Festival favorite "Manos Sucias" is a story about two estranged brothers Delio (Cristian James Advincula) & Jacobo (Jarlin Javier Martinez), one an aspiring rapper and the other a more grounded fisherman who find themselves wrapped up in narco trafficking. Set in the impoverished but culturally rich port town of Buenaventura, Colombia, director Josef Kubota Wladyka draws rich performances from first time actors and the community, while Alan Blanco’s camera paints the stark beauty of Buenaventura with stunning reality. The film will recall 2012’s "Una Noche" by Lucy Mulloy (probably not a coincidence that "Manos Sucias" Ex-Prod. Spike Lee presented that film also) and 2014’s "Fishing Without Nets" by Cutter Hodierne in that all of them as filmmakers, present gritty realities of the everyday life of people at crossroads yet personally told their stories affectionately. With use of a perfect rhythm "Manos Sucias" portrays a little seen piece of Colombia.
In July 2014, Sydney Levine of SydneysBuzz wrote of the film's genesis as the firs U.S.-Colombian coproduction of its kind and its subsequent international sales when she discovered the film at Cartagena. Read more here.
LatinoBuzz spoke to writer/director Josef Kubota Wladyka, co-writer/cinematographer Alan Blanco and producers Elena Greenlee & Marcia Nunes on this collective managed to bring the film to fruition.
LatinoBuzz: Latin American cinema seems to be exploring the Afro-Latino experience more than before. Was this one of the themes you had in mind when writing the screenplay?
Josef : Buenaventura is more than 85% African descent. After spending time talking to the community, gracious enough to share their stories and experiences with us, it became clear that there is a lot of racism and violence towards the Afro-Colombians. It was important for us to touch on these larger themes by using an intimate story of two estranged brothers. The heart of the story is the relationship between Jacobo and Delio, and the choices they must make.
Márcia : I still think there aren't enough films made about the Afro-Latino experience, and minority experiences in general in the Us and abroad. It's important that we as filmmakers and audience members seek out these stories and keeping pushing for a wider frame of representation.
LatinoBuzz: How important was Spike Lee's involvement and what was the best advice he gave going into production?
Josef : Spike’s involvement was extremely important because having an iconic filmmaker like himself associated with your project opens so many doors, especially in Colombia. He read our script and revisions, and gave his insight on how to make the movie happen. Having been an advocate and mentor to the project over the years, we showed him a fine cut of the film. At that point, he felt comfortable coming on board as our presenter and as an executive producer. Spike has long been a supporter of up-and-coming filmmakers and continues to be an inspiration to us. His best piece of advice was simple… “Get it done, by any means necessary.”
LatinoBuzz: This is your first feature - did anyone say “Maybe shooting in the jungles of Buenaventura, Colombia with unknown actors is not the way to go right now?”
Alan : The script for this film was based on over 6 years of research that Joe carried out on the Pacific Coast of Colombia. Even so we heard a lot of people say that shooting in Colombia was too risky and we definitely considered shooting in other places. We even scouted Puerto Rico and discovered that as a team our top priority was to making a film that represented this story authentically.
Josef: We wanted to make the film with people who live the story every day, to the show the real faces, and the real places where this goes on. Most of the locations are unknown to the world and this is a part of the drug trade that is rarely explored in the media. We hope the film leaves audiences thinking and asking questions, particularly about the global nature of these conflicts and how this is an economy that might seem far away and exotic but actually interconnects people from all over the world. If it hadn’t been done in Buenaventura, it simply wouldn’t be the same movie.
LatinoBuzz: How much local support was there for "Manos Sucias"? How did you ensure the production didn’t look like an occupation?
Márcia : As an official Colombia-us co-production we had the support of the Colombian Ministry of Culture and Film Commission, which allowed us to tap into the local tax incentives.
Elena: Once we decided to film in Buenaventura the big question became access, not just to locations, but to people, information, resources. We were outsiders and needed to be invited into the world as guests. An “occupation” was never an option; some of the communities we worked in are places where the police and “official authorities” do not go. So access was built on relationships that Joe had begun forming over years of research, which deepened once we were on the ground in pre-production and people saw that we weren't all talk, that we were serious about making a film. In negotiating with the local communities we were upfront about the kind of subject matter we wanted to tackle, but also about wanting to offer a collaboration that was beneficial for everyone. They expressed a lot of interest in exchanging skills and we decided to offer a free filmmaking workshop, working with available resources like cellphones and small photo cameras. Through that process, we filled out our cast and crew with local people, about half of our crew and almost 100% of our actors were from Buenaventura and their support and contributions were immeasurable.
LatinoBuzz: How much happened on set in the moment rather than what was on paper?
Josef: There was a lot that happened in the moment, but it was only possible because we prepared so much. We did a lot of rehearsing and test shooting on locations during pre-production. This was a key element because it allowed us to be free on set. In Buenaventura, things can change at any moment so we always had to be ready to embrace the circumstances that were presented to us. We did do some improvising but after all the editing most of the scenes ended up close to what was scripted.
