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Speaking at Madrid confab Iberseries & Platino Industria, Walt Disney Latin America execs, led by Leonardo Aranguibel, VP head of production operations & strategy and Mariana Perez, head of general entertainment, unveiled some of Disney+’s upcoming shows, all co-produced with multinational production company Btf Media.

Participants of the Madrid industry event were treated to a sneak peak of Disney+’s “Between Walls” pilot, starring Aislinn Derbez and Christian Vázquez, along with clips of their other upcoming shows: bio drama “The Incredible Story of Juana Pastrana,” fact-based series “Frida” and comedy “Mama Cake.”

The shows are just a cross section of the company’s average output which has produced some 24 titles this year across its unscripted, factual/comedy as well as kids & family areas this year, said Aranguibel. In a nod to changing viewer tastes and shorter attention spans, Perez noted that they’ve leaned towards shorter episode lengths.

Mama Cake

Set in Mexico City,...

FX has set a March 29 premiere date for Spermworld, a documentary feature on the unregulated online marketplace for sperm, produced by The New York Times and Edgeline Films.

Directed by Lance Oppenheim, inspired by the Times’ article “The Sperm Kings Have a Problem: Too Much Demand” by Nellie Bowles, Spermworld is described as a road movie set inside the new wild west of baby making – online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents.

Per the synopsis: Against the landscape of roadside motels, abandoned shopping malls and suburban bathrooms across the country, the film follows intimate encounters between donors and recipients as they exchange more than just genetic material. Spermworld examines how our fantasies about partnership and parenthood shape our deepest desires. What emerges in this new feature-length documentary directed by Lance Oppenheim is an incisive portrait of the search for human connection in an increasingly alienating world.

Kathleen Lingo...

TelevisaUnivision is putting the polish on ViX+ for the premium streamer’s debut next month — and will try to persuade Spanish-speaking audiences to pay for another service in their monthly mix.

The Hispanic programming powerhouse, formed through the merger of Univision and Televisa, is launching ViX+ on July 21 in the U.S and across Latin America. Its will cost 6.99 per month in the U.S. and MX119 per month in Mexico.

TelevisaUnivision touts its entry into the premium streaming wars as the biggest dedicated Spanish-language service in the market: ViX+ is slated to feature more than 10,000 hours of ad-free entertainment programming in its first year and up to 7,000 hours of live sports, including live soccer matches and coverage in the U.S. and Mexico of world’s top leagues and tournaments.

ViX+ will include more than 70 original series and movies in the first year. Originals available at launch include premium series “María Félix,...

To Heidi Ewing, they were simply Iván and Gerardo, a longtime couple who owned restaurants in New York, liked to go dancing, were wonderful company to be around. They had met in Mexico in 1994. Iván had a son and aspirations to be a chef. Gerardo had grown up on a cattle ranch in Chiapas and worked as a teacher. He spotted Iván, closeted at the time, in a gay bar and attracted his attention with a laser pointer. They were very young then. Now they were married, and middle-aged, and settled down.

This awards season could showcase possibly one of the most diverse group of contenders ever. A record-breaking number of women are directing and writing films; Tara Miele among them with her cerebral drama “Wander Darkly,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Lionsgate is giving the film a strong awards push and will submit Diego Luna for awards consideration in the best supporting actor category. His co-star Sienna Miller will be submitted for best actress.

With a beautiful mixture of culture and genders in the awards conversation, Latinx performers are still underrepresented in the Academy’s acting categories. Luna’s submission is just one of six Latinx performances for the Academy to choose from in this extended eligibility year. The other actors, all currently considered long shots for recognition are Ariana DeBose (“The Prom”), Colman Domingo (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Al Madrigal (“The Way Back”), and Armando Espitia and Christian Vazquez...

They say truth is stranger than fiction, but more often than not it’s much sadder too. Where fiction likes to wrap things up in a tidy bow, real life is all about calculated compromise. In the case of Iván Garcia and Gerardo Zabaleta, whose touching love story is dramatized in the timely drama “I Carry You With Me,” the choice between a life together in the U.S. or with family in Mexico has no clear-cut answers. The narrative feature debut of Oscar-nominated documentarian Heidi Ewing (“Jesus Camp”),

“I Carry You With Me” operates on three separate timelines, often jumping between with little rhyme or reason. Ewing intercuts footage of the real Iván, now in early middle age and a successful chef in New York City, alongside the talented actor (Armando Espitia) dramatizing his life as a young man in Puebla, Mexico, with occasional flashes of his childhood self...

