U.K.-French film company Alief has pounced on the worldwide sales rights to “Luna Rosa: The 7th Ascension of Atabey,” the fourth feature by Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate Omar Rodríguez-López, frontman for Grammy-winning band, The Mars Volta.
“This is his most cohesive, fully narrative film yet,” Alief co-partner Miguel Angel Govea told Variety, adding: “Omar pulls a magic trick with his visually and aurally stunning film, managing to pull us in with striking images.”
A meld of sci-fi and dystopian genres, “Luna Rosa” is set in Borinquen, the Indigenous Taíno name for Puerto Rico. It follows Zur’na (played by Flora Sylvestre), who ventures into enemy territories controlled by American colonial forces in search of her missing brother. Through her journey, Rodríguez-López critiques the enduring effects of American imperialism, drawing on influences from classic Latin American cinema and cult B-movies. The result is a pulsating world filled with intricate rituals, mind control and menacing holograms.
Alief has shared its teaser in exclusivity with Variety. The company is already fielding offers from Spain, Colombia, Argentina and the U.K. while Mexico’s Piano is distributing it in Mexico.
SXSW London will host the film’s U.K. premiere on June 6 as part of its official selection. “The film is exactly the sort of intersection of sensibilities and artforms that we want to champion at the inaugural SXSW London,” said the festival’s head of screen, Anna Bogutskaya.
Pic was shot in black and white in Mexico and features a score composed by Rodríguez-López and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante, who has contributed to some of The Mars Volta’s albums.
Piano Mexico’s Head of Distribution, Ester Bernal hails “Luna Rosa” as “one of the most forward-thinking approaches to Latin American science fiction.”
“Through the vision of Omar Rodríguez López, the film delivers an unparalleled fantasy while unfolding a sharp and powerful social critique,” she said, adding that distribution plans includes art house circuit screenings, complemented by special screenings in alternative spaces outside the traditional exhibition circuit.
The German-Puerto Rican-Mexican production was financed by Germany’s Clouds Hill Films, part of the Clouds Hill Group, which includes the music label that handles The Mars Volta.
Rodríguez-López’s Telesterion Inc. and Mexico’s Kintsugi Cine, Peliculas Extrañas, MalaCOSA Cine are also producers.
Rodríguez-López, himself the subject of a documentary, “Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird” by Nicolas Jack Davies, is currently shooting his fifth feature in Texas, this time a Western.
Alief’s Cannes slate includes Polish dystopian drama “Glorious Summer” (SXSW 2025), Indian folk horror pic “Bokshi” (IFFR 2025), Canadian-Korean Fipresci prizewinner “Mongrels” (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024), Colombian-French-German supernatural drama “Horizonte” (TIFF 2024), German-British thriller “Lonely Musketeer” and BBC Films dramatic thriller “Edge of Summer.”
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