John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentA leading light of Latin America’s new generation of female cineastes – think Michelle Garza Cervera, Valentina Mourel – “To Kill the Beast” director Agustina San Martín is teaming with Buenos Aires-based Vega Cine and Cordoba Argentina’s Gualicho Cine for a new feature, “Todo el Mundo.”Selected for San Sebastian’s 2022 Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum in September, “Todo el Mundo” unspools in a world not so distant from “To Kill the Beast” (“Matar a la Bestia”) or the sensibilities of San Martín.
A ’90s-set coming-of-age tale, it turns on the burgeoning relationship between Serena, 15, whose face is deformed after an accident, and Enzo, 17, a “dark” goth boy attracted by Serena’s scar.
Serena begins to skip school, get home late and lie her mother. Her high-school friendships aren’t what they were before. With Enzo, however, a whole new world seems to open up before her. “Todo el Mundo” points up the women-led alliances which are springing up over Latin America and the larger market appeal of women-led projects compared with just 5-10 years ago.
The screenplay was originally written by Sofía Castells, the founder of Vega Cine with filmmaker Veronica Chen, whose “High Tide” was selected for 2020’s Sundance, as well as Inés Barrionuevo, now a fully-fledged director (“Camila Comes Out at Night”) and co-creator of Gualicho Cine and Gabriela Vidal, director with Barrionuevo of 2020’s “Little Bikes.”Though winning a prize nearly a decade ago from the Córdoba Town Hall for best project in development at least a first time round “Todo el Mundo” failed to complete its financing.
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