Add a new name to the list of Mexican filmmakers that will leave a filmic imprint stateside. Featured in the Spectrum section at Sundance, worldwide rights to La Misma Luna (The Same Moon) was picked up for a cool $5 million-$6 million. Fox Searchlight Pictures will take the lead in the Americas, while the two companies will pick and choose which will handle international territories on a case-by-case basis.
Written by Ligiah Villalobos, this stars recent Golden Globe winner America Ferrera from “Ugly Betty”. This parallels stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again.
Patricia Riggen's short film Family Portrait won the Jury Prize at Sundance 2005.