Santiago Maza’s “State of Silence” Wins Best Feature at Sanfic Festival

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Maza is celebrating an inspiring win for his fourth documentary film…

The Mexican filmmaker’s State of Silence, a passion project of producer Diego Luna at Mexico-based label La Corriente del Golfo where he partners with Gael García Bernal, has walked off with the coveted best feature award at this year’s Sanfic Festival in Santiago de Chile.

Documentary features have been made before on Mexico’s appalling death count of journalists: from 2000 to the beginning of 2024, 163 have been murdered and 32 remain missing, a pre-credit roll stat notes in State of Silence.

What sets State of Silence apart, however, is its sense of intimacy as its follows the lives of four journalists who refuse to be silent about Mexico’s crux: the toxic mix of organized crime syndicates and local governments, or narco-politics.

Two journalists chose exile, one is relocated, another sends his wife and kids to live with his mother, fearing for their safety. Two of them return, however, to high-risk zones to continue reporting.

World premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this June, and recently picked up by Netflix for North and Latin America, State of Silence is fast-paced in its interviews and achieves an aesthetic cinematographic finish with the idea of ennobling the extraordinary courage of journalists portrayed, Maza explained to Variety.

The doc feature climaxes in scenes, which demonstrate what they are up against with now out-going president Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference paranoically rejecting journalists’ criticism of his indifference to journalists’ fates as the opinions of paid underlings of opposition party PRI.

Other big winners were Agustín Toscano’s I Trust You, which took best direction in Sanfic International Competition and Our Memory from Matías Rojas Valencia and The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine, from Alfredo Pourally, which shared top best feature honors in Sanfic’s Chilean Film Competition.

Major winners at Sanfic Industria, Sanfic’s vibrant industry forum, were led by Caye Casas’ El Show del Gran Luciferio, his follow-up to The Coffee Table, which Stephen King consecrated by applauding it as “horrible and also horribly funny. Think the Coen Brothers’ darkest dream.”

Water Never Hurt, from Argentina’s Ana Clara Bustelo, and Concert for a Single Voice, directed by Peru’s Alejandra Carpio, won double in Sanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Work in Progress, its industry centerpiece.

More than anything else the Sanfic and Sanfic Industria prizes are a testament to the slew of new talent still breaking out in Latin America and Spain. 11 of the 13 winning films at Sanfic the year are first or second fiction, doc or solo features.

Three of the four biggest winners at Santiago Ibero-American WIP and Santiago Lab Fiction And Documentary were first fiction features.

Here’s a look at this year’s winners:

SANFIC AWARDS, 2024

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Best Performance (ex aequo)
Lorenzo Ferro, (“Simon of the Mountain”)
Franklin Aro, (“The Dog Thief”)

Best Director
Agustín Toscano, (“I Trust You”)

Special Mention
Itsaso Arana (“The Girls are Alright”)

Best Film
“State of Silence,” (Santiago Maza)

Special Mention
“The Universal Theory,” (Timm Kröger)

CHILEAN FILM COMPETITION

Best Performance
Gastón Salgado, (“The Affections”)

Special Mention
Paola Lattus por (“Sariri,” “Las Cenizas”)

Best Director
Roberto Salinas, (“La Primera Dosis”)

Special Mention
Alberto Hayden, (“Una Luz Negra”)

Best Film
Shared by “The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine,” (Alfredo Pourally) and “Our Memory,” (Matías Rojas Valencia)

Special Mention
“Las Cenizas,” (Stejpan Ostoic)

SANFIC INDUSTRIA , 2024

IBERO-AMERICAN WORK IN PROGRESS

Malaga Work In Progress Award
“Water Never Hurt,” (Ana Clara Bustelo, Argentina, Uruguay)

Yagan Films & Chemistry Award
“The Clearing,” (Maira Carrasco, Chile)

Marketing Movie Runner Award
“Concert for a Single Voice,” (Alejandra Carpio Valdeavellano, Peru)

E-28 Award
“Concert for a Single Voice,”

Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana Award
“Laureano,” (Claudia Ccapatinta, Peru)

LatAm Cinema Award
“Water Never Hurt”

SANTIAGO LAB FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY

SAPCINE Award
“Southern channels,” (Pilar Higuera, Chile)

Atómica Award
“Southern channels,”

Malaga Festival Industry Zone (MAFIZ) Award
“The Queers Riots,” (Wincy Oyarce, Chile)

Festival Intl. de Cine Documental de Buenos Aires (FIDBA) Award
“The Criminal Record of Madame Wittmann,” (Anastasia Benavente, Nicolás Videla, Chile)

Guadalajara Film Festival Co-Production Meeting Industry Award
“Cupid’s Arrow,” (Ernesto Meléndez, Chile)

Cine Qua Non Lab Award
“Arde un reino,” (Catalina Arroyave, Colombia)

Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM) Award
“The Queers Riots,”

Nuevas Miradas – EICTV Award

“The Shorn Sheep,” (Rossana Castillo, Chile)

SANFIC MORBIDO LAB

Morbido Award 30%
“El Show del Gran Luciferio,” (Caye Casas. Mexico, Spain)

Morbido Award 10%
“El Silencio es la Musica del Diablo,” (Cremance, Mexico)

Fantastic Pavilion Award
“El Show del Gran Luciferio,”
“Loved Ones,” (Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico, España)

Lahaye Media Award
“Loved Ones,” (Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico, España)

Begin Again Films Acquires Santiago Maza’s “State of Silence” Documentary

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Maza’s latest project is going global…

Madrid-based Begin Again Films has acquired the Mexican documentary filmmaker-screenwriter’s State of Silence, produced by Diego Luna and La Corriente del Golfo, the shingle he runs with Gael García Bernal.

The sales agency and distributor, which acquired international rights with the exception of North America and Latin America, has also unveiled the film’s first trailer.

State of Silence, which traces the harrowing stories of four journalists who risk their lives in pursuit of truth and transparency in Mexico, will have its world premiere simultaneously this month at the Tribeca and Guadalajara Film Festivals before competing at the Sheffield DocFest for its European premiere.

Detailing the endangered state of press freedom in Mexico, the documentary follows the journalists’ journeys as they navigate treacherous terrain in their effort to shed light on the enduring suffering and anxiety experienced by their fellow citizens two decades after the so-called war on drugs began.

Their resolute commitment exposes them to the risk of reprisals as they willingly make themselves targets: Taking on the roles of investigators and chroniclers, they immerse themselves in the unimaginable violence perpetuated by a narco-political system formed by organized crime syndicates and corrupt local governments.

Mexico has for several years been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Since the year 2000, 163 journalists have been murdered and another 32 have gone missing, according to British human rights organization Article 19. In 99% of cases, the murders of journalists remain unsolved.

“In a country like Mexico, where impunity reaches alarming levels, journalism becomes a fundamental pillar,” said Luna, who produced alongside Maza. “It is independent journalism that guides us towards the truth. Today, I can affirm that my civic consciousness has been largely shaped by the tireless work and courage of the journalistic profession in my country. Hence, my concern and indignation arise from the conditions under which they carry out their work, leading to the creation of this documentary as a tool to denounce this situation.”

“As a documentarian, I have always had great respect for journalists,” Maza added. “Their work shapes us. It allows us to understand the world, and often, we act or think based on their interpretation of events. In Mexico, mistreatment of journalists occurs on many levels, from discrediting the profession to the most lethal consequence. The fact that their commitment to the truth costs many of them their lives is unacceptable.”

Begin Again Films said, “This urgent and intimate portrait serves as a timely reminder that the freedom of the press must not be allowed to remain under siege anywhere in the world.”

Maza also directed La Corriente del Golfo’s documentary web series El Tema, about the impact of the climate crisis in Mexico.

Luxbox Acquires International Sales Rights to Vinko Tomičić Salinas’ Debut Feature “The Dog Thief”

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Vinko Tomičić Salinas’ latest project may be going global…

Paris-based sales outfit Luxbox has acquired the international sales rights to The Dog Thief, the debut solo feature effort from the Chilean screenwriter, director and producer.

The film will bow in the international narrative competition at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, running June 5-16.

The film follows an adolescent shoe shining orphan, Martín (Franklin Aro Huasco), in his quest to get closer to Mr. Novoa, a lonely tailor in town whom he believes is his father.

After a twisted ruse is hatched to excuse his further prying, the teen winds up against a wall in a situation that could cause him to lose the nascent, yet budding, relationship.

Novoa, played by Pablo Larraín regular Alfredo Castro, last seen in El Conde, reluctantly opens-up to the youngster and the two form an undeniable bond in this drama that takes quotidian life to new heights by infusing it with boundless sentiment and the ubiquitous yearning for belonging and community that can lead to desperate and self-defeating ends.

“We’re extremely happy to join the journey of The Dog Thief, a film that discusses fatherhood and love and universal subjects through a local and intriguing story that happens in La Paz, Bolivia,” Luxbox CEO Fiorella Moretti told Variety.

The project is produced by Salinas’ Chile-based Calamar Cine alongside Matias de Bourguignon, Alvaro Manzano Zambrana at Bolivia’s Color Monster, Gabriela Maire and Edher Campos at Mexico’s Zafiro Cinema, co-produced by Nadia Turincev and Omar El Kadi at France’s Easy Riders, Pavel Quevedo at Ecuador’s Aguacero Cine and Francesca van der Staay with Mario Mazzarotto at Italy’s Movimento Film.

