Pablo Fendrik’s revenge tale has commenced shooting and is the first production to emerge from the recently announced Participant PanAmerica fund. Bac Films commenced international pre-sales at the AFM last November and Participant holds North and Latin American rights.

El Ardor stars Gael García Bernal [pictured], a partner in Mexico’s Canana Films, which together with Participant Media and Fabula from Chile and Colombia’s Dynamo announced the Participant PanAmerica fund at the EFM in February.

Bernal stars alongside Alice Braga in the story of a stranger who comes out of the Argentinean rainforest to rescue a kidnapped girl after her father is murdered by mercenaries.

Juan Pablo Gugliotta, Nathalia Videla Peña and Bernal are producing the project and Participant’s Jeff Skoll and evp of production Jonathan King serve as executive producers with Canana partner Pablo Cruz and Telefe’s Axel Kuschevatzky.

Magma Cine of Argentina, Bananeira Filmes of Brazil and Manny Films of France are jointly producing the film with Canana. Magma’s Argentinian partners are Aleph Media and Telefe International.

“After our terrific experience on No, we’re excited to be reuniting with Gael and Canana for our first Participant PanAmerica film and to be expanding our footprint into this important segment of the global marketplace,” said Participant CEO Jim Berk.

“Pablo Fendrik and his partners at Magma Cine are exactly the kinds of ambitious young filmmakers we are hoping to work with through PanAmerica,” said King. “And it’s always great to be in business with our friends at Canana.”

“We are truly glad to be shooting this project which represents the emergence of our main talent, Pablo Fendrik, as well as his comeback to the big screen, and we are also really grateful for the support of all our associates at local, regional and international level,” said Magma Cine Partner Juan Pablo Gugliotta. “Magma Cine is proud to be part of the first film by Participant PanAmerica. We are absolutely positive that El Ardor will be on par with the expectations of all those who have granted us their trust.”

“Pablo Fendrik is perhaps one of the most interesting directors out of his generation,” said Cruz. “We met him years ago when his film El Asaltante was playing at the Critics Week in Cannes, we immediately wanted to work with him. It’s been a fantastic process and I know Gael has had the necessary time to develop with him an unforgettable character. We can’t wait to see this film on the screen.”

Participant PanAmerica was set up to develop and finance 10-12 films over five years for and from Latin America.

Topics