MADRID – Adding to its Latin treasure trove, Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures has acquired North American rights to “Llevate mis amores” (All of Me), first-time Mexican director Arturo Gonzalez Villasenor’s Los Cabos Fest winner.
The latest from Nicolas Celis’ burgeoning Mexican production house La Pimienta, last October “All of Me” scooped Los Cabos’ top plaudit in its Mexico First section, reserved for first and second features, despite considerable opposition from, for example, Isaac Ezban’s “The Incident” and Marcelo Tobar’s “Asteroid.”
Outsider Pictures’ Latin label, Todo Cine Latino (TCL), will look to build word of mouth via festivals, and is working on plans for a limited theatrical release in the U.S. in the late-summer, said Outsider CEO Hudson.
Produced by Indira Canto for Acanto Films, the label Gonzalez Villaseñor created with his production team — and co-produced by Pimienta Films and Mexican university UAM-Xochimilco — “All of Me” will then be released on digital streaming site Todocinelatino.com, which is dedicated to the release of the best in Latin Cinema in North America, Hudson added.
Making its international bow at Amsterdam’s Independent Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), “All of Me” tells the moving story of the women of La Patrona, a village in Mexico that live by the tracks of the “the Beast,” the train from Central America that brings many migrants North to the U.S. The film concentrates on the women of the village, who,mdespite having very little, have done all they can for near 20 years to give those on the train one good meal on the treacherous journey North.
“It’s fascinating the meticulous dedication with which the women cook the rice and frijoles, how they fill the bottles with water from a well, and the danger of chasing daily after this steel machine which weighs more than 100 tons,” Gonzalez Villasenor told Mexico’s Proceso.com
In late 2013, the La Patrona women won Mexico’s Human Rights National Prize.
Hudson and Celis closed the North American distribution deal.
“’All of Me’ is incredibly emotional, and puts the tragedy of illegal immigration into the U.S. into very human terms, and makes one feel humble at the generosity of spirit of these women,” said Hudson.
He added: “We are also working with Nicolas to work out how we can plow back a percentage of the revenues generated by the film to Las Patronas.”
Celis called “All of Me” “a movie about true generosity that hopefully will conquer everybody’s heart.”
Recent Outsider Pictures’ pickups take in David Trueba’s multiple Goya winner “Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed,” Matias Luchessi’s Ventana Sur victor “Natural Sciences” and Daniel and Diego Vega’s “El mudo,” which scooped best actor (Fernando Bacilio) at Locarno.
Pimienta Films’ Nicolas Celis has taken a variety of production credits on milestone Mexican movies of late: “Somos lo que hay,” Jorge Michel Grau’s feature debut, Amat Escalante’s Cannes best director winner “Heli,” a complex production that Celis line-produced, and Tatiana Huete’s “The Tiniest Place,” described as a “sublime documentary debut” by Variety, which he produced. Celis also produced Alejandra Marquez’s “Holy Days,” seen at Los Cabos Festival’s second Works in Progress Mexico, and is producing her follow-up, “Easter,” recipient of a $52,000 Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund post-production award.
By
John Hopewell
Chief International Correspondent
Outsider Pictures Takes North America on Los Cabos winner ‘All of Me’ (EXCLUSIVE)