News

Principal photography is underway in Chile on Prime Video Original ‘The House of the Spirits,’ an 8-part series based on Chilean author Isabel Allende’s career-launching novel. Allende, Eva Longoria and her Hyphenate Media Group are executive producing the show.

The project had been in development at lead producer FilmNation Entertainment, which brought in Chilean filmmaking team Francisca Alegria and Fernanda Urrejola (“The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future”) to write and also showrun the series alongside seasoned local director/producer Andres Wood whose extensive credits include “Machuca” and series “News of a Kidnapping” and “Los 80.” Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain’s Fabula is providing production services.

With over 70 million copies sold, “The House of the Spirits” is considered one of the most prominent novels of the 20th century. It was brought to the big screen in 1993 by Bille August with Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Antonio Banderas...

“News of a Kidnapping,” created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, has picked up more recognition at the Rose d’Or Latinos. The dramatic series, which won a Platino Award last April for best dramatic series, added to its collection of prizes at the inaugural event held at Content Americas in Miami on Jan. 23.

The Latin American extension of Europe’s Rose d’Or Awards, led by jury chairman, Mas Ros Media CEO Marcos Santana, doled out prizes across television, feature films, unscripted content and podcasts.

Prime Video took home the most statuettes at the event, an encouraging sign of its growing cachet with talent across the region. In addition to winning best drama for “News of a Kidnapping,” the platform earned awards for best film, best reality or factual program (“Libre de reír”), and best documentary.

‘El encargado’ (The One in Charge”), created for Star+ by the duo Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat,...

Latin America’s biggest audiovisual market runs November 27-December 1.

The 15th edition of Ventana Sur, the biggest audio­visual market in Latin America, is showcasing some of the best completed films, projects and works in progress (WiP) from across the continent from November 27-December 1.

Genre, animation and WiPs form the main axis of the five-day event in Buenos Aires, which is a collaboration between Argentinian film agency Incaa and Cannes’ Marché du Film. Further sections include Maquinitas, which is dedicated to video games, and Remakes, which reimagines older projects with a contemporary sensibility.

The Blood Window genre section incorporates market...

Leading Chilean TV producer Maria Elena Wood, whose multiple credits include “News of a Kidnapping,” “Ramona” and “Dignity,” is developing a follow up to her company’s latest hit documentary “Operation Chile: Top Secret,” which, until the end of September, was the most-watched Chilean TV program that marked the 50th anniversary of the military coup d’état in Chile.

Wood will be at Ventana Sur to present the first animation feature she has boarded, “Lucila,” which has its market debut at this year’s Animation! Pitching Sessions.

“Our original idea is to make a documentary for a global audience and that is what we are working on now,” said Wood of the upcoming “Chile: An American Secret,” a Canada-Chile co-production, with Canada represented by director- producer Orlando Arriagada of Pimiento Prods. and Chile repped by her company Maria Wood Producciones and local partner Un día en la vida. They are...

Prominent Chilean TV producer Maria Elena Wood, a producer on “News of a Kidnapping,” “Dignity” and “Mary & Mike,” is teaming with multi-prized TV toon series director Bernardita Ojeda, helmer of two-time Intl. Emmy nominee “Petit,” to make 2D “Lucila,” both Wood and Ojeda’s first animated feature.

“I am amazed at [animation’s] narrative possibilities,” Wood enthused to Variety.

In a Chilean power package, Patricio Pereira, EP on “Dignity” and “Mary & Mike,” and Alvaro Ceppi, director of “Zumbástico Fantástico” and 2Paper Port,” have also boarded “Lucila” as exec producers.

Written by Argentine live action director Fernando Salem (“How Most Things Work”) and Chilean author Álvaro Bisama, “Lucila” is set to make its market debut at this year’s Animation! Pitching Sessions. Part of Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur, backed by the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film and Argentina’s Incaa film-tv agency and organized with the Annecy Film Festival,...

