In a further advance into international production, Madrid-based production and distribution company ESICMA has inked a three-project development deal with Wild Rose Productions of Los Angeles.
ESICMA founder Elias Querejeta and new director general Juan Gordon will attempt to advance on the projects at Cannes.
The Wild Rose projects, which are all at script stage, comprise Rosita, a latino film noir, The Importance of Being Constance, a portrait of Oscar Wilde from the viewpoint of his wife, and the romantic comedy The Man With the Rain in his Shoes.
The move comes as ESICMA packs an increasingly powerful shareholding punch. UGC maintained Lumiere's 34% share in the company when it bought up Lumiere this year; a further co-owner is ambitious regional publisher the Correo Group, which has acquired 25% in Spanish private broadcaster Tele 5, controlled by Silvio Berlusconi and Leo Kirch.
ESICMA is now gearing up an eclectic range of European and US co-productions, ranging from quality auteur titles and niche US indie-style pics to heavier-weight sci-fi.
In advanced post-production and bowing at the Cannes market is ESICMA's Robert Ryland's Last Journey, a psychological drama set in Oxford, shot in English and directed by Gracia Querejeta from a screenplay penned by herself and Elias. Shampoo Horns, a take on the alternative New York nightclub scene by Spaniard Miguel Toledano, has entered post-production.
ESICMA also participates in the US$10 million futuristic film The Thousand Wonders of the Universe, and the off-beat Somewhere in the City, marking producer Ramin Niami's directorial debut.
The Spanish-language Familia, the debut feature of Fernando León de Aranoa, is in pre-production, while Sven Toorland is penning the big-budget Atalantis.
John Hopewell
