Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain’s Fabula Taps Carlos Taibo to Head Mexican Outpost (EXCLUSIVE)
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At the 20th Morelia Film Festival to debut their first feature produced in Mexico, “Maquíllame Otra Vez,” brothers Pablo and Juan de Diós Larrain of Chile-based film-TV powerhouse Fabula have announced the official launch of their Mexican city production office with Carlos Taibo at the helm. Fabula has also named Eduardo Castro as their line producer, Enrique Ochoa as deputy finance manager and Daniela Amorós as human resources director.
“In all, we’ll have up to 18 staff members aside from additional hires on a per project basis,” said producer Juan de Dios who pointed out that Fabula was interested in “generating content that portrays Latin America’s idiosyncrasies and imagination as well as revealing our identity from our own points of view and challenges.”
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Taibo, who starts his new position in December, was a unit production manager on such big titles as “Elysium,” “The Arrival,” “Man on Fire” and the highest grossing Spanish-language film worldwide, “Instructions Not Included.” He was also an executive producer on Issa Lopez’s acclaimed “Tigers are Not Afraid.”
Creative development will continue from Chile under the coordination of Fabula’s regional TV director Ángela Poblete and regional film head, Rocio Jadue. Both have creative teams with Chilean and Mexican professionals.
“Mexico is a place where we can create universal stories in our language. It’s an interesting and important challenge and gives us the chance to create human, contemporary, universal stories that reflect the pan-Latin American reality,” said director-producer Pablo Larrain whose latest feature, “El Conde,” is now in post and whose next high-profile project, “Maria,” stars Angelina Jolie as iconic opera singer Maria Callas.
“There is so much more we can say, more content to generate and being here in Mexico will help us achieve this,” he told Variety.
Fabula hopes to tap both public and private funds available in Mexico, said Juan de Dios. The company intends to work with a diversity of voices, develop new talent and generate experiences that will ultimately lead to the consolidation of a Latin American industry, they stressed. Such a move is crucial given the proliferation of content worldwide.
The news comes as production on the second season of their first TV series made in Mexico, beauty pageant-set thriller “Señorita 89,” kicked off.
In February next year, another Fabula project made in Mexico, “Midnight Family,” a 10-part TV medical drama series inspired by the award-winning eponymous documentary, will air on AppleTV, the streamer’s first Spanish-language TV series. Natalia Beristáin (“The Mosquito Coast,” “Luis Miguel: The Series”) serves as showrunner and director.
With Lucia Puenzo returning as showrunner, Season 2 of the Fremantle-Fábula production of “Señorita 89” began shooting Oct. 17 in Mexico with Dolores Heredia and Yoshira Escárrega joining the cast as series regulars.
Last year, COVID-19 restrictions made Fabula shoot sci-fi dramatic series “El Refugio” in Chile even though it’s set in Mexico. Directed by Pablo Frendik, it debuted in both Latin America and Spain on Starzplay last June.
The Mexico outpost complements Fabula’s offices in Los Angeles, led by Andrew Hevia. The fast-growing production company now counts on a worldwide team of 75 people including producers, creatives and administrative staff.
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