hernandez, a former NASA space scientist whose journey started from humble beginnings as the child of a migrant farmworker. His aspirations and dedication led him to embark on an unexpected journey into the world of astronomical science. A Million Miles Away is the inspiring tale of Jose Hernendez’s remarkable life. It delves into the life of an ordinary man who clung to his dreams and never looked back. As we follow Jose’s inspiring journey in the film, his passion, determination, and dedication to his dreams truly touch our hearts. His story reminds us of the incredible human spirit’s ability to aim high and reach the stars, which is quite literal in his case.
Alejandra Márquez Abella has masterfully made a mark in the world of cinema with...
Alejandra Márquez Abella has masterfully made a mark in the world of cinema with...
- 9/16/2023
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
Mubi Podcast: Encuentros returns for a fourth season.The first episode features:Ilse Salas (Mexico), a film, TV, and theater actress who is internationally recognized for her leading role in Alejandra Márquez Abella's The Good Girls, a selection of the Toronto International Film Festival and a prizewinner in Malaga. Winner of the Ariel for Best Actress, and a two-time Platino Award nominee, Salas has worked with important Latin American directors such as Abner Benaim, Lucía Puenzo, and Alonso Ruizpalacios.Guillermo Calderón (Chile), a playwright with a deep political commitment and the screenwriter of some of his country's most important films from the last decade, such as Pablo Larraín's The Club (2015), Neruda (2016), and Ema (2019). These films' festival screenings include the Venice Film Festival, the Berlinale, and the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes. In this first episode, the hosts talk about theatricality as an expressive possibility that’s poorly explored in Latin American cinema.
- 8/16/2023
- MUBI
Launching globally on Prime Video on September 15, 2023 is A Million Miles Away.
Inspired by the real-life story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández, A Million Miles Away follows him and his devoted family of proud migrant farm worker on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, to more than 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. With the unwavering support of his hard-working parents, relatives, and teachers, José’s unrelenting drive & determination culminates in the opportunity to achieve his seemingly impossible goal.
Acclaimed writer and director Alejandra Márquez Abella has created a dazzling tribute to the loyalty and tenacity of the entire Hernández family, as well as anyone who dares to dream.
The film stars Michael Peña, Rosa Salazar, Bobby Soto, Sarayu Blue, Veronica Falcón, Julio César Cedillo, Garret Dillahunt and Eric Johnson.
The filmmaker “debuted her first feature,...
Inspired by the real-life story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández, A Million Miles Away follows him and his devoted family of proud migrant farm worker on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, to more than 200 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station. With the unwavering support of his hard-working parents, relatives, and teachers, José’s unrelenting drive & determination culminates in the opportunity to achieve his seemingly impossible goal.
Acclaimed writer and director Alejandra Márquez Abella has created a dazzling tribute to the loyalty and tenacity of the entire Hernández family, as well as anyone who dares to dream.
The film stars Michael Peña, Rosa Salazar, Bobby Soto, Sarayu Blue, Veronica Falcón, Julio César Cedillo, Garret Dillahunt and Eric Johnson.
The filmmaker “debuted her first feature,...
- 8/15/2023
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A Million Miles Away trailer: Michael Peña stars in the story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández
The drama A Million Miles Away, which is based on the real-life story of NASA flight engineer José Hernández, is set to be released through the Prime Video streaming service on September 15th – and with that date exactly one month away, a trailer for the film has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Alejandra Márquez Abella, whose previous credits include Mal de tierra, Semana Santa, The Good Girls, Northern Skies Over Empty Space, and episodes of Narcos: Mexico, directed A Million Miles Away from a screenplay she crafted with Bettina Gilois and Hernán Jiménez. Michael Peña of the first two Ant-Man films takes on the role of José Hernández, and the film follows him and his devoted family of proud migrant farm workers on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, to more than 200 miles...
Alejandra Márquez Abella, whose previous credits include Mal de tierra, Semana Santa, The Good Girls, Northern Skies Over Empty Space, and episodes of Narcos: Mexico, directed A Million Miles Away from a screenplay she crafted with Bettina Gilois and Hernán Jiménez. Michael Peña of the first two Ant-Man films takes on the role of José Hernández, and the film follows him and his devoted family of proud migrant farm workers on a decades-long journey, from a rural village in Michoacán, Mexico, to the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, to more than 200 miles...
- 8/15/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Netflix is toasting Mexico’s National Day of Cinema on Aug. 15 with a slew of projects, many of them tapping the country’s wealth of literary classics and original storytellers. Working with some of the most prominent local filmmakers, the streaming giant is also reaffirming its $300 million commitment to Mexican cinema and series and its #QueMéxicoSeVea (“Let Mexico Be Seen”) initiative.
A teaser of its upcoming film “No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea” (“I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me”) by Fernando Frías De La Parra (“I’m No Longer Here”) debuts exclusively on Variety.
An adaptation of what award-winning author Juan Pablo Villalobos describes as an ‘autobiographical fiction,’ Frias’ latest film follows the writer as he prepares to go to Barcelona with his girlfriend to study for a doctorate in literature. But he gets caught up in a criminal network that spurs him to write the...
A teaser of its upcoming film “No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea” (“I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me”) by Fernando Frías De La Parra (“I’m No Longer Here”) debuts exclusively on Variety.
An adaptation of what award-winning author Juan Pablo Villalobos describes as an ‘autobiographical fiction,’ Frias’ latest film follows the writer as he prepares to go to Barcelona with his girlfriend to study for a doctorate in literature. But he gets caught up in a criminal network that spurs him to write the...
- 8/14/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Good Girls reunion of Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Retta is not happening — at least not at NBC. The network has passed on the untitled drama pilot (fka Murder by the Book), starring Retta and written and executive produced by Bans and Krebs. The studio behind the pilot, Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is expected to shop it.
The untitled Bans/Krebs project was one of two NBC drama pilots ordered this pilot season. The other, fka as Wolf, starring Zachary Quinto, remains in contention, I hear. A decision is expected in the next week as options on pilot casts are up June 30.
Related: 2023 NBC Pilots & Series Orders
NBC earlier this month made calls on its two 2023 comedy pilots, picking up Justin Spitzer’s St. Denis Medical to series and passing on Amber Ruffin’s Non-Evil Twin.
The Bans/Krebs drama follows an Instafamous big-city...
The untitled Bans/Krebs project was one of two NBC drama pilots ordered this pilot season. The other, fka as Wolf, starring Zachary Quinto, remains in contention, I hear. A decision is expected in the next week as options on pilot casts are up June 30.
Related: 2023 NBC Pilots & Series Orders
NBC earlier this month made calls on its two 2023 comedy pilots, picking up Justin Spitzer’s St. Denis Medical to series and passing on Amber Ruffin’s Non-Evil Twin.
The Bans/Krebs drama follows an Instafamous big-city...
- 6/22/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Mexico’s Woo Films is venturing into the kids/younger audience content biz for the first time, boarding three stop-motion animated features by Mexico City-based Cinema Fantasma, led by brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz.
Producer Andrea Toca who brought the projects to Woo Films, said: “We’ve always wanted to make content for children and younger audiences.”
“I went to University with the Ambriz brothers so that’s where we first connected. We were very impressed by the working techniques they have developed in their workshop aside from their stories,” she added.
The initial pact is for Woo Films to co-produce Cinema Fantasma’s “Frankelda and The Prince of Spooks,” being presented at Annecy’s work in progress (Wip) section as well as two other stop-motion pics in development, “The Ballad of the Phoenix,” pitched last year at Annecy, and “The Bee Revolution.”
“Frankelda and The Prince of Spooks” is...
Producer Andrea Toca who brought the projects to Woo Films, said: “We’ve always wanted to make content for children and younger audiences.”
