Disney’s Star Distribution has struck a deal with U.K. sales agent Protagonist Pictures for the rights to Luis Ortega’s Venice, Toronto and San Sebastian player “Kill the Jockey.”
The film will be released theatrically in Argentina on Sept. 26 and will later be streamed on Disney+ across Latin America.
Already confirmed for a Venice world premiere and Toronto Centerpiece screening, the film was included in San Sebastian’s Horizontes Latinos lineup, announced earlier today. Along with today’s announcement, it was confirmed that Ortega and the film’s principal cast will attend the Basque festival.
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“Kill the Jockey” is the story of Remo Manfredini, a legendary jockey whose self-destructive behavior threatens to overshadow his talent and ruin his relationship with his girlfriend, Abril. On the day of a race that could help him clear his debts to a mob boss, Remo has a traumatic accident and is hospitalized. After disappearing from the facility, he wanders the streets of Buenos Aires as the mob looks to track him down, dead or alive.
The film features a stellar cast, led by Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (“Glue,” “120 BPM”) and Ursula Corbero (“Money Heist,” “Snake Eyes”). They’re joined by Daniel Giménez Cacho (“Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” “Blancanieves”) and Mariana Di Girolamo (“Ema,” “Perdona Nuestros Pecados”).
Director Luis Ortega is a Buenos Aires native who directed his first film, “Caja Negra,” at 19 years old. In the quarter-century since, his films have scooped awards at international festivals and ceremonies, and his 2018 feature “El Ángel” premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section before becoming the highest-grossing film in Argentina that year.
“The Jockey” is a multi-country co-production from Rei Pictures (“Zama”), El Despacho, Infinity Hill (“Argentina 1985”), Warner Music Entertainment, and Exile. It was also backed by ViX, Dim Films and the Ernesto Sábato Foundation in association with Pampa Films (“El Bar”) and the Spanish offices of Gloriamundi. Financial support was provided by Argentina’s INCAA and the city of Buenos Aires, EFICINE and the Danish Film Institute. Protagonist Pictures is handling international sales.
