Aya Films has snatched all U.Ok. and Ireland rights to the Dominican Republic’s “Ramona” from Paris-based movie firm Alief SAS forward of its BFI London Film Fest premiere.
The docu-fiction hybrid, which had its world premiere on the 2023 Berlinale’s Generation 14Plus sidebar, can have its U.S. West Coast premiere on the AFI Latin America pageant after BFI London. Alief beforehand bought the U.S. rights to Grasshopper and Mexican rights to Salon de Belleza for the reason that Berlinale, which plan to launch the movie within the spring.
Victoria Linares Villegas’ sophomore function, co-written with Diego Cepeda, sheds gentle on the little-known incontrovertible fact that the Dominican Republic has the very best charge of youngster being pregnant in Latin America and the Caribbean, in keeping with Linares Villegas herself, who mentioned: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be again on the BFI with my second function movie. I’m equally thrilled that we’ll be capable to share it on the UK’s huge screens subsequent yr with Aya Films.”
“This is an thrilling new chapter in ‘Ramona’s’ journey all over the world, and I can’t wait to debate our movie with British audiences,” she added.
The Lantica Media and Sky Films co-production activates younger actress, Camila Santana, who in getting ready to play the function of a 15-year-old pregnant woman referred to as Ramona, travels throughout the nation to speak with pregnant younger ladies. In the method, as the women discuss their lives and candidly talk about their circumstances on digital camera and the way the fictional Ramona ought to act and seem, they steadily affect the movie manufacturing itself, taking it into new and sudden terrain.
“Villegas has created a daring and fantastically shot movie that pushes the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction — bringing a definite type of storytelling to the display screen,” mentioned Justine Atkinson, founder-director of Aya Films, which releases the movie in U.Ok. cinemas in March.
“’Ramona’ blends types of documentary, fiction and theatre to create a story that interrogates the aim of storytelling and the that means of the representational gaze. Each character provides to the path of the lead protagonist and the movie turns into an ode to the facility of collaborative creativity,” she added.
Said Miguel Angel Govea, accomplice at Alief: ”We are thrilled to have our thought-provoking docu fiction ‘Ramona’ play at BFI London and safe a UK theatrical launch with Aya Films, simply in time for the festivities!”
Alief, a UK-French movie firm, describes itself as a hybrid media gross sales, manufacturing and distribution firm with a mission to deliver style, and auteur storytelling to audiences and critics alike, working in all phases of the manufacturing course of, from script growth and funding to gross sales & distribution.
Its TIFF Market titles embody: LGBTQ drama “Voices in Deep” by Australian filmmaker Jason Raftopolous (MIFF ‘23); thriller “Failure!” with Ted Raimi by Mexico’s Alex Kahuam (Frightfest ‘23); neuro numerous documentary “Because now we have one another” by Sari Braithewhite (HOT DOCS ‘23); Swiss minimalist thriller “Retreat” by Leon Schwitter (FIPRESCI Prize – 32, Filmkunstfest 2023); LGBTQ inventive doc “Playland” by Georden West (Tribeca ‘23) and Nigerian fantasy journey “Mami Wata” by CJ Obasi (Sundance Winner ‘23).