“I went to University with the Ambriz brothers so that’s where we first connected. We were very impressed by the working techniques they have developed in their workshop aside from their stories,” she added.
The initial pact is for Woo Films to co-produce Cinema Fantasma’s “Frankelda and The Prince of Spooks,” being presented at Annecy’s work in progress (Wip) section as well as two other stop-motion pics in development, “The Ballad of the Phoenix,” pitched last year at Annecy, and “The Bee Revolution.”
“Frankelda and The Prince of Spooks” is...
- 6/14/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Colombian-Mexican filmmaker Rodrigo García has wrapped his first Spanish-language feature, “Familia,” which was shot in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico for Netflix.
García, who has directed such acclaimed films as “Mother and Child” and “Albert Nobbs,” and whose TV credits include “Six Feet Under,” “Big Love” and “In Treatment,” said: “Shooting ‘Familia’ has been a great experience.” He added: “Great producers, collaborators, several of my favorite Mexican actors and actresses and Netflix’s full support have made this project an unforgettable trip back home.”
This is the first time García, who is the son of Colombian Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Marquez, has directed a film in Mexico. He’s an executive producer in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of his father’s literary classic “100 Years of Solitude,” which will be shooting in Colombia.
According to the synopsis, “Familia” follows “a peculiar family and explores the complexities of cohabitation around a decision that will change them forever.
García, who has directed such acclaimed films as “Mother and Child” and “Albert Nobbs,” and whose TV credits include “Six Feet Under,” “Big Love” and “In Treatment,” said: “Shooting ‘Familia’ has been a great experience.” He added: “Great producers, collaborators, several of my favorite Mexican actors and actresses and Netflix’s full support have made this project an unforgettable trip back home.”
This is the first time García, who is the son of Colombian Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Marquez, has directed a film in Mexico. He’s an executive producer in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of his father’s literary classic “100 Years of Solitude,” which will be shooting in Colombia.
According to the synopsis, “Familia” follows “a peculiar family and explores the complexities of cohabitation around a decision that will change them forever.
- 5/22/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Peacock’s Bel-Air is nearly matching the number of seasons with its showrunners.
The NBCUniversal-backed streamer has handed out a third-season renewal for its reimagining of Will Smith’s beloved The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The dramatic take on the former comedy series that is inspired by Morgan Cooper’s viral short was originally picked up at Peacock with a two-season order following a competitive bidding process with other streamers vying for the series.
The season three renewal marks its first vote of confidence beyond that initial order and follows a wave of showrunner changes as the drama struggled to find its creative voice. Carla Banks Waddles was recruited as showrunner at the start of season two. The Good Girls and The Soul Man alum was promoted from co-exec producer to showrunner and replaced T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson (Army Wives, Lie to Me) at the helm of Bel-Air.
The NBCUniversal-backed streamer has handed out a third-season renewal for its reimagining of Will Smith’s beloved The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The dramatic take on the former comedy series that is inspired by Morgan Cooper’s viral short was originally picked up at Peacock with a two-season order following a competitive bidding process with other streamers vying for the series.
The season three renewal marks its first vote of confidence beyond that initial order and follows a wave of showrunner changes as the drama struggled to find its creative voice. Carla Banks Waddles was recruited as showrunner at the start of season two. The Good Girls and The Soul Man alum was promoted from co-exec producer to showrunner and replaced T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson (Army Wives, Lie to Me) at the helm of Bel-Air.
- 3/17/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Christina Hendricks smiling close up. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Birdie Thompson/AdMedia
Christina Hendricks is stunning with another flawless look as she enjoys Scotland.
The Mad Men actress has largely been making 2022 headlines for her huge home renovations, but she took a break recently and took herself to Scotland, where she hit up Edinburgh Castle and posed for a drinks moment.
Posting for her 1.1 million Instagram followers, Christina showed off her signature and hourglass curves in a gorgeous printed dress.
The famous redhead was photographed backed by greenery and dramatic structures. She tagged herself at Johnnie Walker Princes Street while in a low-cut and belted floral-print dress in green and yellow, also holding a tall cocktail.
Smiling into the distance and wearing her fiery locks down, the actress showcased her high cheekbones while rocking a red lip, also offering a little more via her caption.
Addressing fans, she wrote: “What?...
Christina Hendricks is stunning with another flawless look as she enjoys Scotland.
The Mad Men actress has largely been making 2022 headlines for her huge home renovations, but she took a break recently and took herself to Scotland, where she hit up Edinburgh Castle and posed for a drinks moment.
Posting for her 1.1 million Instagram followers, Christina showed off her signature and hourglass curves in a gorgeous printed dress.
The famous redhead was photographed backed by greenery and dramatic structures. She tagged herself at Johnnie Walker Princes Street while in a low-cut and belted floral-print dress in green and yellow, also holding a tall cocktail.
Smiling into the distance and wearing her fiery locks down, the actress showcased her high cheekbones while rocking a red lip, also offering a little more via her caption.
Addressing fans, she wrote: “What?...
- 9/4/2022
- by Angela Perry
- Monsters and Critics
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
The Miami Film Festival has announced its opening and closing titles for its upcoming 39th edition.
The festival, which showcases works from filmmaker’s in the Ibero-American diaspora, will premiere and end with two films listed on the Oscar shortlist for international feature film. “The Good Boss” (El Buen Patrón), a comedy written and directed by Spain’s Fernando León de Aranoa, will open the festival, which will close with “Plaza Catedral,” the sophomore narrative feature of Panamanian director Abner Benaim.
“The Good Boss” stars Javier Bardem as Blanco, the owner of a family business up for consideration for a local award for business excellence. Determined to win the award, Blanco begins meddling in the lives of his employees, setting off a chain of events that leads to shocking repercussions. In Spain, the film was nominated for a record-breaking 20 Goya Awards, which will be held on Feb. 12. León de Aranoa...
The festival, which showcases works from filmmaker’s in the Ibero-American diaspora, will premiere and end with two films listed on the Oscar shortlist for international feature film. “The Good Boss” (El Buen Patrón), a comedy written and directed by Spain’s Fernando León de Aranoa, will open the festival, which will close with “Plaza Catedral,” the sophomore narrative feature of Panamanian director Abner Benaim.
“The Good Boss” stars Javier Bardem as Blanco, the owner of a family business up for consideration for a local award for business excellence. Determined to win the award, Blanco begins meddling in the lives of his employees, setting off a chain of events that leads to shocking repercussions. In Spain, the film was nominated for a record-breaking 20 Goya Awards, which will be held on Feb. 12. León de Aranoa...
- 1/25/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
El norte sobre el vacío
After successfully launching her sophomore feature Las niñas bien at the Toronto Intl. Film Feature in 2018, Mexico City based filmmaker Alejandra Márquez Abella has been rocketing up the film scene first by being attached to the Netflix English biopic project A Million Miles Away, to prepping a pro-stance series for women called La Liberación, to a project inspired by her paternal grandmother called La Triste, to filming episodes of Narcos: Mexico, and finally, this July she embarked on her third feature film project titled El norte sobre el vacío. In post since October-ish, this is a Western with a mostly female that includes Juan Daniel García Treviño from I’m No Longer Here and La Civil fame.…...
After successfully launching her sophomore feature Las niñas bien at the Toronto Intl. Film Feature in 2018, Mexico City based filmmaker Alejandra Márquez Abella has been rocketing up the film scene first by being attached to the Netflix English biopic project A Million Miles Away, to prepping a pro-stance series for women called La Liberación, to a project inspired by her paternal grandmother called La Triste, to filming episodes of Narcos: Mexico, and finally, this July she embarked on her third feature film project titled El norte sobre el vacío. In post since October-ish, this is a Western with a mostly female that includes Juan Daniel García Treviño from I’m No Longer Here and La Civil fame.…...
