Latin Quarter Distribution has acquired world sales rights to José Dell’Acqua’s Uruguayan crime thriller “Maltrato Animal” (“Animal Budget”).
The deal was closed after a screening of “Maltrato Animal” at Locarno’s First Look, a pix-in-post competition focused on rough-cut screenings of emerging and established talent from a territory around the world, this year Uruguay.
Presented in Locarno by the Agencia del Cine y el Audiovisual del Uruguay (ACAU), which is still building Uruguay’s film-TV ecosysytem, the film, currently in the editing stage, is set against the backdrop of Uruguay’s 2002 economic crisis and explores a generation shaped by that pivotal moment in the country’s history.
Bankrupted by the financial crisis, a Montevideo veterinarian is pushed to desperate straits and doesn’t have enough money to eat. In order to survive, he enters a clandestine network of illegal breeding operations and pharmaceutical peddling. In this downward spiral, an unexpected encounter potentially opens a new chapter in his life.
Produced by Dell’Acqua and German Ormaechea, the film was shot over a four-year period — one week each year — with the support of numerous Uruguayan technicians and rental companies. The project brought together many first-time department heads, including cinematographer Germán Couto and costume designer Victoria Zavaleta, as well as an entirely Uruguayan cast, according to Dell’Aqua. Developed over eight years, the film blends fiction and reality to portray a deeply personal and collective memory.
