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Originalnarrativeswithuniversalappeal,screenwrit-ersthatareheirtoacenturiesoldliterarytradi-tion,actorswhohavecarvedoutinternationalfame,photographersacclaimedintheUSandEurope,directorswiththetalenttoturntheircamerasto

anythingandeverything,fromananimatedshorttoadocumentary.

ThesearetheingredientsoftheboominNewMexicanCinema.AndaccordingtoCananaFilmsMarketingDirectorLeoCor-

dero,theresmore:Mexicoisvirginterritoryforlmmakersandentrepreneursfromallovertheworld.

Takeitfromus.Corderoknowswhathestalkingabout.Found-edin1997bytheactorsGaelGarcaandDiegoLunainpartner-shipwiththeproducerPabloCruz,CananaFilmsmissionistogivegreaterexposuretotheregionscinema.Thecompanybacksprojectsbyanupandcominggenerationoflmmakerseagertodiscover new forms of expression and tell stories that questionmoderndaycultureandentertainmentasseenthroughtheeyesofLatinAmericans.

Canana

filMsGood Stories that areGood for Business

in a very sHort tiMe, Canana FilMsHas beCoMe synonyMous witH qualityProduCtions. Founded in 1997 by tHeaCtors gael garCa and diego luna in

PartnersHiP witH tHe ProduCer PabloCruz, tHis ProliFiC enterPrise HasProduCed 14 Features, two televisionseries, organized itinerant doCuMentaryFilM Festivals and is about to release itsFirst englisH-language FilM.

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Inaveryshorttime,thisprolicenterprisehasbecome synonymouswithqualityproduc-tions. To date,Canana Films has produced 14features,twotelevisionseries,organizeditiner-antdocumentarylm festivalsand is about toreleaseitsrstEnglish-languagelm.

ThereisntonespecicfactorCananacanat-tributeitssuccessto.Wecouldwriteanentirebookbecausewearetalkingaboutincentivesfortheindustryingeneral[]Theyveintroducedayoungaudiencetosomethingthatusedtobereservedforanoldercrowd,saidMexicancriticlvaroCueva.

ThebestknownofCananaFilmsproductionsisthetelevisionseries Soy tu fan (ImYourFan,

2010), co-produced by the public broadcastingcompanyCanalOnce.Theveryrstepisodeofthesecond season featured among Twitters globaltrendingtopicstheminuteitwasbroadcastandwasthemostwatchedcontentonNetix.

WedontknowyetifSoy tu fanwillhaveahap-pyending.WhatwedoknowisthatCananaFilmsandCanalOnceareontoawinner.Duetoitsex-cellentproductionqualityandsimpleapproachtoitssubjectmatter,theprogramhasbeenpickedupbyNBCfordistributionintheUSandwillbedis-tributedbyMTVinLatinAmerica.

MexiCos Partner canana films

01 MIss bALA (2011), dieced GErArDOnArAnjO (02 ) wa eleced o compee aCae. I he we o o epee Mexico

a he Oca ad oed he ieaioal

eival cici, whee i wa well eceived adiece hg o oigial oie.

03 DIEGO LunA, ode o Caaa Film ipaehip wih Gael Gaca beal ad Palo

Cz, dieced he flm AbEL (04 ) i 2010.

03

Aroundthistimelastyear,anotherCananaFilmsproductionGerardoNaranjosMiss Bala (2011)was

selectedtocompeteatCannes.Itthenwentontorep-resentMexicoattheOscarsandGoyas,andtouredtheinternational festivalcircuit,where itwaswellreceived by audiences hungry for original stories.Fox International Picturespurchasedthe distribu-tionrightsandMiss BalahassincehitmovietheatersintheUS,theUK,GreeceandSpain.

ThenextstepisthereleaseofthehorrormovieJuegode Niosinthesecondhalfof2012.ShotinthestateofQuintanaRoo insoutheastMexico, thelm featuresVinessaShaw,EbonMossandDanielGimnezCa-choinwhatisCananaFilmsrstEnglish-language

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production.ThelmhasntevenpremieredyetandalreadyInterna-tionalFoxPictureshasofferedtodistributeitworldwide,whileVideo-

cine,asubsidiaryofTelevisa,willbedistributingitinLatinAmerica.CananaFilms doesnt follow a script and,more importantly,

its directors and producers are not interested inmaking run ofthemillcommercialmovies.Wepromotetheunadulteratedvi-sionsofourcreatorsandhavefoundthatthisintegrityhasstruckachordwithaudienceswhowanttoseequalityproductionstheycanidentifywith,saysCordero.

Speakingofquality,CorderobelievesMexicoslmindustryisuptherewiththebestintheworld,withtheadvantageofbeingavirginterritorythatofferslmmakersthechanceto experiment.Theresult,hesays,hasbeenindependentproductionsthathavebeenembracedbythepublic.

InthecaseofCanana,thefactthatitsproducersanddirectorsareyoungmeanstheyremorewillingtotakerisks.

Perhaps because the industry has found a loyal ally in theMexicangovernment,whichhasbeensupportinglmmakersintheformoftaxincentivesandnancingmechanismsforseveraldecadesnow.

WhenaskedwhytherestoftheworldshouldbeinterestedinMexicancinema,Corderoisquicktoreplythatitsaformofau-

diovisualexpressionthatisfreeofpurelycommercialobjectivesbut that can ll movie theaters with everything from romanticcomediestohorrorlms.

Havingsecuredofcialbackingathome,NewMexicanCinemaisnowonthehuntforinternationalpartners.Itsagreatopportu-nityforinvestorstotapintoanenormousnewmarketpackedwithtalent,saysCordero.

Mexicancinemaisabouttoexplodeasamediaforce,heas-suresus.AndjudgingfromthenumberoffansCananaFilmshaswonoverinitsshortlife,theboomisjustbeginning.n

www.canana.tv/2.0

PhotoCOurtEsy OF CAnAnA FILMs48 Negocios

the first episode of

the second season of

soy Tu fANfeaturedamong tWitters gloBal

trending topics the

minute it Was Broadcast

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Watched content on

netflix.