03/02/2021 - The Colombian filmmaker is making her second fiction feature in collaboration with Luxembourg and France

Killing Jesus, the previous drama put forth by Laura Mora, didn’t leave anyone cold upon its 2017 release. Following the frantic quest of a young woman who is looking to avenge her father’s death but whose intentions are ultimately thwarted by the personal relationship she develops with the murderer, this partly autobiographical tale proved popular for its intensity, realism and audacity. At the Chicago, Toronto and Thessaloniki film festivals, as well as at the San Sebastian event where Killing Jesús won three awards on top of a Special Mention, it was clear that Mora represented a promising new voice in Colombian film.

Having also signed her name to several episodes of the series Escobar, el patrón del mal in 2012, Laura Mora has now stated that she’s looking to move away from a certain form of classicism in order to explore a wider variety of film languages. The story of her latest project Los Reyes del Mundo, which is currently being filmed, is inspired by certain images which the director had already had in her head for some time: "children without roots" left to their own devices on the streets of Medellín and "a hostile landscape such as Bajo Cauca Antioquia in Colombia."

Five children aged between 11 and 17 who have been rejected by society leave town in search of their own "Kingdom". They cross a mountain range, roads and rural landscapes, and are both victims and guilty parties on their journey. They steal and launch attacks but are also robbed and tortured in turn… Part metaphorical tale and partly inspired by Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mobile Men, Laura Mora explains that she is looking to examine emotions and human contradictions. Los Reyes del Mundo looks to be a modern-day fiction film which is violent, but which also has a place for beauty. In the words of the filmmaker: "I want to tell a story inscribed within a very local context whilst also offering up a universal tale, exploring the issues impacting my country."

Colombian production company Ciudad Lunar are responsible for the project - by way of producer Cristina Gallego - and will manage 60% of the film’s funding, rounded off by 20% in Luxembourg courtesy of Nicolas Steil (Iris Productions) and another 20% in France via Pilar Peredo and Edgard Tenembaum (Tu Vas Voir), who notably gave us recent title Cassandro The Exotico [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

Out of an overall budget of €1,200,000, Film Fund Luxembourg have provided €200,000 while a full sound post-production service (editing, sound effects, mixing) will be carried out within the Grand Duchy. This is the second time Iris Production and Parisian firm Tu Vas Voir have collaborated, following the critical success of Tremors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jayro Bustamante
film profile], directed by Jayro Bustamate (2019). According to Nicolas Steil, the president and CEO of Iris Group who spearheaded the creation of ALGOA (Luxembourg Association for the Management of Audiovisual Works), this project will provide Laura Mora with the perfect opportunity to prove her considerable talent: "Los Reyes del Mundo is in keeping with the rest of her work … A very human tale which is both contemplative and visceral owing to the very harsh nature of the subjects she explores."

Completion and delivery of the project is scheduled for February 2022.

(Translated from French)