LatinoBuzz: What was either the most beautiful moment in the shoot that made you feel everything will turn out fine.
Alan: I’ll never forget shooting the campfire scene with just Jarly and Cristian (Jacobo and Delio). First off, it was the first starry night I’d ever seen in Buenaventura. It’s one of the most humid places in the world and constantly overcast; which, by the way, helped a lot with the photography. The scene is about estranged brothers rediscovering each other. The actors are amazing in the scene. For them to perform so well, in an intimate scene amidst the action and turmoil of the story, and under the stress and challenges of production was just unforgettable. I consider it a privilege to have executed that scene with the crew and actors.
LatinoBuzz: Tell me about the look of the film. Was there a particular film or filmmaker you used as a point of reference?
Alan: While we knew we had a lot of limitations, we always wanted to have a strong artistic point of view for the look of the film. This started back in New York with our preliminary storyboarding and continued as we did camera tests to see the technical limitations we'd face. Geared with that information, we developed a lot of strategies around lens choices and camera movement. In a way this is a road movie, the blocking and shooting of the scenes in the boat needed to be varied in order not to be monotonous.
Josef: We strived to emphasize the visual irony of the vastness of the ocean with the claustrophobia of the boat. We always wanted to have a sense of urgency and immediacy like in many of the Dardenne brothers' films we love. We used many films as references from Hitchcock’s "Lifeboat" and "The Wages of Fear," to "Lawrence of Arabia." Above all else, we knew we wanted to shoot in a way that gave the performers the space to give their best work.
What do you think this moment in their lives meant to the people of Buenaventura?
Alan : I think it’s hard to say. Many of us are still figuring that out for ourselves and I’m not sure I could be so bold as to speculate on their feelings. I can tell you that these are complex people living in a complex situation all with the same capacities for joy and sorrow as anyone else in the world. The experiences we shared while filming helped us to learn more about each other, and also helped me learn how to salsa dance badly. (Thank you, Stefania!) We formed friendships with the cast, crew, and other people in Buenaventura and believe that this film is a testament to those friendships. We hope those moments of working on this project mean as much to them as they do to us.
LatinoBuzz: You obviously immersed yourself in the local culture with the people, dialect, music etc – what sense of void did you and the crew feel once you wrapped production and left Buenaventura to begin the post production process?
Josef: There certainly was a sense of emptiness or even loss right after shooting. While no day was ever predicable, you do develop a sense of routine, of eating meals together, laughing at half-translated dirty jokes, and working all day and dancing all night. Getting back to the States, there was a lot of work to fill the void. The turnaround for the film was pretty quick and editing started almost right away. In a lot of ways, the film never stops moving even now. Now, I don’t think it’s a void. Making the film changed us and that feeling now is one of change, not emptiness.
LatinoBuzz: What’s the next story?
Alan and Joe are working on various new projects, still in early stages of development. Elena and Márcia are working on a film about a psychedelic drug researcher who gets mixed up in the dark side of the Ayahuasca tourism industry in the Amazon, which will shoot on location in the coming year. We're all still interested in exploring little seen corners of the world and bringing them to light on the big screen.
The film opens April 3rd at Cinema Village in NYC. Dig the official "Manos Sucias" website at: http://www.manossuciasmovie.com/ & screening times Here!
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
In July 2014, Sydney Levine of SydneysBuzz wrote of the film's genesis as the firs U.S.-Colombian coproduction of its kind and its subsequent international sales when she discovered the film at Cartagena. Read more here.
LatinoBuzz spoke to writer/director Josef Kubota Wladyka, co-writer/cinematographer Alan Blanco and producers Elena Greenlee & Marcia Nunes on this collective managed to bring the film to fruition.
LatinoBuzz: Latin American cinema seems to be exploring the Afro-Latino experience more than before. Was this one of the themes you had in mind when writing the screenplay?
Josef : Buenaventura is more than 85% African descent. After spending time talking to the community, gracious enough to share their stories and experiences with us, it became clear that there is a lot of racism and violence towards the Afro-Colombians. It was important for us to touch on these larger themes by using an intimate story of two estranged brothers. The heart of the story is the relationship between Jacobo and Delio, and the choices they must make.
Márcia : I still think there aren't enough films made about the Afro-Latino experience, and minority experiences in general in the Us and abroad. It's important that we as filmmakers and audience members seek out these stories and keeping pushing for a wider frame of representation.
LatinoBuzz: How important was Spike Lee's involvement and what was the best advice he gave going into production?
Josef : Spike’s involvement was extremely important because having an iconic filmmaker like himself associated with your project opens so many doors, especially in Colombia. He read our script and revisions, and gave his insight on how to make the movie happen. Having been an advocate and mentor to the project over the years, we showed him a fine cut of the film. At that point, he felt comfortable coming on board as our presenter and as an executive producer. Spike has long been a supporter of up-and-coming filmmakers and continues to be an inspiration to us. His best piece of advice was simple… “Get it done, by any means necessary.”
