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One of Netflix's top shows at the moment is the Mexican drama series The Accident. Many people are calling it one of the saddest shows they've ever watched, which given the plot, makes sense. It's a 10-part series revolving around the aftermath of a children's birthday party gone wrong. When a gush of wind sweeps up a bouncy house filled with kids at a birthday party, it causes the death of three children. This tragic accident changes the lives of a close-knit community forever.

Klych López and Gracia Querejeta directed the episodes for the show from scripts written by Leonardo Padrón. You might recognize some of the cast from previous projects, such as Alberto Guerra, who is best known for starring as Darío Sepúlveda in the Netflix crime drama series Griselda. Ana Claudia Talancón, Sebastian Martínez, Eréndira Ibarra, Shaní Lozano, Silverio Palacios, Erick Elías, Erik Hayser, Valentina Acosta, Macarena García Romero,...

Heatseeking filmmaker Olmo Schnabel has signed for representation with WME, and with Black Bear for management.

Schnabel’s breakout directorial effort “Pet Shop Days” played both the Venice International Film Festival and SXSW this cycle, scoring distribution from Utopia for a 2024 theatrical release. Starring Jack Irv, Darío Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe and Peter Sarsgaard, the film tells of a drug lord scion on the run from his powerful family. Slumming it in New York in a haze of sex and drugs, he seduces an equally lost young man and pulls him into the city’s underbelly.

The provocative debut also hit festivals in Chicago, Montclair, Morelia, Santa Barbara and Sarasota. Schnabel was also awarded the Leffest Lisboa Film Festival’s Tap Revelation Award.

Schnabel just wrapped “In the Hand of Dante” for production shop Twin, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler and Gal Gadot. The film is a...

“Pet Shop Days,” the directorial debut from Hollywood scion Olmo Schnabel, has been acquired by Utopia for theatrical distribution in North America.

A Venice Film Festival premiere that just lit up SXSW, the provocative coming-of-age film stars stars Jack Irv, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard and Emmanuelle Seigner. Martin Scorsese, Jeremy O. Harris and Michel Franco (“New Order”) all serve as executive producers.

Bernal (Netflix’s “House of Flowers”) stars as Alejandro, the son of a Mexican crime lord on the run from his past in New York City. There he meets Jack (Irv), a 20-something living with his wealthy parents Francis (Dafoe) and Diana (Seigner) while working in a pet shop. In a haze of drugs and sex, Alejandro seduces Jack and drags him into the city’s criminal underbelly.

Shot on 35mm film by Hunter Zimny, the film generated buzz out of Venice for its daring lead performances.

Far-out cineaste Santiago Mohar Volkow (“Los Muertos”) will deliver his fourth feature “A History of Love & War” (“Una Historia de Amor y de Guerra”) to audiences at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

A viscally ludicrous examination of Mexico’s colonial history and the duplicitous nature of high-wealth, the film screens as part of the Harbor strand, dedicated to a wide range of contemporary narratives.

The plot opens on insufferably spoilt and corrupt real estate mogul Pepe Sanzhez Campo (Andrew Leland Rogers) as his mega-mall development plans roil on and an engagement offer to his affluent love interest Constanza (Lucía Gómez Robledo) proves a success.

When militant forces challenge his land rights and an otherwise cliche bachelor party turns sour after his fiancé’s lover Teo (Darío Yazbek Bernal) sets off a rip-roaring tide change, Pepe’s left with a reckoning that derails his privileged future.

Providing...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

Last year was my first as an official resident of Madrid (where I’m wrapping up my Ma in Cultural Theory and Criticism) and I’m happy to report the most extraordinary thing occurred: I fell in love with going to the movies again. I left New York City before movie theaters reopened in 2021, and the brief, in-between, time I spent in Honduras (one of the most dangerous countries in the world) made me even more of a movie recluse (insert Leo on the couch meme). Just when I felt like a jaded noir detective who’d fully embraced screening links, Madrid’s cinephile offerings slowly seduced me.

I saw 2022 gems like Aftersun inside a repurposed porn theater complete with velvet tapestry and a dog who sat...

