Sofía Auza’s ‘Adolfo,’ from The Immigrant, Unveiled by Fremantle at MipCancun (EXCLUSIVE)
Mexican filmmaker Sofía Auza revisits her 2019 short in debut feature “Adolfo,” produced by The Immigrant, and about to be introduced to buyers at MipCancun.
Starring Juan Daniel García Treviño – also spotted in Netflix’s “I’m No Longer Here” – and Rocío de la Mañana, it sees two strangers meeting at a bus stop on the worst, or maybe the best night of their lives.
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Hugo is on the way to his father’s funeral, Momo just got out of rehab. Together, they set out on a surprising adventure, with one goal in mind: fFinding a new home for a cactus named Adolfo.
“Adolfo is the most important part of the story!’,” Auza tells Variety.
“It’s the one thing Hugo has left from his dad. It’s not a flower, it’s not exactly beautiful. He describes it as the ugliest plant in the world, but he’s not ready to let go of it. This ‘ugly’ cactus can survive almost everything, it’s very resistant. To Momo, it will mean something else.”
“Sometimes you meet people and this brief moment changes the way you look at life. Or helps you notice things you haven’t noticed before.”
“Adolfo” was produced by the Fremantle and Bron-backed The Immigrant.
“Cinema has always been at the core of why we do what we do,” says CEO Camila Jiménez-Villa.
“It was always our plan to make a feature film, although our expertise in the market made it logical to start with series. We will always get behind voices and stories that are important for us to tell.”
The company is currently expanding its film slate, both on the commercial and indie side, she states, teasing future collabs with the likes of Jimena Montemayor (“Wind Traces,” “Señorita 89”).
As well as Auza’s next collaboration with The Immigrant, new series “Yellow” for Lionsgate+ is currently in post-production and expected to come out early next year.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful show. This afternoon, we actually talked about two more series we might develop together,” adds Jiménez-Villa.
“We want to support people like Sofía, for as long as she will have us. She is a special talent and a special human. If she were making cupcakes, maybe we would be funding that too.”
Auza wanted to combine humor with “dark, intense issues” her characters are dealing with.
“It’s an interesting tone for a Mexican film. Sometimes it feels like all we have are these two extremes: Intense dramas or silly comedies,” she notes.
“I wrote the script when I was still living in Vancouver. In the original script Hugo misses the last train, but there are no trains in Mexico so now, it’s a bus. For me, it wasn’t that important for it to feel ‘Mexican.’ It was more about making sure you feel like you are there, with these characters.”
“We wanted to make a film that was authentic, and had a Mexican voice behind it, but that felt very universal and different. Familiar to the Mexican audience, because you see the world you know, but it’s a time and a place that’s not clearly defined,” adds Jiménez-Villa.
“Many people ask if [the story] came from my personal experience,” says Auza.
“I wanted to express this feeling of spending the night with someone, when maybe connections are a bit deeper and the light only illuminates the most important places. Everything else disappears and you can have these honest conversations.”
“For me, it’s a story about how people come into your life and maybe you keep a part of them and they keep a part of you. But it’s also important to let go in order to move forward.”
“Our focus is on series, but we are always open to exploring other forms of content as long as there is a strong creative association that aligns with our vision,” sums up Sheila Hall Aguirre, EVP of content distribution and format sales at Fremantle for Latin America and U.S. Hispanic.
Fremantle is planning to target a small number of key platforms who will appreciate “the creators’ artistic vision and real-world authenticity,” she notes, and introduce the film at renowned festivals.
“When we first read the script, there was an immediate connection and we were inspired by The Immigrant’s passion to bring it to life. Our plans are parallel to the story: like Hugo, we are looking to find the right home for ‘Adolfo’.”
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