Latest news with #TheMaid
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Author tidies Molly Gray's backstory in Maid series
For the better part of 20 years, Nita Prose was part of the publishing industry, working her way up to vice-president and editorial director of Simon & Schuster Canada. Then Molly Gray entered her life. Prose introduced Molly, maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, to the world in her 2022 mystery novel The Maid, which became a runaway international bestseller. Molly returned in 2023's The Mystery Guest and then in Prose's holiday-themed novella The Mistletoe Mystery in December 2024. DAHLIA KATZ PHOTO Nita Prose's The Maid's Secret is the author's last Molly Gray novel for now. Now Molly's back to unpack another puzzle in The Maid's Secret, published in early April by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada. Prose launches the novel today at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park, where she'll be joined in conversation by Rachel Lagacé of CTV Morning Live. In The Maid's Secret, Molly takes a box of her late Gran's trinkets to a filming of Hidden Treasures, an Antiques Roadshow-like TV show filming at the Regency Grand. Among the items is a decorative golden egg revealed to be a Fabergé prototype worth millions. When Molly decides to auction it off, the precious item goes missing — and handwritten notes threatening Molly's life begin to appear as she tries to crack the case of who poached her egg. 'When the Russian empire fell after the revolution in 1918, most of the Fabergé eggs that were given as Easter gifts (by the czars) made their way to collections all over the world to museums and private collections, but several of them remain missing to this day — and that has always fascinated me,' says Prose from Toronto. For her latest Maid novel, Prose took on a new challenge — incorporating the voice of Molly's grandmother, Gran, into the narrative and providing a dual storyline that converges near the book's end. The Maid's Secret alternates between Molly's exploits and diary entries from Gran that detail her younger years, the egg's origins and some of Molly's backstory. Finding Gran's voice proved more of a challenge for Prose than writing Molly's narrative. 'I think authors always get one gift from the gods, and Molly's voice was my gift — she just descended from the heavens fully formed. I understood her. I didn't have to work hard to find that voice,' Prose says. 'With Gran's voice, it took a bit for me to trust myself at the beginning. The 'Write what you know' adage was really in my mind, and can a 50-something-year-old really write a voice that's much older? As it turns out, I feel like I did her justice.' Fans of the Maid books might be verklempt that Prose says The Maid's Secret is the last Molly Gray book — at least for the foreseeable future. 'I'll never say never, but I kind of do see this as the end. Maybe in 10 years, I'll have an idea for another Molly adventure, but at the moment, I really wanted to draw the series to a close and to give people that sense of finality,' she says. The Maid's Secret 'I don't feel like these characters, and particularly Molly, are mine anymore. I've been so lucky to have readers embrace Molly wholly and completely — she belongs to them now, and they're taking such good care of her.' The good news: a Maid movie is likely in the cards. 'My hope is that we'll see it onscreen in the coming years,' Prose says. Prose is already at work on a new novel — a mystery less cosy than the Molly Gray books, but one she hopes fans will enjoy just as much as her Maid books. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. 'It's a novel about landscape and wilderness and how the land and a place can both heal and harm. And it's a novel about the unbreakable bond between sisters,' she says of the book, which is set in Ontario cottage country and features an older protagonist. In the meantime, Prose is excited to get in front of fans and talk about all things Molly Gray. 'Writing is such a lonely, self-consuming activity. It challenges you in so many ways. I love that it's a lonely pursuit,' she says. 'But I also love the inverse — when it comes time to share the book, I'm really eager for feedback, for connection. Stories are, after all, meant to be shared, and for me, it's very meaningful to hear readers' responses.' Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Malaga's MAFF: Titles Capturing Lorca's Death, Immigration Horror, Drug Trade Collateral in Fest's Centerpiece Project Competition
