U.S. HISPANIC
Director Laura Mora: The release of Los Reyes del Mundo on Netflix LatAm and North America this week enables a wider audience
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 11 de enero de 2023
Mirlanda Laura Mora Cristina Equipo de produccion
Los Reyes del Mundo (The Kings of the World), Colombia’s official nominee for the category of Best International Feature Film of the Oscar 2023, which debuted on October 13 in that country, will be released on Netflix Latin America and North America the first week of January.
For Laura Mora, director and writer of the film, the acquisition of Netflix is a great opportunity because it enables the film to have a massive audience. “I am very supportive of releasing the film in theaters and fortunately we were able to do so. At this moment we are in cinemas in Mexico, Colombia, and it will also be in Europe (Spain, France, Switzerland), but for its display from North America to South America, it was acquired by Netflix. It is a wonder that the film can be seen in these territories where normally it’s very difficult to reach,” she expressed.
She recalled that Los Reyes del Mundo resulted as a great effort between five countries. “At the head of the production are Mirlanda Torres and Cristina Gallegos (Pasos de Verano and El Abrazo de la Serpiente), with partners such as Caracol TV, Dago García Producciones, and Exile Content, who entered the process later”.
The co-production houses involved included Caracol Televisión, Ciudad Lunar Producciones, Dago García Producciones, Exile Content Studio, Iris Productions from Luxembourg, Mer Films from Norway, Selva Cine, Talipot Studio from Mexico and Tu Vas Voir Productions (France).
It’s an original idea of Mora, who wrote it together with María Camilla Arias, Colombian screenwriter of Pájaros de Verano and Candelaria.
“It is a very authentic film, which talks about violence from a more poetic place. A film with great visual narration, with natural actors that give it an impressive level of truth. It is made by very relevant people in cinematography: David Gallego was the Director of Photography; Marcela Gómez (La Tierra de las Sombras) handled the Production Design,” Mora described.
Regarding the locations, Mora noted that it is a trip from Medellín to Bajo Cauca in Antioquia. “Which is a territory between, let’s say, Medellín and the Caribbean Coast. It is like the road to the sea, it is a territory that crosses the north of Antioquia as well, and that has been badly hit by the armed conflict because it is a gold-rich territory, and also has coca plantations, drug trafficking corridors, but it is an absolutely beautiful territory.”
Los Reyes del Mundo tells the story of Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny, and Nano, five street children from Medellín, five kings without a kingdom, lawless and without a family, in search of the promised land. The group will embark on a journey to reclaim a piece of land that Rá inherited after a long land restitution process.
Among her upcoming projects, Mora commented that she will be directing three episodes of the first season of the series 100 Años de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude) for Netflix under the production of Dynamo. “We are two directors, the other is Álex García, an Argentine writer who has lived in Spain for many years. The production design will be in the hands of Eugenio Caballero, who has designed films like Bardo, Roma, and Laberinto del Fauno. It is such a huge challenge,” she said. Production starts this 2023.
View trailer here
