Julieth Restrepo is taking on the old boy network…

The 35-year-old Colombian actress and Loving Pablo star will portray Colombian politician and women’s rights pioneer Esmeralda Arboleda in the Spanish-language feature Estimados Señores.

Arboleda, was a Colombian politician and the first woman elected to the Senate of Colombia, serving from 1958-1961. A leader of the women’s suffrage movement in the country, she played an intrinsic role in achieving universal voting rights for women in the 1950s.

The new film will chart how Arboleda managed to convince 70 of the most powerful men in Colombia to approve the vote for women, despite the powerful influence of the country’s religious right.

Restrepo, also known for her work in the Amazon and AGC series Noticia de un Secuestro with Juan Pablo Raba and Netflix miniseries Griselda with Sofia Vergara, is due to star with Elkin Diaz and Claudio Cataño in the film.

Agora Films and El Circo Film are producing. Actress, producer and writer Patricia Castañeda will make her feature directorial debut based on her script.

Featured in the Ventana Sur works in progress market of 2020, the project is now lining up to shoot next month in Bogota.

Director Castañeda says the project has particular resonance right now given that Colombia earlier this year voted to decriminalize abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, marking a major victory for reproductive rights in the country. This follows a string of similar victories in other Latin American countries.