- 1/11/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Elie Samaha’s Luminosity Entertainment and Mike Karz’s Gulfstream Pictures have snagged the worldwide rights to Abner Benaim’s dramatic thriller, “Plaza Catedral.”
The deal, forged by Luminosity partner and co-president Daniel Diamond and Karz, closed just ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Guadalajara Int’l Film Festival (Ficg) on Oct. 3. “Plaza Catedral” is in competition at Ficg’s main category, the Mezcal Awards.
“Plaza Catedral is a very powerful, moving film with superb performances and outstanding direction by Benaim. We are proud to be a part of bringing this film to worldwide audiences,” said Diamond.
This is the first non-English pickup by Luminosity, which was launched in September. “I haven’t represented many, if any, non English-language films but audiences in the U.S. and around the world are demonstrating their interest in content of all nationalities and languages, as evidenced by the success of shows like ‘Lupin,...
The deal, forged by Luminosity partner and co-president Daniel Diamond and Karz, closed just ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Guadalajara Int’l Film Festival (Ficg) on Oct. 3. “Plaza Catedral” is in competition at Ficg’s main category, the Mezcal Awards.
“Plaza Catedral is a very powerful, moving film with superb performances and outstanding direction by Benaim. We are proud to be a part of bringing this film to worldwide audiences,” said Diamond.
This is the first non-English pickup by Luminosity, which was launched in September. “I haven’t represented many, if any, non English-language films but audiences in the U.S. and around the world are demonstrating their interest in content of all nationalities and languages, as evidenced by the success of shows like ‘Lupin,...
- 10/3/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Another NBC show bites the dust.
Buzzy dramedy Good Girls has been canceled after four seasons, and there are no plans to shop the series to other outlets.
According to Deadline, there was hope that a deal could be reached to bring the show back for a truncated fifth season to bring the series to a close.
Unfortunately, a deal could not be ironed out.
Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman led the NBC drama that was a strong digital performer for the network.
Even when the show recently launched on Netflix, it managed to top the streaming charts, leading many to believe it could continue.
Netflix also had international streaming rights to the show, and it was thought that a deal would be reached to ship the show to Netflix, but alas, Netflix is not as open to picking up canceled shows as it once was.
The series followed three suburban Michigan mothers,...
Buzzy dramedy Good Girls has been canceled after four seasons, and there are no plans to shop the series to other outlets.
According to Deadline, there was hope that a deal could be reached to bring the show back for a truncated fifth season to bring the series to a close.
Unfortunately, a deal could not be ironed out.
Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman led the NBC drama that was a strong digital performer for the network.
Even when the show recently launched on Netflix, it managed to top the streaming charts, leading many to believe it could continue.
Netflix also had international streaming rights to the show, and it was thought that a deal would be reached to ship the show to Netflix, but alas, Netflix is not as open to picking up canceled shows as it once was.
The series followed three suburban Michigan mothers,...
- 6/25/2021
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
Parallel section will showcase 13 first and second features and 10 short films.
Cannes Critics’ Week 2021 has unveiled the line-up of its 60th edition, following last year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, running July 7 to 15 alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
It will showcase 13 features, seven of them in competition, as well as 10 short films.
French director Constance Meyer’s debut feature Robust, co-starring Gérard Depardieu opposite Divines discovery Déborah Lukumuena will open the section on July 7. Depardieu plays an ageing actor star in decline who hires Lukumuena’s character, a semi-professional wrestler, as a bodyguard at short notice. The seemingly disparate...
Cannes Critics’ Week 2021 has unveiled the line-up of its 60th edition, following last year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, running July 7 to 15 alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
It will showcase 13 features, seven of them in competition, as well as 10 short films.
French director Constance Meyer’s debut feature Robust, co-starring Gérard Depardieu opposite Divines discovery Déborah Lukumuena will open the section on July 7. Depardieu plays an ageing actor star in decline who hires Lukumuena’s character, a semi-professional wrestler, as a bodyguard at short notice. The seemingly disparate...
- 6/7/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Fabula, the Chile-based film and TV production house of Pablo and Juan de Diós Larrain, is set to produce “Maquíllame Otra Vez,” the first feature film to go into production at Fabula Mexico, launched to complement Fabula’s Santiago de Chile H.Q. and Fabula U.S., run out of Los Angeles.
Slated to go into production from October in Mexico City, “Maquíllame Otra Vez” also marks the directorial debut of Guillermo Calderón, Chile’s foremost living playwright as well as screenwriter of films – Pablo Larrain’s “Neruda” and “The Club,” and Andrés Wood’s “Violeta Went to Heaven,” for example – that have helped propel Chile into the vanguard of Latin American cinema.
“A comedy for our times,” Calderón told Variety, “Maquíllame Otra Vez” will star three Mexican actors who are at the forefront of their generation: Ilse Salas, the female lead of Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “Güeros” and Alejandra Márquez’s “The Good Girls”; Paulina Gaitán,...
Slated to go into production from October in Mexico City, “Maquíllame Otra Vez” also marks the directorial debut of Guillermo Calderón, Chile’s foremost living playwright as well as screenwriter of films – Pablo Larrain’s “Neruda” and “The Club,” and Andrés Wood’s “Violeta Went to Heaven,” for example – that have helped propel Chile into the vanguard of Latin American cinema.
“A comedy for our times,” Calderón told Variety, “Maquíllame Otra Vez” will star three Mexican actors who are at the forefront of their generation: Ilse Salas, the female lead of Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “Güeros” and Alejandra Márquez’s “The Good Girls”; Paulina Gaitán,...
- 6/1/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
L.A.-based Spanish-language streaming platform Pantaya and global streamer Starzplay have revealed that production is underway on the period new drama series “Señorita 89” from Fremantle and the Larraín brothers’ Fabula, the latest co-production stemming from a first-look deal between the two, dating back to 2019.
The first fruit of that combined labor was global hit series “La Jauria,” available on Amazon Prime Video in Latin America and HBO Max in the U.S. Selected as one of Variety’s best international series of 2020, “La Jauria” stars “A Fantastic Woman” lead Daniela Vega and is directed by one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors Lucia Puenzo.
Sticking with a talent alliance that worked so well for Fabula and Fremantle the first time around, Puenzo also co-wrote and is directing “Señorita 89.” She is joined by co-screenwriters María Renée Prudencio and Tatiana Mereñuk, and co-directors Nicolás Puenzo...
The first fruit of that combined labor was global hit series “La Jauria,” available on Amazon Prime Video in Latin America and HBO Max in the U.S. Selected as one of Variety’s best international series of 2020, “La Jauria” stars “A Fantastic Woman” lead Daniela Vega and is directed by one of Latin America’s most prominent film and TV writer-directors Lucia Puenzo.
Sticking with a talent alliance that worked so well for Fabula and Fremantle the first time around, Puenzo also co-wrote and is directing “Señorita 89.” She is joined by co-screenwriters María Renée Prudencio and Tatiana Mereñuk, and co-directors Nicolás Puenzo...
- 4/29/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based Luxbox has scored the worldwide sales rights to Swedish-Costa Rican debut feature “Clara Sola” by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén.
The magical realist tale set in a remote Costa Rican village follows a woman, known for her healing powers, who seeks to break away from the stifling social and religious conventions of her community.
“Clara Sola” has nearly completed its post and will be primed for key festivals. The titular role of Clara is played by award-winning Costa Rican dancer Wendy Chinchilla who makes her film debut.
“Álvarez Mesén’s debut offers an ambitious role to an exceptional actress. Despite her differences, Clara imposes the will of a strong character, in opposition with the conventions and the expectations of her family. These chopped gestures and her impulse turn into a ballet, celebrating a true driving force of life,” said Luxbox co-CEOs Fiorella Moretti and Hédi Zardi.
