Spanish director Paz Lázaro of Amore Cine, who is at the Venice Film Festival with Luis Ortega's “Kill the Jockey” and Alexandros Avranas' “Quiet Life,” has boarded Sergio Castro San Martín's “A Thousand Pieces,” which is currently being filmed in Chile.
Amore Cine joins Bikini Films and Pan Contenidos from Argentina, Maluta Films from Spain, and Chilean-based Latente Films, co-founded by Castro San Martín and Eduardo Pizarro, in the co-production that wraps in early October.
The film revolves around Isabel (43) and Miguel (53) who are preparing for a vacation with their only daughter Emilia (9). Miguel is the most enthusiastic, and hopes that this trip will be an opportunity to mend the rift with his wife. But for Isabel, there is no way out of the crisis they are facing. Emilia, eager for adventure, captures the desert scenery with her Cyber-shot camera, but everything comes to a halt when a tragic accident occurs midway through.
The cast consists of Daniel Muñoz as Miguel, Paola Giannini as Isabel, and Emilia Rodriguez as Emilia.
The film is co-edited by Victoria Lammers, whose notable works include Oliver Stone's Snowden and Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows.
Castro San Martín is also set to shoot his next film in Turin, Italy, “Il Cileno,” a co-production between Equeco from Chile, Disparte from Italy and Cinédokké from Switzerland.
Set in 1976 during a wave of mining protests, Il Cileno follows Aldo, a young Chilean explosives specialist who has been exiled from his homeland. Forced to leave his home, wife and newborn son behind, Aldo survives on low-paying jobs in Turin. His life changes when he meets a doctor involved with anarchist groups. She offers him the chance to bring his family to Italy, but only if he agrees to return to his former profession – making bombs for revolutionary causes.
Since his directorial debut in 2009, “El Paseo” (2009), Castro San Martín has written and directed a number of films and television shows, most notably the acclaimed limited series “La Jauria” for Fabula and Fremantle. His 2015 feature film “The Mud Woman” premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where Lázaro was a longtime programmer. “We’ve been in touch ever since,” said Castro, who is thrilled to have Lázaro join the production.
Lazaro is the former head of content and acquisitions at Exile Content Studio, which is among the co-producers of the two films in Venice that she co-presented at the Lido: the absurdist comedy “Kill the Jockey,” in competition for the Golden Lion, which has its world premiere on August 29 and is based on a production group led by Argentina’s Rei Pictures (“Zama,” “The Settlers”) and Infinity Hill (“Argentina, 1985”) while “Quiet Life” by the eccentric Greek director Avranas competes in the Horizons sidebar in Venice and also has its world premiere on August 29.
Kill the Horseman, which reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation at the Venice Biennale, is set to have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Castro San Martin represents the Constanza Arena of the De Luz Agency.
