Chile’s Quijote Films, France’s Les Valseurs team with Germany’s Weydemann Bros Films for ‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Based out of Chile and Los Angeles, Quijote Films, behind Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner “The Settlers,” and France’s Les Valseurs, behind Oscar-nominated “,” have tied down a powerful alliance of international partners on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” the first feature of 2018 Cannes Cinéfondation top winner Diego Céspedes.
Quijote Films’ biggest budgeted title to date, said its head Giancarlo Nasi, “The Mysterious Gaze” goes into production on May 20.
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An LGBTQ-themed drama, “The Mysterious Gaze” is set in a mining town where a strange illness is said to be transmitted between men who fall in love with each other.
Produced by Quijote Films and France’s Les Valseurs, “The Mysterious Gaze” has now added new partners in Germany’s Weydemann Bros Film and Wrong Men in Belgium. Further partners, Arte France Cinema and Irusoin, have already been announced.
Weydemann Bros has secured French-German mini traité funding to co-produce the film.
Quijote Films has also added Mexico’s Varios Lobos as a co-production partner on Theo Court’s “Three Dark Nights.” Produced by Nasi and set up as a production between Quijote and El Viaje Films, based in Spain’s Canary Islands, the social-issue themed murder mystery stars Alfredo Castro.
One of Europe’s most frequent co-producers with Latin America, Thierry Lenouvel’s Paris-based Cine-Sud Promotion, a Quijote co-producer in the past, and Argentina’s Gema Films, headed by Gema Juárez Allen, have also boarded a third Quijote Films title, dark dramedy “To Die on Your Feet.”
It is directed by Chile’s María Paz González, whose spirited dramedic musical “Lina From Lima” won awards at the Oslo Films From the South and the Valdivia and Fribourg festivals.
“Quijote Films make films of global ambition in a small country with little support for cinema. So we structure our films via complex systems of international co-production, involving many countries. On ‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,’ we’re five,” Nasi told Variety.
“We aim to complement public funding, accessed by co-production, via private-sector financing: Equity, pre-sales, such as to Arte and Netflix, and distribution minimum guarantees. This is the reason we have also set up offices in Los Angeles: We want to grow as an independent, as we believe in the synergies between public and private sectors. This ensures that we make films that are interesting for the market and critics at one and the same time,” Nasi added.
On the international arthouse scene, the number and caliber of production partners has become a sign of a title’s perceived market potential. Here, Quijote scores very highly.
Just on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” Arte weighs in as Europe’s No. 1 culture network, broadcast in six languages and 95% public funded, with considerable market and financing clout.
Les Valseurs, whose Justin Pechberty produces with Nasi, has run up a strong line in animation and shorts such as “Vilaine Fille,” the Cesar winning best animation short, Cannes competition entry “Sideral” and Oscar-nominated Nefta Football Club.”
Les Valseurs’ feature-length animated film “Animal Tales of Christmas Magic,” co-produced by Arte) will premiere in Annecy in a month’s time. It has already been pre-sold in around 20 territories, some major, by Le Bureau. The company is also behind the hit Arte animated series, “Samuel,” which bowed in March.
Irusoin has driven large growth in the Basque Country, backing the first Basque-langue feature to play in San Sebastian competition, Spanish Oscar entry “The Endless Trench” and Disney+ prestige series “Balenciaga.”
Behind Nora Fingscheidt’s hit “System Crasher” as producers, Jakob and Jonas Weydemann also created TV series “The Thin Line,” selected for last year’s Series Mania.
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