Chile’s “The Devil’s Vein” and “Lucila” and Mexico’s “Ch’ulel” figure among a 14-title lineup at Animation! Pitching Sessions, part of Ventana Sur, the Cannes Festival and Marché du Film’s biggest annual event organized beyond its May event on the Riviera – in this case in Buenos Aires hand in hand with Argentina’s Incaa film agency.

Among bigger names, “The Devil’s Vein” is a 2D family-targeting fantasy adventure, from the director, German Acuña, and producer, Sebastián Ruz, of “Nahuel and the Magic Book,” a 2020 Annecy standout.

“Lucila” marks the first animation title of María Elena Wood, the reputed Chilean co-producer of Platino Award winning mini-series “News of a Kidnapping.”

Lucila

Also brought onto the market for the first time at Animation! “Ch’ulel” is the latest from Mexico’s Míguel Angel Uriegas at Fotosíntesis Media (“A Costume for Nicolás”) a pioneer in cause-driven entertainment in Mexico.

Stuart Ford’s AGC Television has boarded the series adaptation of F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel, ‘Primavera del Mal’ (‘The Spring of Evil’) alongside Mexican-American filmmaker Fernando Lebrija of Cielo Content and Irreversible Pictures.

To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-u.S. border.

In the world of illicit trade, adopted siblings Raul Duval and Miguel Ying have successfully grown their family’s opium enterprise. Their ambitions now extend beyond mere cultivation as they seek to broaden their reach and increase their political influence. However, their aspirations take an unexpected turn when American mobster Bugsy Siegel arrives in Mexico City, offering them a golden opportunity.

Situated strategically between Nogales, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, the Ying family steers their course through the treacherous waters of the drug trade bridging Mexico and the U.

Chile’s at it again. Since’s Andrés Wood’s breakout “Machuca” in 2004, Chilean filmmakers, led by Pablo Larraín, Sebastián Lelio and now Maite Alberdi, have punched consistently above the country’s weight, consistently winning plaudits at Sundance, Berlin and Cannes. Chile has also won three Oscars – for Claudio Miranda’s cinematography on 2012’s “Life of Pi,” 2015’s animated short “Bear Story” and Lelio’s 2017’s fiction feature “A Fantastic Woman” – more any other South American country apart from Argentina.

First half 2023 has proved no exception in Chile’s statue trawl. Some of the awards on offer are among the biggest out: Alberdi’s “The Eternal Memory,” from Fabula, scooped Sundance’s World Cinema Grand Prize; Andrés Wood’s “News of a Kidnapping” walked off with best series at the Platino Awards, the Spanish-speaking world’s nearest kudos fest to the Oscars.

In all, according to a CinemaChile study released during Sanfic,...

Ana María Orozco and Jorge Enrique Abello will reprise their roles in “Yo Soy Betty, La Fea” (“Ugly Betty”) in “Betty La Fea,” a sequel set to bow on Amazon’s Prime Video in 2024.

Produced by Colombia’s Estudios Rcn for Prime Video, the third season of the series picks up Betty’s story 20 years later when she’s a successful woman, mother and wife.

Still married to Armando (Abello) and trying to rebuild her relationship with her adolescent daughter, she battles the economic crisis of her family company and wonders whether the path she has chosen in life has really made her happy.

Directed by Mauricio Cruz Fortuna (“The Scent of Passion”), “Betty la Fea” is written by Marta Betoldi (“Ciega a Citas”), Juan Carlos Pérez (“Garzón”) and César Betancur (“Las Hermanitas Calle”).

The original series is hailed as the most successful telenovela of all time, having sold worldwide and spawning 20 remakes,...

Toledo, Spain — Carmen Machi, one of the foremost performers of her generation in Spain, is attached to play legendary Barcelona agent Carmen Balcells, prime architect of the Latin American Boom and a key figure in the break out of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa to worldwide renown.

