‘Money Heist’s’ Rodrigo de la Serna to Star in Paramount+ Pic ‘El Salto de Papá’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Anna Marie de la Fuente
·3 min read
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Argentina’s Rodrigo de la Serna leads the cast in the latest Paramount+ original film for Latin America, “El Salto de Papá,” based on the memoir of Argentine author-journalist Martin Sivak.

Daniela Goggi (“Abzurdah,” “El Hilo Rojo,” “Maria Marta”), who co-wrote the script with Andrea Garrote, will direct the pic which is set to begin shooting in Argentina in upcoming weeks. VIS, Paramount’s international studio, is producing the drama in association with two of Argentina’s leading producers, Infinity Hill (“The Intruder,” “Staged”) and Rei Cine (“Zama,” “The Queen of Fear”).

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The film is one of multiple Paramount+ original projects underway in Latin America and Spain as the streamer seeks to rev up its local slate. Competition for premium culturally-specific content among streaming giants and studios in Latin America continues to heat up as they source more original productions locally. This June, at its U.K. launch, Paramount+ announced plans to commission more than 150 international originals by 2025. 

De la Serna is best known for his role as Palermo, the wannabe criminal mastermind in Netflix megahit “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”) as well as for his performance in Walter Salles’ epic road movie, “The Motorcycle Diaries,” alongside Gael Garcia Bernal.

“’El Salto de Papá’ will be a story permeated by courage and tenderness as one man seeks to understand his complicated father, giving us a fresh and unique perspective of this shared history,” said Federico Cuervo, SVP & Head of VIS Americas who added: “We know de la Serna, who is an extraordinary actor, will masterfully weave the intricacies and nuances of this character to tell this poignant story.”

In his memoir, Martin Sivak tries to comes to terms with his father’s complex life and death. Set against the backdrop of 1980s Buenos Aires, it centers on Martin’s father, Jorge Sivak, who returns with his family in tow after years in exile to a newly democratized Argentina, still reeling after decades under dictatorship. Not long after their return, Jorge’s brother, Osvaldo Sivak, is kidnapped. Jorge is obliged to take charge of the family business while spearheading the search for his brother and coping with all the media attention.

Described as a multilingual, multicultural film and TV series production company with offices in the U.K., Los Angeles and Buenos Aires. Infinity Hill, led by Axel Kuschevatzky, Phin Glynn and Cindy Teperman, has also produced “El Gerente” with Leonardo Sbaraglia for Paramount+. Its other upcoming movies include “Argentina, 1985” with Ricardo Darin and Peter Lanzani for Amazon; “Amor es Amor” starring Rob Schneider and Vadhir Derbez; “Los Conspiradores,” headlined by Guillermo Francella for HBO Max; “A Bit of Light” starring Academy winner Anna Paquin and Ray Winstone; and docuseries “Daughter of God” with Dalma Maradona for Discovery+.

Buenos Aires-based Rei Cine, founded by Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli and Matías Roveda, has a list of noteworthy credits that include Valeria Bertuccelli’s Sundance hit “The Queen of Fear”; Gonzalo Tobal’s “The Accused,” starring Lali Espósito and Leonardo Sbaraglia; Marcela Said’s “The Dogs,” toplined by Alfredo Castro and Antonia Zegers; and Lucrecia Martel’s critically acclaimed “Zama.”

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