Pablo Larraín & His Brother’s Fabula Productions Renews First-Look Partnership with Freemantle

Pablo Larraín and his brother are extending their Freemantle deal…

The 47-year-old Chilean filmmaker and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula Productions has renewed its their first-look partnership with Freemantle.

Pablo & Juan de Dios LarraínThe agreement will reportedly result in the Larrain brothers working even more closely to develop a fresh slate of original dramas and films.

Under the accord, Fremantle’s international sales wing, FMI, will distribute the drama projects worldwide.

Global production and distribution company Fremantle and the Larraín’s Santiago, Chile-based banner Fabula struck their original first-look deal in 2019.

Under the accord, Fabula has produced prize-winning series La Jauría and Señorita 89 as well as the upcoming Midnight Family for Apple TV+, a 10-episode medical drama inspired by the award-winning documentary of the same name.

On the feature film front, Fabula and Fremantle have just wrapped production on Sebastián Lelio’s film musical The Wave, in partnership with Participant Media.

The drama tells the story of the mass university rallies that took place during Chile’s so-called “Feminist May” in 2018.

Further upcoming feature collaborations include Pablo Larraín’s upcoming bio-film Maria starring Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, produced alongside Komplizen Film.

The partners said in a statement that the Fabula team would continue to work closely with Fremantle’s CEO, Global Drama, Christian Vesper and Seb Shorr, COO, Global Drama.

“Pablo and Juan encapsulate the bold and inventive filmmaking we proudly support at Fremantle and I am delighted that that our renewed deal means working even closer with them. Fabula is such an exciting company creating original, passionate film and drama titles, and we are thrilled to have them as our valued partners,” said Vesper.

Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín, CCO and CEO of Fabula respectively said the past five years had been a period of “great collaboration” and “mutual growth on many levels.”

“Fremantle has given us many tools to understand the industry and how to move forward. They have been wonderful travel companions with fantastic taste. We are more than happy to go deeper into our partnership with them in the upcoming years.”

Julio Rojas Penning His First Rom-Com Film “Detras de ti”

Julio Rojas is bringing the romance…

The Chilean author/screenwriter, whose serial podcast Case 63 was Spotify’s most popular podcast in Latin America and was adapted into English with Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac starring, is writing his first rom-com following the global success of Case 63.

Julio Rojas,Titled Detras de ti (working title), the upcoming project is being co-produced by Spain’s EvaFilms and David Naranjo’s Pris & Batty, best known for its hit comedies 8 apellidos vascos, 8 apellidos catalanes and Toc toc.

“Ever since I listened to ‘Case 63,’ I was very keen to work with Julio and bring his work to the big screen,” said Eva Cebrián of EvaFilms, adding: “Julio is an indisputable storyteller who has most understood the audio format, given his deep experience as a screenwriter.”

While Rojas has a predilection for sci-fi projects, Cebrián pointed out that romance was very much intrinsic to his work. Detras de ti will be a departure for Rojas, but it’s set in the near future and will still bear science-fiction elements.

Rojas is also known for co-writing Pablo Fendrik’s Latino sci-fi series The Shelter, story editing Lucia Puenzo’s La Jauria and penning a number of acclaimed features, led by Marcela Said’s The Summer of Flying Fish and Matias Bize’s The Memory of Water.

To be directed by Vicente Villanueva, Detras de ti centers on 24-year-old Joaquin, an aspiring screenwriter who while trying to land a job at a streaming platform, forms part of an “image support team,” a top secret service where a group of nerds in a control room connect visually and aurally with a celebrity to guide him through situations and make him appear more intelligent, creative and talented than he really is.

When Joaquin sees his client, B-list actor Daniel Casañas, start falling in love with the same girl he loves, the boundaries between appearance and reality begin to blur for everyone. This is “a romantic comedy in a world where the real and the artificial, where the authentic and the apparent grow increasingly muddled,” the synopsis says.

EvaFilms and Pris & Batty are also co-producing fantasy tale La Ternura, which is being shot in the Dominican Republic.

EvaFilms was founded in 2019 by Cebrián, who held executive positions at pubcaster RTVE as head of film and later, of TV programming. She also founded OnDemand Media, an audiovisual producer and consultant in Mexico and Spain, was an advisor to the digital creative agency Social Noise and was director of new projects and developments for Stage Entertainment Spain, a company that produces some of the most successful musicals in the world.

HBO Max Picks Up First Season of Daniela Vega’s Spanish-Language Thriller “La Jauria”

Daniela Vega is maxing out…

WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max has picked up the first season of La Jauría, Amazon Prime Video’s Spanish-language thriller starring the 31-year-old Chilean actress and mezzo-soprano singer.

Daniela Vega

Hailing from Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula, which made the Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman, the series tells the story of the disappearance of a young girl, who becomes the center of a police investigation into an online game that grooms men into assaulting women.

HBO Max will premiere the eight-part series on December 16.

In addition to Vega, La Jauría also stars Antonia Zegers, while Lucía Puenzo is the director. Fremantle produced the show alongside Fabula and Argentine company Kapow. Fremantle handles worldwide distribution.

Amazon commissioned a second season of La Jauría in July after premiering it across Latin America and Spain. Chilean public broadcaster TVN and the Consejo Nacional de Televisión (CNTV) are co-producers.

“It’s a gripping, compelling and timely drama that addresses important topical issues regarding the epidemic of violence against women. We are confident HBO’s audience will be moved by the standout storyline and the powerful performances,” said Sheila Aguirre, EVP of content distribution and format sales, Latin America, international, Fremantle.