n a much-anticipated move, giant streaming service Netflix has confirmed the launch of a Mexico City office this year. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos was in MexicoCity at a Netflix forum to also announce that the company had more than 50 projects in different stages of production in Mexico, some original content, others co-productions.
“The richness of talent in front of and behind the camera in Mexico was key in our decision to begin our local production strategy with ‘Club de Cuervos’ four years ago,” Sarandos said. “Since then, we have continued to expand our local investment and continue providing a platform for Mexican talent to be recognized around the world,” he added.
Four local films in the pipeline are destined for Netflix’s slate over the next two years. These include “Como Caído del Cielo,” a musical comedy inspired by the songs of Mexican legend Pedro Infante, starring Omar Chaparro (“Overboard,” “No Manches Frida”) and Ana Claudia Talancón (“Perfectos Desconocidos”) written and directed by Pepe Bojórquez; “Fondeados,” with Marcos Bucay (“Club de Cuervos”) in his feature film directorial and writer debut; “Se Busca Papá,” a family film produced by Corazón Films; and “Ahí Te Encargo,” a romantic comedy, written by Tiaré Scanda and Leonardo Zimbrón, produced by Traziende Films.
Non-fiction projects are also in the works. Executive produced by Gael Garcia Bernal, “Rio Grande, Rio Bravo,” is an anthology of five documentary shorts produced by Elena Fortes and Daniela Alatorre of No Ficción. These will feature directors such as Trisha Ziff, Juan Carlos Rulfo and Everardo González, who will focus on human stories transpiring in the U.S.-Mexico border. Other documentaries covering historical events, crime, sports and gastronomy will debut before the end of the year.
A slew of new projects will also be added to the slate of Mexican original series, among them “Los Corruptores” based on the novel of the same name by Jorge Zepeda Patterson, and the young adult series “Sofía H.,” both produced by Lemon Films; “Bandidos,” produced by Leonardo Zimbrón and created by Cuba’s Alejandro Brugués and Colombian director Esteban Orozco; “El Club,” which is already in production, produced by Argos Comunicación, created by Camila Ibarra and starring Alejandro Speitzer, Minnie West, Jorge Caballero, Axel Arenas and Arcelia Ramírez; and an untitled thriller produced by new shingle, The Immigrant, with Camila Jiménez and Silvana Aguirre as executive producers.
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