The Saga: Family Business

la saga negocio de familia

Directors:

Dago García, Juan Carlos Villamizar

Writers:

Dago García, Paola Arias (script), and 3 more credits »

Stars:

Maribel Abello, Viviana Andrade and Adriana Arango 

Official Sites:

Caracol Television [Colombia] | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

Colombia

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

2005 (Venezuela) See more »

It begun in the middle 30's in a town nearby Bogotá, Colombia. Tomás Manrique, his wife Josefina and his little son Pedro, had to take a train and leave that town as soon as a war conflict started in the area. When they arrived to Bogota, a man called Pascual became their friend, and got a hotel for them to stay. When Tomás and Pascual got closer friends, Pascual robbed them. But when Tomás found it out, and went to reclaim his money, Pascual introduce him into a easy-life world, into dirty businesses and crime. In that exactly moment, Tomás damned the whole 5 next generations of the Manrique family. He damned them to suffer and made their lives a hell. Ten years later, Pedro met Marlene, a nurse, and fell in love with her. Pascual was having money troubles with Tomás, suspecting that him was taking advantages of their businesses and "gaining" more money than him, so he killed him. Pedro found this out

This is the story of the Manrique, a provincial family that moved to Bogotá after one of its patriarchs decided to try his luck in the city. He ended up founding a criminal organization by accident and decided to strengthen it. Then, he tried to reintegrate into society but tragically succumbed after having created an illegal world.
The decade of the 30s brought a radical, violent, and armed political conflict to the country. Tomás Manrique had to flee his home town with his wife Josefina and his son Pedrito. During the night, an armed group unexpectedly barged in a party killing every male they found to be in the opposite political party. When this war that he had decided not to be a part of had begun, he moved to the capital with his family where he accepted a job in a factory that manufactured screws.
One afternoon, a group of thieves entered the factory. Tomás ended up being the hero accidentally when he immobilized the criminals, winning the respect and trust from his boss Facundo, who allowed Tomás, dandy by nature, to enter and desire his wealthy lifestyle, full of luxury and commodity. But Tomás knows that collecting such a fortune means many years of hard work, and he was not willing to wait so long. He decided to rob his boss's house with the complicity of Pascual, a thief and new friend. In order to get the guns for this, they made a deal with a mobster who, in return, asked for part of the loot and took Pedro, Tomás's son, as a guarantee. Tomás accepted the deal, but things got complicated, and he ended up killing his boss and also later killing the mobster who lend them the guns, and therefore not sharing any of the loot. He rescued his son and got home with a feeling of having done the right thing.
This marked the beginning of a world of crime in the life of Tomás, and little by little, the Manrique rose to the point of a stable income and wellbeing through legal and illegal businesses. Tomás's dream of becoming a well established, honest businessman and gentleman never came true, and he slowly resigned himself to work in the underworld.
10 years later Pedro became 20. Pedro fell in love with the daughter of the man who killed the men of his village. Pedro played the man in poker with help from Pasqual he got all of the man's money. His daughter hated Pedro when she found out that her dad lost the money she made a deal. The deal was if she could beat him she would get the money back for her dad. If she lost she would have sex with him. He almost lost but, won he told her he was better than that.

Carlos

Country:

France | Germany

Language:

English | Arabic | German | Spanish | French | Hungarian | Japanese | Russian

Also Known As:

Carlos - Der Schakal See more »

Filming Locations:

Austria See more »

Stars:

Édgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer and Alejandro Arroyo

The story of Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the 1975 OPEC meeting. 

Initially, Carlos was to focus on the terrorist’s capture in Sudan in 1994 and run only 90 minutes. However, once director Olivier Assayas agreed to make it and he conducted extensive research, he realized that there was much more to explore with the man and the times he lived in: "I felt it was the fate of one man and, in a certain way, the story of one generation, plus a meditation on time, history, fate and issues more universal than the specific history of Carlos".^[1] Former foreign correspondent and Le Monde editor Stephen Smith compiled the film’s research, some of which came from the files of intelligence agencies^[1] that became available after the fall of the Berlin Wall when files from former Soviet Bloc countries surfaced. Some of the film's dialogue came from tape recordings made by the Stasi, the secret police of the former East Germany.^[2] Made with a budget of $18 million, Carlos was Assayas' first foray into television.^[3] Originally, he was not interested in the project because it seemed "too crazy and too complicated".^[4] He was drawn to the project because it allowed him to make a film dealing with recent history and real people. He said, "not long ago, the idea of making a film about Carlos would have scared French producers, but nowadays I sense that we're being encouraged to make films that have a contemporary dimension".^[3] Actor Edgar Ramirez said, "What we’re trying to do is demystify him. This guy who supposedly had everything figured out was not as keen as he was said to be. The public and historical image was as history’s big manipulator but in many moments of his life, he was being manipulated".^[4]

