Mexico’s Tulip Pictures (formerly Baraka Prods) is opening offices in Austin, Texas and Spain, with the aim of leveraging each incentive and fostering new collaborations.
Lorena Villarreal, co-founder of Tulip Pictures with her husband Darian de la Fuente, said both locations are vibrant and have endless possibilities. The move comes as more Latin American companies set up base in Madrid, including Chile’s Clara Films and Peru’s Tondero.
Villarreal’s third directorial effort, Life Is (La vida es), also released an official international teaser trailer in Variety. The dark comedy had its world premiere at Argentina’s Mar del Plata Film Festival, Latin America’s only A-list film festival, and received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Director Villarreal said, “Experiencing the film with the audience at the film festival was irreplaceable,” adding that he was deeply moved by the “great creative exchange and high acclaim for Argentine independent films.”
The picture, written by Villarreal and Ian Martin (Veep, The Death of Stalin), will be shown at international festivals before opening in Mexico next year. It was produced by Villarreal, de la Fuente, and Dennis Chapa of Tulip Pictures, and Axel Krzebatsky and Baraka Prods of Infinity Hill. A final foray into film production before focusing solely on advertising production.
Starring Chile’s Paulina García (Gloria), Naian González Norvindo (Colina), Natalia Plasencia (Familia), and Rubén Ochandiano (Beautiful), the film focuses on two women approaching the age of 40 who face the challenges of midlife, navigating a mosaic of emotions and events.
Nora’s (Plasencia) existential crisis is caused by multiple breakdowns in her home life, emotional stability, career, and polyamorous relationship, while Eli (González Norvind) longs for stability in his life.
“Directing ‘Life Is’ gave me the opportunity to explore themes of loss, midlife crisis, and the search for purpose and identity – what we really want in life and who we really are – in a uniquely female perspective and a world of diverse stories,” said Villarreal.
“Life Is” is very different from Villarreal’s previous pictures “The Weeping Women” (“Las Jloronas”) and “Silencio” (both genre pictures), although Villarreal considers it somewhat similar to “Las Jloronas” because both are about women.
Tulip Pictures begins the international expansion of Life is in Ventana Sur, expanding its offices and strengthening its position across Ibero-American, US and international markets.
Latest acquisitions include Cannes Critics Week winner Ratchaphum Bumbunchachok’s A Useful Ghost. Diego Céspedes’ Un Certain Regard winner “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” (also submitted to the Chilean Oscar), and Eva Libertad’s “Deaf” (Solda), winner of the Berlinale’s Panorama Audience Award and multiple Malaga Festival awards.
Tulip’s extensive body of work includes work by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Paul Verhoeven, Andrea Arnold, and other up-and-coming international filmmakers.
Meanwhile, Villarreal is preparing the English-language feature Ophelia, which she will once again co-write with Emmy Award winner and BAFTA nominee Martin. The film centers on a 60-year-old woman who is facing a major moment of reckoning. The goal is to shoot in Spain or the UK by September next year.
Next spring, Tulip will host the second edition of Muestra de Oaxaca, a showcase of Mexican cinema, and will once again host the Monterrey International Film Festival, also scheduled for 2026.
As part of the company’s structure, Abraham González Ruiz leads Tulip Pictures’ distribution division as Director of Distribution and Acquisitions, and Paloma Cabrera serves as Director of Production and Development, overseeing Tulip’s project pipeline and cross-border collaborations.
Natalia Plasencia, Lorena Villarreal, Nian González (left) Credit: Cnristian Heit
