Matthias de Bourguignon, Equeco: Rodolfo Cova produced the song “I Will Mutate”

In one of the first deals struck at the Chilean Sanfic Industria Industry Forum, independent local producers Matias de Bourguignon and Equeco stepped into the Venezuelan drama “I Will Mutate Like a Jungle Animal” (“Mutaré como animal del monte”), the film’s debut Venezuelan Rising Talent Hector Silva.

Produced by Berlin-based Venezuelan producer Rodolfo Cova, whose roster includes Venice Golden Lion winner “From Afar” and Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Michel Franco’s “Las Hijas de Abril”, and “I Will Mutate Like a Jungle” Animal” is among 28 titles in the Sanfic Industria Santiago Lab that supports Ibero-American projects in development.

De Bourguignon and Equeco joined international co-producers Pomme Hurlante Films (France), Artrupe Films (Brazil) and Abismo Cine (Ecuador) who were also drawn to the debut of Silva, whose award-winning short films have been shown at prominent film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto and Tribeca.

“Hector’s shorts made a huge impression on me. He has a knack for creating an ambiance that transports us with very human characters that always feel real and authentic,” said de Bourguignon.

“When I saw Hector’s shorts, I was fascinated by the atmosphere that surrounds his films, and the refined taste and craftsmanship with which he conveys stories and characters,” Cova agreed, adding: “Co-production, in addition to being a funding mechanism, is a cultural exchange that contributes to the artistic growth of the project and should be used its full potential and promoted by all countries.”

“Sanfic’s Santiago Imagination Lab gives us the opportunity to grow and add strong Chilean co-producers such as Matías and Equeco, which is a critical boost at this point,” he noted. The team is looking for investors, post-production partners and a sales agent in Santiago Lab.

“Mutate” is about 20-year-old Brian who returns after a long absence to his Afro-descendant village in a remote Venezuelan jungle. After he begins to dream of an animal hiding in the foliage, the lines between reality and dreams begin to blur. Unsure whether to leave his country in crisis or embrace his ancestral roots, Brian sets out deep in the woods in search of answers.

According to Silva, he started working on his film shortly after the deepening Venezuela crisis that forced him to leave Venezuela for Chile where he is now residing. He filmed his story and set it in San Jose, a remote Afro-descendant region south of his home region (Zulia State).

“Since my first visit twelve years ago, I have formed a deep bond with its people,” he said. “This movie is inspired by a combination of my personal experience after leaving my home and the actual experiences of my friends in San Jose,” he said, adding, “Brian’s story is also the story of millions of young Venezuelans who have fewer opportunities, and are stressed out by uncertainty, trying to forge a better future.” To their families at a critical time in our country’s history.” This is the theme he touched upon in his 2015 short film, “Anfibio” (“Amphibian”) about two close brothers who are torn apart by the older person’s desire to leave home.

De Bourguignon, a former producer at Jirafa to pursue an MBA at Columbia Business School in New York, is back in the saddle as an independent producer and is also a co-producer of Vinko Tomicic’s “Ladron de Perros” (College Biennale, Best Pitch winner at 2019 Cinefondation), now in post. His credits include Francesca Allegria’s Sundance 2022 entry entitled “La vaca que canto una canción hacia el futuro”. “Divino Amor” by Gabriel Mascaro (Sundance 2019) and “The Summer of the Electric Lion” by Diego Cespedes, first prize winner at Cannes Cinefondation 2018.

Founded by producer Pablo Callisto and director Thomas Alzamora, Equeco made his international debut with his feature-length debut “Little White Lie”. At Cannes last year, they brought three features and shorts to the Marché du Film, ranging in themes from dramas to experimental thrillers and themes.

Callisto, Alzamora and de Bourguignon, in their early thirties, belong to the new generation of Chilean media-savvy producers of the post-Pinochet era, who embrace a combination of material with universal and universal appeal.