Nosotros TIFF premiere lands FiGa Films worldwide sales deal
FiGa Films has taken worldwide sales rights to Joaquín Ruano’s Guatemalan drama Nosotros before its Toronto festival debut.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Guatemalan drama Nosotros has picked up worldwide sales muscle before its TIFF premiere, with boutique agency FiGa Films taking global rights to Joaquín Ruano’s debut feature, Variety reported.
The film, whose title translates as Us, will have its world premiere in the Discovery section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF is scheduled to run from Sept. 10 to 20.
Ruano wrote and directed the Guatemala-Mexico co-production. Variety reported that the deal was negotiated by FiGa Films CEO Sandro Fiorin with Ruano and producer Pamela Guinea.
What is Nosotros about?
Nosotros follows Romero, played by Jozef Coxaj, who leaves his wife and son in Guatemala’s highlands to work as a private security guard in the capital. The story places him inside a society marked by conservatism, social inequality, surveillance and machismo, according to Variety.
Romero’s life changes after he meets Nubia, a trans woman played by Lola Vásquez, who runs a small shop in the mall where he works. As their relationship grows, the film tracks the fragile space they build together while suspicion among Romero’s fellow guards threatens it.
The cast also includes Mayra Salvador. Variety described the film as an intimate drama about longing and survival, set against prejudice, power and violence.
Who made the Guatemalan drama?
Nosotros is produced by Guinea and Ruano through their companies Cine Concepción and Cine Murciélago. Guinea’s credits cited by Variety include Gasolina and Our Mothers, while Ruano’s work includes Roza.
Ruano said, according to Variety, that because Nosotros is his first feature, he wanted a sales team able to help the film through parts of the industry he had not yet experienced. He also said he sees FiGa as a close collaborator and values its history with Central American filmmakers.
Fiorin said his working relationship with Guinea began more than two decades ago at San Sebastián, and that they had collaborated on four films before Nosotros. He also said FiGa had followed the project since its early development at BrLab in 2016.
Guinea said FiGa had been an important partner across four films and praised the company’s commitment to cinema from the region, according to Variety.
Why FiGa Films matters here
FiGa Films, founded in 2006, works in sales, production and distribution. Variety reported that its library includes more than 80 films, largely from Latin America, spanning both emerging and established filmmakers.
The company’s slate includes Martín Shanly’s About Thirty, Pavel Giroud’s The Padilla Affair, Martín Boulocq’s The Visitor, Samuel Kishi Leopo’s Los Lobos, Ángeles Cruz’s Nudo Mixteco and Ana Endara’s Panamanian film Beloved Tropic.
For Nosotros, the Toronto launch gives Ruano’s first feature a festival platform as FiGa begins selling it internationally. Variety also placed Ruano among a wave of Central American filmmakers gaining attention at major festivals.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.