The cast is rounded out by Teresa Ruiz, María Luque, Julio César Altamirano and Ninón Dávalos.

“We’re thrilled to be represented by Luxbox, a company we’ve always wanted to collaborate with. We were familiar with their dedication to the titles they handle, and we have always aspired to work with someone who would treat our project with the same care, attention, and affection that we poured into it,” Manzano, managing partner and director at Color Monster, relayed.

“With Fiorella and her team, we share a vision of what this film can bring and the significance of ensuring that Bolivian and Latin American cinema is distributed and seen in more places,” he added.

The film participated in Guadalajara’s Co-production Meeting and was selected at Venice Biennale College Cinema and EAVE Puentes, the Europe-Latin America film development workshop backed by the E.U. Media Program.

UCP Extends Overall Development Deal with Tanya Saracho

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is getting an extension…

UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has extended an overall development deal with the Latina Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge and screenwriter.

She will develop and produce original projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms under the agreement.

Saracho is currently in development on several projects including the series The Wild Wild, inspired by the lives of Annie Oakley, America’s most famous sharpshooter, and the renowned trick-rider Señorita Rosalie, who were both stars of the famed Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

She’ll serve as co-creator and executive producer of the project along with Jenniffer Gomez, with Jamie Babbit attached to direct and executive produce.

“It’s a pleasure and honor working with Tanya and her company, Ojalá. Their creative brilliance and entrepreneurial approach to producing and writing is so rare, and we are thrilled to continue our partnership,” said Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios, in a statement to Deadline.

“I am grateful to continue my relationship with UCP and be able to keep crafting the stories that matter most to me – brown, queer narratives which are still missing from the landscape and are so important to tell, and which UCP has proven a commitment to nurturing,” shared Saracho.

Saracho most recently served as creator, showrunner and executive producer of the critically acclaimed series Vida on Starz. The show featured all Latine writers and directors, including Saracho, who made her TV directorial debut. Vida won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and was also honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with the 2019 Impact Award.

Additionally, the series won the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival and made its Season 2 premiere as an Official Selection of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

She was the recipient of the Norman Lear Writers Award at the Imagen Awards in 2021 and was honored by the LGBTQ California Legislative Caucus as their 2020 Pride Month Honoree. She received the Rising Star Award at the Outfest Legacy Awards and was awarded the New Voice Award by Final Draft.

Saracho co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project, whose mission is to increase Latine representation in television through content created by Latine writers, along with co-founding the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program to help increase representation and opportunities for underrepresented communities.

In addition, Saracho launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab in 2021, aimed to nurture, amplify and empower intersectional Latine voices.

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

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

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.

The 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.”

Daphne Rubin-Vega to Star in Fox’s Anthology Drama Series “Accused”

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega stands accused…

The 52-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress will star in Fox’s anthology drama series Accused.

From Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and David Shore, Accused is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology. It opens in a courtroom on the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, Accused depicts how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.

Accused, which received a straight-to-series order last May for the 2022-23 broadcast season, is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the original series debuted in 2010 on BBC One.

Meanwhile, Marlee Matlin has tapped three Deaf actors, Puerto Rican star Stephanie Nogueras, Joshua Castille and Lauren Ridloff , to star in the episode she’s directing for the anthology drama series. from Homeland EPs Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and David Shore (The Good Doctor, House). The episode is written by novelist and short-story writer Maile Meloy.

Nogueras stars in the lead role of Ava, a deaf woman who becomes a surrogate for a couple, Jenny and Max and commits a crime of advocacy and protection.

Rubin-Vega will star as Ava’s mother.

Nogueras is a deaf actor who made her comedy debut in Killing It on Peacock. Her other recent TV credits include The Good Fight, Criminal Minds and The Magicians.

Tony-nominated Rubin-Vega stars in and produced the independent feature Allswell, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She was most recently seen starring as Daniela in the Jon Chu-directed Warner Brothers feature In The Heights. She recently wrapped production on two pilots – Hulu’s Olga Dies Dreaming and NBC’s Dangerous Moms. She is also voicing a role in the A24 animated series Hazbin Hotel.

Gravitas Ventures Releases New Trailer for Nisalda Gonzalez’s Drama “God’s Waiting Room”

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

There’s a new look inside Nisalda Gonzalez’s waiting room…

Gravitas Ventures has released a new trailer for Tyler Riggs’ drama God’s Waiting Room, starring the Latina actress.

The film centers around Rosie (Gonzalez), who is fresh out of high school and tired of a dull existence in central Florida. When she meets Jules (Matthew Leone), a hustler transplant from New York, life beings to spark. At the same time, Brandon (Riggs), a man with a scarred past, struggles to find his place in the world after spending more than a decade in prison. The storylines interweave as the three characters are faced with choices that could lead to violent consequences.