The film I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me, puts the audiences in a dilemma as to whether it is a real-life incident or just a work of fiction. Juan Pablo Villalobos, the Mexican author, is the protagonist in his own autobiographical fiction novel. The story centers around a Ph.D. candidate who travels from Mexico to Barcelona to complete his thesis paper and gets tangled up with a dangerous drug racket. The film stars actors like Natalia Solian, Anna Castillo, Dario Yazbek Bernal, and others. The life-like narration of Juan Pablo puts us in a catch-22 situation, as we keep wondering if the incidents are real or fictional. He has explored real-life issues in his other novels, like ‘The Other Side’, where he has highlighted the issue of illegal immigration. Nonetheless, coming back to I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me, will the protagonist be able to survive the harsh situations in Barcelona?...

This is the second Mexican film I’ve seen within the span of a month, and it’s yet another adaptation of a body of work that is deeply culturally significant. If Hurricane Season was raw and gritty, I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is absurd and humorous. The film follows a young man, Juan Pablo Villalobos (also the author of the actual novel), as he moves from Mexico to Barcelona on a scholarship, only to be sucked into a vicious world of crime and illogicality. Interestingly, the thugs (of said crime world) are playing around with the man’s little heart in order to catch a big fish. I do feel that if I reveal anything further, we’d be in spoiler territory, so that’s where I’m going to leave the summary. Personally, I watched this film with no prior information, not even having seen the trailer,...

Chicago – The director debut is the flourishing element of any film festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) has always been a nurturing place for the latest cinema talent. “Pet Shop Days” is the debut of director and co-writer Olmo Schnabel, and screened at the 59th Ciff. The film continues on the fest circuit, as its currently at the Montclair (New Jersey) Film Festival.

When Alejandro (Dario Yazbek Bernal) flees Mexico after an impulsive act of violence, he lands in New York City on a mission to live life on his own terms. After befriending Jack (Jack Irv), who spends his days and nights getting high and sleeping with whomever he wants, the pair embark down a rabbit hole of vice, coming together and breaking apart … with a magnetic and obsessive attraction that will change their lives forever. Like an impulsive Butch and Sundance, the journey of the duo leads to an inevitable destination.

Exclusive: Darío Yazbek Bernal, star of the hit Netflix series La Casa De Las Flores, has signed with Gersh.

Besides La Casa De Las Flores, he was most recently seen opposite Willem Dafoe in Olmo Schnabel’s Pet Shop Days, which earned rave reviews when it premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

He can be seen as a series lead in the Apple show, Now and Then. He also starred in the Neon feature New Order for director Michel Franco, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival in 2020.

He also starred in a lead role in the Netflix miniseries, The Search. Other noteworthy credits include Daniel and Ana and Los Paisajes.

He is repped by Anonymous Content.

"Who do you think you're working with, buddy?" Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a crime thriller from Mexico titled I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me, which sounds much more like a film for a sci-fi or supernatural horror than a drama like this. It's the latest film from the acclaimed filmmaker Fernando Frias of the sensational Mexican drama I'm No Longer Here from a few years ago (which is also on Netflix to watch). In this film, Juan Pablo Villalobos travels with his girlfriend to study for a PhD in Literature in Barcelona. But before he leaves Mexico, he gets involved in a criminal network, which inspires him to write the novel of his dreams (called "I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me"), while his life takes many absurd & sinister turns. Based on the novel by Juan Pablo Villalobos, this stars Darío Yazbek with Natalia Solián, Alexis Ayala,...

There is a grand tradition of messy but glorious films about couples who bring out the crazy in one another and end up doing all manner of bad stuff. Sadly, Pet Shop Days, a directorial debut for writer-producer Olmo Schnabel (son of Julian Schnabel), is just messy and never glorious.

Even with the built-in advantage of Willem Dafoe and Emmanuelle Seigner taking major roles (neither at their best), cameos from Peter Sarsgaard and Maribel Verdu, and a mass list of executive producers who should have known better (including Michel Franco and Martin Scorsese), this poorly paced crime drama is afflicted with terrible dialogue and weak lead performances from Jack Irv (also a co-screenwriter, along with Schnabel and Galen Core) and Dario Yazbek Bernal as two repellent, entitled brats in love.

