The prolific Mexican producer-distributor, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, also has a robust presence at the Morelia Film Festival where it participates in the fest with Manuela Martelli’s “The Meltdown,” which it co-produced, and with five films it distributes Piano, the Mexican production and distribution company behind Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness,” has boarded Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Jengira’s Magnificent Dream,” producer Julio Chavezmontes has confirmed. Tilda Swinton is attached to the project. Just like Östlund’s multi-Oscar-nominated dark comedy, “Jengira’s Magnificent Dream” dovetails with Piano’s ongoing commitment to international collaborations with filmmakers whose work challenges conventional cinematic boundaries.
Weerasethakul’s follow-up to “Memory,” which also starred Tilda Swinton and which Piano co-produced alongside Colombia’s Burning, among others, follows Thai widow Jengira who travels to the ancient rock forest of Sigiriya in central Sri Lanka to scatter her husband’s ashes. Blurred visions distort Jengira’s sense of time and space, drawing her across various time periods. Guided by science and empathy, she becomes a living portal between past, future and spirit.
Blending 1970s sci-fi aesthetics with a timeless world where cell phones are the only markers of temporal difference, the film blurs the boundaries between memory, history and the supernatural. Joining Swinton are Thailand’s Jenjira Pongpas (“Cemetery of Splendor”) and Sakda Kaewbuadee (“Tropical Malady”) and Canadian actor Connor Jessup (“Falling Skies”). In an interview with Variety, Chavezmontes discussed the company’s trajectory over the past 15 years while reflecting on its approach to identifying talent and developing co-productions.
He stresses that the company remains open to projects across genres and formats, prioritizing a distinctive creative vision over mainstream formula. Piano’s international outlook has been central to its growth, says Chavezmontes, whose many credits include Lucrecia Martel’s “Our Land,” Luis Ortega’s San Sebastian Horizons-winning “The Jockey” and Abel Ferrara’s ”Siberia.” It participates in the Morelia Film Festival this year – where it’s also throwing a big anniversary party – with Chile’s submission to the Oscars, Manuela Martelli’s “The Meltdown,” which it co-produced, and with five films it distributes: Poh Si Teng’s debut docu feature “American Doctor,” “Mickey,” “The Lost Mariachis,” “Shana” and “Beauty Salon.” In the upcoming Ventana Sur, Piano participates in the Proyecta Co-Production Forum with “The Absence,” the debut feature of Mexico’s Jorge Sistos Moreno whose short “The Darkness” debuted at Cannes’ Critics’ Week. The company’s approach is built on creative collaboration rather than the pursuit of awards or predictable commercial outcomes,” Chavezmontes asserts.
The company subsequently expanded into producing projects by other filmmakers, building relationships through international festivals, distribution and co-production partnerships. One of its most prominent collaborations emerged through “Time Share” (“Tiempo Compartido”) the film Chavezmontes wrote and produced that competed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. The jury, presided by Östlund, awarded it best screenplay.
Following further connections with Östlund’s longtime producing partner Erik Hemmendorff and producer Philippe Bober, Piano, which had distributed Östlund’s “The Square” was approached about co-producing “Triangle of Sadness.” “Of course, the answer was an immediate yes!” he recalls. The film became the company’s most internationally visible production, but Chavezmontes resists defining Piano by a single title or genre. He points to projects including Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Bergman Island “and “Siberia” as examples of films whose value cannot be measured solely by their immediate reception.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