Chile’s Invercine, producer of “News of a Kidnapping” which swept April’s Platino Awards, is teaming with Spain’s Abacus, Pausoka and Grupo Lavinia to develop and produce “Boom Agency” (“La Agencia del Boom”) which turns on Balcells extraordinary life, achievement and personality. The deal was confirmed to Variety at Conecta Fiction.

The series also turns on Balcells’ worst nightmare, the rupture of the deep friendship between her star writers, Mario Vargas Llosa and Gabriel García-Marquez, whose rift broke the back of the Boom.

Spain’s Oscar Pedraza, co-director of HBO España’s “Patria,” is attached to direct. Colombians Verónica Triana...

“Those About to Die,” AGC Television’s upcoming gladiator series from Roland Emmerich, stars Anthony Hopkins and boasts a cast drawn from across Europe and the Middle East. It’s also financially innovative.

Rather than rely on a single, deep-pocketed streamer to write the check for the pricey series, budgeted at $145 million for the first season, AGC adopted a split rights structure: U.S. rights are licensed to Peacock, European rights to Hep, the Herbert Kloiber Sr./Constantin joint venture, and AGC International distributing in the rest of the world.

AGC chairman and CEO Stuart Ford takes pride in proving the naysayers wrong with financing for the project set in ancient Rome and based on Daniel P. Mannix’s book of the same name.

“We’ve assembled the show’s financing through a complex and innovative web of rights deals, banking arrangements and soft money,” Ford says. “We also assembled...

Amazon’s Prime Video has announced a 2023 Spanish production slate which takes in movies and series from directors, writers and above all producers who have set Spain’s box office and global streamer rankings on fire over the last decade.

Talent attached to the three new movies and three series unveiled Tuesday in Madrid at a Prime Video Presents Spain event include “Hildegart,” from the producers of 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” “Un hipster en la España vacía,” produced by Lazona Films, which made ”Spanish Affair,” the highest grossing Spanish film ever in Spain; and “Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin,” backed by Nostromo Pictures, behind “Through My Window,” the sixth-most watched non-English movie ever on Netflix.

Another title, docuseries “El Circo de los Muchachos” is co-written by Pepe Coira, co-scribe of “Hierro” and “Rapa,” two of the most popular series to date on Telefonica’s Movistar+.

The news slate...

Original December projection said $29bn.

Fuelled by a strong first quarter and the powerhouse performance of Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie driving a mighty start to the second quarter, film data and insights company Gower Street Analytics has increased its early global box office estimate by 10% from $29bn to $32bn.

The announcement comes as the global industry prepares to gather in Las Vegas for CinemaCon this week, running April 24-27.

A $32bn global box office for this year would represent an approximate +23% gain on 2022. It would still be an average of 20% behind the last three pre-pandemic years...

Original December projection said $29bn.

Fuelled by a strong first quarter and the powerhouse performance of Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie driving a mighty start to the second quarter, Gower Street analysts has increased its early global box office estimate by 10% from $29bn to $32bn.

The announcement comes as the global industry prepares to gather in Las Vegas for CinemaCon this week, running April 24-27.

A $32bn global box office for this year would represent an approximate +23% gain on 2022. It would still be an average of 20% behind the last three pre-pandemic years (2017- 2019).

And while North American...

Santiago Miter’s political thriller Argentina, 1985, and the Colombian series News of a Kidnapping, created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, swept the top awards at the tenth Platino Awards Saturday evening.

Miter’s film took home six gongs, including Best Ibero-American Fiction film, Best Screenplay for co-writers Mitre and Mariano Llinas, Best Actor for Ricardo Darín, and the Audience Award.

The film is the tale of Argentinian lawyers Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who bravely prosecuted members of the country’s former bloody military dictatorship. Under the regime, from 1976 to 1983, an estimated 30,000 people disappeared. The pic debuted in Competition at Venice, where it picked up the Fipresci prize, and was Argentina’s entry for the international Oscar race.