“It is a privilege to...
The magical realist tale set in a remote Costa Rican village follows a woman, known for her healing powers, who seeks to break away from the stifling social and religious conventions of her community.
“Clara Sola” has nearly completed its post and will be primed for key festivals. The titular role of Clara is played by award-winning Costa Rican dancer Wendy Chinchilla who makes her film debut.
“Álvarez Mesén’s debut offers an ambitious role to an exceptional actress. Despite her differences, Clara imposes the will of a strong character, in opposition with the conventions and the expectations of her family. These chopped gestures and her impulse turn into a ballet, celebrating a true driving force of life,” said Luxbox co-CEOs Fiorella Moretti and Hédi Zardi.
“It is a privilege to...
- 2/26/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Two leading lights on the international Spanish film-tv scene, sales agent Geraldine Gonard, director of Spain’s Conecta Fiction co-production forum, and Luis Collar, a partner and CEO of The Circular Group, a diversified film company, have joined forces to create Feel Content, which makes its public market bow at Ventana Sur.
A dedicated sales company, Feel Content, backed by Gonard’s Inside Content and Collar’s Great Waves, aims to exploit new opportunities emerging in the fast evolving sales landscape, acquiring individual titles and catalogs of Spanish-language and European films.
It hits the ground running at Ventana Sur, announcing two new acquisitions, Matías Meyer’s “Modern Loves” and “Karakol,” from Argentina’s Saula Benavente, which join two titles it introduced to buyers at Malaga’s Spanish Screenings: Gracia Querejeta’s “The Invisible” and “Pullman.”
“We think there’s a clear gap to fill in Spain for one more international sales agency,...
A dedicated sales company, Feel Content, backed by Gonard’s Inside Content and Collar’s Great Waves, aims to exploit new opportunities emerging in the fast evolving sales landscape, acquiring individual titles and catalogs of Spanish-language and European films.
It hits the ground running at Ventana Sur, announcing two new acquisitions, Matías Meyer’s “Modern Loves” and “Karakol,” from Argentina’s Saula Benavente, which join two titles it introduced to buyers at Malaga’s Spanish Screenings: Gracia Querejeta’s “The Invisible” and “Pullman.”
“We think there’s a clear gap to fill in Spain for one more international sales agency,...
- 11/30/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Attempting to guess the less than a dozen titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic comp section is a true crapshoot but seeing that Panamanian filmmaker Abner Benaim‘s last picture Ruben Blades Is Not My Name had it’s world premiere at Sundance’s competing festival SXSW means they are keeping tabs on this project. Benaim signed up the very choosey cinematographer Lorenzo Hagerman (Amat Escalante’s Heli and Rick Alverson’s last two features) and by enlisting the excellent Ilse Salas (featured in The Good Girls – check out our portrait of her in our TIFF studio) he assures that there’ll be interest for all Spanish speaking film territories and beyond. …...
- 11/23/2020
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Above: New OrderI am sitting in the terrace of the Hungaria Palace Hotel, and skimming through my notes. The festival is coming to an end: the Lido has all but emptied out, and the streets around the fest’s headquarters feel eerier and quieter than ever. I wish I could muster enough strength to jot down something about the melancholia that sinks in anytime Venice reaches its finale, but I’ve barely enough energy to keep my eyes open at this stage, and the heat feels so atrociously strong today the air seems a physical hindrance. I’m breathing through my mask, and waiting for a publicist to call my name. Sitting in the shade, legs crossed and arms folded, Michel Franco is chatting with a journalist. I’m the next one in line. Franco’s New Order was one of the last official competition titles to bow on the Lido,...
- 9/12/2020
- MUBI
Following his star turn in “Jauja,” a major hit at the 2014 Cannes Festival, Viggo Mortensen will re-team with Argentine director Lisandro Alonso on “Eureka,” one of the boldest upcoming art films from Latin America.
Mortensen, who takes the lead role in “Eureka’s” first part, will be joined by France’s Chiara Mastroianni, a Cesar Award best actress nominee this year for “On a Magical Night,” and Portugal’s Maria de Medeiros (“Pulp Fiction”).
In a nod towards “Jauja,” Mortensen once more takes the role of a father, here Murphy, searching for a daughter, again played by Denmark’s Viilbjørk Malling Agger, who has been kidnapped in “Eureka” by an outlaw, Randall. Despite the actors reprising similar roles, the film is not a sequel.
In addition, the setting for Part 1 of “Eureka,” entitled “Western,” is no longer Argentina’s Patagonia but a lawless township in 1870 on the U.S.-Mexico border,...
Mortensen, who takes the lead role in “Eureka’s” first part, will be joined by France’s Chiara Mastroianni, a Cesar Award best actress nominee this year for “On a Magical Night,” and Portugal’s Maria de Medeiros (“Pulp Fiction”).
In a nod towards “Jauja,” Mortensen once more takes the role of a father, here Murphy, searching for a daughter, again played by Denmark’s Viilbjørk Malling Agger, who has been kidnapped in “Eureka” by an outlaw, Randall. Despite the actors reprising similar roles, the film is not a sequel.
In addition, the setting for Part 1 of “Eureka,” entitled “Western,” is no longer Argentina’s Patagonia but a lawless township in 1870 on the U.S.-Mexico border,...
- 8/4/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Whether we love them wholeheartedly or as guilty pleasures, Young Adult books make for great reading and TV material.
Unfortunately, TV is prone to making the same adaptational mistakes with Ya books as they are with any other type of literature.
Fortunately, TV is always searching for it next teen hit, so there's plenty of opportunities to finally give these Ya books a proper TV adaptation.
Let start with Pretty Little Liars because even though it aired for seven seasons, there's quite a demand for a redo.
Compared to the TV version, the Pretty Little Liars books, written by Sara Shepard, had far more substance.
For one thing, the books were much better plotted whereas the TV series was nonsensical.
The books were much better in how it depicted mental health.
Despite its great casting, the TV series did a huge disservice to the characters. The TV show radically changed...
Unfortunately, TV is prone to making the same adaptational mistakes with Ya books as they are with any other type of literature.
Fortunately, TV is always searching for it next teen hit, so there's plenty of opportunities to finally give these Ya books a proper TV adaptation.
Let start with Pretty Little Liars because even though it aired for seven seasons, there's quite a demand for a redo.
Compared to the TV version, the Pretty Little Liars books, written by Sara Shepard, had far more substance.
For one thing, the books were much better plotted whereas the TV series was nonsensical.
The books were much better in how it depicted mental health.
Despite its great casting, the TV series did a huge disservice to the characters. The TV show radically changed...
- 7/31/2020
- by Becca Newton
- TVfanatic
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSFor Vogue France, portraits of a stylish Jean-Luc Godard in his Swiss home by Hedi Slimane. The full program for the 2020 Venice Film Festival, now revealed, includes films from Lav Diaz, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Ann Hui, and Chloé Zhao. This year's impressive jury (selected in light of travel restrictions) will include Cate Blanchett, Christian Petzold, Joanna Hogg, and Cristi Puiu. Recommended VIEWINGPresented by the Maysles Documentary Center, "After Civilization" is a series featuring documentaries that "employ speculative techniques to reckon with ecological crisis and the ongoing material violences of dispossession." The films, from John Akomfrah's Afrofuturist essay film The Last Angel of History to Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil's Inaate/Se/ [it shines a certain way. to a certain place/it flies. falls./], are available for free until August 15. Madrid-based La Casa Encendida also has an ongoing screening series, entitled "Some Letters Make the Night Last a Moment Longer.
