These super multi-taskers, aka film production companies, assemble the cast, scout locations and even take care of contracting on-location caterers. Barcelona is filled with them, and many are beginning to catch the eye of big Hollywood budgets.
Zip films is one of the city’s leading production houses. Launched in 1993 by Jordi Rediu and Norbert Llaràs, it recently received a substantial monetary injection ($23.5 million) from GC Corp in New York. This financial boost will allow the company to transition from low budget to big-budget filmmaking. The Taxi Thief, Joves by Ramon Termens and Carles Torras, and Wes Bentley’s The Ungodly, are just some of the film projects that brought about this hefty recognition.
With Zip, Jordi and Norbert set out to make Catalunya a reference point for courageous and creative moviemaking. Their candid excitement toward film partly comes from Jordi’s childhood dream of becoming a Hollywood star. While his partner Norbert Llaràs comes from a background in public administration, he too shares Jordi’s passion for cinema.
For the two, the added financial backing from GC will allow them to work on such grand projects as the film adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s controversial novel Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores. Shooting will begin in Mexico on October 26th.
Directed by Oscar award winner Jean-Claude Carrière (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) the Márquez tale centers on El Sabio, a 90-year-old journalist living in a remote Mexican town. El Sabio has never had a relationship with a woman that he didn’t pay for. The story delves into his encounter with a 14 year-old-girl, given to him as a birthday gift from the Madame of a local brothel. With a budget of $7 million and a release date set for May of 2010, it will be interesting to see how Zip gives the film a Catalan cinematic touch. CZ
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