Gael GarciaBernal will star in the new Hector Babenco film, The Past (O Pasado),confirmed Oscar Kramer of Argentina's ShokFilms to Screen.

Based on a novel by theArgentine writer Alan Pauls, The Past is about a couple who decide to separate after 12 years;while the man tries to leave his past behind, his former partner is unable tolet go.

Budgeted at $4.5m, the filmwill be backed by private and state sources in Brazil, Argentina and Spain, including Brazil's BNDES bank, Shok Films, headed by Kramer and Spain's BancoSantander.