- 7/31/2020
- MUBI
Alejandra Márquez Abella's The Good Girls, which is receiving an exclusive global online premiere on Mubi, is showing from July 23 – August 21, 2020 in most countries in Mubi's Viewfinder series.I’m very excited to be introducing my film Las niñas bien (The Good Girls) to the Mubi audience. It’s such a great honor! Las niñas bien was a compilation of Guadalupe Loaeza’s humoristic Sunday column in Mexico back in the early 80s. She wrote about what she was observing among her friends, the elite circle, during Mexico’s economic crisis. The column was published in one leftist journal at the time, it was a hit and a scandal for the real Niñas Bien who felt betrayed. Among other infamies, her writing revealed the great disconnection that the wealthy had with the political reality of their country. That book has been around for almost 40 years. Though perceived as pulpy,...
- 7/13/2020
- MUBI
The Good Girls survived yet another season in the shadows of their criminal side-hustle. While not everyone in their orbit made it out alive (Rip, Lucy!), Sunday’s faux-nale set up a brand new springboard that’s sure to launch Beth and co. to dangerous new heights.
The forced shutdown left us five episodes shy of a full season, but we did get to see the birth of Boland Bubbles, the ladies’ new business endeavor/cash-washing machine, despite a driven new agent who’s hot on their tail. And though Stan and Ruby seemed to have patched things up, Beth...
The forced shutdown left us five episodes shy of a full season, but we did get to see the birth of Boland Bubbles, the ladies’ new business endeavor/cash-washing machine, despite a driven new agent who’s hot on their tail. And though Stan and Ruby seemed to have patched things up, Beth...
- 5/4/2020
- TVLine.com
In their continued bid to lock up leading talent for their fledgling TV development-production partnership, Endeavor Content and Exile have signed a first look series deal with lauded Mexican writer-director Alejandra Marquez Abella (“Las Niñas Bien”).
The alliance recently announced first look pacts with Sebastian Hofmann, “Roma” producer Nicolas Celis and Mauricio Katz’s shingle Subtrama.
Marquez Abella’s first project is the scripted dramedy series “La Liberación,” which follows a group of estranged female entertainment industry professionals who realize they need to resolve their differences in order to better face the future together.
“We as women have been condemned to ‘divide and conquer,’ to live clashing with each other,” said Marquez Abella. “Now we’re looking at each other and we’re learning that we don’t have to fight for a spot, that we all can co-exist and thrive together in this world.”
“La Liberación” stars “Los Espookys’” Cassandra Ciangherotti,...
The alliance recently announced first look pacts with Sebastian Hofmann, “Roma” producer Nicolas Celis and Mauricio Katz’s shingle Subtrama.
Marquez Abella’s first project is the scripted dramedy series “La Liberación,” which follows a group of estranged female entertainment industry professionals who realize they need to resolve their differences in order to better face the future together.
“We as women have been condemned to ‘divide and conquer,’ to live clashing with each other,” said Marquez Abella. “Now we’re looking at each other and we’re learning that we don’t have to fight for a spot, that we all can co-exist and thrive together in this world.”
“La Liberación” stars “Los Espookys’” Cassandra Ciangherotti,...
- 3/6/2020
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Los Cabos — “The Twentieth Century,” Matthew Rankin’s crazed retelling of Canadian history, won the main Los Cabos Competition this Saturday, beating out a prestige lineup of some of the most notable festival standouts of the year.
The win at Los Cabos, whose competition is focused on movies from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, adds to “The Twentieth Century’s” Toronto Best Canadian First Feature prize for a feature made with high style, shot like 1940s melodrama, with a box-like Academy ratio.
Mexico Primero, a showcase of first or second-time Mexican features, was won by “The Dove and the Wolf,” the feature debut of Carlos Lenin, which world premiered at this year’s Locarno Film Festival in Filmmakers of the Present. A young couple love story, “The Dove and the Wolf” is distinguished by its context, a grimy small town assailed by cartel violence, and its unyielding use of...
The win at Los Cabos, whose competition is focused on movies from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, adds to “The Twentieth Century’s” Toronto Best Canadian First Feature prize for a feature made with high style, shot like 1940s melodrama, with a box-like Academy ratio.
Mexico Primero, a showcase of first or second-time Mexican features, was won by “The Dove and the Wolf,” the feature debut of Carlos Lenin, which world premiered at this year’s Locarno Film Festival in Filmmakers of the Present. A young couple love story, “The Dove and the Wolf” is distinguished by its context, a grimy small town assailed by cartel violence, and its unyielding use of...
- 11/17/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Morelia, Mexico — Paris-based Luxbox has picked up international sales rights to Guadalajara native Lorena Padilla’s debut feature “Martinez,” toplining Francisco Reyes who starred opposite Daniela Vega in Chile’s Oscar-winning “A Fantastic Woman.”
“We have totally embraced the singularity of this project which brings to our eyes the potential of a film that can entertain and move the audience,” said Luxbox CEO, Fiorella Moretti. “The film is a mix of different preoccupations of our contemporaries: Time passing, loneliness, isolation and the eternal quest for love, all depicted through a subtle and entertaining angle,” she noted, concluding: “The process of an audience-driven film.”
Reyes plays the titular of Martinez, an embittered Chilean in his sixties who has lived in Mexico for the past 40 years and is being forced to retire from his job. As he struggles with life changes, a neighbor suddenly dies and, as he sifts through her diary and her things,...
“We have totally embraced the singularity of this project which brings to our eyes the potential of a film that can entertain and move the audience,” said Luxbox CEO, Fiorella Moretti. “The film is a mix of different preoccupations of our contemporaries: Time passing, loneliness, isolation and the eternal quest for love, all depicted through a subtle and entertaining angle,” she noted, concluding: “The process of an audience-driven film.”
Reyes plays the titular of Martinez, an embittered Chilean in his sixties who has lived in Mexico for the past 40 years and is being forced to retire from his job. As he struggles with life changes, a neighbor suddenly dies and, as he sifts through her diary and her things,...
- 10/22/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Panama’s internationally best-known helmer, Abner Benaim (“Ruben Blades Is Not My Name”) has just completed the shoot for his second fiction feature film, “Plaza Catedral,” starring Mexico’s Ilse Salas (“The Good Girls”), and Manolo Cardona (“Narcos”).
Salas plays a 42-year old grief-stricken woman, Alicia, who has severed her ties with married life and society. Her life is turned upside down when a 14-year old boy, “Chief,” who looks after people’s cars, comes bleeding into her house.
The boy is played by first time actor, Fernando de Casta, who was chosen from over 250 kids who came in for open casting in the same neighborhoods in Panama´s old town where the film’s plot takes place.
“What started out as a very small production quickly turned into medium-size, and sometimes large for Latin American standards,” explained Benaim.
“We had a very demanding schedule, many locations, and Panama’s tropical weather to deal with.
Salas plays a 42-year old grief-stricken woman, Alicia, who has severed her ties with married life and society. Her life is turned upside down when a 14-year old boy, “Chief,” who looks after people’s cars, comes bleeding into her house.
The boy is played by first time actor, Fernando de Casta, who was chosen from over 250 kids who came in for open casting in the same neighborhoods in Panama´s old town where the film’s plot takes place.
“What started out as a very small production quickly turned into medium-size, and sometimes large for Latin American standards,” explained Benaim.
“We had a very demanding schedule, many locations, and Panama’s tropical weather to deal with.
- 10/17/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Some 40% of selections hail from female directors.
The Us premiere of Argentinian rom-com An Unexpected Love starring Ricardo Darín and the world premiere of Days Of Light bookend the 2019 AFI Latin American Film Festival, set to run in Silver Spring, Maryland, from Sept. 12-Oct. 2.
Some 53 films from 23 countries will screen at the 30th anniversary event during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Organisers said nearly 40% of the selections hail from female directors.