LatinoBuzz: This is your first feature - did anyone say “Maybe shooting in the jungles of Buenaventura, Colombia with unknown actors is not the way to go right now?”
Alan : The script for this film was based on over 6 years of research that Joe carried out on the Pacific Coast of Colombia. Even so we heard a lot of people say that shooting in Colombia was too risky and we definitely considered shooting in other places. We even scouted Puerto Rico and discovered that as a team our top priority was to making a film that represented this story authentically.
Josef: We wanted to make the film with people who live the story every day, to the show the real faces, and the real places where this goes on. Most of the locations are unknown to the world and this is a part of the drug trade that is rarely explored in the media. We hope the film leaves audiences thinking and asking questions, particularly about the global nature of these conflicts and how this is an economy that might seem far away and exotic but actually interconnects people from all over the world. If it hadn’t been done in Buenaventura, it simply wouldn’t be the same movie.
LatinoBuzz: How much local support was there for "Manos Sucias"? How did you ensure the production didn’t look like an occupation?
Márcia : As an official Colombia-us co-production we had the support of the Colombian Ministry of Culture and Film Commission, which allowed us to tap into the local tax incentives.
Elena: Once we decided to film in Buenaventura the big question became access, not just to locations, but to people, information, resources. We were outsiders and needed to be invited into the world as guests. An “occupation” was never an option; some of the communities we worked in are places where the police and “official authorities” do not go. So access was built on relationships that Joe had begun forming over years of research, which deepened once we were on the ground in pre-production and people saw that we weren't all talk, that we were serious about making a film. In negotiating with the local communities we were upfront about the kind of subject matter we wanted to tackle, but also about wanting to offer a collaboration that was beneficial for everyone. They expressed a lot of interest in exchanging skills and we decided to offer a free filmmaking workshop, working with available resources like cellphones and small photo cameras. Through that process, we filled out our cast and crew with local people, about half of our crew and almost 100% of our actors were from Buenaventura and their support and contributions were immeasurable.
LatinoBuzz: How much happened on set in the moment rather than what was on paper?
Josef: There was a lot that happened in the moment, but it was only possible because we prepared so much. We did a lot of rehearsing and test shooting on locations during pre-production. This was a key element because it allowed us to be free on set. In Buenaventura, things can change at any moment so we always had to be ready to embrace the circumstances that were presented to us. We did do some improvising but after all the editing most of the scenes ended up close to what was scripted.
LatinoBuzz: What was either the most beautiful moment in the shoot that made you feel everything will turn out fine.
Alan: I’ll never forget shooting the campfire scene with just Jarly and Cristian (Jacobo and Delio). First off, it was the first starry night I’d ever seen in Buenaventura. It’s one of the most humid places in the world and constantly overcast; which, by the way, helped a lot with the photography. The scene is about estranged brothers rediscovering each other. The actors are amazing in the scene. For them to perform so well, in an intimate scene amidst the action and turmoil of the story, and under the stress and challenges of production was just unforgettable. I consider it a privilege to have executed that scene with the crew and actors.
LatinoBuzz: Tell me about the look of the film. Was there a particular film or filmmaker you used as a point of reference?
Alan: While we knew we had a lot of limitations, we always wanted to have a strong artistic point of view for the look of the film. This started back in New York with our preliminary storyboarding and continued as we did camera tests to see the technical limitations we'd face. Geared with that information, we developed a lot of strategies around lens choices and camera movement. In a way this is a road movie, the blocking and shooting of the scenes in the boat needed to be varied in order not to be monotonous.
Josef: We strived to emphasize the visual irony of the vastness of the ocean with the claustrophobia of the boat. We always wanted to have a sense of urgency and immediacy like in many of the Dardenne brothers' films we love. We used many films as references from Hitchcock’s "Lifeboat" and "The Wages of Fear," to "Lawrence of Arabia." Above all else, we knew we wanted to shoot in a way that gave the performers the space to give their best work.
What do you think this moment in their lives meant to the people of Buenaventura?
Alan : I think it’s hard to say. Many of us are still figuring that out for ourselves and I’m not sure I could be so bold as to speculate on their feelings. I can tell you that these are complex people living in a complex situation all with the same capacities for joy and sorrow as anyone else in the world. The experiences we shared while filming helped us to learn more about each other, and also helped me learn how to salsa dance badly. (Thank you, Stefania!) We formed friendships with the cast, crew, and other people in Buenaventura and believe that this film is a testament to those friendships. We hope those moments of working on this project mean as much to them as they do to us.
LatinoBuzz: You obviously immersed yourself in the local culture with the people, dialect, music etc – what sense of void did you and the crew feel once you wrapped production and left Buenaventura to begin the post production process?