God’s Waiting Room made its world premiere at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, winning Leone the U.S. Narrative prize for Best Actor.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tyler Riggs (@tyleriggs)

Gravitas Ventures will release the film across digital and VOD platforms on July 8.

Jalmer Caceres Among 10 Filmmakers Selected for Indeed & Lena Waithe’s ‘Rising Voices’ Program

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jalmer Caceres is a rising voice, indeed…

Indeed, Lena Waithe and her company Hillman Grad Productions have named the Salvadoran filmmaker/writer as one of its 10 filmmakers for the second edition of their Rising Voices program.

Caceres is among a roster of filmmakers that includes Cara Lawson, Gbenga Komolafe, Georgia Fu, Justin Floyd, Leon Cheo, Shanrica Evans, Tara Motamedi, Travis Wood and Urvashi Pathania.

Indeed: Rising Voices was created to uncover, invest in and share stories created by BIPOC filmmakers across the U.S.

Executives from Hillman Grad Productions, Indeed and Ventureland selected participants’ screenplays from a pool of 900 submissions.

Each will be given a production budget of $100,000 to create a short film of less than 15 minutes in length, which will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

Their journey with Rising Voices will see them receive access to a crew through Hillman Grad and 271 Films, and a $10,000 writing and directing fee, as well as mentorship from Waithe and other filmmakers including Calmatic, Destin Daniel Cretton, Justin Chon, Melina Matsoukas and Rayka Zehtabchi.

Indeed has tripled the investment put into the first cycle of Rising Voices for the latest edition, bringing $3M to that program, as well as a new Production and Development Lab for filmmakers from Rising Voices 1 including Johnson Cheng, Stacy Pascal Gaspard and Gabriela Ortega.

“Indeed’s Rising Voices not only levels the playing field for BIPOC creators in Hollywood by creating opportunities for individuals to be seen, heard and represented, but also empowers the next generation of storytellers, providing access to funding, on-site skill, career development and mentorship,” said Waithe. “Our continued mission at Hillman Grad Productions is to ensure that program mentees are truly set up for success as they continue to grow within their individual careers.”

“Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs. Season One of Rising Voices proved our belief that talent is universal but opportunity is not,” added Indeed CEO Chris Hyams. “With Season Two, we are thrilled to bring 10 brilliant new voices to the story of the power of jobs to change lives.”

The first season of Rising Voices resulted in the creation of more than 650 jobs, with finalists’ films debuting in June of last year.

Learn more about the program here.

Lisette Alexis to Star in Disney+’s “National Treasure” Television Series

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Lisette Alexis has struck gold…

The young Mexican American actress will star as the lead in Disney+’s National Treasure television series from Disney Branded Television and ABC Signature.

The project, executive produced by the films’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub and writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberley, is an expansion of the National Treasure movie franchise told from the point of view of a young heroine (Alexis) — a DREAMer in search of answers about her family–who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.

The series, whose pilot episode is written by the Wibberleys and will be directed by Mira Nair, centers on Jess (Alexis), a Latina whose brilliant and resourceful mind loves a good mystery, and she has a natural talent for solving puzzles. Over the course of the show, Jess will uncover her own buried history, as well as the truth about her parents and her connection to a long-lost treasure.

In the television extension of the National Treasure franchise, Jess is taking the proverbial torch from Benjamin Gates, the National Treasure films’ protagonist played by Nicolas Cage.

Production is starting in early 2022.

Alexis stars opposite Sierra McCormick in the Tribeca Film Festival selection We Need To Do Something, produced by Josh Mallerman.

Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez has new representation…

The 30-year-old half-Afro-Puerto Rican actress has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA).

Rodriguez, who was with Gersh, recently made history as the first transgender actress to be nominated for an Emmy in any lead acting category for her role as house mother Blanca in the FX drama from Steven Canals and Ryan Murphy.

UTA will represent Rodriguez in all areas as she continues to grow her career in film, television, theater and music, among other mediums.

With Pose having wrapped its run earlier this year after three seasons, Rodriguez will next star opposite Maya Rudolph in Apple‘s comedy series Loot.

Her previous television credits include roles in Showtime‘s Nurse Jackie and Marvel‘s Netflix drama Luke Cage.

On the big screen, Rodriguez will next star in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s feature adaptation of Jonathan Larson‘s Tick, Tick … Boom! She previously earned praise for her role in Saturday Church, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.

UTA will also help support Rodriguez as she expands her burgeoning music career. Rodriguez recently released a music video to accompany her debut single, “Something to Say,” the equality anthem she wrote with Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire, Neal Pogue and John Paris.

On stage, Rodriguez made her off-Broadway debut in the New World Stages production of Larson’s beloved Rent, playing the role of Angel. Her stage credits include the Encores! production of Runaways and portraying the lead role of Audrey in the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Little Shop of Horrors.

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