Adria Arjona to Star Opposite Edgar Ramirez in Jayro Bustamante’s Dystopian Thriller “El Sombreron”

Adria Arjona has landed her next role…

The 32-year-old Guatemalan-Puerto Rican actress will co-star opposite Edgar Ramirez in in Jayro Bustamante’s dystopian thriller El Sombreron as The Match Factory launches worldwide sales on the project in Cannes, with CAA Media Finance representing North America.

Adria ArjonaBustamante, a Guatemalan director, previously made waves with Mayan drama Ixcanul, which premiered in competition in Berlin, winning the Alfred Bauer Prize (since renamed the Silver Bear Jury prize), and war criminal horror La Llorona, which won Best Director and Best Film in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori in 2019.

Arjona will play an ambitious woman trapped in a marriage as the trophy wife of a violent cartel boss. Desperate for liberation, she seizes the opportunity presented by a mysterious stranger (Ramirez), who promises to smuggle her north. However, once on route, she discovers the harrowing truth about her companion and finds herself thrust into a surreal odyssey.

Bustamante’s La Casa de Produccion, Alejandro De Leon and Brian Clark and Sergio Lira and Lynette Coll for Luz Films will serve as producers.

“In El Sombreron, Jayro fuses magical realism, folklore, and horror to vividly evoke the hell that borders create,” said producers. “We could not have asked for two better guides through the inferno than the immensely talented Adria Arjona and Edgar Ramirez.”

Arjona will next be seen starring in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man opposite Glen Powell, which releases in theaters on May 24 and on Netflix June 7. She’ll also be seen in Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut film Blink Twicewhich hits cinemas on August 23.

Ramirez, who clinched Golden Globes nominations for American Crime Story and Carlos, is in Cannes this year for Jacques Audiard’s Competition title Emilia Perez opposite Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez. Upcoming projects include Eli Roth’s Borderlands, co-starring Cate Blanchett, and Arenas directed by Camille Perton.

Catalina Sandino Moreno to Star in Epix’s Contemporary Sci-Fi Horror Series “From”

Catalina Sandino Moreno has landed an Epix role…

The 40-year-old Colombian Oscar-nominated actress has been cast as a lead opposite Eion Bailey and Harold Perrineau in FromEpix’s contemporary sci-fi horror series created by John Griffin.

Catalina Sandino Moreno

The series is produced by Midnight Radio — the producing team of Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg — as well as Joe & Anthony Russo’s AGBO.

From
 unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town in Middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they also must survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.

Moreno plays Tabitha Matthews, who, along with husband Jim (Bailey), is struggling in the aftermath of a personal tragedy and suddenly finds herself and her family trapped in the town. Together they must find a way to keep their children safe, struggling to come to terms with this new reality even as they desperately search for a way back home.

From
 commences production this month in Halifax, NS, with an eye toward a 2022 premiere on Epix.

Moreno received a leading actor Oscar nomination for her performance as the title character in HBO Films’ 2004 drama Maria Full of Grace. She won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress as well as the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.

She recently starred in indie feature The Quarry opposite Michael Shannon and Shea Wigham and soon will be seen in the independent feature Barbarians, opposite Iwan Rheon and Tom Cullen.

She was a series regular in Showtime’s The Affair and was recently seen as the lead in an episode of the Duplass brothers’ HBO Anthology series Room 104.

Bérénice Bejo Named to Berlin International Film Festival Competition Jury

Bérénice Bejois reporting for jury dury…

The 70th Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled its juries, with the 43-year-old Argentine actress and Oscar nominee earning a spot.

Bérénice Bejo

In addition to Bejo, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in The Artist, producer Bettina Brokemper (Germany), director Annemarie Jacir(Palestine), playwright and director Kenneth Lonergan(USA), actor Luca Marinelli (Italy) and film critic and director Kleber Mendonça Filho(Brazil), will join president Jeremy Irons

They will award prizes including the Goldenand the Silver Bears to the 18 films in this year’s Competition line up.

The festival’s new competitive section Encounters will see Dominga Sotomayor(Chile), Eva Trobisch(Germany) and Shôzô Ichiyama(Japan) award three prizes: Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award.

The youth-focused Generations strand has two juries. The Kplus section will be overseen by Abbas Amini (Iran), Jenna Bass (South Africa) and Rima Das. The 14plus competition will be overseen by Marine Atlan (France), María Novaro (Mexico) and Erik Schmitt (Germany).

The international short film jury will feature animation filmmaker Réka Bucsi (Hungary), curator Fatma Çolakoğlu (Turkey) and filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese.

The winner of the festival’s documentary prize, which encompasses the Competition, Berlinale Special, Encounters, Panorama, Forum, Generation and Perspektive Deutsches Kino sections, will be selected by Gerd Kroske (Germany), Marie Losier (France / USA), and Alanis Obomsawin (Canada).

Finally, the jury for the Best First Feature Award, which also encompasses multiple programs, will be Ognjen Glavonić(Serbia), Hala Lotfy(Egypt) and Gonzalo de Pedro Amatria(Spain).

The festival winners will be announced at the Berlinale Palaston February 29.

Sebastián Lelio to Serve on Berlin International Film Festival Competition Jury

Sebastián Leliois ready to judge…

The Berlin International Film Festival, which gets underway next week, has revealed the competition jury for its 2019 edition, with the 44-year-old Oscar-winning Chilean-Argentine director earning a spot on the panel.

