‘News of a Kidnapping’ Producer María Elena Wood, ‘Petit’ Director Bernardita Ojeda Move Into Toon Pics with ‘Lucila’ (EXCLUSIVE)
23.10.2023 - 19:01
/ variety.com
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Prominent Chilean TV producer Maria Elena Wood, a producer on “News of a Kidnapping,” “Dignity” and “Mary & Mike,” is teaming with multi-prized TV toon series director Bernardita Ojeda, helmer of two-time Intl. Emmy nominee “Petit,” to make 2D “Lucila,” both Wood and Ojeda’s first animated feature. “I am amazed at [animation’s] narrative possibilities,” Wood enthused to Variety.
In a Chilean power package, Patricio Pereira, EP on “Dignity” and “Mary & Mike,” and Alvaro Ceppi, director of “Zumbástico Fantástico” and 2Paper Port,” have also boarded “Lucila” as exec producers. Written by Argentine live action director Fernando Salem (“How Most Things Work”) and Chilean author Álvaro Bisama (“Mala Lengua,” “Ruido”), “Lucila” is set to make its market debut at this year’s Animation! Pitching Sessions. Part of Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur, backed by the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film and Argentina’s INCAA film-TV agency and organized with the Annecy Film Festival, Animation! runs Nov.
27-Dec. 1. From an original idea by Wood, “Lucila” is set up at María Wood Productions and is co-produced by Pájaro, Ojeda’s longterm label, launched in 2007.
To be animated in dainty 2D tones drawing on inspiration from traditional illustrations in children’s books, “Lucila” turns on a ghost girl, wandering through a small village in the desert, who embarks on a journey through mysterious territories, accompanied by a short-sighted hunter and an orphaned baby deer, determined to find her identity. Only by accepting herself and discovering the talents that make her unique will she be able to embody her destiny: To become the great poet Gabriela Mistral, the synopsis reads. Born in 1889 in
.