The opening sequence introduces us to Alejandro (Dario Yazbek Bernal, half brother of Gael Garcia Bernal), a young man in his 20s,...

From the mind of Olmo Schnabel — yes, he’s the son of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel — comes one of the most frustrating protagonists to grace an indie film screen this year. The impulsive black sheep of his family, Alejandro is played in the queer romance “Pet Shop Days” by Dario Yazbek Bernal. And if your nepo baby light wasn’t already blinking at the name Schnabel, Dario Yazbek Bernal is also the brother of Gael García Bernal.

After almost killing his mother in a car accident, Alejandro flees the scene of his mobster family’s moneyed party, thrashing his way through the lives of everyone else he encounters in the aftermath while on the run. That includes Jack (Jack Irv), a pet shop worker in crisis with his dying mother (Emmanuelle Seigner) and philandering father (Willem Dafoe), with whom he lives in a pricy Manhattan penthouse. Jack and Alejandro...

A scrappy urban tale of misspent young adulthood, Olmo Schnabel’s “Pet Shop Days” evokes the blown-out, stolen-shot 16mm character studies of 1990s independent cinema, as well as the bohemian oeuvre of painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, his father. This isn’t attributable merely to the fact that the younger Schnabel includes a scene in which his characters watch Julian’s 1996 “Basquiat,” whose themes and aloof tone — not to mention the events of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s actual life — would seem an obvious inspiration for his first feature. But in a contemporary absence of true New York stories told by filmmakers with seemingly more moxie than money, newcomer Schnabel distinguishes himself with a debut that feels tactile, real and suitably off-putting as he attempts to capture the sensibilities (if not always common sense) of twentysomethings.

Dario Yazbek Bernal (of Netflix’s “House of Flowers”) plays Alejandro, a spoiled, rebellious young adult...

With no official film market and a more laid-back attitude than Cannes, Berlin or Toronto, Venice has never been the go-to festival for movie deals.

But opportunistic buyers could spot a bargain this year, as many of the hottest titles arrive at the Lido without major distribution in place.

Just ahead of Venice, Sideshow and Janus Films picked up domestic rights to Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car follow-up Evil Does Not Exist, and Mubi snatched up Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla, an A24 release in the U.S., for several markets, including the U.K., Germany, Latin America and Turkey.

Here are some of the other prime targets for dealmakers in the 2023 Venice Film Festival lineup.

Aggro Dr1ft

Director Harmony Korine

Stars Travis Scott, Jordi Molla

Buzz Another slice of extreme avant-guard from Spring Beakers and Trash Humpers director Harmony Korine, this experimental action film — shot entirely in infrared...

Sex, crime and fish tanks converge in the officially titled “Pet Shop Days,” Olmo Schnabel’s directorial debut which will play at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Variety has an exclusive first look at the project starring Jack Irv, Dario Yazbek Bernal and Willem Dafoe. Schnabel, son of Oscar nominated director Julian Schnabel, tells the story of two young men falling down a rabbit hole of rebellious desire – one running from a traumatic incident and a bitter authoritarian father, the other a privileged drifter in search of himself.

Irv and Bernal take the leads, hustling their way through a punishing city. Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard and Emmanuelle Seigner are just a few of the hapless adults caught in their web.

“This is the perfect New York story in that anything can happen,” Schnabel said. “That’s how it was growing up. You meet a complete stranger, you’re enamored or infatuated with them,...

#QueMéxicoSeVea designed to showcase work of local industry.

Netflix has announced the latest film from Fernando Frias and the feature directorial debut of cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto as it launches an initiative to raise the profile of local filmmakers in the run-up to Mexico’s national cinema day on Monday (August 15).

Under #QueMéxicoSeVea, which translates as Let Mexico Be Seen, Netflix will present the latest from Frias – I Don’t Expect Anyone To Believe Me (No Voy A Pedirle A Nadie Que Me Crea) – whose I’m No Longer Here was acquired by the streamer and represented Mexico in the international feature...

Netflix has reaffirmed its 300 million commitment to Mexican cinema and series, announcing a slew of new movie projects to celebrate the country’s National Day of Cinema on Aug. 15 and as part of its #QueMéxicoSeVea initiative.