Fernando Franco's 'Lorca,' Caru Alves de Souza's 'A City for Christine' and Diana Toucedo's 'To Live in a Shout' look like possible standouts at next week's 2025 Malaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF), one of Europe's principal forums for projects from Spain and Latin America seeking new partners and distribution. Also sparking good word of mouth are 'A Decorous Woman,' headlined by 'The Maid' star Catalina Saavedra, Fernando Tato's family drama 'Goodbye Berta,' Alvaro López Alba's 'Three Summer Days,' an intimate three-parter, and LGBTQ coming of age story 'Her Ocean.' More from Variety Malaga Competition Contender 'Jone, Batzuetan,' Unpacked by Director Sara Fantova, a New Talent to Track Malaga Festival Opening Film, Daniel Guzmán's 'The Redemption,' Swooped on by Film Factory (EXCLUSIVE) Mexico's Apapacho Films Boards LGBTQ+ Malaga Project 'Her Ocean' (EXCLUSIVE) The 25-title selection also boasts a notable line in buzzy genre movies from Latin America from young women directors: Paula Martel's Argentine teen Western 'First We Take Anillaco,' the Dominican Republic's 'Maguana Racing' from Maia Otero and Juliano Kunert and immigration horror tale 'The Tenants,' from Peru's María Paz Barragán. Nine of the features are directed by women: in an indication of the tenor of Spanish and Latin American filmmaking from emerging talent, near all address social malaise, from big city construction ('A City for Christine') to environmental ravagement ('Green Inferno'), Europe's openess to immigration ('To Live in a Shout'), drug trade collateral ('Goodbye, Berta'), fast eclipsed LGBT revolution ('The Queers Riot'), corruption ('Everything Must Go') and, intriguingly in 'The Espejos,' the limitations of Latin America's wars of independence. Above all, a significant clutch of movies focus on violence, in its manifold manifestations: its physical nightmare ('Lorca'), its endemic proliferation ('Forest Walk,' another genre movie), and violence as an act of resistance and 'part of the eternal cycle of deception in Latin American,' as 'First We Take Anillaco' director Paul Martel puts it. Below, a breakdown of nearly all the titles, where Variety has been able to access details: 'A City for Christine,' ('Uma cidade para Christine,' Caru Alves de Souza, Brazil) From Brazil's Alves de Souza, a Berlin Crystal Bear Winner for 'My Name is Baghdad' and one of Variety's Brazil: 10 Next Gen Talents to Track. A gender revenge drama which, in an original concept, also questions 'the logic of large urban centers, marked by exclusion and the commodification of spaces and human relationships,' as Alves de Souza puts it. Reuniting Alves de Souza with her career long producer Manjericão Filmes. 'A Decorous Woman,' ('Una Señorita de Buena Presencia,' Natalia Luque, Chile, France) Catalina Saavedra, who gave a tour de force performance in Sebastián Silva's 'The Maid,' plays 55-year-old hairdresser Marta María, aided surprisingly by a much younger female friend to come out of her shell. A dramedy, 'the film explores intergenerational bonds among women and their influence,' says Luque. 'Danger Crocodile,' ('Perigo Crocodilo,' Flavio Botelho, Brazil, Mexico) Set up at Botelho's Trailer Filmes, and marking his feature debut, plus Brazilian powerhouse Ventre Studio ('Godless John') and Mexico's El Caimán, a Mexico-set road movie as João, his marriage with his husband in crisis, sets off on the highways of Mexico with Lucía, who is carrying the couple's baby. A Frapa Prize best script winner at the 3rd Sur Frontera WIP Lab. 'The Espejos,' (Los hermanos Espejo,' José María Avilés, Ecuador, Sweden) Unspooling in Ecuador at a remote hacienda in 1808 as two revolutions clash: the emancipation of the oppressed; the other, oligarchic, looking for independence from Spain and greater power to rule. The two uprising meet, subverting everything. 