Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #92. Fernando Trueba & Javier Mariscal’s They Shot The Piano Player

They Shot The Piano Player

Producers were hopeful for a Spring delivery date but we never know with animated films. Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal‘s They Shot The Piano Player has been in production for several years now and will likely drop in ’23. Belle Époque, Calle 54 filmmaker Fernando Trueba originally wanted to move into this story via a docu approach instead reteamed with his Chico and Rita directing partner Javier Mariscal partner for what will be a foot-tapping colorful portrait. They Shot The Piano Player includes Jeff Goldblum among the voice cast in a project that explores a time of creative freedom in Latin American history in the 1960s and 70s, before parts of the continent were engulfed by oppressive regimes.

Gist: Who was Tenorio Jr? Why did he die? What was his music? The animated feature captures a fleeting period of creative freedom at a turning point in Latin American history in the 1960s and 1970s as the region flowered, in novels (the Boom), in movies (Brazil’s Cinema Novo) and music (Bossa Nova).

Release Date/Prediction: We see this as a Cannes Film Festival — a Palme d’Or hopeful but it’ll likely an out of competition slot as this year’s Cannnes will be stacked.