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Boutique sales agency FiGa Films has pounced on the worldwide sales rights to Guatemalan drama “Nosotros” (meaning “Us”) ahead of its world premiere at the 51st Toronto Intl. Film Festival (TIFF).
Playing at TIFF’s Discovery
sidebar, “Nosotros” is written and directed by Joaquín Ruano, who said: “As this is my debut feature, it was essential to partner with a sales team that can guide the film through industry terrains I haven’t traveled before.”
“I see the FiGa team as close collaborators across every stage of this process and I deeply value their proven track record championing Central American filmmakers I admire,” he added.
Set amid a highly conservative Guatemalan society and its deep social inequalities, “Nosotros” follows a quiet, forbidden connection that emerges in an unlikely place, challenging the forces of prejudice, power and violence that surround it. Featuring Lola Vásquez, Jozef Coxaj and Mayra Salvador, the drama presents an intimate portrait of longing and survival.
Romero (Coxaj) leaves his wife and son behind in the Guatemalan highlands to work as a private security guard in the capital, hoping for a different future. Immersed in an unforgiving culture of surveillance and machismo, his life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Nubia (Vásquez), a trans woman who owns a small shop in the mall he patrols.
As their bond deepens, the two carve out a fleeting sense of safety and intimacy. But mounting fear and suspicion among Romero’s fellow guards soon threaten to destroy the fragile sanctuary they have found in one another.
Ruano is among the rising talent from the small but increasingly prolific Central American region that continues to gain recognition at major festivals.
A Guatemala-Mexico co-production, “Nosotros” is produced by Pamela Guinea (“Gasolina,” “Our Mothers”) and Ruano (“Roza”) via their production companies Cine Concepción and Cine Murciélago. Sandro Fiorin, CEO of FiGa Films, negotiated the pact with them.
“My partnership with producer Pamela Guinea goes back more than 20 years to when we first met at San Sebastián,” said Fiorin. “Having collaborated on four films since then, working together on ‘Nosotros’ feels like a true family affair built on a rare level of industry trust and chemistry. We have actually been tracking this project since its early development at BrLab in 2016, and always knew it belonged on the FiGa slate. Its brilliant intersection of a tender, intimate love story and gripping social realism is exactly the kind of bold, urgent cinema that defines our brand.”
“FiGa has been a fundamental partner in my career, having worked together across four very different films,” Guinea noted. “They bring a unique perspective and a genuine commitment to the cinema of our region, and I know that the international journey beginning for ‘Nosotros’ is in good hands.”
Founded in 2006, FiGa Films is also a production and distribution company, with a library of over 80 films by both established and novice filmmakers, mainly from across Latin America.
Some notable titles in its slate include “About Thirty” by Martín Shanly, “The Padilla Affair” by Pavel Giroud, “The Visitor” by Martín Boulocq, “Los Lobos” by Samuel Kishi Leopo, “Nudo Mixteco” by Ángeles Cruz and Panama’s “Beloved Tropic” by Ana Endara.
The 51st TIFF runs over Sept. 10-20.