Josef: There certainly was a sense of emptiness or even loss right after shooting. While no day was ever predicable, you do develop a sense of routine, of eating meals together, laughing at half-translated dirty jokes, and working all day and dancing all night. Getting back to the States, there was a lot of work to fill the void. The turnaround for the film was pretty quick and editing started almost right away. In a lot of ways, the film never stops moving even now. Now, I don’t think it’s a void. Making the film changed us and that feeling now is one of change, not emptiness.
LatinoBuzz: What’s the next story?
Alan and Joe are working on various new projects, still in early stages of development. Elena and Márcia are working on a film about a psychedelic drug researcher who gets mixed up in the dark side of the Ayahuasca tourism industry in the Amazon, which will shoot on location in the coming year. We're all still interested in exploring little seen corners of the world and bringing them to light on the big screen.
The film opens April 3rd at Cinema Village in NYC. Dig the official "Manos Sucias" website at: http://www.manossuciasmovie.com/ & screening times Here!
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
- 4/1/2015
- by Juan Caceres
- Sydney's Buzz
Executive produced by Spike Lee and directed by Nyu grad Josef Kubota Wladyka, the Colombian production, "Manos Sucias" ("Dirty Hands"), now has an official USA release date, via Tenacious Productions, set for April 3, 2015. Scripted by Alan Blanco and Wladika, "Manos Sucias" stars Cristian Advincula and Jarlin Martinez as Delio and Jacobo; the latter is a desperate fisherman and seasoned trafficker, who along with the naive Delio, decide to traffic millions of dollars worth of cocaine up the Colombian Pacific coast. Towing a submerged torpedo in the wake of their battered fishing boat, ‘Jacobo,’ a desperate fisherman and Delio, a naive kid, embark...
- 3/25/2015
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
Executive produced by Spike Lee and directed by Nyu grad Joseph Wladika, the Colombian production, "Manos Sucias" ("Dirty Hands"), will open at this year's Toronto Black Film Festival's 3rd edition, presented by Global News, which kicks off today, February 10th – 15th. Scripted by Alan Blanco and Wladika, "Manos Sucias" stars Cristian Advincula and Jarlin Martinez as Delio and Jacobo; the latter is a desperate fisherman and seasoned trafficker, who along with the naive Delio, decide to traffic millions of dollars worth of cocaine up the Colombian Pacific coast: Towing a submerged torpedo in the wake of their...
- 2/10/2015
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
Premiering in Cartagena Film Festival 2014 and then going to the filmmakers’ hometown, New York City, where " Manos Sucias" ("Dirty Hands") won Tribeca Film Festival’s Best New Narrative Director Award and 2nd place Audience Award, this film has not yet closed Us distribution, but has been acquired internationally by some of the best distributors.
In Cannes, Marina de la Fuentes’ international sales agency, 6 Sales, sold it to Paris-based Pretty Pictures who acquired not only France – its usual home territory – but also Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland. James Velaise of Pretty Pictures screened the film at Tribeca and “immediately fell madly in love with it,” he said.
“It came totally out of the blue, we were mesmerized by the filmmaking. As a first-time film 'Manos Sucias' is outstanding, as good as anything we’ve seen coming out of Latin America in a long time,” said Velaise.
Shot on location in Colombia, using local actors who speak the patois of Buenaventura, "Manos Sucias" reflects years of painstaking research by Josef Wladyka.
“What is fascinating is that the filmmaker spent five years in Buenaventura learning what was going on there and building up the trust of people. The average filmmaker would never take the time to do that. You feel that in the film: There a sense of genuineness which you don’t get in 99% of indie films today,” said Velaise.
At the same time, 'Manos Sucias' is “incredibly tight: On paper, it has some breakout potential to it, because it is a thriller, ” he added.
Pretty Pictures will now seek to sell the film on to distributors in the other four territories, all significant distributors for arthouse films. Velaise reasons that companies exist in these territories that often buy the same films as Pretty Pictures, and share similar tastes. (e.g., "La Jaula de Oro", premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard 2013 and was acquired by Belgium-Fourcorners Distribution, France-Pretty Pictures, Germany-Films Boutique, Hong Kong (China)-Encore Inflight Limited, Hungary-Cirko Film Kft., Italy-Parthenos S.R.L., Mexico-Canibal Networks, Netherlands-Wild Bunch Benelux, Norway-As Fidalgo Film Distribution, Poland-Art House, Puerto Rico-Wiesner Distribution, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Taiwan-Maison Motion, Inc., U.K.- Peccadillo Pictures or "Love is Strange" by Ira Sachs premiered at Sundance 2014 and was acquired by U.S.-Sony Pictures Classics, Australia-Rialto Distribution (Australia), Canada-Métropole Films Distribution, Canada-Mongrel Media Inc., France-Pretty Pictures, Italy-Koch Media, Mexico-Cinemas Nueva Era, Portugal-Midas Filmes, Spain-Golem Distribución, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Turkey-Kurmaca Film, U.K.- Altitude Film Sales). These distributors are all likely candidates to acquire rights to "Manos Sucias" as well.
