Latido Films Announces ‘Hotel Coppelia,’ and a Swathe of Cannes Sales (EXCLUSIVE)
By Jamie Lang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – MADRID — Madrid’s Latido Films, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s top sales companies for arthouse and crossover films, acquired world sales rights to Dominican director José María Cabral’s in progress “Hotel Coppelia.”
The news comes as Latido has revealed a slew of sales on top titles. Their number suggests a larger depth to this year’s Cannes Film Market, allowing the company to push out two dozen or more deals in largely major territories.
“The Realm,” the latest feature from Oscar nominated Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“The Mother”) and Spanish Academy Award submission “Champions” lead many of the sales with “The Realm” going to Somos in the U.S., Impacto in Argentina, Vision in China, A-Z Films in Canada and Cineplex in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Cabral’s “Hotel Coppelia” is inspired on the true stories of five women who, during the 1965 Dominican Civil War, made tremendous personal sacrifice to protect their own liberties. The female-lead cast includes Platino Award-nominated actress Nashla Bogaert, Lumy Lizardo, Cyndie Lundi, Jazz Vilá and Nick Searcy.
“This film represented a new set of challenges for me, focusing on a fresh story about marginalized groups that resisted the evil abuse of power during a crucial historic event in the Dominican Republic,” said Cabral of the nearly-finished film.
He added: “People know about the heroes that fought in the War through documentaries and textbooks. But few may know the dire struggles of many anonymous women who, despite their social and economic conditions, questioned authority and fought for their freedom.”
Produced by Lantica Media and Tabula Rasa, “Hotel Coppelia” is from the director of Sundance competition feature “Woodpeckers,” which notched awards at Guadalajara and the Toulouse Latin American Film Festival.
“We have followed José María’s career for some years now as he is becoming one of the leading voices of Caribbean cinema, and we are proud to finally be able to collaborate with him on this his most ambitious project yet,” Latido executive director Antonio Saura told Variety. “Also, this marks the second collaboration with Lantica, a dynamic studio out of Santo Domingo, in what we hope can be a long term collaboration.”
VP of production at Lantica Media and producer Rafael Elías Muñoz said in a written statement: “José María is a unique filmmaker and an exciting voice in Latin-American cinema, one highlighting the struggles of a population in search for empowerment or redemption. We are very proud to have had the opportunity to support his vision. To make this journey with our friends at Latido makes it all the more special to us.”
In other announced sales, “Champions,” like “The Realm,” sold to Somos in the U.S.A as well as A-Z Films in Canada with “Champions’” remake rights going to Remake and Co. in France. As announced by Variety, Hari Sama’s “This is Not Berlin” went to Samuel Goldwyn in the U.S.
In early pre-sales, “The Platform” was licensed to Activers in Korea, The Klockworx in Japan, Edko in Hong Kong and Creative Century in Taiwan. “The Goya Murderers” was also picked up by Activers in Korea and The Klockworx in Japan, as well as by Rosebud in Greece and Wild Bunch in France.
Animated feature “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles” was scooped by Joint in Taiwan and Edko in Hong Kong. Japan’s Pictures Dept. and Taiwan’s Joint snagged “Virgin & Extra”; the later also bought “Joel.” Finally, “The Best Summer of My Life” went to Alucine in Central America, and “The Weasels Tale” to Edko in Hong Kong and Russian Report in Russia.
