Tag Archives: Cinema Guild

Juan Pablo González Signs with Buchwald

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Juan Pablo González has new representation…

The 38-year-old Mexican filmmaker, whose first narrative feature, Dos Estaciones, claimed a Special Jury Award for Acting and a Grand Jury Prize nom upon its premiere in World Cinematic Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, has signed with Buchwald.

Juan Pablo González,The drama, which picked up for distribution by Cinema Guild, is set in the bucolic hills of Mexico’s Jalisco highlands, watching as iron-willed businesswoman Maria (Teresa Sánchez) fights against the impending collapse of her tequila factory. It also notably screened at New Directors/New Films (MoMA/Lincoln Center), the San Sebastián Film Festival and the Morelia International Film Festival, where Sánchez received the Eye for Best Acting Award, additionally picking up nominations at both the Cinema Eye Honors and the Gotham Awards.

Institutions supporting the film, which González co-wrote and directed, included IMCINE, Nouvelle Aquitaine Fond de Soutien au Cinéma, the Venice Biennale, the Sundance Institute, the Tribeca Film Institute and Cine Qua Non.

Previously helming the hour-long doc Caballerango, which premiered at IDFA Festival in 2018, González was also behind the 2016 narrative short La Espera, which premiered at SXSW and won the Grand Jury Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival. He has been a fellow of the Fund for Culture and Arts in Mexico, was awarded a 2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, and was also named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2015, appearing there alongside the likes of Reinaldo Marcus Green, Trey Edward Shults, Pippa Bianco and recent Oscar winners The Daniels, among others.

Juan Pablo González,

Cinema Guild Acquires U.S. Distribution Rights to Rodrigo Reyes’ “Sansón and Me”

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Rodrigo Reyes’ poignant documentary will be hitting U.S. theaters…

Cinema Guild has acquired the U.S. rights to Sansón and Me, directed by the 39-year-old Mexican film director.

Sanson & MeThe film has been slated for release in theaters next year, beginning with a run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on March 3.

Reyes’ latest feature emerged from his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, through which he met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. With no permission to interview him, Sansón and Reyes worked together over the course of a decade, using hundreds of letters as inspiration for recreations of Sansón’s childhood — featuring members of his own family. The result is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system and pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant’s story from oblivion.

The documentary won Best Film at Sheffield DocFest in June after world premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film also recently won the top prize at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and was named to the IDA and SFFILM Doc Stories shortlists.

“With Sansón and Me, Rodrigo Reyes takes the consequences of colonialism in Mexico that he explored in 499 and makes them intensely personal,” said Cinema Guild President Peter Kelly. “We’re excited by the ways he continues to push the documentary form and can’t wait to share this beautiful film with audiences.”

“I am very proud that the deeply personal journey of Sansón and Me has found a home with Cinema Guild,” added Reyes, “a company with an unwavering commitment to this art form we all love so much.”

Cinema Guild Acquires U.S. Distribution Rights to Juan Pablo González’s Drama “Dos Estaciones”

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Juan Pablo González’s acclaimed film is heading to U.S. theaters…

Cinema Guild has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the 37-year-old Mexican film director, screenwriter and editor’s fiction feature debut Dos Estaciones, which won a special jury award for lead actor Teresa Sánchez’s performance when it premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Juan Pablo GonzálezThe drama follows 50-year-old businesswoman María García (Sánchez), who owns Dos Estaciones—a once-majestic tequila factory now struggling to stay afloat. The factory is the final hold-over from generations of Mexican-owned tequila plants in the highlands of Jalisco, the rest having folded into foreign corporations. Once one of the wealthiest people in town, María knows her current financial situation is untenable. When a persistent plague and an unexpected flood cause irreversible damage, she is forced to do everything she can to save her community’s primary economy and source of pride.

Dos Estaciones was also an official selection of the True/False Film Festival, where González was honored with the True Vision Award, and will screen as part of New Directors/New Films later this month.

The film, which was written by González, Ilana Coleman and Ana Isabel Fernández, also stars Rafaela Fuentes, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Tatín Vera.

“As great admirers of Juan Pablo’s non-fiction work, we’re thrilled to be releasing Dos Estaciones in the U.S.,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly. “The film offers a window on issues facing contemporary Mexico with stunning images and a central performance of remarkable power and grace from Teresa Sánchez.”

“We are so humbled to be working with Cinema Guild, a company that we’ve long admired,” added González. “It’s evident from their catalog that they have a special love for cinema and we fully share that love. They’re the best home we could wish for Dos Estaciones and are so excited to be partnering with them to release such a special film for us.”

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, whose upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo’s In Front of Your Face and Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire. Recent releases include Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s The Girl and the Spider, Fern Silva’s Rock Bottom Riser and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing.

Cinema Guild Acquires North American Rights to Matías Piñeiro’s “Isabella”

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Matías Piñeiro’s latest project will be headed to theaters in North America.

Cinema Guild has acquired North American distribution rights to the 38-year-old filmmaker’s Isabella, which won a special jury mention in the Encounters section at the 70th Berlinale earlier this year.

Matías Piñeiro

Cinema Guild is planning a 2021 theatrical release for the film.

Isabella follows Mariel (María Villar) who wants to play the role of Isabella in a local theater troupe’s production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, but money problems prevent her from preparing for the audition. She thinks of asking her brother for financial help, but is worried about being too direct. Her solution is to ask her brother’s girlfriend, Luciana (Agustina Muñoz), also an actress and a more self-assured one, to convince her brother to give her the money. Luciana agrees on the condition that Mariel will not abandon her acting and continue to prepare for the part of Isabella.

Isabella

“We can’t wait for audiences to be enchanted by Matías’ latest,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly. “Isabella is a film of wonders that reveals more with each viewing.”