In an early foray into Latin American talent, Studio Plus, Vivendi’s groundbreaking production label for mobile-first premium TV series, is producing Peruvian director Daniel Martin Rodriguez’s comedy “Aj Zombies.”
An adaptation of Martin Rodriguez’s same-titled web series, produced by Lima-based outfit La Pepa, “Aj Zombies” sets out to imagine a zombie apocalypse in Latin America. That adds some social edge to a fiction where the walking dead are confused with beggars or attacked by organ thieves.
Exec produced by Studio Plus’ Clementine Gayet, Catou Lairet-Jeanblanc and Yacine Boucherit plus Daniel Martín Rodriguez, Diego Vega and Javier Salvador at La Pepa, “Aj Zombies” has been transformed into a 10-minute, 10-episode series, in what looks like a standard format in Studio Plus drama production plans.
The series finished a near one-month shoot in Lima and environs at the end of July.
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Unveiled at April’s MipTV by Vivendi Contents, Studio Plus aims to produce stories with strong local characters that can lure global audiences, offered via an app for mobile devices. The app is scheduled to launch in Europe and Latin America by the end of the year, in partnership with major telecom players in each territory.
Some 25 Studio Plus’ international short-format series would be ready to launch by then.
“’Aj Zombies’ is a comical series, with much humor. We wanted to do things in a different way, including musicals, choreographies… trying to make it beautiful if crazy,” series creator Daniel Martin Rodriguez told Variety.
Alongside Colombian Carlos Moreno’s action thriller series “Blanca,” produced by France’s Borsalino/Full House with Bogota’s 64A Films,” Aj Zombies” represents one of the pioneering short-format dramas produced by Studio Plus in Latin America.
“Aj Zombies” looks as if it fits exactly with Studio Plus’ production philosophy.
“The dramatic line is a love story, with which anyone around the world can identify. This was the key, I think, of the series’ prior success on Internet, making it interesting beyond Peru for audiences that speak different languages,” Martin Rodriguez said.
“The zombies were an excuse to mock racism, classism and sexism, a bit of a parody of Lima society, but issues that are also present in all societies,” he added.
Creating “Aj Zombies,” Martin Rodriguez and his team were part inspired by genre films such as Cuban Alejandro Brugues’ “Juan of the Dead” and Ruben Fleischer’s “Zombieland.” They also revisited classic zombie film titles “to take in zombies’ classic film language, reprising twitch humor,” he said. They also found inspiration in action comedies “Ghostbusters” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Written by Pablo Carrillo, Gonzalo Rodríguez Risco and Bruno Rosina, “Aj Zombies” toplines Peru’s Anahi de Cardenas, Emilram Cossio, Cesar Ritter and Miguel Iza.
Martin Rodriguez, who broke through co-directing with German Tejada the short film “El Hueco,” winner this year of the Canal Plus Award at the international competition of France’s Clermont-Ferrand Festival, is working on several film and TV projects, including psychological horror feature “El escritor,” Andes-set crime film “Brujeria” and a web series on Latin American famous youtuber Mox.
“Leaving Peru to carve out a career as a director is always a good option but the local sector is experiencing a great time. There is more demand than offer for quality production teams. Now you can live comfortably from directing,” Martin Rodriguez said.
