Gerardo Naranjo: Last News

Since his 2011 Cannes breakout “Miss Bala,” Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo has shot episodes of “Narcos” and “Fear The Walking Dead” and done two more films, “Kokoloko” and “Vienna And The Fantomes.” Up next for Naranjo? Variety reports he’ll reunite with “Narcos” star Walter Moura for “Say Her Name,” with “Andor‘ actress Adria Arjona also starring.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Gerardo Naranjo’s “Kokoloko” took home the Premio Mezcal for best Mexican film at the hybrid 35th Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), which wrapped Friday, Nov. 27.The love triangle drama signals a return to the big screen for Naranjo who has spent nearly a decade after his 2011 hit “Miss Bala” directing episodes of such high-profile series as “Narcos,” “The Bridge” and “Fear the Walking Dead.”Shot in 16 mm, Naranjo’s drama about a woman caught between two men, one a violent cousin holding her captive, first debuted at Tribeca where lead Noe Hernandez won the Best Actor prize.

Dave McNary Film Reporter“Black Bear,” “Kokoloko,” “Night of the Kings,” “Rosa’s Wedding” and “Undine” have been selected as the competition titles for the Marimba Award at the upcoming Miami Film Festival Gems event.The seventh annual edition of Gems will be held virtually from Oct. 8-11.

[In the wake of the Tribeca festival's postponement this year,The Hollywood Reporteris reviewing select fest entries that elected to premiere digitally for critics.] There's plenty of wild and intimate beauty and not a little blood in Kokoloko, the first feature from Gerardo Naranjo since his 2011 international breakout, Miss Bala. The film reteams the writer-helmer with two actors from that crime thriller, and like the earlier work, this one finds a woman caught in the crosshairs of swaggering, violent machismo.

One of two offerings this year from Mexican filmmaker Gerardo Naranjo, Viena and the Fantomes looks to be the less likely to please fans of his much-admired 2011 Miss Bala (remade as a much-less-admired Gina Rodriguez vehicle last year): While his Mexico-set Kokoloko (a virtual Tribeca fest entry awaiting distribution) reportedly returns to tales of gang violence, Viena throws its heroine out on tour with a rock band as something between a roadie and a groupie. A dispiriting film that has languished on the shelf since 2014, it stars Dakota Fanning but is likely being released now with the hope that small appearances by Evan Rachel Wood and Zoë Kravitz will add commercial appeal.

Being with the band is in of itself a cliche yet it remains this weirdly intriguing fantasy that transitions from generation to generation. It’s a topic that dominates the narrative themes and structures of “Viena and The Fantomes.” Set in a world of pure punk rock fantasy, this all too common tale of the young roadie suddenly spirals outside of the usual safe boundaries.