Buenos Aires-based Boutique sales agency Compañía de Cine has snagged “Pirópolis,” Chilean Nicolás Molina’s docu selected as part of Ventana Sur’s Doc Sur sidebar.
Compañía de Cine’s deal with its producers Funky Films and Pequén Prods. caps a triumphant festival trajectory for “Pirópolis,” which has played in a number of film events, including Docs in Progress at FIDOCS + Conecta 2022, where it was awarded with the Best Project prize, as well as Visions Du Réel 2023 were it earned the VdR- Work-in-Progress Award.
“We are genuinely excited about this acquisition and the opportunity to bring ‘Pirópolis’ to a broader audience,” said Compañía de Cine’s Paulina Portela.
“Pirópolis” plunges us into the volatile Valparaíso city-port through the “Pompe France,” a fire brigade with French ties. The captain and crew receive Baptista, a French firefighter addressing eucalyptus-related fires. Amidst social upheaval, the company faces protests and strives for the inclusion of women in their traditional brotherhood, capturing a society’s transformation in a polarized nation.
This is Molina’s fourth film, following “Los Castores” and “Flow,” both of which premiered at the Sheffield Doc Fest, and “Gaucho Americano,” which had its World Premiere at Hot Docs.
Molina, who co-wrote the docu with Valentina Arango, is an alum of the prestigious Zine Eskola de Elias Querejeta in San Sebastian, Spain, where he edited “Pirópolis.”
It is produced by Joséphine Schroeder of Pequen Prods. France, whose credits include “Story of My Name” by Karin Cuyul and Molina’s “Gaucho Americano,” and Francisca Barraza of Funky Films, who executive produced “My Tender Matador,” “Dry Martina” and Sundance-winning short “And the Whole Sky Fit into the Dead Cow’s Eye.”
Compañía de Cine Films has handled such notable pics as “Lemebel” by Joana Reposi Garibaldi, winner of Berlinale’s Teddy Award, “Again Once Again” by Romina Paula,” “Vendrá la muerte y tendrá tus ojos” by José Luis Torre Leiva, “Camouflage” by Jonathan Perrel, and the San Sebastián entry, “Clara gets lost in the woods” by Camila Fabbri.
The 15th Ventana Sur, organized by Cannes’ Marché du Film and Argentine Film Institute INCAA, ran thru Nov. 27 – Dec. 1.