Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson of Epic Pictures have picked up the worldwide sales and distribution rights to Colombian dance thriller “We are the Heat” (“Somos Calentura”). Helmed by award-winning filmmaker Jorge Navas (“Blood & Rain,” “Amazonas”) and produced by Steven Grisales (“El Páramo,” “García”), “We are the Heat” stars Duván Arizala, José Luis Paz, Miguel Angel Micolta, Manuel Riascos, Heidy Mina and Julio Valencia, all of them street dancers from the Pacific Colombian coast.
Penned by Diego Vivanco and Grisales, drama features more than 2,000 extras and a cast of nearly all Afro-Colombian descent.
“We are the Heat” brings a narrative of power, salsa and Latin Hip Hop with high production value, realism and intimacy while aiming to connect with a global audience,” said Grisales.
Pic was filmed in the massive port city of Buenaventura, one of the country’s poorest cities and a hub of violence and drug trafficking. A group of disenchanted youth, former local urban dance champions, struggle to survive and escape the harsh realities of life in this dangerous city. When an Urban Dance championship is announced at the city, they jump at the chance to regain their past glory and self-esteem. As the championship progresses, they’ll have to choose between violence or dance, bullets or rhymes.
“We are the Heat” was co-produced by Colombia’s Mon Amour Prods. and Rhayuela Cine, Magma Cine of Argentina and Alex Garcia’s AG Studios, which boarded at its development stage.
It also has the backing of Proimágenes, Cine Colombia, Caracol Cine, Shock, Bad Boy Billy Productions, the International Organization for Migration and Kosmology.
Despite the city’s sordid reputation, “Buenaventura is an exotic place full of magic, power, culture and beautiful people where music and dance are an act of resistance and survival and young urban artists are true heroes; this is what “We are the Heat” is all about,” said Grisales.
