The Mexican production house Sula Films is responsible for the new film El Extraño Caso del Fantasma Claustrofóbico premiering on Amazon Prime on Friday, August 25th, and seeking a theatrical release. Its CEO, Alex Sugich, spoke about the project and new ones, highlighting new series and boosting production in Mexico.
“This film was born from the book by Hortensia Moreno, part of a reading show for children promoted by my mother-in-law. It took five years to get the funds and write the script, the filming was done last year and we recently presented it at the Guanajuato International Film Festival. It took us seven weeks of shooting, with many locations and special effects. The pre-production lasted eight weeks and we used technology that allowed us to produce a high-quality product,” said Sugich.
He believes creating content for children and teens is a way to bet on the industry, not being pigeonholed in comedies that work. “But we can also speak to other audiences with quality projects because they consume high-quality content on different platforms and have become experts in high-end cinema, so we need good scripts.”
He highlighted that platforms have been of great help to continue producing movies. “I come from a generation of cinema, I make films for the big screen, and that is why I made this film, but it is positive that streaming is committed to regional content and is doing so with El Extraño Caso del Fantasma Claustrofóbico. These windows allow us to export Mexican culture and to showcase it in other countries.”
Sugich announced the premiere of the vampire film Cuando Los Amos Se Duermen, a Mexico-Spain co-production filmed in Europe. There is also the recent debut of Perdidos En La Noche, where he co-produces with Amat Escalante. They are selecting the animators for the next Sula Entertainment film, Las Sirenas No Tienen Pelo Lacio, an animated feature film supported by Eficine, which will address Mexican issues, but of a universal nature.
Finally, he said he wants to continue making series since, so far, they have only participated in Los Hermanos Salvador, available on Disney+. “We are l very interested because it gives you time to develop the characters well, and, technically, they are shot now just like the movies.”