Salma Hayek Pinault & Her Ventanarosa Productions Board Oscar-Shortlisted Mexican Drama ‘Tótem’ As EPs
Salma Hayek Pinault has joined José Tamez and Siobhan Flynn, her partners in Ventanarosa Productions, as an executive producer on Tótem, writer-director Lila Avilés’ follow-up to her international breakthrough The Chambermaid, which has been shortlisted as Mexico’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar.
Poised for release by Sideshow and Janus Films, the companies behind EO and Drive My Car, the film is set to open in New York theaters on January 26th. It will unspool in Los Angeles on February 2nd and expand nationwide in the weeks to follow.
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Named one of the Top 5 International Films of the Year by the National Board of Review, Tótem is told largely from the perspective of 7-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes), as her aunt (Montserrat Marañón) and extended relatives prepare for the birthday party of the girl’s father (Mateo Garcia). As the hours wear on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded, the fragile bonds and unsure future of the family become ever clearer.
World premiering at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, where it snagged the Ecumenical Jury Prize, the drama has subsequently gone on to Best International Feature nominations at the Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards. Its time on the festival circuit has also seen it play Telluride, New Directors/New Films, the BFI London Film Festival, and others at the top tier.
Also starring Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza and Teresita Sánchez, Tótem is produced by Avilés, Tatiana Graullera, and Louise Riousse.
Calling Tótem “a poetic view of the harshness of life seen through the eyes of a little girl,” Pinault said that “Lila Avilés captures the innate loneliness that can come with childhood, when life confronts you with bitterness, even if you have the sweetness of your parents’ love. It’s a reminder that in the wake of pain, there’s still the importance of unity, joy, humor, friends, family, community and celebration of life.”
Added filmmakers Avilés, Graullera and Riousse, “We are so honored that Salma and the Ventanarosa Team have joined the Tótem family. We’ve long admired Salma’s work in front of and behind the camera in Mexico, the U.S. and all over the world, so having her support is incredibly meaningful.”
Founded by Pinault in 1998, Ventanarosa Productions has long led the charge in telling Latino stories from Latino voices both in the U.S. and Mexico. Its first production was the adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s No One Writes to the Coronel, which competed in Official Selection at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Other highlights include the Academy Award winner Frida; The Maldonado Miracle, which brought Hayek an Emmy for Directing; the Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning series Ugly Betty; and Kahlil Gibran’s Annie Award-nominated animated feature The Prophet. More recently, the company has produced the Netflix series Monarca and TIFF-premiering feature El sabor de la Navidad.
On the acting front, Pinault has most recently been seen in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, as well as “Joan Is Awful,” a memorably terrifying, AI-themed episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror. Up next is the film Without Blood from Angelina Jolie. She is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Edelstein, Laird & Sobel.
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