Bendita Film Sales Rise With Director Matías Bize's 'The Punishment' (EXCLUSIVE)

Tenerife-based Bendita Film Sales, headed by Luis Renart, has acquired Matías' 'The Punishment' Bize ("El Castigo"), ahead of its international premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival this Saturday.

Produced by Ceneca Producciones and Leyenda Films, it is the second film to be released in 2022 for the multi-award-winning director of "In the Bed", "The Life of Fish" and "The Memory of Water", having won in Malaga with "Private Messages" inspired by confinement. Buying Bendita signifies confidence in this latest title, which is heading to Ventana Sur for its market premiere on December 1.

In the film, a couple's seven-year-old son goes missing, having been left behind momentarily next to the road as punishment. Set in a forest and played in real time, the boy's parents are looking for him. Helmer Matias Bize dissects the subtle shifts in the couple's reactions to this crisis as questions develop from the boy's search to broader notions of what good parenting is and its impacts on them as individuals .

The film is written by Goya-nominated Coral Cruz, whose previous projects include 'The Days' by Carlos Marques-Marcet To Come”, which won big in Malaga.

As a bedroom piece, it relies heavily on the two protagonists, Antonia Zegers ("Tony Manero, ", "No", Oscarwinner "A fantastic woman") as a mother and Néstor Cantillana ("The memory of water", "Neruda", "Prófugos") as a father. The claustrophobia of the forest, Bosque de Qullin, Chile, is captured by DOP Gabriel Díaz, filming mostly handheld using natural lighting to add realism.

"We were immediately fascinated by the new work of Matías Bize", said Luis Renart, CEO from Bendita Film Sales, praising "Bize's confident and courageous directing and that clockwork script from Coral Cruz that has you hanging on the edge of your seat, not to mention the rich and incredibly complex performances from Antonia Zegers and Nestor Spanish."

Many Chilean tracks have caught the eye recently with Nicholas Postiglione's debut album "Immersion" , which won last year's Tallinn Black Nights and nominations for "Spencer" and Pablo Larrain's animated short "Bestia" at the Oscars. The hope will be that "The Punishment" can become another success story for Chilean cinema.

Matias Bize

Co...