Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna’s La Corriente del Golfo, Streamer MUBI Launch Spanish-Language Podcast (EXCLUSIVE)
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MUBI Latin America, the regional office of global distributor, producer and streaming service MUBI, is launching its first Spanish-language podcast in co-production with La Corriente del Golfo, the production shingle of Mexico’s most bankable stars, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.
The new weekly podcast, called Encuentros (Encounters), kicks off June 23 with its first episode featuring García Bernal and Colombian author, academic and actress Carolina Sanín who starred in Franco Lolli’s 2019 Cannes Critics’ Week opener, “Litigante.”
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In this episode, titled “The Ritual of the Masks,” García Bernal and Sanin talk about their mutual experiences, acting, friendship and the connection between cinema and life.
“It has been a great pleasure to talk with one of the most lucid people in Latin America about things that on a surface level, ‘don’t really matter’…. Only then, can we talk about what really matters,” said Garcia Bernal.
The five other hour-long episodes will pair off other prominent Latin American voices who will engage in breezy, in-depth discussions about cinema and culture.
These include such luminaries as Argentine actor Mercedes Morán; Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez,, the Mexican actor and poet; Chilean actor and director Paulina García; Argentine directors Benjamín Naishtat, Matías Piñeiro, and Albertina Carri (in separate podcasts); Chilean actor and theater director Alfredo Castro; Romina Paula, the Argentine actor; Chilean director Camila José Donoso; and Mexican director Nicolás Pereda.
“At MUBI, we are focused on selecting the best cinema in tune with the local culture. I am delighted to explore the virtues of sound, to think about the craft from another angle, from the voice of its creators,” said Sandra Gómez, MUBI Latin America.
“Co-producing these episodes with the La Corriente del Golfo podcast and selecting each of our guests has been a very stimulating experience,” she added. A second season is in the works.
The Encuentros podcast will present a new episode every Wednesday and will be available worldwide across all podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast and Amazon Music. It will also be accessible at lacorrientedelgolfo.net where it will feature a series of complementary materials.
The streamer’s CEO, Turkish entrepreneur Efe Cakarel, founded MUBI in 2007 as an answer to a dilemma he experienced one day when he couldn’t find Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love” online while at a cafe. It has since expanded worldwide to 190 countries and has evolved into a producer and distributor. MUBI is also set to open its first cinema in Mexico City.
Some recent and upcoming MUBI releases include “First Cow” from Kelly Reichardt, Ben Sharrock’s “Limbo,” Gianfranco Rosi’s “Notturno,” Xavier Dolan’s “Matthias & Maxime,” Werner Herzog’s “Family Romance LLC,” Pablo Larraín’s “Ema,” “Bacurau” from Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, and Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria.”
MUBI’s co-productions are led by Ekwa Msangi’s Sundance prize-winner “Farewell Amor,” Danielle Lessovitz’s “Port Authority” and Rachel Lang’s “Our Men.”
The streamer recently launched an English-language production called MUBI Podcast, hosted by Rico Gagliano (The Wall Street Journal, The Dinner Party Download), as part of the its worldwide initiative to make independent film more accessible.
La Corriente del Golfo has grown from producing films, series and theater to also creating podcasts in various formats: Audiobooks, fiction and documentary series, essays and conversations.
The company’s varied film and TV productions include Cannes-selected feature “Chicuarotes,” directed by Garcia Bernal, the series “Aquí en la Tierra” by Garcia Bernal and Kyzza Terrazas; and Diego Luna’s talk series on Amazon Prime, “Pan y Circo.”
Its new podcast division, headed by Ricardo Giraldo, has since produced “La Advertencia” (“The Warning”), narrated by Diego Luna, which tells the recent political history of Guatemala through the eyes of its persecuted, and audiobook “Desierto Sonoro,” by Valeria Luiselli, read by Marina de Tavira (“Roma”).
Listen to trailer here: https://lacorrientedelgolfo.net/podcast/encuentros/
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