An Unexpected Love, directed by Patagonik’s Juan Vera marks Darín’s first outing as producer and he stars in the rom-com alongside Mercedes Morán.
Days Of Light is an...
The Us premiere of Argentinian rom-com An Unexpected Love starring Ricardo Darín and the world premiere of Days Of Light bookend the 2019 AFI Latin American Film Festival, set to run in Silver Spring, Maryland, from Sept. 12-Oct. 2.
Some 53 films from 23 countries will screen at the 30th anniversary event during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Organisers said nearly 40% of the selections hail from female directors.
An Unexpected Love, directed by Patagonik’s Juan Vera marks Darín’s first outing as producer and he stars in the rom-com alongside Mercedes Morán.
Days Of Light is an...
- 8/28/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Christina Hendricks just let her fans in on a secret she’s kept for 20 years.
The Mad Men star, 44, revealed that the hand on the iconic American Beauty poster belongs to her.
“Fun fact…. wait for it…I used to be a model and sometimes a hand model…. this is my hand and another model’s stomach….proud to be a part if this film in Any Way!!! #americanbeauty,” the Emmy-nominated actress wrote in an Instagram caption on Thursday, sharing the poster for the movie.
Hendricks’ revelation drew quite the reaction from her fellow celebrities.
Her Good Girls costar Retta added,...
The Mad Men star, 44, revealed that the hand on the iconic American Beauty poster belongs to her.
“Fun fact…. wait for it…I used to be a model and sometimes a hand model…. this is my hand and another model’s stomach….proud to be a part if this film in Any Way!!! #americanbeauty,” the Emmy-nominated actress wrote in an Instagram caption on Thursday, sharing the poster for the movie.
Hendricks’ revelation drew quite the reaction from her fellow celebrities.
Her Good Girls costar Retta added,...
- 8/23/2019
- by Ashley Boucher
- PEOPLE.com
Everyone lies, and everyone keeps secrets. It's human nature. The act of lying and keeping secrets tends to go hand-in-hand.
If you don't want someone to find out the truth, at some point, you'll have to tell them a lie. Some people are better at lying than others; it comes naturally to some while others couldn't tell a lie to save their own life.
Related: Get HBO via Prime Video Channels for Addictive Dramas, Hilarious Comedies & Hit Movies!
We've rounded up a list of TV characters who have mastered the art of keeping a secret. Some of their secrets are innocent in nature, some have the potential to destroy, some cover-up mistakes of the past, some are kept to protect others, and a few are better left taken to the grave.
Before we launch into our gallery of best TV secret-keepers, I'll leave you with this TV show theme song...
If you don't want someone to find out the truth, at some point, you'll have to tell them a lie. Some people are better at lying than others; it comes naturally to some while others couldn't tell a lie to save their own life.
Related: Get HBO via Prime Video Channels for Addictive Dramas, Hilarious Comedies & Hit Movies!
We've rounded up a list of TV characters who have mastered the art of keeping a secret. Some of their secrets are innocent in nature, some have the potential to destroy, some cover-up mistakes of the past, some are kept to protect others, and a few are better left taken to the grave.
Before we launch into our gallery of best TV secret-keepers, I'll leave you with this TV show theme song...
- 8/20/2019
- by Lizzy Buczak
- TVfanatic
Panama’s internationally best-known helmer, Abner Benaim (“Ruben Blades Is Not My Name”) has moved into pre-production on his second fiction feature film, “Plaza Catedral,” which is set to star Mexico’s Ilse Salas, who has just won Mexican Academy’s Ariel Award for best actress for her performance in Alejandra Marquez’s Toronto hit “The Good Girls.”
Salas has also starred in both movies to date from Alonso Ruizpalacios, with Marquéz Mexico’s fasting-rising new director, whose “Museum”proved a standout at the Berlin and Toronto Festivals last year.
“Plaza Catedral” is scheduled to begin its six-week shoot in Panama City in August. In it, Salas plays a 42 year old grief-stricken woman who has severed her ties with married life and society.
“This complex, melancholy character finds herself in the tropical paradise that Panamá pretends to be, with its primary colors and a society obsessed with economic success and having a good time,...
Salas has also starred in both movies to date from Alonso Ruizpalacios, with Marquéz Mexico’s fasting-rising new director, whose “Museum”proved a standout at the Berlin and Toronto Festivals last year.
“Plaza Catedral” is scheduled to begin its six-week shoot in Panama City in August. In it, Salas plays a 42 year old grief-stricken woman who has severed her ties with married life and society.
“This complex, melancholy character finds herself in the tropical paradise that Panamá pretends to be, with its primary colors and a society obsessed with economic success and having a good time,...
- 7/2/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The Mexican Academy of Arts and Cinematographic Sciences hosted the 61st edition of their Ariel Awards on Monday evening, where Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” and Alejandra Márquez Abella’s “The Good Girls” stood out among the winners.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Cuarón’s “Roma” scooping best picture is that it’s only the second of his films to win an Ariel award, and the first to be nominated for best picture. In 1992 “Sólo con Tu Pareja” was nominated for best first work and screenplay, and won best original story. In 2001 he chose not to submit his Oscar-nominated classic “Y tu mamá también” in protest at the Academy’s voting practices.
By the end of the Monday evening however, “Roma” netted 10 prizes, including best director, supporting actress, photography, screenplay, editing, sound, art design, visual effects and special effects to go along with the best picture prize.
A festival darling over the past year,...
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Cuarón’s “Roma” scooping best picture is that it’s only the second of his films to win an Ariel award, and the first to be nominated for best picture. In 1992 “Sólo con Tu Pareja” was nominated for best first work and screenplay, and won best original story. In 2001 he chose not to submit his Oscar-nominated classic “Y tu mamá también” in protest at the Academy’s voting practices.
By the end of the Monday evening however, “Roma” netted 10 prizes, including best director, supporting actress, photography, screenplay, editing, sound, art design, visual effects and special effects to go along with the best picture prize.
A festival darling over the past year,...
- 6/25/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma swept the boards at Mexico’s Ariel Awards last night in Mexico City.
The black-and-white period drama scored ten wins at the country’s leading film awards, bestowed by the Mexican Academy, including best film, director, cinematography and original screenplay.
Muchas gracias por acompañarnos en la sexagésima primera entrega del Ariel. ¡Hasta el próximo año! #Ariel2019 pic.twitter.com/waria4j1uq
— AcademiaCineMx (@AcademiaCineMx) June 25, 2019
Cuarón was unable to attend the ceremony for personal reasons but most of the Netflix movie’s cast and crew were on hand to collect their awards in the city in which much of the film is set. Multi-Oscar winner Roma, the darling of last year’s festival and awards season, charts a year in the life of a Mexican maid working for a middle class family during the early 1970s.
Alejandra Marquez’s drama The Good Girls was the only...
The black-and-white period drama scored ten wins at the country’s leading film awards, bestowed by the Mexican Academy, including best film, director, cinematography and original screenplay.
Muchas gracias por acompañarnos en la sexagésima primera entrega del Ariel. ¡Hasta el próximo año! #Ariel2019 pic.twitter.com/waria4j1uq
— AcademiaCineMx (@AcademiaCineMx) June 25, 2019
Cuarón was unable to attend the ceremony for personal reasons but most of the Netflix movie’s cast and crew were on hand to collect their awards in the city in which much of the film is set. Multi-Oscar winner Roma, the darling of last year’s festival and awards season, charts a year in the life of a Mexican maid working for a middle class family during the early 1970s.
Alejandra Marquez’s drama The Good Girls was the only...
