La Hojarasca

Source: © El Viaje Films

The Undergrowth / La Hojarasca

Croatia-based SplitScreen has picked up worldwide sales excluding Spain to The Undergrowth (La Hojarasca) ahead of today’s (February 16) world premiere in Berlinale Forum.

The documentary from Canarian filmmaker Macu Machín follows the lives of three sisters on the Canary Islands in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. Tenerife-based producer El Viaje Films holds Spanish rights.

SplitScreen’s Berlin-based Canarian executive Lorena Morin and Zagreb-based Marcella Jelic have assembled an EFM slate that includes worldwide rights on recent IDFA acquisitions Manu. A Visual Album (Ecu-USA) directed by Alexandra Cuesta, and Hesam Eslami’s A Band Of Dreamers And A Judge (Iran-Fr).

Rounding out the roster is To Our Friends (Sp-Por), a drama about a young working class woman who constructs a new identity as she approaches adulthood.

The feature from Adrian Orr, whose 2017 documentary Niñato earned recognition on the Latin American festival circuit, is expected to premiere at a spring festival this year.

SplitScreen handles worldwide sales excluding Spain, where El Viaje holds rights.

“We’re just beginning and looking for more films,” Morin told Screen. “I’m more focused on Spanish-speaking films but we’re open to auteur-driven fiction and non-fiction festival films from around the world.”

Jelic is focused on acquiring broader commercial films.