La Cocina (Mexico)
Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios
This latest work from the director of Gueros, Museo, and A Cop Movie, and La Cocina centres on the multi-cultural environment at a huge New York restaurant. It stars Rooney Mara and Oded Fehr and is produced by Gerardo Gatica González of Mexico City-based production conglomerate Panorama Global.
Contact: Panorama Global
El Conde (Chile)
Dir. Pablo Larrain
After a decade-long detour in which Larrain explored, among other subjects, the inner lives of tragic female icons including Spencer and Jackie, the Chilean director returns to one of the most important characters of his career – former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. For the first time Pinochet is the central character and is cast in the dark comedy as a 250-year-old vampire. Spencer and Jackie debuted in Venice in 2021 and a return to the Lido could well be on the cards. Jaime Vadell plays Pinochet alongside Gloria Münchmeyer.
Contact: Netflix
The Echo (Mexico)
Dir. Tatiana Huezo
Mexican-Salvadoran filmmaker Huezo returns to her documentary roots after her narrative debut Prayers For The Stolen earned a special mention in 2021 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was shortlisted as Mexico’s Oscar submission. The new film sees her return to a major theme in her work – children – as she follows the lives of three families over the course of a year in a village where there are dramatic seasonal changes. The Echo went through the European Work in Progress Cologne pitching event last year
Contact: Radiola Films
Eureka (Argentina)
Dir. Lisandro Alonso
Argentinian filmmaker Alonso’s first film since 2014 Cannes selection Jauja is described as a period tale told over four parts which examines the lives of indigenous people across the Americas. Jauja star and fluent Spanish speaker Viggo Mortensen returns to the fray in the first section as a man looking for his kidnapped daughter on the US-Mexico border. Chiara Mastroianni and Maria de Medeiros also star. The project went through Locarno’s The Films After Tomorrow sidebar in 2020 to provide funding for projects interrupted by the pandemic.
Contact: Luxbox
Lost In The Night (Mexico)
Dir. Amat Escalante
After his horror titleThe Untamed debuted at Venice in 2016, Escalante switched to the small screen and spent several years directing episodes of Narcos: Mexico. He returns to features with Lost In The Night, which follows a man who comes up against a broken justice system as he tries to track down the people behind his mother’s disappearance. The project went through the European Work in Progress Cologne pitching event last year. Escalante is known for his unflinchingly violent films which include Cannes 2013 selection Heli.
Contact: The Match Factory
Memory (Mexico)
Dir. Michel Franco
The latest from Mexican enfant terrible Franco is an English-language feature like his last – 2021 Venice selection Sundown with Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Memory stars Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard and plot details remain under wraps. Franco won the Venice Silver Lion in 2020 with New Order and won the 2017 Cannes Un Certain Regard special jury prize with April’s Daughter, proving his wide festival appeal.
North American contact: ICM Partners
International contact: The Match Factory
Toll (Brazil)
Dir: Carolina Markovicz
Toll is the second feature from this Brazilian filmmaker whose first feature Charcoal screened in TIFF’s Platform selection and in San Sabastian Horizontes Latinos in 2022. Fresh on the heels of her first film, Toll follows a toll booth attendant who helps a gang of thieves steal watches from people driving to the coast, hoping to raise enough money to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop. The film is produced by Brazil’s Biônica Filmes and Portugal’s O Som e a Fúria.
Contact: Luxbox
Untitled Lucrecia Martel Documentary (Argentina)
Dir. Lucrecia Martel
After years of speculation Argentinian filmmaker Martel’s Javier Chocobar documentary could finally get its bow in 2023. The new feature, formerly known as Chocobar, centres on the life of the murdered indigenous activist and addresses the theme of land ownership in Latin America. Martel’s last feature was Venice 2017 entry Zama and the Lido could make for another prime launchpad for one of Latin America’s most lauded filmmakers.
Contact: Louverture Films
Zafari (Venezuela)
Dir. Mariana Rondón
Venezuelan filmmaker Rondón, whose Bad Hair won the 2013 San Sebastian Golden Shell, has finished shooting her fourth feature Zafari. The new film takes place against a backdrop of disquiet and privation in Caracas as a city zookeeper sees the arrival of a hippo as a chance to get one over his neighbour. The project went through San Sebastian’s 8th Europe-Latin American Co-production Forum in 2019 and received support from WCF Europe. It is a Venezuela-Brazil-Mexico-Peru co-production.
Contact: Sudaca Films
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