Sebastián Lelio

Lelio, who won an Academy Awardfor Best Foreign Language Film for helming A Fantastic Woman, will be joioned by German actress Sandra Hüllerand producer-director Trudie Styler.

They’ll join jury president Juliette Binocheto decide winners of the Goldenand Silver Bear awards.

Rounding out the jury are LA Times critic Justin Chang and Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Filmat New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman premiered at the festival in 2017 on its way to winning the 2018 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Binoche is a Berlinaleregular, having appeared in several competition films, including Lasse Hallstrom’s Chocolat in 2001 and Isabel Coixet’s Endless Night, which opened the festival in 2015. 

Luna to Serve on the Berlin Film Festival’s International Jury

Diego Luna is joining the judge’s panel… 

The 37-year-old Mexican actor, producer and director has been named to the Berlin Film Festival’s International Jury this year.

Diego Luna

Maggie Gyllenhaal, German actress Julia Jentsch, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Iceland’s Olafur Eliasson and Chinese writer-director Wang Quan’an will join Luna to round out the jury that will decide who will receive the Golden and Silver Bears at Berlinale next month.

Dutch helmer-writer Paul Verhoeven will lead the jury as President.

Luna’s breakthrough role come with Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También and he’s recently stared in Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and has had roles in ContrabandMilk and The Terminal. His directorial debut Abel premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 9-19.

Kino Lorber Acquires Rights to Bustamante’s Drama “Ixcanul”

Jayro Bustamante’s critically acclaimed project is headed north of the border…

Kino Lober has picked up the North American rights to the Guatemalan director’s drama Ixcanul from Film Factory Entertainment, who are selling the title worldwide.

Jayro Bustamante

The feature debut from Bustamente, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where it won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize. It screens in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Discovery sidebar on Wednesday, September 16.

The dream-like drama focuses on two Mayan lovers living on a coffee plantation on the foothills of an active volcano who flee their homes for the United States.

Ixcanul

Ixcanul is Guatemala’s official entry for the 2016 best foreign-language film Oscar, the first-ever submission from the country.

Kino Lober plans a limited theatrical release for Ixcanul in 2016 followed by a video on demand and DVD roll-out.

Berger’s “Blancanieves” Wins Ibero-American Picture Prize at Mexico’s Ariel Awards

Pablo Berger‘s Blancanieves continues to pick up hardware around the world…

The 50-year-old Spanish director’s black-and-white silent fantasy drama won the prize for Best Ibero-American Picture at the 55th Ariel Awards ceremony.

Blancanieves

Based on the fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, Blancanieves was the big winner at this year’s Goya Awards in Spain. The film, which is set in a romantic vision of 1920s Andalusia, also won the Cine Latino Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Meanwhile, Paula Markovitch‘s El Premio, a drama set during Argentina’s dirty war, won Mexico’s top film award for best picture, first work, original screenplay and editing.

Winner of two Silver Bear awards in Berlin, the production has fared well on the festival circuit, although it’s struggled at the Mexican box office.

The film academy gave best director to Rodrigo Pla for his Uruguay-set drama La Demora, which also walked away with an Ariel for adapted screenplay.

Here’s a complete look at this year’s Ariel Award winners:

BEST PICTURE

El Premio

DIRECTOR 

La Demora (Rodrigo Pla)

ACTOR

El Fantastico Mundo de Juan Orol (Roberto Sosa)

ACTRESS

El Sueno de Lu (Ursula Pruneda)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Colosio, El Asesinato (Daniel Gimenez Cacho)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

La Vida Precoz y Breve de Sabina Rivas (Angelina Pelaez)

FIRST WORK

El Premio

IBERO-AMERICAN PICTURE

Blancanieves (Spain)

DOCUMENTARY

Cuates de Australia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

El Premio 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

La Demora

EDITING

El Premio

CINEMATOGRAPHY

El Fantastico Mundo de Juan Oral

SPECIAL EFFECTS

La Vida Precoz y Breve de Sabina Rivas

VISUAL EFFECTS

Depositarios

SOUND

Cuates de Australia

ORIGINAL SCORE

Carriere 250 Metros

MAKEUP

Colosio, El Asesinato

COSTUME DESIGN

El Fantastico Mundo de Juan Orol

ART DESIGN

La Vida Precoz y Breve de Sabina Rivas

ANIMATED SHORT

La Noria

FICTION SHORT

La Tirica o Como Curar la Tristeza

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

La Herida Se Mantiene Abierta

Garcia Wins Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival

It’s turning out to be an award-winning weekend for Paulina Garcia

The Chilean actress and costume designer has claimed the Silver Bear award for Best Actress at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival.

Paulina Garcia

Garcia earned the prestigious prize for her starring role in the Sebastián Lelio-directed dramatic comedy Gloria, which centers on a middle-aged woman who rediscovers love with a former naval officer in his mid-60s that she meets out in a Santiago club.

Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Chilean director’s earned the Ecumenical Jury prize for Gloria, which the jury called a “refreshing and contagious plea that life is a celebration to which we are all invited, regardless of age or condition, and that its complexities only add to the challenge to live it in full.”

Lelio’s film also earned the Prize of the Guild of Herman Art House Cinemas.

Roadside Attractions will handle the distribution of the critically acclaimed Gloria in the United States.