Madrid-based Paz Lázaro of Amore Cine, at the Venice Film Festival for “Kill the Jockey” by Luis Ortega and “Quiet Life” by Alexandros Avranas, has boarded Sergio Castro San Martín’s “A Thousand Pieces” (“Mil pedazos”), which is currently shooting in Chile.
Amore Cine joins Argentina’s Bikini Films and Pan Contenidos, Spain’s Maluta Films and Castro San Martín’s Chile-based company Latente Films, co-founded with Eduardo Pizarro, in the co-production that wraps early October.
Road movie follows Isabel (43) and Miguel (53) who are getting ready for a vacation with their only daughter, Emilia (9). Miguel is the most excited, hoping this trip will be an opportunity to heal the rift with his wife. But for Isabel, there’s no way out of the crisis they’re facing. Emilia, excited about the adventure, captures the desert scenery with her Cybershot camera, but everything comes to a halt when a tragic accident occurs midway.
The cast is led by Daniel Muñoz who plays Miguel, Paola Giannini (Isabel) and Emilia Rodriguez (Emilia).
Victoria Lammers, whose notable credits include Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” and “Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows,” is on board as editor.
Castro San Martín is also set to shoot his next film in Turin, Italy, “Il Cileno,” a co-production between Chile’s Equeco, Italy’s Disparte and Cinédokké of Switzerland.
“Il Cileno” is set in 1976 during a wave of mining protests as it follows Aldo, a young Chilean militant skilled in explosives who is exiled from his home country. Aldo has been forced to leave behind his home, his wife, and his newborn son to scrape by with low-paying jobs in Turin. His life takes a turn when he meets a doctor who is involved with anarchist groups. She offers him a chance to bring his family to Italy, but only if he agrees to return to his former trade – crafting bombs for revolutionary causes.
Since his 2009 directorial debut “El Paseo” (2009), Castro San Martín has penned and directed a number of film and TV shows, most notably the acclaimed “La Jauria” limited series for Fabula and Fremantle. His 2015 feature “The Mud Woman” (“La mujer de barro”) screened at the Berlinale Panorama where Lázaro was a long-time programmer. “We kept in touch ever since,” said Castro, who is elated that Lázaro has joined the production.
Lázaro is the former head of content and acquisitions for Exile Content Studio, which is among the co-producers of the two films in Venice she’s co-presenting on the Lido: Absurdist comedy “Kill the Jockey,” in competition for the Golden Lion, had its world premiere Aug. 29 where it counts on a slew of producers led by Argentina’s Rei Pictures (“Zama,” “The Settlers”) and Infinity Hill (“Argentina, 1985”) while “Quiet Life” by Greek Weird Wave exponent Avranas competes in Venice’s Horizons sidebar and also world premiered on Aug. 29.
“Kill the Jockey,” which reportedly had a five-minute standing ovation at the Venice Biennale, is set to have its North American premiere in the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF).
Castro San Martin is represented by Constanza Arena of Agencia de Luz.