U.S. rights to "Manos Sucias" are handled by Wme Global’s Mark Ankner and Christine D’Souza. Distributors seeking to win over the booming Latino audience, and who have an affinity for gritty, action-packed, arthouse thrillers, or any of Pretty Pictures’ recent acquisitions (see below) owe it to themselves to check out this film.
This pioneering U.S.- Colombia production was the debut feature by writer-director, Josef Kubota Wladyka and co-writer-dp Alan Blanco. It was produced by Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes, Mirlanda Torres Zapata and Carolina Caicedo and exec-produced by U.S. Film Director Spike Lee.
"Manos Sucias" follows two estranged brothers, both Afro-Colombian fishermen, who embark on a fishing-boat from Buenaventura, Colombia’s biggest Pacific Coast port and a violent drug trade emporium. Their mission is to tow underwater a “narco-torpedo” packed with 100 kilos of cocaine to Panama. En route, they must circumnavigate marauding paramilitaries and impoverished villagers eager for their cargo.
In Cartagena, I interviewed the director, Dp, and producers. Josef Wladyka is a U.S. citizen who is the son of a Japanese mother and a Polish father. He received the Spike Lee Fellowship while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at Nyu.
Josef:
You could say this is a drug story, but you should know it is much more than that. In a fisherman’s village the Afro Colombians are confronted with drug traffic taking place on their ancestral beaches where they have lived for generations.
Before I started Grad Film School at Nyu, I spent several months backpacking with a close friend in South America. We traveled along the Pacific coast of Ecuador and Colombia, and went through these towns that were under siege by narco-trafficking. The locals would tell us stories about homemade submarines, narco-torpedoes, and different armed groups that would fight to control these areas. I became very interested in the subject and wanted to immerse myself more in the world. With the help of a friend from the region, I went back several times to Buenaventura, Tumaco, and other parts of the Pacific coast of Colombia to continue researching and collecting stories.
I also got permission to go to Malaga Naval Base where I saw confiscated narco-torpedoes and submarines first hand. I always had a camera with me and shot lots of footage during my travels. I used that footage to make a pitch video for raising money from Kickstarter and private equity.
The film is an official Colombian production, recognized by the Ley de Cine (The Cinema Law). It is a 50-50 coproduction with Colombian producers Carolina Caicedo and Mirlanda Zapata. With our U.S. producers, Márcia Nunes and Elena Greenlee, that makes four female producers on this film.
Cine Colombia , Colombia’s largest distributor and theater owner, one of the Cartagena Film Festival sponsors as well, invested in the film, as did Caracol, one of Colombia’s top two broadcasters.
Márcia knew Cine Colombia from her previous life in international sales with Goldcrest. Elena, Alan and I scouted in October 2012, one week in Bogotá and through Proimagenes we met many possible co-producers and visited locations. We chose young producers who were hungry for their first film; they were not rigid.
The U.S. producers wanted to do the film U.S. indie style, not in the usual Colombian style. We shot it in Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest port, which has been hit very hard by narco traffickers and violence.
This was the first feature for everyone. Except for Márcia, who got her Masters of Film Business at Gallatin School of Nyu, the others all got their MFAs from Tisch, though some graduated two years ago and others four years ago.
How we, as foreigners, were able to make this film, opening up delicate, sensitive and violent stories, was based on my having no assumptions. And our own cross-cultural backgrounds helped.
We had a great premiere in Cartagena. The festival permits people to see films for free and we were able to test the Colombian audience’s reaction. The film explores the international issue of drug trafficking and the social-exclusion of the Afro-Colombian community on the coast from the mainstream economy in Colombia. The film is genre bending; it is not too arty and is not fully a genre movie. The audience of 800 to 1,000 Colombians laughed and cried, even danced in their seats. Three of the actors also saw the film for the first time, as did the crew. When the actors came up for the Q & A they received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a beautiful moment.
We offered free audiovisual workshops for the community before we shot the film, and found many of our actors and crewmembers through that process. We used Kickstarter to raise Us $60,000 to greenlight production and fund our community workshops in Buenaventura.
Film Independent bestowed the Canon Filmmaker Award upon the film’s two producers, who are also Film Independent Producing Fellows. The Canon Filmmaker Award Program is a program for Film Independent Fellows, alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners. Producers Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes who had participated in the Find Producing Lab with the project were awarded with the loan of a Canon camera package for their production. Further support was granted by the San Francisco Film Society, who, together with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, awarded the film with two grants, one during the production phase, and one during post-production.
Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development at Film Independent spoke with Elena and Márcia in those early days about Manos Sucias and its upcoming shoot, and here’s what they had to say then:
Manos Sucias, Canon Filmmaker Award Winner Round 2
"The social exclusion of the Pacific coast — home to much of the Afro-Colombian population — is felt throughout the country, echoed in the sentiment that Colombia “doesn’t really have a black population.” While popular culture glamorizes cocaine “cowboys,” and the Us takes a tough stance in the “war on drugs,” few people acknowledge the oppression and resilience of these citizens.
