Tag Archives: Paul Hudson

Outsider Pictures Acquires U.S. Theatrical Rights to Miguel Angel Ferrer’s “The Shadow of the Sun”

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Miguel Angel Ferrer’s Oscar-hopeful will be hitting U.S. theaters.

Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures has acquired the U.S. theatrical rights to Venezuela’s 2024 International Feature Academy Award submission The Shadow of the Sun by the Venezuelan director.

Miguel Angel Ferrer,The Shadow of the Sun is the story of Alex, a young deaf man who asks his older brother Leo to accompany him in a musical competition. With the help of his brother’s voice, Alex has the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream, one that will push his skills to their limit and test his resilience in a culture not interested in inclusion.

“Part of the reason I made this movie, and what I know it’s successfully achieved from all the reactions that we’ve gotten, is for Venezuelans to see their invincible spirit on the screen,” said Ferrer. “The story has already been accepted by all Venezuelans who have seen it, regardless of political inclination, societal status, sexual orientation, religion, etc.”

The Shadow of the SunAlthough the film’s main narrative is an intimate tale, Ferrer says the film also explores larger themes relevant to all Venezuelans.

“The movie is not political on the surface, but underneath the story, there’s an undercurrent of economic struggles, gangs, and all the trials and tribulations that every single Venezuelan knows like the back of their hand.”

“Despite everything, the characters persist and make it to the finish line. Win or not, that’s the story of every Venezuelan and most Latinos in the world. All of our countries are plagued by similar corruption and hardships, and yet we’re some of the happiest and most resilient people,” he added.

Produced by Martiza Carbajal and Alvar Carretero’s De la Reina LLC, The Shadow of the Sun enjoyed a fruitful festival run, winning the audience award at the Miami Film Festival, best Latin American feature at Monterrey, a special jury prize at the Seattle Latino Film Festival and five prizes at the Festival del Cine Venezolano.

“It’s an enjoyable challenge to bring a film like Shadow of the Sun to the U.S. to not only find and cater to the growing Venezuelan market but also try and bring the Latino and arthouse audiences along for the ride,” Outsider founder and CEO Hudson told Variety of his company’s latest pickup.

Outsider Pictures is planning a U.S. theatrical run in the spring of 2025, targeting the country’s growing Venezuelan population. According to Hudson, Outsider is committed to finding films for the group.

Todo Cine Latino Acquires North American Rights to Herrera’s Documentary “No Dress Code Required”

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Cristina Herrera is ready to Dress (Code) for success…

Todo Cine Latino, the specialty label of Outsider Pictures, has acquired the North American distribution rights to the Latina filmmaker’s No Dress Code Required in a co-acquisition deal with Strand Releasing for the Mexican film, which swept seven of eight prizes at the 2015 FICG pix-in-post showcase.

No Dress Code Required

Produced by Sabrina Almandoz at La Cleta Films, the label she founded with Herrera in 2012, the documentary feature turns on the story of Victor and Fernando, beauty professionals in Baja California, Mexico, whose clients include multiple socialites from their hometown, Mexicali.

“For many of their customers they were a lovely couple, until they decided to marry and become the first gay couple in the state to fight for their rights in a place full of homophobia and inequality,” the film synopsis says.

Mexico’s Supreme Court has issued ruling after ruling that restricting marriage to heterosexual couples is discriminatory. No Dress Code Required tracks the extraordinary series of roadblocks put up by Mexicali’s local mayor and other officials who succeeded in derailing Victor and Fernando’s marriage four times, questioning witnesses’ signatures, announcing a bomb threat as the ceremony was about to go ahead, and arranging a demonstration which prevented them from getting into a civil registrar’s office. A complaint from the Association of Families of Baja California alleged that Victor and Fernando could not marry, given their insanity.

“Through their struggle, they managed to open the eyes of the members of Baja Californian society,” the film’s synopsis says.

Mexican Film Institute Imcine invested in No Dress Code Required’s post-production.

Paul Hudson, CEO of Outsider Pictures, closed the deal with Herrera and Imcine.

“As we have learned from the fight for gay marriage in the U.S., equal rights for the LGBTQ community is a basic civil right that every member of society deserves,” Hudson said.

He added: “Cristina’s film perfectly captures the nightmarish bureaucracy that was put in place to try and stop the constitutional and civil rights of Victor and Fernando.”