The year-old initiative, which can be roughly translated to “Let Mexico Be Seen” has the mission “to make visible the work of Mexican creators, screenwriters, writers, directors, actors and people who make national cinema possible,” as well as its wealth of original stories.

Leading the pack is the widely anticipated directorial debut of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto who is helming an adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s seminal novel, “Pedro Paramo.” Produced by Redrum, the film’s crew includes Oscar-nominated production designer Eugenio Caballero and costume designer Anna Terrazas, whose notable credits include “Roma,” “Spectre” and “Bardo.”

“Our commitment to Mexican culture also includes adapting great Mexican works to the cinema, and ‘Pedro Páramo’ will...

The mystery is intensifying, and there's much to unpack on Now & Then Season 1 Episode 7.

To whet your appetite for the shocking episode, TV Fanatic has an exclusive look ahead that certainly lives up to the show's namesake.

In the highly-anticipated seventh episode, titled “Elections,” Election Day arrives. Pedro (José María Yazpik) grapples with distrust," reads the logline.

"Sofía (Maribel Verdú) and Marcos (Manolo Cardona) form a plan.

Belinda (Ella Kweku) finds a clue."

The clip shows a younger Marcos telling Sofia he must leave town because the police have his fingerprints.

It's a shocking turn of events, and you can tell Sofia does not want to leave with him.

The clip features jump cuts, highlighting the roles reversing in the present as Sofia has to leave town, and it's clear she wants Marcos to accompany her.

The beauty of Now & Then is its narrative structure. The series perfectly...

Will Flora's findings turn the case on its head?

Now & Then Season 1 Episode 4 drops on Apple TV+ Friday, and TV Fanatic has an exclusive look ahead.

In the clip for the highly-anticipated outing, we see Flora in the year 2000, armed with some evidence that could change things considerably.

Sullivan is shocked by her arrival at his home because it's his day off, but when you're trying to find all the evidence involved, is there such a thing as a day off?

Flora's tenacity shines through the clip.

She's livid that this case has been covered up, and is dead set on getting the answers to prove what happened the fateful night the other characters desperately want to forget.

Set in Miami and shot in both Spanish and English, Now & Then stars an exceptional ensemble cast, including Academy Award nominees Marina de Tavira and Rosie Perez, and Ariel Award winner José María Yazpik.

"What do I know? I haven't heard from you in 20 years." Apple has revealed an official trailer for a series titled Now & Then, a "multi-layered thriller" that will be streaming on Apple TV+ starting in late May next month. Set in Miami and shot in both Spanish and English, Now & Then stars an exceptional ensemble cast, including Academy Award nominees Marina de Tavira & Rosie Perez, Ariel Award winner José María Yazpik, multi-Goya Award winner Maribel Verdú, Manolo Cardona, Goya Award winner Soledad Villamil, Emmy Award winner Željko Ivanek, with Jorge López, Alicia Jaziz, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Alicia Sanz, Jack Duarte, and Miranda de la Serna. The lives of a group of college best friends are forever changed after a celebratory weekend ends up with one of them dead. 20 years later, the remaining five are reluctantly reunited by a threat that puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk. This...

Apple TV+ released the first trailer for its upcoming bilingual drama series Now & Then, starring Rosie Perez, Manolo Cardona, Marina de Tavira, José María Yazpik, Soledad Villamil, and Maribel Verdú, among others. Three of the 8 episodes will be released on May 20 with the remaining episodes dropping weekly every Friday through June 24.

Set in Miami, Now & Then follows a group of college best friends whose lives are forever changed after one of them ends up dead. Now, 20 years later, the remaining 5 are forced to reunite after a threat puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk.

Perez portrays Flora, a detective obsessed with an unresolved case from 20 years ago, who will stop at nothing to discover the truth. Her partner Sullivan (Željko Ivanek) helps to keep Flora from getting into too much trouble.

The 6 original friends are played during their younger years by Jorge Lopez, Alicia Jaziz, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Alicia Sanz,...

Apple TV+ released the trailer for the upcoming bilingual series “Now & Then” on Tuesday: The eight-episode thriller from Bambú Producciones is about a group of college friends who are being blackmailed over a death from 20 years before. It’s set to launch globally with three episodes on Friday, May 20, on Apple TV+, with new episodes weekly every Friday through June 24.

Set in Miami and shot in both Spanish and English, the series stars Rosie Perez as a cop eager to have a second chance to solve the mysterious death. The series also stars Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), José María Yazpik (“Narcos: Mexico”), Maribel Verdú (“Y tu mamá también”), Manolo Cardona (“Narcos”), Soledad Villamil (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), Jorge López (Netflix’s “Elite”), Alicia Jaziz (HBO’s “Love Spells”), Dario Yazbek Bernal (“The House of Flowers”), Alicia Sanz (Prime Video’s “El Cid”), Jack Duarte (“Ingobernable,”) and Miranda de la Serna...

Netflix announced Tuesday that it will be premiering Ali Wong’s new comedy special, “Don Wong,” on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The special is Wong’s third with Netflix, following 2016’s “Ali Wong: Baby Cobra” and “Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife” in 2018. “Don Wong” was filmed at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in New Jersey in November 2021, and features Wong discussing her deepest fantasies, the challenges of monogamy and her feelings about single people.

The project is the latest addition to a slate of projects between Wong and Netflix, including the 2019 film “Always Be My Maybe” and the upcoming series “Beef.” Wong also voices characters on animated shows including Netflix’s “Ask the StoryBots,” “Ada Twist,” “Scientist” and the Emmy-winning adult comedy “Big Mouth.”

“Don Wong” is directed by Nahnatchka Khan, with Wong serving as executive producer alongside Ravi Nandan, Inman Young, Alli Reich and Corey Deckler for A24.

Exclusive: AppleTV+’s bilingual thriller series Now and Then has added to its cast Jorge Lopez (Elite), Alicia Jaziz, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Alicia Sanz, Jack Duarte and Miranda de la Serna (Before Opening Night) .

The Spanish and English series hails from Bambú Producciones and creators Ramón Campos, Teresa Fernández-Valdés and Gema R. Neira, the team behind the Spanish series Velvet, Cable Girls and Gran Hotel. Gideon Raff will executive produce and direct the first two episodes.

Set in Miami, Now and Then explores the differences between youthful aspirations and the reality of adulthood, when the lives of a group of college best friends are forever changed after a celebratory weekend ends up with one of them dead. Now, 20 years later, the remaining five are reluctantly reunited by a threat that puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk.

New Order Trailer — Michel Franco‘s New Order / Nuevo orden (2020) movie trailer has been released by Neon. The New Order trailer stars Diego Boneta, Naian Gonzalez Norvind, Samantha Yazareth Anaya, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Patricia Bernal, Monica del Carmen, Fernando Cuautle, Roberto Medina, Lisa Owen, Enrique Singer, Eligio Melendez, and Gustavo Sanchez Parra. Crew Michel [...]

Continue reading: New Order Trailer: Class Warfare & Revolution springs forth in Michel Franco’s 2020 Near-future Dystopia Movie...

Igniting controversy upon its festival run at Venice and TIFF last fall, followed by its release in Mexico, Michel Franco’s New Order was criticized for its racial stereotypes as the story depicts a violent class divide at a wedding, with a darker-skinned lower class attacking a lighter-skinned upper class. With the director pushing back on the criticism––noting that “every country for its particular reality is facing something similar” and “people are very dissatisfied everywhere and I fear governments are seizing the opportunity to control in a stronger way”––a U.S. release is still moving forward.

The film was picked up by Neon for a May 21 theatrical debut. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has arrived, which is already stirring up its own attention online. With a hat tip to @jim_boehle, he noted that our mixed TIFF review by C.J. Prince closes out with the line,...

Meet Dario Yazbek Bernal, Gael Garcia Bernal's 19-year-old half-brother. The curly-haired cutie makes his big-screen debut in the Mexican thriller 'Daniel y Ana,' which has made the festival rounds this year and will be screening at the 2010 Palm Springs International Festival and The Barbican next month. In the movie, which is based on actual events that happened in Mexico, Dario plays a teenager who is kidnapped along with his older sister. They are forced to do something deeply traumatic together then released to figure out how to reconstruct their lives and relationship. You can watch the trailer here. Photos: Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!...