Fernando Frias: Last News

Caroline Brew editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 7 of “Our Flag Means Death,” now streaming on Max. For the second season of “Our Flag Means Death,” Max’s comedy series starring Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby, the producers’ goal was to raise both the emotional stakes and the scale of its world building — which is exemplified in the final scene of Season 2’s penultimate episode, “Man on Fire.” Interrupting an intense duel between Stede Bonnet (Darby) and Pirate Queen Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian), all the ships in the bay of the Republic of Pirates explode at the same time when Prince Ricky Barnes (Erroll Shand) betrays a pact with Zheng. To pull the siege off, director of photography Mike Berlucchi, visual effects supervisor David Van Dyke and production designer Ra Vincent teamed up to devise a cable lighting system to mimic flaming cannonballs and timed the lights to practical special effects explosions on set.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix is toasting Mexico’s National Day of Cinema on Aug. 15 with a slew of projects, many of them tapping the country’s wealth of literary classics and original storytellers. Working with some of the most prominent local filmmakers, the streaming giant is also reaffirming its $300 million commitment to Mexican cinema and series and its #QueMéxicoSeVea (“Let Mexico Be Seen”) initiative.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Netflix has reaffirmed its $300 million commitment to Mexican cinema and series, announcing a slew of new movie projects to celebrate the country’s National Day of Cinema on Aug. 15 and as part of its #QueMéxicoSeVea initiative.The year-old initiative, which can be roughly translated to “Let Mexico Be Seen” has the mission “to make visible the work of Mexican creators, screenwriters, writers, directors, actors and people who make national cinema possible,” as well as its wealth of original stories.Leading the pack is the widely anticipated directorial debut of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (“Brokeback Mountain,” “The Irishman”) who is helming an adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s seminal novel, “Pedro Paramo.” Produced by Redrum, the film’s crew includes Oscar-nominated production designer Eugenio Caballero (“Roma,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”) and costume designer Anna Terrazas, whose notable credits include “Roma,” “Spectre” and “Bardo.” “Our commitment to Mexican culture also includes adapting great Mexican works to the cinema, and ‘Pedro Páramo’ will be the first great example of this,” said Francisco Ramos, Netflix VP of Content for Latin America.“The impact of our productions has been very positive so far: We are hyper committed to Mexican cinema,” Ramos added.said Ramos, who asserted that there were no plans to reduce the $300 million-over-three-years pledge.“Mexicans love our content and there is a huge appetite for Mexican cinema in Latin America and in some parts of Europe as well,” he pointed out, adding that they have had the good fortune to be working with some of the biggest players in Mexico, including Redrum, Woo Films, Alebrije Prods.

Fernando Frias’ I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí) had a long journey to the screen — conceived when Frias was a student at New York’s Columbia University, the project was selected by the Sundance Writers Lab in 2014, and went before cameras in 2017, ultimately hitting the festival circuit in 2019, and Netflix last year. Challenges in getting the acclaimed drama made included everything from financing hurdles to a lengthy hiatus and the lead actor being rejected for a U.S. work permit three times in a row.