Tag Archives: Juan Pablo González

Juan Pablo González Signs with Buchwald

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Juan Pablo González has new representation…

The 38-year-old Mexican filmmaker, whose first narrative feature, Dos Estaciones, claimed a Special Jury Award for Acting and a Grand Jury Prize nom upon its premiere in World Cinematic Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, has signed with Buchwald.

Juan Pablo González,The drama, which picked up for distribution by Cinema Guild, is set in the bucolic hills of Mexico’s Jalisco highlands, watching as iron-willed businesswoman Maria (Teresa Sánchez) fights against the impending collapse of her tequila factory. It also notably screened at New Directors/New Films (MoMA/Lincoln Center), the San Sebastián Film Festival and the Morelia International Film Festival, where Sánchez received the Eye for Best Acting Award, additionally picking up nominations at both the Cinema Eye Honors and the Gotham Awards.

Institutions supporting the film, which González co-wrote and directed, included IMCINE, Nouvelle Aquitaine Fond de Soutien au Cinéma, the Venice Biennale, the Sundance Institute, the Tribeca Film Institute and Cine Qua Non.

Previously helming the hour-long doc Caballerango, which premiered at IDFA Festival in 2018, González was also behind the 2016 narrative short La Espera, which premiered at SXSW and won the Grand Jury Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival. He has been a fellow of the Fund for Culture and Arts in Mexico, was awarded a 2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, and was also named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2015, appearing there alongside the likes of Reinaldo Marcus Green, Trey Edward Shults, Pippa Bianco and recent Oscar winners The Daniels, among others.

Juan Pablo González,

Cinema Guild Acquires U.S. Distribution Rights to Juan Pablo González’s Drama “Dos Estaciones”

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Juan Pablo González’s acclaimed film is heading to U.S. theaters…

Cinema Guild has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the 37-year-old Mexican film director, screenwriter and editor’s fiction feature debut Dos Estaciones, which won a special jury award for lead actor Teresa Sánchez’s performance when it premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Juan Pablo GonzálezThe drama follows 50-year-old businesswoman María García (Sánchez), who owns Dos Estaciones—a once-majestic tequila factory now struggling to stay afloat. The factory is the final hold-over from generations of Mexican-owned tequila plants in the highlands of Jalisco, the rest having folded into foreign corporations. Once one of the wealthiest people in town, María knows her current financial situation is untenable. When a persistent plague and an unexpected flood cause irreversible damage, she is forced to do everything she can to save her community’s primary economy and source of pride.

Dos Estaciones was also an official selection of the True/False Film Festival, where González was honored with the True Vision Award, and will screen as part of New Directors/New Films later this month.

The film, which was written by González, Ilana Coleman and Ana Isabel Fernández, also stars Rafaela Fuentes, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Tatín Vera.

“As great admirers of Juan Pablo’s non-fiction work, we’re thrilled to be releasing Dos Estaciones in the U.S.,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly. “The film offers a window on issues facing contemporary Mexico with stunning images and a central performance of remarkable power and grace from Teresa Sánchez.”

“We are so humbled to be working with Cinema Guild, a company that we’ve long admired,” added González. “It’s evident from their catalog that they have a special love for cinema and we fully share that love. They’re the best home we could wish for Dos Estaciones and are so excited to be partnering with them to release such a special film for us.”

Cinema Guild is a premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, whose upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo’s In Front of Your Face and Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire. Recent releases include Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s The Girl and the Spider, Fern Silva’s Rock Bottom Riser and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing.

Rodrigo Prieto Awarded Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking by Vilcek Foundation

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Rodrigo Prieto is a trailblazer…

The 55-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated cinematographer is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking, according to the Vilcek Foundation.

Rodrigo Prieto

The award is part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes, which are bestowed in a range of categories each year, in celebration of the outstanding contributions of immigrant trailblazers, within the arts and sciences.

Prieto, a Mexican native, has established himself over the years as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after DPs. Boasting credits including Amores Perros and Brokeback Mountain, he’s known for his collaborations with renowned directors including Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Julie Taymor, Oliver Stone and Alejandro González Iñárritu.

A three-time Academy Awards nominee most recently recognized by the Academy for his groundbreaking work on Scorsese’s The Irishman, Prieto has also received accolades for his work from BAFTA, the American Society of Cinematographers and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Known for his unconventional camerawork, and his remarkably detailed, evocative compositions, the DP grew up with a visual artist for a mother and an aeronautical engineer for a father. Thus, in his own career, he would come to balance technology with artistry, aiming with each new project to create a distinctive and visceral, cinematic experience. “That combination…is something that I have in my DNA,” Prieto says, “utilizing technology and different techniques to create art.”

Established in 2006, as a means of championing diverse perspectives—thereby advancing the arts and sciences—The Vilcek Foundation has thus far awarded over $5.8 million to immigrants from 56 different countries.

“As leaders in the arts, we have a responsibility to promote diversity by making space, providing access, and amplifying the artistic contributions of marginalized groups and individuals,” Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel says. “The Vilcek Prizes in the arts and humanities enable us to speak to the value of immigration for our society in a non-politicized way.”

This year, other prize recipients include geneticist Ruth Lehmann, chemical biologist Mohamed Abou Donia, entrepreneur (and former presidential candidate) Andrew Yang, and a number of filmmakers—among them, Juan Pablo González, Miko Revereza and Nanfu Wang.

González has been awarded the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Filmmaking for the artistic rigor and deep emotional engagement that he brings to his immersive and intimate explorations of his hometown in rural Mexico.

Up next for Prieto is Scorsese’s sprawling crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the Apple Original Film centers on an investigation into a string of brutal murders within the Osage tribe. Eric Roth wrote the script, adapting an acclaimed work of nonfiction by David Grann.