News of a Kidnapping (Noticia de un kidnapping) dominated the TV section taking four awards, including Best Miniseries or Series, Best Series Creator, and Best Actress in a Series or mini-series for Cristina Umaña.

Utama wins first awards for a Bolivian film.

In a one-two for Amazon’s original film and TV businesses Santiago Mitre’s courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 took five top honours at the 2023 Platino Awards on Saturday night (April 22), while News Of a Kidnapping from Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García claimed four.

Amazon Studios’ Argentina, 1985 won best Ibero-American fiction film, best actor for Ricardo Darín, best screenplay for co-writers Mitre and Mariano Llinas, best art direction, and film & education in values awards.

Satuday’s triumph here at Madrid’s Ifema Municipal Palace follows Oscar and Bafta nominations and the Goya for best Iberoamerican film.

Utama wins first awards for a Bolivian film.

Santiago Mitre’s courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 from Amazon Studios took five top honours at the 2023 Platino Awards at Madrid’s Ifema Municipal Palace on Saturday night (April 22), while stablemate Prime Video’s News Of a Kidnapping from Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García claimed four.

Oscar- and Bafta-nominated Argentina, 1985 premiered in Competition at Venice last year and added to an awards haul that also earned recognition at the Goya awards, among others.

Mitre’s latest film won best Ibero-American fiction film, best actor for Ricardo Darín, best screenplay co-written by Mitre and Mariano Llinas,...

Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985” and “News of a Kidnapping,” created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, swept the top prizes for best picture on Saturday night at the 2023 Platino Awards, in a sign of how the global streamers – here Amazon Studios and Prime Video – have lured top-of-their-class talent in Latin America.

One highlight of the ceremony, dedicated to films and TV shows in the Spanish-speaking world, was Benicio del Toro’s acceptance speech of a honorary Platino in which he reflected on being typecast for many years in Hollywood as a Latino actor.

“If I had to play stereotypes, I tried to find the character’s humanity, a sense of complicity, so that audiences felt what my character felt and whilst they’re watching, don’t forget who I am and where I come from.,” he said. “What’s important is to share more than be divided,” he added.

In a groundbreaking move, Constanza Arena, the former executive director of CinemaChile, has established Agencia La Luz, an agency and project incubator that will represent in international markets many of Chile’s foremost writing, directing and acting talents.

Many writers are connected to Chile’s fast-growing premium drama/audio scene. Julio Rojas, one Agencia La Luz client, created and wrote “Case 63,” Spotify’s most-listened-to scripted original podcast in Latin America, with an English-language version I the works starring Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, and co-wrote Pablo Fendrik’s Latino sci-fi series ‘The Shelter,’ from Starzplay, Pantaya, Fabula, Fremantle.

Enrique Videla and Paula del Fierro co-wrote Lucia Puenzo’s “La Jauría” for Fabula and Fremantle, while Videla, one of Chile’s biggest go-to scribes, co-wrote “Dignity” for Germany’s Joyn, “42 Days of Darkness” for Fabula and Netflix, “The Shelter” and “The Cliff” for The Mediapro Studio.

Agencia La Luz’s director...

It’s been a banner year for Chile’s audiovisual industry. According to statistics compiled by promotional org CinemaChile, the country’s cinema amassed 45 international awards during the first half of 2022. Since then, more prizes have been rolling in. Among the latest is actress-director Manuela Martelli’s feature debut “1976” which won best debut film at the Jerusalem Film Festival aside from scooping three main plaudits at the 26th Lima Festival, including Best Film.

One question is how did Chilean cinema reach this point. It could be partly due to a new generation of women cineastes and platform backing, both driving the next stage of growth in Chilean cinema, its creative confidence and sense of artistic urgency.

The country produces an average of 30 films a year, of which at least five receive international acclaim any given year.

“Being a small market of merely 19 million inhabitants obliges us to go beyond...