Our goal is for the film to inspire change in our audience, and in the region. We want audiences to realize that people like Jacobo and Delio are not perpetuating the drug trade, they are trapped in it; and to reflect on the impact their personal choices have on the situation.”
“When Josef and Alan brought us the script in early 2012, we immediately fell in love with it. The characters jumped off the page, and we couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Pretty Pictures roster of films illustrates their exceptional taste in films:
"The Dark Valley" ("Das Finstere Tal") By Andreas Prochaska (Acquired From Films Distribution In Feb 2014)
"Dancing In Jaffa" By Hilla Medalia (Acquired From K5 International In Apr 2013)
"Omar" By Hany Abu-Assad (Acquired From The Match Factory In Feb 2013)
"The Look Of Love" By Winterbottom Michael (Acquired From Studiocanal In Aug 2012)
"Pieta" By Ki-Duk Kim (Acquired From Finecut Co. Ltd. In Aug 2012)
"Wadjda" By Haifa Al-Mansour (Acquired From The Match Factory In May 2012)
"The Hunt" ("Jagten") By Thomas Vinterberg (Acquired From Trust In Apr 2012)
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present" By Matthew Akers (Acquired From Dogwoof In Feb 2012)...
In Cannes, Marina de la Fuentes’ international sales agency, 6 Sales, sold it to Paris-based Pretty Pictures who acquired not only France – its usual home territory – but also Germany, Austria, Benelux and Switzerland. James Velaise of Pretty Pictures screened the film at Tribeca and “immediately fell madly in love with it,” he said.
“It came totally out of the blue, we were mesmerized by the filmmaking. As a first-time film 'Manos Sucias' is outstanding, as good as anything we’ve seen coming out of Latin America in a long time,” said Velaise.
Shot on location in Colombia, using local actors who speak the patois of Buenaventura, "Manos Sucias" reflects years of painstaking research by Josef Wladyka.
“What is fascinating is that the filmmaker spent five years in Buenaventura learning what was going on there and building up the trust of people. The average filmmaker would never take the time to do that. You feel that in the film: There a sense of genuineness which you don’t get in 99% of indie films today,” said Velaise.
At the same time, 'Manos Sucias' is “incredibly tight: On paper, it has some breakout potential to it, because it is a thriller, ” he added.
Pretty Pictures will now seek to sell the film on to distributors in the other four territories, all significant distributors for arthouse films. Velaise reasons that companies exist in these territories that often buy the same films as Pretty Pictures, and share similar tastes. (e.g., "La Jaula de Oro", premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard 2013 and was acquired by Belgium-Fourcorners Distribution, France-Pretty Pictures, Germany-Films Boutique, Hong Kong (China)-Encore Inflight Limited, Hungary-Cirko Film Kft., Italy-Parthenos S.R.L., Mexico-Canibal Networks, Netherlands-Wild Bunch Benelux, Norway-As Fidalgo Film Distribution, Poland-Art House, Puerto Rico-Wiesner Distribution, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Taiwan-Maison Motion, Inc., U.K.- Peccadillo Pictures or "Love is Strange" by Ira Sachs premiered at Sundance 2014 and was acquired by U.S.-Sony Pictures Classics, Australia-Rialto Distribution (Australia), Canada-Métropole Films Distribution, Canada-Mongrel Media Inc., France-Pretty Pictures, Italy-Koch Media, Mexico-Cinemas Nueva Era, Portugal-Midas Filmes, Spain-Golem Distribución, Switzerland-Xenix Filmdistribution Gmbh, Turkey-Kurmaca Film, U.K.- Altitude Film Sales). These distributors are all likely candidates to acquire rights to "Manos Sucias" as well.
U.S. rights to "Manos Sucias" are handled by Wme Global’s Mark Ankner and Christine D’Souza. Distributors seeking to win over the booming Latino audience, and who have an affinity for gritty, action-packed, arthouse thrillers, or any of Pretty Pictures’ recent acquisitions (see below) owe it to themselves to check out this film.
This pioneering U.S.- Colombia production was the debut feature by writer-director, Josef Kubota Wladyka and co-writer-dp Alan Blanco. It was produced by Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes, Mirlanda Torres Zapata and Carolina Caicedo and exec-produced by U.S. Film Director Spike Lee.
"Manos Sucias" follows two estranged brothers, both Afro-Colombian fishermen, who embark on a fishing-boat from Buenaventura, Colombia’s biggest Pacific Coast port and a violent drug trade emporium. Their mission is to tow underwater a “narco-torpedo” packed with 100 kilos of cocaine to Panama. En route, they must circumnavigate marauding paramilitaries and impoverished villagers eager for their cargo.
In Cartagena, I interviewed the director, Dp, and producers. Josef Wladyka is a U.S. citizen who is the son of a Japanese mother and a Polish father. He received the Spike Lee Fellowship while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at Nyu.
