Guatemala’s most prominent film director, Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona, Ixcanul), has been fighting for years to grow the local film industry. And now, with Argot Prods, it looks like that’s finally happening. It boasts four films in production.
Founded in 2022, Guatemala-based Shingle has focused on emerging screenwriters and directors from Guatemala and Central America.
There is currently one feature film in production, Se’ K’o, a Guatemalan-Spanish co-production, and three feature-length projects, Bi’tzma, a Guatemalan-Honduras-Panamanian co-production. “See You in November” and “Salt Mountain” are co-productions between Guatemala, Mexico, and Argentina.
In addition, Argot is developing four projects (two documentaries and two works of fiction), further strengthening its commitment to diverse and locally-based cinema.
This year, she is participating in the Costa Rica Media Market (CRMM) Media Lab with “April’s Tales” (“Cuentos de Abril”).
Directed by Honduran experimental artist and filmmaker Darwin Andino, April’s Story is described as an auteur documentary that follows Andino and his six-year-old daughter Avril as they return to Honduras for a vacation that brings back memories of the hardships they have endured.
We secured a production grant from the Honduran Film Institute to support part of the project’s production. However, due to the current political situation in the country, these funds have not yet been disbursed.
Earlier this year, the Honduran government merged the Honduran Directorate of Cinematography (DGCINE) into the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage and laid off staff in an effort to reduce administrative costs.
The Honduran Film Producers Association expressed concern at the government’s action, declaring that the measure would create legal and institutional uncertainty for the country’s expanding film industry.
According to Argot, Abril’s trip to Honduras will be filmed from July 6th to 24th, with the help of cinematographer Gabriel Serra Arguello.
“April’s Tales offers an intimate and sensitive exploration of masculinity and fatherhood that goes beyond the traditional narratives of Central American cinema,” said Argot producer Ever Rodas, adding, “It will be shot primarily on iPhone 11 devices in Germany and Honduras, using natural light and lavalier microphones to preserve the authenticity of the footage.”
“Selected sequences are shot with cinema cameras and theatrical mise-en-scène to evoke the memories and emotional journeys of the protagonists. This combination of visual approaches aims to enhance the film’s intimacy, sense of memory and poetic dimension.”
CRMM will run from July 14th to 15th.
