Bardem to Star in Peter Webber’s First Spanish-Language Film “Carteristas”

Carlos Bardem has (pick)pocketed a new project…

The 53-year-old Spanish actor is set to star in the tentatively titled film Carteristas, the drama set in the capital of Colombia, Bogota.

Carlos Bardem

Peter Webber, renowned for his Oscar-nominated The Girl with a Pearl Earring, will direct the film, his first Spanish-language pic.

Carteristas tracks a 16-year old street urchin who, together with two pals, learns the art of pickpocketing from a master in the sleight of hand.

Bardem plays mentor to the 16-year old played by newcomer Emiliano Pernia, the son of Colombian actress Marcela Mar, who appears as his onscreen mother. Natalia Reyes and theatre actor Duban Prado complete the triad of friends.

Principal photography kicked off on Sunday, October 23 in Bogota with Colombian filmmakers Diana Rico and Richard Decaillet serving as associate directors.

“I’ve been visiting Colombia regularly for over a decade, and have shot some documentary material here,” said Webber. “The chance to make a feature film set in Bogota, one of the world’s most gritty and cinematic cities, is very exciting,” he added. Fluent in Spanish, Webber has previously worked in Japanese and Arabic.

Bardem, the brother of Javier Bardem, has previously appeared in the film’s Paradise Lost, The Debt and Days of Grace.

Cinema Libre to Release Huerta’s “Days of Grace” in the U.S.

Tenoch Huerta’s work is heading north of the border…

Cinema Libre Studio has picked up Days of Grace, starring the Mexican actor, who is considered one of his country’s fast-rising stars.

Tenoch Huerta in Dias de Gracia

The feature debut of Mexican director Everardo Gout, who also wrote the script, is a tale of police and government corruption in Mexico City. The ambitious multi-threaded movie unfolds over a dozen years amid multiple kidnappings during successive World Cup tournaments. It centers on a cop, a hostage and a wife who fight to survive during the futbol events.

Days of Grace will go out day-and-date May 1 in U.S. theatres and on HBO, and via DVD/Blu-ray and On Demand starting May 5.

Dias de Gracia

The film took eight Ariel Awards including best first film, best actor and supporting actress following its April 2012 debut in its home country.

In addition to Huerta, the film also stars Dolores Heredia, Kristyan Ferrer, Carlos Bardem and Eileen Yañez.