Documentary about notorious drug lord to be produced by Oscar-winner Simon Chinn (Searching For Sugar Man, Man on Wire).

Protagonist Pictures is to launch international sales at the EFM this week on Angus Macqueen and Guillermo Galdos’ feature documentary The Legend Of Shorty, which will have its world premiere in the Documentary Spotlight section at SXSW on March 7.

Submarine is co-repping the film for North America with Protagonist.

Produced by the double Oscar-winning Simon Chinn (Searching For Sugar Man, Man On Wire) and Andrew Mackenzie-Betty (Thriller in Manila), the film focuses on ‘El Chapo’, aka Joaquin Guzman, the most powerful drug lord in history and one of the world’s most wanted men.

Macqueen and Galdos set out on a perilous journey into the Mexican sierra and the heart of ‘Shorty’s’ forbidden lands to try to find him.

Currently in post production, the film is produced by Red Box Films, Twofour and Ronachan Films, with funding from Film4, WGBH Frontline, Discovery Latin America and BFI.

Protagonist Pictures will be showing selected footage at the EFM, and will screen the film in the market in Cannes following its SXSW premiere.