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Netflix’s Colombian crime drama, Medusa, focuses on the dastardly shenanigans of Barranquilla city’s most influential, powerful aristocrats, the Hidalgo family—and if the reference to the mythological figure in the title wasn’t indicative enough, the family in question is indeed comparable to the Greek pantheon of gods when it comes to hiding heinous, despicable secrets. With the exception of Maya and possibly Esperanza Hidalgo, every single character in the series is presented as a twisted, wicked individual with a broken moral compass who can go to any length to survive in the power struggle or get what they want. The characterization, despite being somewhat stereotyped, allows scope for discussion regarding emotional tribulations, redemption, and second chances.

Barbara Hidalgo Played By Juana Acosta

Colombian-Spanish actor Juana Acosta has a three-decade-spanning acting career, having starred in movies like One Careful Owner, Imprisoned, and Anna, to name a few. In the series,...

Following the exceptional recognition from audiences and critics alike for the first installment of One Hundred Years of Solitude, which premiered in December, Netflix has announced the start of production for the second installment, which will complete the visual adaptation of Gabriel García Marquez’s masterpiece novel.

Laura Mora will continue her role as director in Part 2 along with Carlos Moreno, a Colombian director known for his work on renowned films like Lavaperros and Perro come perro and the series Goles en contra and Distrito Salvaje.

Marleyda Soto and Claudio Cataño reprise their roles as the iconic characters Úrsula Iguarán and Colonel Aureliano Buendía, respectively.

They will be joined by new faces who will bring more of Macondo’s characters to life, including Ángela Cano, Emmanuel Restrepo, Estefanía Piñeres, María Adelaida Puerta, Emiliano Pernía, Juanita Molina, Laura Taylor, Obeida Benavides, Julián Román, and Carla Baratta, among others.

“Following the reception...

Latido Films, which previously bet on Latin arthouse cinema in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s breakout, “Lullaby,” have acquired international sales rights to Colombian filmmaker Gala del Sol’s debut feature, “Rains Over Babel” (“Llueve sobre Babel”), ahead of its Sundance world premiere and European bow at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Latido will also celebrate at Rotterdam the international premiere of “The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortes,” one of the standout first features at last September’s San Sebastian Festival, marking the feature debut as a director of Antón Álvarez, better known as C. Tangana, his stage name as a singer-songwriter.

Latido’s Juan Torres brokered the deal on “Rains Over Babel” and told Variety they found the title “a modern, entertaining, fun project that also has a lot of depth and scope in its ideas.” Adding, “It’s a powerful cinematic experience...

Colombian rock star Juanes, winner of 26 Latin Grammys and three Grammy awards to date, is making his big screen debut in Prime Video drama “Pimpinero: Blood and Oil,” by Andrés Baiz, which bows its trailer exclusively in Variety ahead of its Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) world premiere.

Juanes stars alongside Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Speitzer (“The Head of Joaquin Murrieta”) and Laura Osma (“Goles en contra”) in the dramatic fact-based thriller set along the border of Colombia and Venezuela.

Set to a pounding soundtrack, the trailer shows quick cuts of mounting intensity. The story co-penned by Baiz and Maria Camila Arias (“Birds of Passage”) takes place in the unforgiving desert between these two countries where gasoline smugglers known as “pimpineros” risk their lives transporting illegal fuel across the border. Among them is Juan, the youngest of three brothers deeply involved in this dangerous trade. When he’s coerced into working for a menacing rival,...

French outfit Still Moving has joined forces with Switzerland’s GoldenEggProduction to co-produce “Tropical Malaise” (“Malestar tropical”), a Colombia-set drama project directed by Jorge Cadena, whose short “Flores del otro patio” snagged a Special Jury Award at 2023’s SXSW Film Festival.

“Tropical Malaise” features among the 14 projects being brought to market at San Sebastian’s 2024 Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum edition.

Produced by Gabriela Bussmann and Yan Decoppet at Geneva-based GoldenEggProduction, “Tropical Malaise” is at financing stage, planned for an early 2026 shoot.

Co-writers include Jacques Toulemonde, a co-scribe on Ciro Guerra’s Oscar-nominated “El abrazo de la serpiente” and director of Netflix’s “Historia de un Crimen – Mauricio Leal;” and the Colombian-born and Swiss-trained Cadena, alongside Juana del Río (“Goles en contra”) and “Flores del otro patio” co-scribe Li Aparicio Candama.

Deeply rooted in Colombian reality, “Tropical Malaise” addresses contemporary societal issues, exploring social, political, environmental, and gender (Lgbtqia+) themes.

The...

Acclaimed actor Ray Stevenson is set to make his way from the gilded halls of Asgard to the cobblestone streets of Italy. Per a report from Deadline, Frank Ciota's next upcoming drama film Cassino in Ischia will have Stevenson in the lead role as a disgraced action star who struggles to figure out how to revive his career while coping with the consequences of forsaking family for fame. The film is property of Republic Pictures and will be distributed by Paramount.

Related: Ray Stevenson to Replace Kevin Spacey in Upcoming Film 1242: Gateway to the West

Cassino in Ischia is set to be a riveting drama film helmed by Frank Ciota, who directed other projects such as romantic comedy drama Ciao America (2002) and Bostonian comedy Stiffs (2010). Producers on the feature include Barbara DeFina, who previously worked with Ciota on Martin Scorcese's star-studded mafia drama Casino (1995), and before that...