Netflix intensifies its Mexico talent search
Local creative teams are at work on 50 original films and series
BY LAURA TILLMAN >>> MEXICO CITY — Manolo Caro yelled “Cut,” rose from the director’s chair and pushed through the swinging doors of the kitchen. There, he gave actors Dario Yazbek Bernal and Arturo Ríos his notes on a scene from Season 2 of “La Casa de las Flores”: where they ought to stand, which line should be delivered deadpan, where to avoid a word echo.
Caro’s artistic imprint could be felt everywhere on set, in the lines of clever dialogue, in the jungle-green-, wine- and mauve-colored rooms, in the graphic prints of birds and f lowers that verged on the psychedelic.
“La Casa de las Flores” is one of 50 films and series that Netflix is producing or co-producing in Mexico, making the country one of the busiest international territories for the Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming giant. “The richness of talent in front of and behind the camera in Mexico was key in our decision to begin our local production strategy … four years ago,” Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos said at a publicity event in Mexico City last month.
While streaming services in Spanish have been available in the past, like FilminLatino and HBO Latino, the decision to radically expand original content in Mexico ushers in an exciting new era for Mexican filmmakers and actors, as well as the audiences who will soon see their work. Televisa Studios, also a major player in original Spanish-language content, announced a partnership with Amazon Prime last year to create original content after launching its own streaming service called Blim in 2016, though it also works with Netf lix.
The Netflix projects include four new