Pablo Guisa, founder and CEO of Grupo Morbido and executive director of Cannes’ Fantastic Pavilion, has teamed up with the Costa Rica Media Market (CRMM) to launch Fantastic Lab Costa Rica.
“This is a practical and training laboratory where six projects will be able to participate in professional internships and training with the collaboration and equipment of local production company Atómica Films,” said Costa Rica Film Commissioner Marysela Zamora at the market gala.
Like its counterparts under the Sangre Latina banner hoisted by Grupo Morbido: the Sanfic-Morbido Lab (in Santiago de Chile), Blood Window in Ventana Sur (Argentina and Uruguay) and the Fantastic Pavilion (Cannes), the primary aim is to foster more genre filmmaking in the region.
“Our mission is to open doors to new and different Latin American filmmakers in the genre,” said Guisa, who delivered a keynote address to a packed audience at the rebranded CRMM, which kicked off on June 24.
Starting next year, CRMM will host the lab that will select a winner out of the six previously curated projects, chosen from an Open Call. Atómica, led by filmmaker Miguel Gómez (“El Sanatorio”), will produce a proof of concept of the winning project, which will be presented at Cannes’ Marché du Film in the next stage of its development trajectory.
“We will follow up with the other five in different capacities; this is where Morbido Lab and our other allies or companies jump in,” said Guisa.
In addition, starting this Autumn, a Morbido Cine fantasy film showcase will take place in Costa Rica, which includes a training and refresher workshop, kicking off with special effects makeup this year.
“Both initiatives seek to develop talent and community, generate audiences, attract productions, develop the industry and generate interest in the region within the fantasy film niche,” said Zamora, who has spearheaded the rebranded media market.
“We are doing all this because we believe that the Central American and Caribbean region has so much potential,” Guisa asserted.
In his keynote speech, Guisa presented statistics that illustrated the advantages of genre pics, specifically horror, in the worldwide market. He noted that the perks included low production costs, high profit margins, worldwide appeal and sustained global demand.
He also pointed out that according to a study, close to 80% of genre pics surveyed between 2000 and 2023 were sourced from original screenplays. “They don’t need to be in a franchise to succeed,” he noted.
“Genre travels across borders, they create jobs, they boost box office earnings plus horror fans all over the world don’t really care if the films are Argentinean, Portuguese or Korean,” he told Variety.
Reflecting on what Latino filmmakers would need to appeal internationally, he noted that good production values and neutral Spanish were key. “Buyers will walk out if they see something that looks cheap,” he noted.
“Latin Americans—particularly those from Central America and the Caribbean—have the potential to tap into global markets and make a significant impact if they explore and embrace the horror genre,” he said.
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