Mexico’s Sula Films Boards Tatiana Huezo’s Anticipated ‘Galerna,’ a Top Industry Award Winner at San Sebastián (EXCLUSIVE)

Mexico’s Sula Films has boarded Tatiana Huezo’s anticipated fiction feature, “Galerna,” which has also won the coveted Egeda Platino Industria Award at the San Sebastian Festival where it participated in the festival’s WIP Latin America competition showcase.

The award comes with a bounty of $34,466 (€30,000), which is handed to the lead producer of the winning film.

Sula Films joins Pimienta Films (“Roma”) as a co-producer of Huezo’s second fiction feature outing after “Prayers for the Stolen” (“Noche de fuego”).

Producers Alejandro Sugich of Sula Films and Nicolás Celis of Pimienta Films reached the co-production pact for “Galerna” during the festival.

The agreement marks the companies’ second collaboration following Amat Escalante’s “Lost in the Night,” which bowed at the Cannes Première section in 2023. Sugich and Celis intend to build on that partnership through future filmmaker-led projects with international reach.

Expressing his gratitude to the festival and Egeda, Celis said: “The film’s positive reception is incredibly encouraging and gives us a much-needed breath of fresh air as we work to finish it during such challenging times for film financing.”

“I’m happy to announce that ‘Galerna,’ another beautiful and powerful Tatiana Huezo film is on its way,” he told Variety.

Huezo first won worldwide recognition for her acclaimed documentaries, led by “Tempestad” and “The Tiniest Place,” both produced by Pimienta Films. It also produced Huezo’s first fiction feature, “Prayers for the Stolen.” Both “Tempestad “and “Prayers for the Stolen“ were selected as Mexico’s official submissions for the Academy Awards.

“Galerna” follows two casting directors who venture into remote Mexico to find natural actors for a sci-fi pic. Traveling through remote regions, they discover a Mexico that both welcomes and unsettles them, forcing them to confront their fears and prejudices.

Spain’s Elastica Films, whose credits include “Creatura,” “Alcarràs” and “Romería,” also boarded the project at an earlier date. Ilse Salas (“The Good Girls”) and Ariel-nominated Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez (“Fauna”) star, with cinematography by Huezo’s long-time collaborator-partner Ernesto Pardo.

Pimienta Films is one of the most prominent producers in Mexico and Latin America, with such notable credits as Amat Escalante’s “Heli” and “The Untamed” as well as the Oscar winning “Roma” and “Emilia Pérez.”

Sula Films founder Sugich also serves as VP of Entertainment at the International Quorum of Film Producers. His credits include “Almost 30,” “The Salvadors” and “I Promise Not to Fall in Love,” among others.