Josef:
You could say this is a drug story, but you should know it is much more than that. In a fisherman’s village the Afro Colombians are confronted with drug traffic taking place on their ancestral beaches where they have lived for generations.
Before I started Grad Film School at Nyu, I spent several months backpacking with a close friend in South America. We traveled along the Pacific coast of Ecuador and Colombia, and went through these towns that were under siege by narco-trafficking. The locals would tell us stories about homemade submarines, narco-torpedoes, and different armed groups that would fight to control these areas. I became very interested in the subject and wanted to immerse myself more in the world. With the help of a friend from the region, I went back several times to Buenaventura, Tumaco, and other parts of the Pacific coast of Colombia to continue researching and collecting stories.
I also got permission to go to Malaga Naval Base where I saw confiscated narco-torpedoes and submarines first hand. I always had a camera with me and shot lots of footage during my travels. I used that footage to make a pitch video for raising money from Kickstarter and private equity.
The film is an official Colombian production, recognized by the Ley de Cine (The Cinema Law). It is a 50-50 coproduction with Colombian producers Carolina Caicedo and Mirlanda Zapata. With our U.S. producers, Márcia Nunes and Elena Greenlee, that makes four female producers on this film.
Cine Colombia , Colombia’s largest distributor and theater owner, one of the Cartagena Film Festival sponsors as well, invested in the film, as did Caracol, one of Colombia’s top two broadcasters.
Márcia knew Cine Colombia from her previous life in international sales with Goldcrest. Elena, Alan and I scouted in October 2012, one week in Bogotá and through Proimagenes we met many possible co-producers and visited locations. We chose young producers who were hungry for their first film; they were not rigid.
The U.S. producers wanted to do the film U.S. indie style, not in the usual Colombian style. We shot it in Buenaventura, Colombia’s largest port, which has been hit very hard by narco traffickers and violence.
This was the first feature for everyone. Except for Márcia, who got her Masters of Film Business at Gallatin School of Nyu, the others all got their MFAs from Tisch, though some graduated two years ago and others four years ago.
How we, as foreigners, were able to make this film, opening up delicate, sensitive and violent stories, was based on my having no assumptions. And our own cross-cultural backgrounds helped.
We had a great premiere in Cartagena. The festival permits people to see films for free and we were able to test the Colombian audience’s reaction. The film explores the international issue of drug trafficking and the social-exclusion of the Afro-Colombian community on the coast from the mainstream economy in Colombia. The film is genre bending; it is not too arty and is not fully a genre movie. The audience of 800 to 1,000 Colombians laughed and cried, even danced in their seats. Three of the actors also saw the film for the first time, as did the crew. When the actors came up for the Q & A they received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a beautiful moment.
We offered free audiovisual workshops for the community before we shot the film, and found many of our actors and crewmembers through that process. We used Kickstarter to raise Us $60,000 to greenlight production and fund our community workshops in Buenaventura.
Film Independent bestowed the Canon Filmmaker Award upon the film’s two producers, who are also Film Independent Producing Fellows. The Canon Filmmaker Award Program is a program for Film Independent Fellows, alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival and Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners. Producers Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes who had participated in the Find Producing Lab with the project were awarded with the loan of a Canon camera package for their production. Further support was granted by the San Francisco Film Society, who, together with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, awarded the film with two grants, one during the production phase, and one during post-production.
Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development at Film Independent spoke with Elena and Márcia in those early days about Manos Sucias and its upcoming shoot, and here’s what they had to say then:
Manos Sucias, Canon Filmmaker Award Winner Round 2
"The social exclusion of the Pacific coast — home to much of the Afro-Colombian population — is felt throughout the country, echoed in the sentiment that Colombia “doesn’t really have a black population.” While popular culture glamorizes cocaine “cowboys,” and the Us takes a tough stance in the “war on drugs,” few people acknowledge the oppression and resilience of these citizens.
Our goal is for the film to inspire change in our audience, and in the region. We want audiences to realize that people like Jacobo and Delio are not perpetuating the drug trade, they are trapped in it; and to reflect on the impact their personal choices have on the situation.”
“When Josef and Alan brought us the script in early 2012, we immediately fell in love with it. The characters jumped off the page, and we couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Pretty Pictures roster of films illustrates their exceptional taste in films:
"The Dark Valley" ("Das Finstere Tal") By Andreas Prochaska (Acquired From Films Distribution In Feb 2014)
"Dancing In Jaffa" By Hilla Medalia (Acquired From K5 International In Apr 2013)
"Omar" By Hany Abu-Assad (Acquired From The Match Factory In Feb 2013)
"The Look Of Love" By Winterbottom Michael (Acquired From Studiocanal In Aug 2012)
"Pieta" By Ki-Duk Kim (Acquired From Finecut Co. Ltd. In Aug 2012)
"Wadjda" By Haifa Al-Mansour (Acquired From The Match Factory In May 2012)
"The Hunt" ("Jagten") By Thomas Vinterberg (Acquired From Trust In Apr 2012)
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present" By Matthew Akers (Acquired From Dogwoof In Feb 2012)...
