Mexican Filmmaker Diego Arredondo
With an already established reputation synonymous with success, director Diego Arredondo embarks on his next project for the big screen, the feature film “Sonambulo.”
A period sci-fi thriller interwoven with mystery, “Sonambulo” is set in Mexico City in 1941 and film follows Dr. Minvielle, a Parisian medical expert who travels to Mexico in an attempt to cure a growing number of inhabitants from a rural mining town suffering from chronic insomnia. However, Minvielle’s use of electroshock therapy and other strange machinery unleash a mysterious chain of events within the town that threaten everyone’s lives including his own.
The filmmakers are hoping to land Cesar Award winner Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan,” “Child 44,” “Ocean’s Thirteen”) as Dr. Minvielle, multi-award winning actor Daniel Gimenez- Cacho (“Get the Gringo”) as Dr. Krauss, and Ana de la Reguera (“Cowboys and Aliens”).
“Sonambulo” was co-written by WGA writer Brian Horiuchi (“Brass Monkey,” “America So Beautiful,” “Parts Per Billion,” “Circle of Eight”), and is slated to begin filming in San Sebastian Del Oest, Jalisco, Mexico later this year.
Horiuchi says, “In working on ‘Sonambulo’ I was constantly delighted by Diego’s ability to find the truth of the story, to search the depths of the characters and allow the plot to develop naturally… Due to Diego’s contributions ‘Sonambulo’ has just been selected to participate in Strategic Partners, one of the world’s preeminent co-production/co-financing markets.”
LA-based post-production company Punch Media has already signed on to handle the film’s equity and post-production processing.
Diego Arredondo is one of Mexico’s most talented directors in the industry today. International audiences and festival judges began recognizing Arredondo’s prowess as a director even during the early stages of his career, something that is proven by the success of his films “Heel” (2004) and “Tequila Chamuco” (2005).
Created for the Straight 8 Film Festival in London, both films were awarded among the best films of the competition leading them to screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Additionally, “Tequila Chamuco” screened at London’s Soho Shorts Festival and won the Best Short Award at the Silent Light, Cork Super 8 Fringe Festival in Ireland; and “Heel” took home the Straight 8 Film Festival’s Best Short Award. The films also aired during the BBC’s “4 Minute Wonders” special about the Straight 8 Film Festival.
Aside from the brilliantly crafted stories they portray, the laborious planning process and unique requirements that these films had to adhere to in order to qualify for the festival reveal Arredondo’s astonishing versatility and unparalleled vision as a filmmaker.
Established in 1999, the Straight 8 Film Festival requires all films to be shot and edited in-camera on a single Super 8mm film cartridge that the festival registers and sends to applicants once they have applied. This means that there are no second chances and no room for post-production editing; in fact, Arredondo didn’t even get to see his films until they premiered at Cannes. An assuredly nerve racking experience, which was only made less so because he knew his films had been awarded as the best out of hundreds of submissions.
Some of Arredondo’s other films to date include “Luchitas,” “Pancho Pozole,” “For the Wings of Angels,” “Hector y Tatis” and “Goyo.” He’s also had great success as a commercial director for globally recognized brands including Phillip Morris, Diageo, Tequila el Jimador, Tequila Corralejo, Mini Cooper, Dos Equis Entertainment, J&B, Corona and Heineken.
Another early accomplishment that testifies to Arredondo’s talent came in 2007 when he was chosen to participate in Berlinale Talents, a summit of master classes and lectures with the world’s most renowned filmmakers. The summit, which occurs annually during the Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, invites five of the top young filmmakers from every country to attend.
While he was in Berlin, Arredondo also participated in the global documentary film project “Why Democracy?,” where ten hour-long documentaries and 17 short films were broadcast in the world’s largest ever factual media event.
Arredondo’s film “Maria y Osmey,” which he wrote, directed and produced, was one of those films and as such, the film was broadcast in over 180 countries by over 48 broadcasters including the BBC, SVT Sweden, PBS USA, AL Arabiya Dubai and others.
To shed a little more light on the caliber of films included in “Why Democracy?,” the film “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which showed alongside Arredondo’s film, went on to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary in the US in 2008.
Diego Arredondo has a creative vision unlike any other, but what is even more astonishing is the fact that his genius extends beyond film. Whilst living in London several years ago Arredondo solidified his reputation as a sought after music video director.
His debut in the format, the 2008 music video for the band Trickbaby’s hit single “Slipping Through Your Fingers,” which featured members of the Great Britain synchronized swimming team and was shot primarily underwater using Super16mm film, reached astonishing international acclaim and went on to be featured on MTV across London and Asia. Mexico-based production company Contenido Neto currently represents Arredondo as a music video director, and he is represented for commercials by Camaleon Films.
In addition to having created a dazzling repertoire of work over the past decade, Arredondo has attended some of the most competitive film schools in the world including the New York Film Academy, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design London where he received his B.A. in Film and Video, and the London Film School where he received his Master’s Degree in Filmmaking.
Corona beer and Sony are also sponsoring one of Arredondo’s other upcoming films “Cloverlawn 3D,” a horror film based around events that take place at an eerie old house in Guadalajara, Mexico.
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