Netflix series about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on the way
A Netflix series about the tempestuous relationship between iconic Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera is in the works, with Patricia Riggen (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) and writer-director-producer Gabriel Ripstein, of “600 Miles” and “Narcos” fame, on board to direct.
The as-yet-untitled show delves into their lives and explores how changing political, social and artistic upheavals shaped their relationship and oeuvre. Produced by Mónica Lozano of Alebrije Producciones (“Amores Perros,” “Instructions not included”), it is an adaptation of the novel “Rien n’est noir” by French writer Claire Berest, translated into “The award-winning novel about the colorful and captivating life of Frida Kahlo.”
Writer-actor María Renée Prudencio, whose credits include “Los Adioses” and “Club Sandwich,” serves as head writer.
Carolina Leconte, content VP, Netflix Mexico: “The ambition of this project is unprecedented. We want to show a real Frida – a Frida who seems to step out of the screen and take you by the hand, so that you can experience her story alongside her, during one of the most important eras in this country: a Mexico that Frida and Diego put on the world map.”
“It is a daring proposal that takes us into the most intimate spaces of two figures who we feel exhausted by the myth, but whose true story we have not yet dared to face directly. At Netflix we believe in local stories, and few are as Mexican and as abundant as the love – and toxicity – between Frida and Diego. It is a privilege to work on this series with Patricia Riggen and Gabriel Ripstein to create a Frida and a Diego who are restless, seductive and feel more alive than ever.”
The new project is in line with the goals of the streamer, which last year announced a $1 billion investment in production in Mexico over the next four years.
It also comes as Mexico finally announced a landmark 30% film production incentive to boost national and international projects. It complements the existing 16% VAT recovery option and the incentives of the State of Jalisco. Salma Hayek, who stood next to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to announce the news, produced and starred in the 2002 Oscar-winning biopic “Frida.”
Riggen first broke out with her 2007 migrant drama, “Under the Same Moon,” which sparked a bidding war at Sundance. She is one of the few women of color directors in the industry, and the first Latina director to direct in mainstream action thrillers like “G20” and “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.” She lives in Los Angeles and has also worked on films such as ‘The 33’, about the sensational rescue of Chilean miners who were buried underground for 69 days, and several episodes of ‘Dopesick’, starring Michael Keaton.
“Returning to film in Mexico after so many years working abroad is deeply meaningful to me, and I couldn’t imagine a better project to return to,” said Riggen. “I have been a fan of Frida since I was a child – of her courage and the way she turned pain into strength. I want to tell her relationship with Diego from a female and Mexican perspective, but also with a global lens, exploring their love, their conflicts and their artistic lives together in a way that feels modern, intimate and powerful for new generations.”
Ripstein, who grew up on the sets of his legendary filmmaker father Arturo (“Principio y Fin”) and grandfather Alfredo Ripstein Jr., producer of Hayek’s groundbreaking “Midaq Alley,” made waves with his 2015 directorial debut “600 Miles,” which won Best Feature at the Berlinale. Together with Michel Franco, he also produced gems such as the winner of the Golden Lion of Venice in 2015, ‘From Afar’ by Lorenzo Vigas, and ‘Chronic’ and ‘April’s Daughter’ by Franco.
“One of the aims of this series is not to repeat the obvious: the things everyone already knows about Frida and Diego. What interests me is to truly humanize them, with their genius but also with the worst in each of them. The series is a deconstructed, mischievous and sometimes wild story, but always emotional and deeply respectful. It is built around two fundamental axes: their complex love relationship and their shared artistic life, and is told through a modern, transgressive cinematic language that puts them in de presents and connects them with today’s audiences,” says Ripstein.
Netflix’s new Mexican projects include: “The Dead Girls” (“Las muertas”), the first series from Luis Estrada (“Herod’s Law”), and the rom-com series “Love 9 to 5,” both of which debuted a few months ago.
Other upcoming projects include the Mexican Revolution series “Mal de amores,” based on the novel by Ángeles Mastretta; “Santita,” starring Gael Garcia Bernal; “I am not afraid” (“No tengo miedo”) and “El circulo”, adapted from the novel Los Corruptores.
Six other new titles announced in January include: “Alicia’s Law,” starring Fernanda Castillo; “Takedown,” a feature film starring Alfonso Herrera and Noé Hernández; a documentary about Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez; the reality competition show ‘Physical 100 Mexico’ and the series ‘El otro padre’, starring Manolo Cardona, Erik Hayser and Silvia Navarro. Netflix’s first live event in Latin America, “Supernova: Genesis,” is also on the schedule.
