Manolo Caro Signs First-Look Deal with Onyx Collective 

Manolo Caro has a new first-look deal…

Onyx Collective has signed the 39-year-old Mexican director and The House of Flowers creator and Woo Films’ co-founders Rafael Ley and Maria Jose Cordova to a multiyear first-look deal.

Manolo CaroUnder the deal, Caro, Ley and Cordova will develop new projects for Onyx Collective.

“Manolo Caro is in a rare class of storytellers who blend heart and humor to reveal the essence of what makes us all human,” said Tara Duncan, president, Onyx Collective. “He is a proven hitmaker, and we’re excited to bring his universal stories to the Hulu audience.”

“Joining the creative voices at Onyx is not only a commitment to my artistic mission but a critical reflection of my own identity,” says Caro. “I want to tell stories through my particular vision and pop lens and create content that allows me to share with the world what my culture is and what has driven me all the way here.”

Caro and Woo Films join an extensive roster of creatives with deals with Onyx including Ryan Coogler, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jason Kim, Joseph Patel, Prentice Penny, Natasha Rothwell, Yara Shahidi and Erika Green Swafford.

Caro’s background spans writing, producing and directing for film and theater.

Among his film credits, which made him the first Mexican director in the top 10 of the Mexican box office for three consecutive years, are titles like Perfectos Desconocidos and La Vida Inmoral de la Pareja Ideal.

His debut feature was a film adaptation of I Don’t Know Whether to Slit My Wrists or Leave Them Long, which he initially wrote and directed for the theater. He followed that up with titles like Elvira I Will Give You My Life But I’m Using It and Tales of an Immoral Couple.

For television, Caro as a Latin American showrunner, was behind the Netflix release The House of Flowers. While under a development deal at Netflix, he created the miniseries Alguien Tiene que Morir and the streamer’s first Spanish-speaking musical series, Sebastián Yatra: Érase una vez.

The first season of his latest release, Sagrada Familia, starring Najwa Nimri and Alba Flores, debuted on Netflix’s top 10 in over 56 countries.

Trailer Released for Diaz’s Latest Film “Fruitvale Station”

Sure, Melonie Diaz is a certified indie film star… But her latest project could put her on the Oscar track.

The Weinstein Co. has released the trailer for the 29-year-old Puerto Rican actress’ latest film Fruitvale Station.

Fruitvale Station

Starring Michael B. Jordan, the film tells the story of Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old San Francisco Bay Area man whose fatal 2009 shooting by Oakland BART police sparked outrage and protests against police brutality.

Diaz stars as Sophina, Grant’s girlfriend and the mother of his daughter.

The Weinstein Co. bought the film, the directorial debut by Ryan Coogler, at the Sundance Film Festival for $2 million even before it won the fest’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.

Fruitvale Station is set for release on July 12.

The Name of Diaz’s Latest Film Changed to “Fruitvale Station”

Melonie Diaz’s latest film is getting a name change…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican actress’ latest project, Fruitvale, which won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is getting an extra word in its title.

Melonie Diaz

The Weinstein Company, which picked up the film about the 2009 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on San Francisco’s BART by security guards for more than $2 million, changed the name of the film to Fruitvale Station

The Ryan Coogler-directed drama will still be released on July 26 as part of the company’s Oscar-season arsenal for its story about the final day of Grant’s life (as portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), a young man who has been in trouble with the law but is decent at heart and tries to straighten out his life to care for his girlfriend and young daughter.

The shooting galvanized protests against police brutality in Oakland.

Diaz’s “Fruitvale” Earns Two Sundance Film Festival Prizes

Melonie Diaz has become part of Sundance Film Festival history…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican actress’ latest project, Fruitvale, has become the first Sundance film to win the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic film since Precious in 2009.

Melonie Diaz II

First-time director Ryan Coogler was inspired to write the film after 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot in the back and killed by Oakland transit police on New Year’s Day morning 2009. Fruitvale tells the story of Grant’s last 24 hours alive, as he attempts to become a better father, a better boyfriend and a better son and friend.

“It’s about human beings and how we treat each other,” said Coogler, “how we treat people that we love and how we treat people that we don’t know.”

Diaz portrays Sophina in the film, which sparked a bidding war after its premiere. Rights for the film were ultimately acquired by The Weinstein Company for approximately $2 million.

Meanwhile, Sebastián Silva’s earned the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic for helming the Chilean film Crystal Fairy, which centers on two people who clash during a road trip to Chile.

Who is Dayani Cristal?, a film produced by Gael García Bernal and Marc Silver, won the Cinematography Award, World Cinema Documentary. The film, directed by Silver and featuring García in some dramatic reenactments, centers on an anonymous body found in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads the audience across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo.