EXCLUSIVE: Lisbon-based sales agent Utopia Docs has acquired world rights to Mama ahead of the breast cancer documentary’s world premiere in the
EXCLUSIVE: Lisbon-based sales agent Utopia Docs has acquired world rights to Mama ahead of the breast cancer documentary’s world premiere in the Persister section of Hot Docs in Toronto later this month.
Ana Cristina Benítez’s Ecuadorian feature debut charts her own late-stage breast cancer diagnosis, years of treatment, and lengthy healing process.
The first-person narrative is interwoven with archival footage from a camera Benítez’s father sent after emigrating to the United States, asking the family to film themselves so he could see their lives from afar.
Bernarda Cornejo Pinto and Benítez serve as producers, and Andrea Moyano is executive producer. Benítez and Daniela Silva Solórzano are credited as co-writers.
Utopia Docs founder and CEO Renato Mangarello negotiated the deal with original producer Cornejo and said, “I was deeply moved by the courage and sensitive approach Ana had, transforming such a hard issue into a powerful piece of art that will reverberate through all kinds of people on many different levels.”
Cornejo added, “When we looked at Utopia Docs’ catalogue, we immediately saw films that felt compatible with Mama – creative, intimate, and socially engaged. From the beginning, it was important for us to feel close to everyone on our team, and working with a sales agent who prioritises Latin America made us feel understood and accompanied in the process.”
Utopia Docs specialises in international distribution and co-production of documentary features, series and shorts from or about Latin America. Recent titles include The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine by Alfredo Pourailly De La Plaza, This Is Ballroom by Juru and Vitã, and Canuto’s Transformation by Ariel Kuaray Ortega and Ernesto de Carvalho.
Hot Docs runs April 24-May 4.
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