- 6/25/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The economy’s a mess but Sofía’s hair is perfect in Alejandra Márquez Abella’s “The Good Girls,” a film that is all surface in a way that is not, for once, a negative. The primped, powdered and shoulder-padded story of the fall from grace of a 1980s Mexican socialite is all about buffed and lustrous surfaces — poreless skin, laquered nails, silken fabrics — all the veneer of social superiority that money can buy. It’s an illusion, of course, that such a thin plating of wealth offers any protection against the changeable climate outside. But it’s such a seductive lie that the vacuous, complacent people thus ensheathed are prone to believe it, forgetting that their glaze of perfection is as brittle as the burnt-sugar topping on a crème brûlée. It’s delicious when it cracks.
We’re introduced to Sofía (Ilse Salas) in fragments: her hair being lathered...
We’re introduced to Sofía (Ilse Salas) in fragments: her hair being lathered...
- 6/19/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
by Jorge Molina
Award season is a misnomer. Movie awards are a year-long, worldwide affair. At the end of last month the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (Amacc) announced its nominees for the 61st annual Ariel awards, celebrating the films of 2018.
As you undoubtedly would expect, Alfonso Cuarón’s multi-celebrated, Oscar-winning Roma garnered the most nominations, with 15. It was followed by Museo, by Alonso Ruizpalacios, and The Good Girls by Alejandra Márquez Abella (still awaiting Us distribution), with 14 each. You can see a full list of nominees below:...
Award season is a misnomer. Movie awards are a year-long, worldwide affair. At the end of last month the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (Amacc) announced its nominees for the 61st annual Ariel awards, celebrating the films of 2018.
As you undoubtedly would expect, Alfonso Cuarón’s multi-celebrated, Oscar-winning Roma garnered the most nominations, with 15. It was followed by Museo, by Alonso Ruizpalacios, and The Good Girls by Alejandra Márquez Abella (still awaiting Us distribution), with 14 each. You can see a full list of nominees below:...
- 5/10/2019
- by Jorge Molina
- FilmExperience
The Spanish film The Days to Come and two 1980s-set Mexican dramas, This Is Not Berlin and The Good Girls, shared the bulk of the top prizes at the 22nd annual Malaga Film Festival, which ran from March 15-24 in the Spanish city.
The festival’s two best film honors — known as the Golden Biznagas — go to one Spanish film and one Ibero-American film. Taking home this year's awards were the Catalan-language Days to Come by Carlos Marques-Marcet and Mexican director Alejandra Marquez Abella’s Good Girls.
Days to Come, a documentary-style drama about a young couple’s nine-month journey to parenthood, also ...
The festival’s two best film honors — known as the Golden Biznagas — go to one Spanish film and one Ibero-American film. Taking home this year's awards were the Catalan-language Days to Come by Carlos Marques-Marcet and Mexican director Alejandra Marquez Abella’s Good Girls.
Days to Come, a documentary-style drama about a young couple’s nine-month journey to parenthood, also ...
- 3/23/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Spanish film The Days to Come and two 1980s-set Mexican dramas, This Is Not Berlin and The Good Girls, shared the bulk of the top prizes at the 22nd annual Malaga Film Festival, which ran from March 15-24 in the Spanish city.
The festival’s two best film honors — known as the Golden Biznagas — go to one Spanish film and one Ibero-American film. Taking home this year's awards were the Catalan-language Days to Come by Carlos Marques-Marcet and Mexican director Alejandra Marquez Abella’s Good Girls.
Days to Come, a documentary-style drama about a young couple’s nine-month journey to parenthood, also ...
The festival’s two best film honors — known as the Golden Biznagas — go to one Spanish film and one Ibero-American film. Taking home this year's awards were the Catalan-language Days to Come by Carlos Marques-Marcet and Mexican director Alejandra Marquez Abella’s Good Girls.
Days to Come, a documentary-style drama about a young couple’s nine-month journey to parenthood, also ...
- 3/23/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Guadalajara, Mexico — New Mexican production shingle Zafiro Cinema, launched by Machete Prods. founder Edher Campos and Bolivian producer Gabriela Maire late last year, is gearing up to make its first film, “Perros” (“Dogs”), written and to be directed by Chilean director Vinko Tomičić.
Chilean thesp Alfredo Castro, who broke out internationally in Pablo Larraín’s films and then Lorenzo Vigas’ Venice Golden Lion winner “From Afar” (“Desde Alla”), will play opposite a yet-to-be discovered non-pro from La Paz, Bolivia.
This will be Tomičić’s sophomore feature. His debut film “Cockroach” (“Fumigador”), co-directed with Francisco Hevia, won the best film at the 2016 Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) among others.
Tomičić is currently polishing his script at the Cannes Festival’s Cinefondation Residence program in Paris, one of two Chilean filmmakers selected for its 38th session.
Set to begin shooting later this year in La Paz on an estimated $450,000 budget, “Perros” turns...
Chilean thesp Alfredo Castro, who broke out internationally in Pablo Larraín’s films and then Lorenzo Vigas’ Venice Golden Lion winner “From Afar” (“Desde Alla”), will play opposite a yet-to-be discovered non-pro from La Paz, Bolivia.
This will be Tomičić’s sophomore feature. His debut film “Cockroach” (“Fumigador”), co-directed with Francisco Hevia, won the best film at the 2016 Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic) among others.
Tomičić is currently polishing his script at the Cannes Festival’s Cinefondation Residence program in Paris, one of two Chilean filmmakers selected for its 38th session.
Set to begin shooting later this year in La Paz on an estimated $450,000 budget, “Perros” turns...
- 3/13/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Apa is upping three in its Literary Group. The agency has promoted Sheryl Petersen and Ryan Saul to co-head the agency’s Motion Picture Literary department, and Lindsay Howard Parker to co-head the Television Literary department.
“Sheryl, Ryan and Lindsay have done a tremendous job in positioning Apa as a major player in all areas of content creation,” said Apa’s Head of Literary Lee Dinstman in making the announcement. “Through their leadership and expertise, they embody our collaborative team-oriented culture at Apa, which has been the foundation of our success and that of our clients.”
“They have exceptional instincts for uncovering and nurturing great talent,” added David Saunders, Executive Vice President of Apa’s Literary Group. “Their contributions to the success of the department have been extraordinary.
Apa’s television and motion picture literary department’s clients include John and Sandy Carpenter and their Storm King Production; Wes Ball...
“Sheryl, Ryan and Lindsay have done a tremendous job in positioning Apa as a major player in all areas of content creation,” said Apa’s Head of Literary Lee Dinstman in making the announcement. “Through their leadership and expertise, they embody our collaborative team-oriented culture at Apa, which has been the foundation of our success and that of our clients.”
“They have exceptional instincts for uncovering and nurturing great talent,” added David Saunders, Executive Vice President of Apa’s Literary Group. “Their contributions to the success of the department have been extraordinary.
Apa’s television and motion picture literary department’s clients include John and Sandy Carpenter and their Storm King Production; Wes Ball...
- 1/14/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
It was a starry Friday morning at the Parker Palm Springs, where celebrities ranging from Bradley Cooper to Olivia Wilde to Emily Blunt gathered at the Creative Impact Awards brunch feting the 22nd edition of Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch.
On this year’s list of helmers on the rise: Ali Abbasi (“Border”); Alejandra Marquez Abella (“The Good Girls”); Bert & Bertie (“Troupe Zero”); Pippa Blanco (“Share”); Cooper (“A Star is Born”); Kent Jones (“Drake”); Tayarisha Poe (“Selah and the Spades”); Alonso Ruizpalacios (“Museo”); Lulu Wang (“Farewell”); and Wilde (“Booksmart”).
Cooper “took a film that has been made and remade multiple times before and found something personal to express with it, made a film about the power of celebrity and about what your voice can do and it’s one of the most incredible debuts I’ve seen in a long, long time,” said Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge of...