Sony Pictures Classics has released the first trailer for “I Carry You With Me” (“Te Llevo Conmigo”) from Heidi Ewing.

After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the pic is one of Mexico’s major hopefuls for the best international feature race at this year’s Academy Awards. The film won the audience and innovator awards at the Park City, Utah, festival.

Written by Ewing and Alan Page Arriaga, the movie tells the story of young, aspiring chef Iván (played remarkably by Armando Espitia), who works at a restaurant and dreams of being able to cook while supporting the mother of his child. After meeting a teacher named Gerardo (Christian Vazquez), who is an out gay man, the two develop an instant connection. This love causes Iván to make the dangerous and perilous journey to cross the border to find a life that can help him achieve his culinary dreams,...

The first trailer for Sundance Next Audience Award winner, “I Carry You With Me” teases a heartbreaking love story across borders and an innovative format.

Read More: ‘I Carry You With Me’: A Beautiful Gay Love Story Makes An Unfortunate Creative Turn [Sundance Review]

In the trailer for Heidi Ewing‘s film, Iván (Armando Espitia) and Gerardo (Christian Vazquez) fall in love after a chance meeting in Mexico in the mid-90s, but they quickly realize that a love story like theirs isn’t commonplace, and not accepted by everyone.

Continue reading ‘I Carry You With Me’ Trailer: Love Is Challenged By Prejudice And Borders In Docu-Drama at The Playlist.

Magnolia Pictures has acquired the worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to Lance Oppenheim’s documentary feature debut “Some Kind of Heaven.”

The film, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, was produced by Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa and Los Angeles Media Fund, which also financed the film.

“Some Kind of Heaven” profiles The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community, located in Central Florida. The Villages is often called the “Disneyland for Retirees,” and the film follows a married couple, a widow and a bachelor who search for Eden.

Also Read: Frank Zappa Documentary From Alex Winter Acquired by Magnolia

Magnolia is planning an early 2021 release.

“‘Some Kind of Heaven’ is a remarkable achievement from a striking new voice in film,” Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said. “Lance Oppenheim demonstrates an incredible command of his craft and more importantly, a clear-eyed vision of the world around him. It also makes me want to learn pickleball.

Exclusive: Magnolia Pictures have acquired worldwide rights excluding Canada to the Sundance breakout Some Kind of Heaven. The documentary marks the documentary feature debut of Lance Oppenheim and puts a Floridian sun-kissed spotlight on the surreal world of The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community. Some Kind of Heaven is produced by Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Media Fund. Magnolia is planning an early 2021 release.

After bowing at Sundance in January, the docu received love from critics and audiences alike before hitting the festival circuit. The Villages is sometimes referred to as the “Disneyland for Retirees”. Some Kind of Heaven follows retirees newly arrived at the fountain of youth including a married couple, a widow, and a bachelor search for Eden and a second bite at the apple, only to discover each of the deadly sins out on full display. From synchronized swimming to pickleball,...

From the studio behind How to Be a Latin Lover and Instructions Not Included comes the hysterical, sidesplitting comedy, 3 Idiotas, arriving on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand September 26 from Lionsgate. After losing touch with their best college buddy, two friends set out on an epically funny adventure to find him and reunite him with his college sweetheart, played by fan-favorite Martha Higareda. Starring Vadhir Derbez, Christian Vázquez and Sebastián Zurita as the “idiots,” the 3 Idiotas DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

International star Martha Higareda shines in this laugh-out-loud comedy! When three nerds named Felipe, Beto, and Pancho met at college, they instantly became best buddies—and earned a reputation for creating chaos wherever they went! Pancho had everything—smarts, a promising future, and a loving girlfriend, Mariana (Higareda)—and then he disappeared on graduation day. Now, years later, Felipe and Beto set out on...