‘Am I The Wave?’: Feature Take Of Francisco Goldman’s Novel ‘Say Her Name’ Set With Manuel García-Rulfo & Renata Vaca

EXCLUSIVE: The feature adaptation of Francisco Goldman’s award-winning novel, Say Her Name, is rolling cameras with Alejandra Márquez Abella directing and Manuel García-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer, Jurassic World: Rebirth) and Renata Vaca (K-POP: The Debut) leading the cast. The pic is title Am I The Wave?

Set between Brooklyn and Mexico City, the English-language film is inspired by Goldman’s real-life romance with the brilliant young Mexican writer Aura Estrada. It follows Francisco, an American novelist splitting his time between New York and Mexico, and Aura, a fellow writer and force of nature fighting to establish herself on her own terms. Their love story is passionate, funny, intellectual, and deeply alive, until a single, tragic wave on a beach in Oaxaca changes everything.

Márquez Abella co-wrote the screenplay with Academy Award nominee Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan) and Goldman.

Mexican filmmaker Márquez Abella’s 2018 feature The Good Girls premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and earned 14 Ariel Award nominations, while Northern Skies Over Empty Space premiered at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival and won the Ariel Award (Mexican Oscar) for Best Picture. She most recently co-wrote and directed A Million Miles Away for Amazon MGM Studios, starring Michael Peña and Rosa Salazar.

“Am I the Wave? is a movie about how love transcends everything, even death. And it is a story that needs to exist today, in a world where everything revolves around hatred and confrontation. Perhaps a story like this will help us reconnect with what makes us human and connects us to one another.” Said Márquez Abella. “It is a project that bridges the cultural scenes of Mexico City and Brooklyn—two worlds that are closely tied and share many similarities. It is a love story between two cultures that has never been told before.”

Producers on Am I The Wave? are Juan de Dios Larraín of Fabula Films (A Fantastic Woman), William Horberg of Wonderful Films (The Queen’s Gambit), and Zak Kilberg (The Mauritanian). Sarah Connors of She Spun Films, Russell Smith and Michael Cleaver of Convergent Media / Divergent Pictures (Prime Minister), Pablo Larraín of Fabula, Carlos Enrique Cuscó and Ari Taboada of Foton Pictures serve as EPs, along with Fernando Lebrija of Irreversible Pictures and Jorge García Castro. Obsidian Creek will also Exec Produce.

Bill Horberg said, “When I first read The Wave, the excerpt from Say Her Name published in The New Yorker, I was knocked over by the elemental force of Goldman’s story, and what it cost him to write it; the alchemy of his words turned sudden, devastating loss into eternal love and a celebration of life itself, and has attracted Alejandra and these wonderful actors to these unforgettable characters.”

“We are delighted to have brought together such an extraordinary group of producers, with the invaluable support of EFICINE. Filmmaking is, above all, a collaborative art, and there is something especially meaningful about coming together to tell a story about love, loss, and the profound connections that make us human,” said Juan de Dios Larraín.

UTA Independent Film Group arranged financing and will be handling the domestic sale, alongside FilmNation Entertainment who is handling sales for the rest of the world. The film was made possible by a grant from EFICINE in Mexico and the Jalisco State tax credit and tourism board.

García-Rulfo is repped by WME, Ilene Feldman Management, Genuine Artists and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman; Vaca is represented by Cultured Artists, Paradigm Talent Agency and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher; Smith is repped by CAA, Circle Mgmt and Behr Abramson Levy Johnson’ Goldman is repped by CAA. Márquez Abella is represented by CAA, Brillstein, and Hansen Jacobson.