On this year’s list of helmers on the rise: Ali Abbasi (“Border”); Alejandra Marquez Abella (“The Good Girls”); Bert & Bertie (“Troupe Zero”); Pippa Blanco (“Share”); Cooper (“A Star is Born”); Kent Jones (“Drake”); Tayarisha Poe (“Selah and the Spades”); Alonso Ruizpalacios (“Museo”); Lulu Wang (“Farewell”); and Wilde (“Booksmart”).
Cooper “took a film that has been made and remade multiple times before and found something personal to express with it, made a film about the power of celebrity and about what your voice can do and it’s one of the most incredible debuts I’ve seen in a long, long time,” said Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge of...
- 1/4/2019
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Raised in Mexico City by historian parents, writer-director Alejandra Márquez Abella studied filmmaking at the Centre d’Estudis Cinematographics de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.
Inspired by international art film directors and the French New Wave in particular — “They felt like a drug exploding in my brain,” she says — the emerging Mexican auteur debuted her first feature, “Semana Santa,” at the Toronto film festival in 2015. In September, she was back at Tiff with “The Good Girls,” which premiered in the prestigious Platform competition, before going on to win the audience award in Macao.
Both features are keenly observed, naturalistic and sometimes humorous dramas about flawed characters that evoke deep empathy from viewers. “They are very different, but I’d say that they have complicated characters in common,” she says. “I’ve portrayed unlikable people like a childish, irresponsible mother or a self-centered snob in distress and tried to understand their drive.
Inspired by international art film directors and the French New Wave in particular — “They felt like a drug exploding in my brain,” she says — the emerging Mexican auteur debuted her first feature, “Semana Santa,” at the Toronto film festival in 2015. In September, she was back at Tiff with “The Good Girls,” which premiered in the prestigious Platform competition, before going on to win the audience award in Macao.
Both features are keenly observed, naturalistic and sometimes humorous dramas about flawed characters that evoke deep empathy from viewers. “They are very different, but I’d say that they have complicated characters in common,” she says. “I’ve portrayed unlikable people like a childish, irresponsible mother or a self-centered snob in distress and tried to understand their drive.
- 1/4/2019
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Following her debut film Semana Santa (also a Tiff selection in 2015), which deals with the absence of a boy’s father, Alejandra Márquez Abella enlists actress Ilsa Salas (Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Museo) to represent snotty side of social status for her sophomore film in The Good Girls (Las niñas bien) – which world premiered in Tiff’s Platform competition. A screenplay based on the text of one Guadalupe Loaeza, this looks at classism with small small mundane hand gestures and through a larger lense of what is a daily ritual of addition and subtraction. What wealth giveth, changes in government taketh away.…...
- 12/19/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
ustThe Competition line-up included 11 features from first- and second-time filmmakers.
The 3rd International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) unveiled its winners today (December 14), with Kwon Man-Ki’s redemption drama Clean Up receiving the best film prize.
The award, presented by filmmaker and Iffam jury president Chen Kaige, follows the film’s shared victory in the New Currents awards at Busan International Film Festival, where it premiered in October.
The Iffam jury awarded the jury prize to Barbara Sarasola-Day’s South America drug-trafficking story White Blood.
Gustav Möller’s Sundance 2018 hit The Guilty – Denmark’s foreign-language Oscar entry – won two awards:...
The 3rd International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) unveiled its winners today (December 14), with Kwon Man-Ki’s redemption drama Clean Up receiving the best film prize.
The award, presented by filmmaker and Iffam jury president Chen Kaige, follows the film’s shared victory in the New Currents awards at Busan International Film Festival, where it premiered in October.
The Iffam jury awarded the jury prize to Barbara Sarasola-Day’s South America drug-trafficking story White Blood.
Gustav Möller’s Sundance 2018 hit The Guilty – Denmark’s foreign-language Oscar entry – won two awards:...
- 12/14/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Korean drama movie, “Clean Up” took the best film prize on Friday night at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival and Awards Macao.
The jury, which comprised Chen Kaige, Danis Tanovic, Mabel Cheung, Paul Currie, and Tillotama Shome, said: “’Clean Up’ is a powerful, visceral film which is symbolic and naturalistic at the same time… The director unfolds a psychological drama with simmering intensity, and humanists the criminal without condoning the heinous crime in any way.”
The festival, completing its third edition, wrapped up with another breezy and efficient closing ceremony, kept largely on schedule thanks to its local live broadcast.
Celebrities on the red carpet included Phillip Noyce, Aaron Kwok and Ben Wheatley. Industry executives in attendance included Ellen Eliasoph, Michael J. Werner and Shekhar Kapur.
The closing ceremony was also the occasion for Variety and the festival to present awards to Asia’s next wave of talent.
The jury, which comprised Chen Kaige, Danis Tanovic, Mabel Cheung, Paul Currie, and Tillotama Shome, said: “’Clean Up’ is a powerful, visceral film which is symbolic and naturalistic at the same time… The director unfolds a psychological drama with simmering intensity, and humanists the criminal without condoning the heinous crime in any way.”
The festival, completing its third edition, wrapped up with another breezy and efficient closing ceremony, kept largely on schedule thanks to its local live broadcast.
Celebrities on the red carpet included Phillip Noyce, Aaron Kwok and Ben Wheatley. Industry executives in attendance included Ellen Eliasoph, Michael J. Werner and Shekhar Kapur.
The closing ceremony was also the occasion for Variety and the festival to present awards to Asia’s next wave of talent.
- 12/14/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
As Oscar season heats up and the world awaits news of the Sundance Film Festival lineup, Variety announces its 10 Directors to Watch for 2019, featuring a mix of recent festival breakouts and movies yet to premiere in the coming year, all chosen on the strength of films screened for Variety’s editors (sometimes as works in progress).
While blockbuster Venice-Toronto sensation “A Star Is Born” demonstrated the birth of a major new director in Bradley Cooper, many of the other talents on this year’s list are less well-known, but no less exciting. From Cannes, Un Certain Regard winner Ali Abbasi is representing Sweden with his film “Border” in this year’s Oscar foreign language race. Film critic and festival programmer Kent Jones won the Tribeca competition with feature debut “Diane,” while Mexican directors Alejandra Márquez Abella (“The Good Girls”) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (“Museo”) were standouts of the competition sections at...
While blockbuster Venice-Toronto sensation “A Star Is Born” demonstrated the birth of a major new director in Bradley Cooper, many of the other talents on this year’s list are less well-known, but no less exciting. From Cannes, Un Certain Regard winner Ali Abbasi is representing Sweden with his film “Border” in this year’s Oscar foreign language race. Film critic and festival programmer Kent Jones won the Tribeca competition with feature debut “Diane,” while Mexican directors Alejandra Márquez Abella (“The Good Girls”) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (“Museo”) were standouts of the competition sections at...
- 11/28/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Festival to kick off with Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate.
The Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30-Dec 8) has revealed its 2018 line-up, jury and honorary awards.
The Moroccan festival has been running since 2001, but took a year off in 2017 to “reflect on its editorial line”.
The competition line-up features 14 films from first or second-time directors. Six of the films competing for the Marrakech Etoile d’Or (or the Gold Star) are directed by women. Among the line-up is Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, Kent Jones’ Diane and Eva Trobisch’s All Good.
The festival opens with a gala screening of...
The Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30-Dec 8) has revealed its 2018 line-up, jury and honorary awards.
The Moroccan festival has been running since 2001, but took a year off in 2017 to “reflect on its editorial line”.
The competition line-up features 14 films from first or second-time directors. Six of the films competing for the Marrakech Etoile d’Or (or the Gold Star) are directed by women. Among the line-up is Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, Kent Jones’ Diane and Eva Trobisch’s All Good.
The festival opens with a gala screening of...
- 11/19/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
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