Cinepolis Nabs all-Latin American Rights to Mexican Remake of Colombian thriller, ‘The Hidden Face’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Anna Marie de la Fuente
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Mexican exhibition juggernaut Cinepolis has picked up all Latin American rights to the Mexican version of the 2011 Colombian suspense thriller, “The Hidden Face” (“La Cara Oculta”).
This is the first Mexican feature of Colombian shingle Dynamo, which made the original with co-producers Fox Int’l Productions, Cactus Flower and Avalon. ’s Andi Baiz directed.
Argentina’s FB Group and Mexico’s Urujuru are co-producers of the Mexican remake.
“Dynamo is a company that we deeply admire,” said Leonardo Cordero, head of Distribution. “To be able to distribute its “La Cara Oculta” remake is a major opportunity to develop a long-term relationship with one of Latin America’s top content providers,” he said.
Plans are to release the thriller by the first semester of next year. Its definitive title is yet to be determined.
Jorge Michel Grau , helmer-scribe of “Somos lo que hay” (“We Are What We Are”) and one of Mexico’s seminal genre pic filmmakers, has been tapped to direct the Mexican version, which starts principal photography in Mexico City on August 6.
“The Hidden Face” is a love triangle of sorts where a couple move into a home abroad and after a quarrel, the girl vanishes. He starts a relationship with another girl who moves in.
The Mexican remake stars Jose Maria de Tavira, whose career kicked off as a child actor in “The Mask of Zorro” and who has starred in the Mexican TV version of “Rosario Tijeras.” He plays opposite Paulina Davila, who stars in Gael Garcia Bernal’s political thriller series “Here on Earth” (“Aquí en la Tierra”), renewed for a second season by Fox Networks Group Latin America.
Cristina Rodlo (“Ladrones,” “Miss Bala”) plays the second girlfriend who begins to suspect a hidden presence in the house.
“It’s a story that could take place organically in any part of the world and that’s what encouraged us to make this version,” said Dynamo producer Natalia Echeverri Delvalle.
In fact, India made a Bollywood version, titled “Murder 3,” in 2013.
Cinepolis, which recently made its first foray into feature film production with Manolo Caro’s Latino remake of Italian hit comedy, “Perfect Strangers,” ranks as the second largest exhibitor in the world in terms of admissions and fourth in terms of screen count, with 5,426 screens worldwide at present.
In the case of “The Hidden Face,” it only comes in as a distributor.
Dynamo opened an office in Mexico City last year in a bid to further expand its operations after consolidating its home base in Colombia as well as in Spain and New York. Company formed a joint venture in early November with Mexican producer Juan Uruchurtu of Urujuru who runs the Dynamo Mexico office.
Last November, Dynamo partnered with Miami-based Spiral Int’l to co-produce the Mexico City-based TV series “Falco,” a Latino version of German procedural, “The Last Cop.” Amazon Prime Video has since picked up streaming rights to “Falco.”