'An open-ended question about the idea of revolution against colonial powers,' says co-writer producer Felipe Troya. 'Everything Must Go,' ('Que se acabe todo,' Moisés Sepúlveda, Chile, Spain, Mexico) María, 61, discovers some colleagues are scams clients. She whistle blows only to discover her bosses are also involved. A dark comedy co-written by Alicia Scherson and Moisés Sepúlveda, producer at Chile's Juntos Films of 'Immersion,' made in a longterm production alliance with Mexico's Whisky Content, with Spain's TV ON now boarding as well. 'First We Take Anillaco,' ('Primero tomamos Anillaco,' Paula Martel, Argentina, Chile, Brazil,Uruguay) One of the most-anticipated projects at MAFF, already a powerful four-way co-production written-directed by Paula Martel and a 'teenage western with Tarantino-like flair,' she says. Set in December 2001, amid a devastating crisis, Lali, 18, flees with fearless teenage guerrillas convinced that Carlos Menem is to blame for the country's collapse, determined to meet the former president in his lavish mansion in Anillaco and assassinate him. 'Forest Walk,' ('A Estirada,' Sérgio de Carvalho, Pedro von Krüger, Brazil) In pre-production, set for a September shoot, a survival thriller set in a violence-stricken Amazon, ravaged by climate change, as two young drug mules and a former guerrilla battle drug traffickers, natural threats and their inner demons. Saci Filmes, Com Domínio Filmes, Eita Pau Produções produce. 'The Gagá of La Ceja,' (Jeissy Trompiz, Dominican Republic, Venezuela) Set against the background of Gagá music, born in Haitian sugar cane plantations in the Dominican Republic and performed with drums, rattles, rustic trumpets and bamboo flutes, as dancers invoke Loas, protective spirits. The doc feature, from Trompiz, follows Pirulo, a percussionist, who attempts to restore harmony after his group's leader has ired the Laos, the protective spirits. 'Green Inferno,' ('Animal Lluvioso,' Laura Astorga, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Panama) Marina is an environmentalist defending her paradise. Fernando is a congressman who lost his sanity after his daughter died in a fire. Elena is a reporter who discovers the fire was intentional, the synopsis runs. Inspired by true events, A passion project for Astorga ('Red Princeses') now in advanced development after five years of research. 'Goodbye Berta,' ('Adeus, Berta,' Fernando Tato, Spain) Alicia is forced to return from Santiago, Galicia's capital, to look after sister Berta when she's expelled from a rehab center. A feature, expanding the short of the same name, which explores the collateral damage of Galicia's 1980s 'lost generation,' young victims of the region's drug trade boom, says producer Alba Gallego. 'Her Ocean,' ('El mar la mar,' Julián Amaru Estrada, Peru, Spain, Mexico) A standout at Sanfic Industria's 2022 Productoras Lab and now a three-way co-production beween Perú's Final Abierto, Spain's Solita Films and Mexico's Apapacho Films. The LGBTQ coming of age story turns on Ray, a teen fisherman who sets out in search of his mother in a Peruvian jungle city. 'Visually stunning, dynamic and dreamy, ' says producer María Paz Barragán. 'I'm Not Universal,' ('No Soy Universal,' Celia de Molina, Spain) Set up at Solita Films, headed by brothers César and and José Esteban Alenda, behind multiple Spanish and Latin American new auteurs. Here in the tale of a screenwriter who's told her script about women's taboos is not universal, the new talent is Spain's De Molina, an actress ('Kings of the Night') and writer-creator ('El Antivlog'). 'With a sharp comedic talent, Celia brings distinctive, gender-aware narratives to life,' says José Esteban Alenda. 'Lorca,' (aka 'Nightfall,' Fernando Franco, Spain) A project with a lot going for it: Written by Fernando Navarro ('Veronica,' 'Below Zero'), directed by always interesting auteur Fernando Franco, a San Sebastian and Goya winner for 'Wounded,' backed by La Terraza Films, producer of Spanish Oscar entry 'Saturn Return,' and a subject which haunts so many people. 'This is not a film about the last days of Lorca the poet's life. It's about the nightmare that Federico, the person, went through,' says producer Judit Climent Torras. 