Gaz Alazraki has launched a new production company…
The 41-year-old Mexican director has partnered with Alisa Tager, Mark Alazraki and Moises Chiver create Maquina Vega, a new production company with offices in Los Angeles and Mexico City, which will provide a pipeline between the English and Spanish-speaking worlds.
Working with creators across countries and genres, the company will produce films and television series in both English and Spanish, bolstering emerging talents from Mexico and Latin America, while looking to increase the production of high-quality entertainment for Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide.
The Alazrakis come to Maquina Vega after launching Alazraki Entertainment in 2013 with the release of Gaz’s mega-hit Nosotros Los Nobles, a dark comedy which upon its theatrical debut became the highest grossing homegrown film ever released in Mexico. Following that up was Club de Cuervos, Netflix’s first Spanish-language original series, centered on football club Cuervos FC. Co-created, executive produced and directed by Alazraki, the show ran for four seasons and remarkably also led to the creation of a real soccer team in Pique’s King’s League Americas.
Gaz is coming off success with his Father of the Bride reimagining for Warner Bros and Plan B, which in 2022 drew HBO Max’s biggest-ever audience for a streaming-only film. Based in L.A., he serves as Lead Creative and Director of Maquina Vega and will continue to focus going forward on building his writing and directing slate in film and television.
Joining the company after serving as President of Anonymous Content Studios, Tager will also serve in that capacity at Maquina Vega, overseeing operations for both offices. Tager’s experience in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Africa, coupled with her fluency in English and Spanish, give her a unique skillset to build the production company.
A producer on Nobles and Club de Cuervos, Chiver will become Head of Production and Film Finance, overseeing the company’s internal production, third-party production services, and production financing from Mexico City.
Currently directing and exec producing the first season of Bienvenidos a la Familia for Netflix, the Mexico City-based Mark Alazraki will continue to oversee the company’s development and first looks, while building his slate as writer, director, and producer.
Also on board at the new company, as Head of Distribution and Finance, is Vicente García Cors, the former CFO of Twentieth Century Fox Mexico, who will grow Maquina Vega’s distribution division, working to release Mexican and international movies across Mexico and LatAm. Adrian Ituarte will serve as VP of Production, with Valeria de León as Director of Development.
Said Gaz Alazraki in a statement on the formation of Maquina Vega, “I’ve dreamt for many years about ways to create a home for my projects while also creating a destination for all the talented people we admire and would love to work with. I am incredibly excited to have Alisa as our partner who can lead us to achieve this opportunity and create this home.”
Tager noted that her decision to join forces with the Alazarakis and Chiver was “the culmination of so many things” she’s set out to do, “working with the most exciting international creators and companies, from development through production and distribution.” She added that she’s “confident that our combined reach and experience will position us to grow our footprint in the US and across the Spanish-speaking world. This is a unique opportunity to build something truly international with a global reach.”
Currently, Maquina Vega has first-look deals with Animal Politico, a prestigious online investigative newspaper out of Mexico, and Algarabia, a general interest magazine spotlighting short stories. The company also has a development deal with Editorial Planeta, the world’s largest Spanish-language publisher, and is building an online magazine to amplify new journalistic voices and generate new IP.
In addition to Bienvenidos a la Familia, current projects for the company include Club Perfecto, from writer-director Ricardo Castro and producer Jonathan Davis, which is in post at ViX; documentary Billy Meier, which is in production with Miguel Leon directing and Julio Rojas as writer-EP; an adaptation of Daniel Coronel’s novel Los Niños del Amazonas, in development with Candle Media’s Exile; and Bodas, from creator Erik Zuckerman, which is in development at ViX.
