Known for blurring the lines of fiction, his confrontational and spiritual aesthetics and pondering existential questions, this filmmaker has always came across as working in his own lane within the Nuevo Cine Mexicano movement. Carlos Reygadas took the film world by storm with his Directors’ Fortnight preemed (it collected a Special Distinction Caméra d’Or award) with Japón in 2002. His next three films would all play in competition in Cannes beginning with 2005’s Battle in Heaven, 2007’s masterwork Silent Light (Jury Prize) and 2012’s Post Tenebras Lux (winner of the Best Director prize). Now spending more time between pictures, his last picture Our Time (2019) premiered in Venice. As a recent juror at the Cannes and Locarno Film Festivals, his sixth feature film has been in post for some time now. Here is Everything We Know So Far … about Carlos Reygadas’ Wake of Umbra.
We first heard of the project back in February of 2022 – with funding backing outside of Reygadas’ native Mexico. – this latest is a multi-region film project with financial backing from several Euro players. Filming would taken place in 2024 (and according to a latest interview is almost complete) – with filming in Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, and Mexico.
Surrounded by the grandiose rocks of a Mexican beach, two couples of young painters bend the moral rules set upon them, while an obscure strange figure observes. Their audacity will be judged and punished, sealing their destinies forever. This traverses time and space, encountering one another in various incarnations, settings, and social roles.
Not unlike the majority of his previous film, we find four non-actors were selected here.
Paloma Negra Films’ Cristina Velasco is the main producer here. Polish producers include Beata Rzeźniczek, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska and Ewa Puszczyńska also came onboard. We suppose that Adrian Durazo joined Reygadas once again as his cinematographer – but this needs to be confirmed. He is married to editor and filmmaker Natalia López – she may or may not be onboard this project.
As a recent member of the Cannes jury, Reygadas is expected to premiere film number six at the festival next year.