'Maguana Racing,' (Maia Otero, Juliano Kunert, ) At MAFF having scored the Dominica Republic's Fonprocine National Production Film Fund backing, a comedy starring Maia Otero ('My Uncle's Movie') written-directed by Otero and Kunert about a novice nun who, with Archangel Michael at her side, discovers God in illegal street racing. Otero and Kunert 'carry the pulse of a new Caribbean cinema that refuses to be categorized,' says producer Pablo Chea. 'The Queers Riot,' ('La Rebelión de las Raras,' Wincy Oyarce, Creas Films, Chile) The Málaga Festival Industry Zone winner from Wincy Oyarce, a Chilean LGBT pioneer, celebrated for 2008's 'Empaná de pino,' a horror film starring 'Hija de Perra,' and 2023 breakout doc-feature 'Tan Inmunda y Tan Feliz.' A fiction feature with doc elements, charting the first recorded homosexual demonstration in Santiago, Chile organized in April 1973 by a group of young boy sex workers. 'Pink Desert,' ('Desierto rosa,' Constanza Majluf-Baeza, Chile, Peru) 1970. A desert mining town, north Chile. Mariola, known in town as Mario, is invited by a theater company of transvestites, to travel to Lima. 'During the journey, Mariola begins to discover who she has always wanted to be. Returning to Chile, a new era of political and social change drives her to affirm her identity.' Written by Majluf-Baeza and Cannes Queer Palm winner Ignacio Juricic ('Lost Queens'). Rodrigo Díaz produces, as on 'A Decorous Woman,' with Peru's Mestizo Films having just boarded the project. 'Tenants,' ('Se buscan inquilinos,' María Paz Barragán, Peru, Spain) Barragán's second MAFF title, here as co-writer director-producer, an immigration horror feature, exploring class, racism and xenophobia but through genre, building to what looks like a chilling finale. Liked at Iberseries Platino Industria and Ventana Sur's Proyecta. Final Abierto, Spain's Batiak Films, behind Berlinale Fipresci winner 'The Human Hibernation,' and Elora Posthouse co-produce. 'Three Summer Days,' ('Tres días de verano,' Álvaro López Alba, Spain) From Nexus CreaFilms, flying high after first feature,'Deaf' snagged a 2025 Berlin Panorama Audience Award, 'Three Summer Days' has also been put through the ECAM Madrid Film School's Incubator, always a good sign. López Alba's debut feature captures a close-knit family of a father and two children, now unravelling, seen on three occasions 'Rashomon' style from their differing points of view. Magnética Cine co-produces, more partners to be announced. 'To Live in a Shout,' ('Querer Vivir un Grito,' Diana Toucedo, Spain) A gripping drama about Lola, a U.N. human rights activist whose life unravels when her Syrian friend Fariya disappears while attempting to enter Europe. Catalonia's Alba Sotorra and Galicia's Miramemira produce. Diana Toucedo ('Thirty Souls') directs with Estibaliz Urresola ('20,000 Species of Bees') now on board to co-write with her. A high-caliber talent package. 'The film raises pressing questions about our identity as Europeans in a time of growing uncertainty,' says Sotorra. 'The Tree of the Broken Shadow,' (Nicolás Baksht, Mexico) A doc-feature to be made entirely with film and photo archives, worked on by animators from Mexico's Lo Coloco Films detailing the hate crimes in producer Daniel Corkidi's family history: Grandmother Carmen's death at 21, victim of femicide; the execution of great-grandfather Gabriel, an anti-fascist double spy, in the Spanish Civil War; the disappearance of his great-great grandparents, both Jewish, in Stalin's Belarus. 'The Violinist,' (Ervin Han, Raúl García, TV ON Producciones, Robot Playground Media, Spain, Singapore) A co-production of large artistic ambition and narrative sweep, turning on two young violinists and lovers separated by Japan's WWII invasion of Malaya. Kai joins the Resistance, disappears. Fei, determined, spends the next 20 years performing throughout Southeast Asia in search of him. Directed by Singapore animation veteran Han and Raul Garcia, Annie-nominated for 'Everlasting Tales,' a 2D animated feature to track. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Maid' Star Catalina Saavedra, Madre Board Malaga Buzz Project ‘A Decorous Woman' (EXCLUSIVE)
