They were already onboard as a financier/production company, now Variety reports that Participant Media have grabbed the North American rights to Pablo Larrain‘s sixth feature film and largest budget to date in Neruda. No word yet if they’ll distribute the film which is currently shooting and is set for a winter release next year in the Latin Americas. A film festival premiere will likely be set for Cannes or Venice of next year.
Gist: Written by Guillermo Calderon, this is set between 1946 and 1948 as the Cold War kicks in, this is portrait of Chile’s Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) as a man, artist, legend and political renegade, “Neruda” is. Now a member of Chile’s Communist Party and a Senator, Neruda criticizes the government for its imprisonment of striking miners. The President of Chile calls for Neruda’s arrest. On the run, with Chile’s police, lead by Inspector Oscar Peluchonneau (Bernal), in hot pursuit, Neruda began writing “Canto General,” a 231-poem history and ode to Latin America.
Worth Noting: This counts as Larrain’s sixth straight collaboration with actor Alfredo Castro.
Do We Care?: He might have grabbed major accolades with No, but Larrain has been on a winning streak since the disco noir Tony Manero. Look for Berlin Grand Jury Prize winner The Club to come out theatrically via the Music Box films sometime this year.