“The contemporary era questions if, in effect, Mexicans can enforce the equality of rights established in the Constitution,” Herrera said in a statement. “At this crossroads are members of [Mexico’s] LGBTQ community who desire full recognition of their citizens’ rights and a civil society where sexual difference is still regarded as sin or pathology.”

Todo Cine Latino will look to build word-of-mouth via festivals throughout the spring. It will then theatrically release in Miami and the rest of the U.S. throughout the summer, Hudson said.

The film will then be released on digital streaming site Todocinelatino.com, a U.S. retailer of a significant number of recent prominent Latin American and Spanish movies.

A Fulbright scholar at Hunter College, New York, Herrera studied film at Mexico City’s Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica (CCC), a Latin American hotbed of young documentary film-making talent.

Coimbra’s “A Wolf at the Door” Wins Big at the Miami Film Fest

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Fernando Coimbra is the Wolf of Miami…

The Brazilian filmmaker’s A Wolf at the Door was the big winner at the Miami Film Fest’s awards night ceremony held over the weekend.

Fernando Coimbra's A Wolf at the Door

The Brazilian film, a dark thriller that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, took home the fest’s Knight Competition, with Grand Jury prizes for Best Film and Best Director for Coimbra.

The film is being distributed by Paul Hudson‘s Outsider Pictures, which is aiming for a July release date in the U.S.

Spanish actress Nora Navas picked the Grand Jury Best Performance for her work in Mar Coll’s We All Want What’s Best For Her (Spain).

The Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award went to Maria Gamboa’s Mateo (Colombia/France).

The festival, which closed Sunday, screened 141 films from 39 countries.

“We are humbled by the community’s overwhelming response to this year’s film festival,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of the Miami Dade College, which runs the event. “It serves to strengthen the college’s commitment to providing quality cultural arts programming for all to enjoy.”

Here’s the full awards list:

KNIGHT COMPETITION ($40,000 in prizes courtesy of James L. & John S. Knight Foundation)

FICTION

Knight Grand Jury Prize: A Wolf at the Door (Brazil, directed by Fernando Coimbra).

Grand Jury Best Performance: Nora Navas, for We All Want What’s Best For Her (Spain, directed by Mar Coll).

Grand Jury Best Director: Fernando Coimbra, forA Wolf at the Door (Brazil).

Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award:Mateo, written by Maria Gamboa (Colombia/France).

Jury:

Enrique Lopez Lavigne- Producer, Apaches Entertainment

Augustine Chiarino- Producer, Control Z Films

Alejandro Brugues – Director, Juan of the Dead

DOCUMENTARY

Knight Grand Jury Prize (ex aequo):

Finding Vivian Maier, directed by Charlie Siskel and John Maloof (USA); and

The Overnighters, directed by Jesse Moss (USA).

Jury:

Ross Kaufman – Filmmaker, Red Light Films (USA)

Adrian Bausch – Filmmaker (USA)

Laura Kim – Founder, Inside Job

LEXUS IBERO-AMERICAN OPERA PRIMA COMPETITION:

Winner: Mateo directed by Maria Gamboa (Colombia/France)

Honorable Mention:We are Mari Pepa, directed by Samuel Kishi Leopo (Mexico).

PAPI SHORTS COMPETITION, PRESENTED BY MACY’S:

Best Short Film: A Big Deal, directed by Yoyo Yao (China)

Honorable Mention:Skin directed by Cédric Prévost (France).

MIAMI ENCUENTROS presented by Moviecity

Aurora (Chile, produced by Florencia Larrea, directed by Rodrigo Sepulveda)

MIAMI FUTURE CINEMA CRITICS AWARD

To Kill A Man (Chile / France, directed by Alejandro Fernández Almendras).

REEL MUSIC VIDEO ART COMPETITION PRESENTED BY MTV Latin America and Tr3s

Winner: ‘Around the Lake’ (“Autour Du Lac”) directed by Noémie Marsily & Carl Roosens of Belgium. The music video was performed by Carl et les hommes-boîtes.

SIGNIS AWARD

Belle, directed by Amma Asante, “for its multi-layered depiction of the challenges to the value of human life and dignity wherever a profit-driven system makes commodification of persons acceptable. Masterly crafted, the film lifts up a variety of issues of conscience which still confront us today.”