Chile's Catalina Saavedra, a Sundance Acting Special Jury Prize winner for 'The Maid,' and a Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for 'Rotting in the Sun,' is attached to star in Natalia Luque's 'A Decorous Woman' ('Señorita de Buena Presencia'), lead produced by Chile's Parina Films and one of the highest profile projects to be showcased at next week's 2025 Malaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF). In further news, 'A Decorous Woman,' set up at Parina Films, represented by Rodrigo Díaz, and France's Tomsa Films (France), headed by Thomas Lambert, has just been boarded by Madre Content. A Latinx company, Madre was launched in 2023 by distinguished Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría ('The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future') with offices in Chile, Uruguay and the U.S. More from Variety Spain's Latido Films Scoops Up Doc 'Almudena' Ahead of Malaga Film Fest Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Latido Picks Up Gracia Querejeta's Malaga Competition Title 'The Good Luck' (EXCLUSIVE) Malaga Unveils 2025 Work in Progress Lineup Spotlighting Projects From Chile, Dominican Republic Madre will co-produce 'A Decorous Woman,' which has also tapped a grant from the Chilean Audiovisual Fund 2024 in its Feature Film Production category, securing 30% of its budget, Díaz told Variety. Breaking out after 'The Maid,' Saavedra also played next to Tilda Swinton in Julio Torres' SXSW 2023 debut 'Problemista,' produced by Emma Stone. She scored last year a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for supporting performance in 'Rotting in the Sun,' directed by 'The Maid' helmer Sebastián Silva. In 'A Decorous Woman,' Saavedra will play Maria Marta, a 55-year-old hairdresser in Chile whose copes with her loneliness when her only daughter moves abroad. immersing herself in the gossip and stories told by her clients. After learning her daughter will not return to Chile, however, she is forced to stop fantasizing about others' lives and find comfort in unexpected places. 'Catalina is a magnificent artist. She has a quality of embodying the roles she plays with such commitment that you can feel how they live within her skin, transmitting the characters' emotions and experiences beyond the screen, connecting with the audience in a way that's not easy to achieve,' said Díaz. 'She is also a versatile actress who seamlessly navigates both drama and comedy – two genres central to the film and integral to Marta Maria's experience,' he added. 'A Decorous Woman' marks the feature debut of Columbia U and BAFTA Newcomers Program alum Luque, whose 2023 Chilean village abortion short 'So They Say' played Palm Springs Shortfest, as well as the Telluride Film Festival, Hamptons Film Festival and GuadaLAjara Film Festival, winning Jury Honors and Student Selects recognition at the Columbia Film Festival. It was also shortlisted for the BAFTA Yugo Student Awards and went on to score last year a CCAS Prize at the Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse. 'The film explores intergenerational bonds among women and their influence during a pivotal moment in the protagonist's life,' Luque told Variety. 'Set in a hair salon – an epicenter of gossip and storytelling – it combines elements of drama and comedy to portray experiences that resonate intimately with women's perspectives.' 'The film is a journey to the heart of motherhood, where caring and nurturing are in the epicenter. The protagonist must confront the absence and rediscover herself as a woman,' added Díaz. At Mafiz, Málaga's industry forum, Díaz and Luque aim to meet with Spanish producers, international sales agents, distributors and film funds representatives. 'I am driven by films – and art in general – that explore the intimate universe of women. Natalia's debut feature is a film that depicts a complex character through a journey of self-discovery and self-recognition beyond society's expectations,' said Díaz. He added: 'The film is also an invitation for the audience to reflect on the 'decorous women' in our lives – our mothers, aunts, grandmothers and beyond who have seen their life experience repressed, with limited opportunities for development outside the roles they are expected to fulfil.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
