| By RaeAnne Marsh Pascual Condito, owner and founder of Argentinean film company Primer Plano Film Group, opens up for Moving Pictures Magazine on the growing Latin film industry. Moving Pictures Magazine: Is it becoming easier or harder for Latin films to succeed in non-Spanish speaking markets?
Condito: It has been, and still is, hard work to introduce Argentinean cinema to the European and Asian markets, but gradually, now, they are opening their doors to new and different cinema.
MPM: Has the success of Meirelles, Salles, Cuaron, Gutierrez and others made it easier for your films to find an audience or distributor?
Condito: The success of Mexican and Argentinean directors such as Campanella (El hijo de la novia), Bielinsky (Nueve reinas), Burman (El abraso partido), Lucrecia Martel (La cienaga), Taratuto (No sos vos soy yo) and others help Argentinean Cinema to be known all over the world. Today, the international market (buyers and festivals) can find and screen new - and very good - Argentinean films, both documentaries and fiction.
MPM: What effect has Mia Maestro had, if any, on the way Argentinean films are perceived?
Condito: Mia Maestro is a great actress. Her first important steps were with the films Diario de motocicleta by Walter Salles, Tango by Carlos Saura and other productions. Now she is shooting TV and theatrical [productions].in the U.S.
MPM: What are you excited about coming out of Argentina: Film projects? Directors? Actors?
Condito: The features I like to represent and sell are those of new directors, talented directors with new ideas and stories. For me, the best... films that are intended for worldwide sales are those that relate a universal story. This is what clients require.
MPM: Where do you see the future of Argentinean film in the world market?
Condito: Argentinean films are being introduced in the European, Latin American and U.S. markets, and a small part of the Asian market. We intend to continue growing worldwide.
We will present at Cannes, for the first time, an important selection of documentaries, with very well-known directors and different subjects. The documentary we recently released in Argentina is Amando a maradona, which is about the Argentinean football player Diego Armando Maradona.
For Primer Plano Film Group, Cannes 2006 is the third Marche du Film. This market is a door for international sales. This year, we will include in our catalogue films from other Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.
We have many important projects (not shot yet) for 2006/2007, in co-production with other countries: - Yo soy sola, directed by Tatiana Mereñuk (a comedy)
- El frasco, directed by Alberto Lecchi, and starring Dario Grandinetti and Valeria Bertuccelli
- No mires para abajo, directed by Eliseo Subiela and starring Antonella Costa.
- Ojos de tigre, directed by Juan Taratuto and starring Diego Peretti and Carolina Peleretti
- El martin fierro, the story of Fontana Rosa (a cartoon)
- Vida de pelicula, directed by Barone and tentatively cast with Dario Grandinetti, Cecilia Roth, Gaston Pauls, Eduardo Blanco, Mia Maestro and an as-yet-unnamed Italian actress. This is a co-production with Spain, France and Italy.
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