Isabel Lopez Polanco de Exile
Exile Content Studios has had a very productive year in Mexican territory with projects such as the documentary La montaña, the film No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea for Netflix; the successful Vgly for HBO Max and the Amén series for ViX, which is in full script writing and in collaboration with Gran Vía.
“For Exile, Mexico has always been one of our priorities. I love that the industry is proving us right. I feel that the Mexican market is still in a maturing process and that there is a certain timidity when it comes to betting on projects. We are trying to define very well what we bet on. Trying —as far as possible— to push the limits imposed by the fear of risk. Our objective in Mexico, and from Exile, is to continue delivering quality content and well-told and authentic stories to the public. We don’t want to replicate formulas, we want to find genuine voices that dare to propose something new to us. I am confident that the Mexican market knows how to take advantage of this currently undergoing boom and continue to mature and grow. There is room for telenovelas and romantic comedies, but also for thrillers, dark comedies, content of all kinds,” said Isabel López Polanco, head of Development at Exile Content Studios for Mexico and Latin America, who has been with the company for more than two years. Native from Spain, she previously spent five years in Canana and has been living in Mexico for seven years.
“Mexico is going through an exciting moment and being here and living it from the inside seems like a luxury to me. From Exile we will continue to bet on Mexican creativity, which has a lot to offer and of which much remains to be seen,” she pointed out.
Commenting in detail about the most recent projects in Mexico, Polanco highlighted that the documentary La Montaña, directed by Diego Enrique Osorno, debuted at the Rotterdam Film Festival and more recently at the UNAM International Film Festival (FICUNAM). “It is a documentary about the journey of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation to build alliances in Europe, it is a historic moment and a very beautiful film,” she said.
Regarding No Voy a Pedirle a Nadie que Me Crea, she explained that it is based on a novel by the Mexican writer Juan Pablo Villalobos and is directed by Fernando Frías. “I’m looking forward to people seeing it because it’s a gem of a movie. It’s not an obvious movie. He dares to propose a less traditional narrative and it is wonderful. It will premiere on Netflix.”
About the series Vgly, which debuted on HBO Max in May, Polanco mentioned that it has been incredible to see how the Mexican and Latin American public has received it. “It is a bold series. It wasn’t the most obvious thing the market was asking for when it was sold, but it’s a very authentic series. We had some great partners at HBO Max who believed in the creative team and supported us to translate that vision into what’s on the screen. It is a series of which we are very proud, a work of many years. It has also been released at the right time with the explosion of urban music in Mexico. Even the original music that was made for the series has been a success.”
The series Amen for ViX tells the story of Father Maciel (Marcial Maciel), the founder of Los Legionarios de Cristo. “A rather gruesome story and is another big, ambitious and daring bet, because it’s a very sensitive subject. In ViX we found partners who are betting on these more ambitious projects, which not everyone would do. It is made in Mexico, but it travels to Spain, the Vatican, and the United States. It is an ambitious production that will take a little time,” she indicated.
“Mexico is socially and culturally going through a moment of effervescence. What is coming out of Mexico right now is having a global impact. Regarding music, for example, that has made Mexico become a main focus of attention for content production. It is a country very rich in culture, where there are great professionals in all branches of the industry. That is a huge opportunity for us who are dedicated to telling stories and have a strong presence in Mexico, both in creative and production capacities. I think it’s very important to cover both sides and in the end, this medium is about creating alliances with creative and technical talent, and with executives from the distribution platforms. Our success is based on building trust so their story is left in your hands and so that all the parties involved make sure that is told in the best possible way,” she concluded.
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