- 7/18/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Easily among our favorite curated lists/annual page turners, Filmmaker Magazine has unveiled their 25 New Faces (or 29, when you count the quad creative teams) for 2014, highlighting talents that would also get our vote. Among those with a future that is bright, we’ve got a good sampling from this year’s Sundance Film Fest in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night‘s helmer Ana Lily Amirpour, short film gold nugget helmers Janicza Bravo (see pic above) & Bernardo Britto, the versatile, can’t sit still Dustin Guy Defa who moves in front of (Swim Little Fish Swim, Computer Chess) and behind the camera for SXSW and Sundance short and feature length film items and, the future is bright cinematographer Sean Porter who we first discovered with It Felt Like Love and then laid it on thick with the Zellner Bros.’ Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Here are the individual profiles.
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- 7/17/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Manos Sucias
Directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka
Colombia and USA, 2014
Jacobo (Jarlin Javier Martinez), a world-hardened but innocent fisherman, and naïve, 19 year-old Delio (Cristian James Abvincula) set out on a dangerous drug mission on the coast of Colombia in Josef Kubota Wladyka’s directorial debut. This film is reminiscent of the recent La Jaula de Oro: young lives searching for escape, caught amidst a harrowing circle of inevitable violence and peril. Wladyka shoots entirely on-location and it shows. There’s a real sense of place here, made more authentic by small touches: children jumping from waterside bungalows into the bay as a boat approaches; makeshift motorcycle-driven railroad carts, their wheels precariously hugging the thin strips of train-track metal; freestyling teenagers on the street.
Like Jacobo and Delio, Wladyka and cinematographer Alan Blanco’s camera moves frequently forward. It plows through choppy waters, creeps across calm marshes, hurtles on railroad tracks and into tunnels,...
Directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka
Colombia and USA, 2014
Jacobo (Jarlin Javier Martinez), a world-hardened but innocent fisherman, and naïve, 19 year-old Delio (Cristian James Abvincula) set out on a dangerous drug mission on the coast of Colombia in Josef Kubota Wladyka’s directorial debut. This film is reminiscent of the recent La Jaula de Oro: young lives searching for escape, caught amidst a harrowing circle of inevitable violence and peril. Wladyka shoots entirely on-location and it shows. There’s a real sense of place here, made more authentic by small touches: children jumping from waterside bungalows into the bay as a boat approaches; makeshift motorcycle-driven railroad carts, their wheels precariously hugging the thin strips of train-track metal; freestyling teenagers on the street.
Like Jacobo and Delio, Wladyka and cinematographer Alan Blanco’s camera moves frequently forward. It plows through choppy waters, creeps across calm marshes, hurtles on railroad tracks and into tunnels,...
- 4/25/2014
- by Neal Dhand
- SoundOnSight
With two Led panels, one Canon C300 and a crew of no more than a dozen people including locals, co-writer/director Joseph Wladyka and co-writer/cinematographer Alan Blanco went to Buenaventura, Colombia - a heavily narco-trafficked country - to film Manos Sucias ("Dirty Hands")."One of my favorite moments making this film was when me, Joe and the two leads went out to sea in a small boat to get some scenes," says Blanco after their premiere in New York City this week. "The motor didn't work very well and we could have been stranded at sea, but was worth it."It seems that much was worth it on Manos Sucias, an authentic and heart-wrenching portrayal of drug trafficking on the pacific coast of Colombia. After the successful Kickstarter...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 4/24/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Executive produced by Spike Lee and directed by Nyu grad Joseph Wladika, the Columbian production Manos Sucias (Dirty Hands) will screen at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, which runs April 16 through April 27. Scripted by Alan Blanco and Wladika, Manos Sucias stars Cristian Advincula and Jarlin Martinez as Delio and Jacobo; the latter is a desperate fisherman and seasoned trafficker, who along with the naive Delio, decide to traffic millions of dollars worth of cocaine up the Colombian Pacific coast. Here's the synopsis, courtesy of Tff's website: Towing a submerged torpedo in the wake of their battered fishing boat, ‘Jacobo,’ a desperate fisherman and Delio, a...
- 4/15/2014
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
The 13th Tribeca Film Festival has announced its complete lineup for next month’s New York celebration, which runs April 16-27. Culled from more than 6,000 submissions, Tribeca 2014 includes 55 world premieres, 37 first-time filmmakers, and 22 female directors. Half the slate had been announced on Tuesday, with Spotlight, Midnight, and Storyscapes films unveiled today, as well as special screenings. “Spotlight and special screenings are an especially dynamic aspect of this year’s program, both in range of styles and stories,” said Genna Terranova, Tribeca’s director of programming. “Many films feature real-life personalities who’ve accomplished extraordinary feats, while in other films we...
- 3/6/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
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