Initially, Assayas was worried about finding the right actor to play Carlos because they need, "the shoulders and the charisma to carry this kind of movie on his back".^[1] Fortunately, he cast Ramirez who, like the real Carlos, is a Venezuelan and his family came from the same small Western Andean state. The actor described Carlos as, "a bit of a monster, a bit of a dreamer, a bit of an idealist, a bit of an assassin, a mixture of everything, full of contradictions, and that’s what made him interesting to me".^[1] The production was shot in seven months across three continents in countries such as Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Lebanon, and Morocco.^[5] The film was shot mostly in English-language with passages in French, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian, Arabic, German, Russian, Dutch and Japanese.^[6] As filming continued, Ramirez put on 35 pounds in order to resemble Carlos's overweight physical condition at the time of his capture. The final two hours of the film were shot in sequence.^[7]

The 5½ hour version of Carlos was screened out of Competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2010.^[8] The series aired on Canal Plus in prime-time in late May 2010.^[3] In November 2009, IFC Films acquired all U.S. rights to both the mini-series and the theatrical version. The former premiered on the Sundance Channel on October 11, 2010 and was shown over three nights, while both versions received a theatrical release with only the shorter version available on video on demand.^[9]

Killing Pablo

Directed by	Joe Carnahan
Produced by	Mark Gordon Bob Yari Jason Zelin
Screenplay by	Joe Carnahan
Based on	Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden
Starring	Edgar Ramirez Christian Bale
Distributed by	Yari Film Group
Country	United States
Language	English

Killing Pablo is directed by Joe Carnahan, based on the book Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden, the true story of the death of Pablo Escobar.

The film has been in development for several years but is set to begin filming in early 2010

The true story of how the Colombian gangster and terrorist, Pablo Escobar, was assassinated and his Medellin cocaine cartel dismantled by US Army Delta Force and intelligence operatives, the Colombian military, and a vigilante gang controlled by the Cali cartel.

Los últimos golpes de 'El Torete'

Director:

José Antonio de la Loma

Writer:

José Antonio de la Loma

Stars:

Ángel Fernández Franco, Bernard Seray and Berta Cabré

 

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Also Known As:

El fin del pandillero - Bestias juveniles III See more »

Filming Locations:

Baguergue, Lérida, Cataluña, Spain See more » 

 

 

 

Barrio sin ley

Director : Jose Abreo

City of M

 Ciudad de M (original title)

Director:

Felipe Degregori

Writers:

Óscar Malca (book), Giovanna Pollarolo

Stars:

Santiago Magill, Christian Meier and Jorge Madueño

Country:

Peru

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

15 June 2000 (Peru) See more »

After exhausting all legal channels in his search for a job, "M" struggles with the decision of whether or not to enter a life of crime by helping his friends deliver drugs to Miami. 

M dreams of a better life in a city full of contrasting elements. He believes that the only solution to his problems is earning a decent living; yet he can't find a job. Totally desperate, he is persuaded by his neighbour to take some cocaine to Miami. However, the deal goes sour. M's fate brings him to an unpredictable end in the city streets.

Navajeros

Director:

Eloy de la Iglesia

Writers:

Eloy de la Iglesia (screenplay), Gonzalo Goicoechea (screenplay)

Stars:

José Luis Manzano, Isela Vega and Verónica Castro

 

Country:

Spain | Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

6 October 1980 (Spain) See more »

Also Known As:

Dulces navajas See more »

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

 

Amazing film, which can combine a thrilling story with an incredibly accurate social picture of life in Madrid in the 1970's, along with an intelligent insight of the socially marginated, as "Jaro" is represented to be. Great dialogue parts and unforgettable characters as "Jaro", "el nene", or "el Marqués". No one should miss it. 

 

 

Jack Movez

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

Chad Bryant, David Dyno Rocha and Justin Smith

 

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Hayward, California, USA See more » 

 

The Ybarra brothers are jammed deep in debt, so they hire someone to stage a phony robbery at their jewelry store to collect on the insurance...

 

Drug Lordz

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

Jose Rosete, Ryan Mac and David Dyno Rocha

 

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 2003 (USA) See more » 

 

 

Smile Now Cry Later

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

James M. Logan, Peter Scott Palmer and Eduardo Quiroz

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Newark, California, USA

 

 Marcos and Smiley are two brothers, different as night and day. Marcos just wants to live a normal life while trying to survive the streets of The Barrio. Smiley, however is doing anything he can to make it, even if it includes gangs, drug dealing, or armed robberies. But the brothers have a dream - to become rap stars. Will their troubled youth come back to haunt them?

Illegal Business

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

Jose Rosete, David Peterson and Victor Zaragoza

Official Sites:

Official site | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2006 (USA) See more »

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

In the streets, the biggest betrayal is disloyalty- and the punishment is irrevocable in this high-wire, adrenaline-charged thriller. Henchman to notorious crime boss Dominic (Victor Zaragoza), Tony (Jose Rosete) has been playing a dangerous game, selling drugs on his own. When Tony gets close to a dirty cop, the noose tightens around his neck, and it's only a matter of time until he makes a careless mistake- a mistake that pits him against Dominic, his partner Daniel (David Petersen), his drug connection and the police in an explosive confrontation that tears apart the streets.

The Dope Game

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

David Dyno Rocha, Carlos Vasquez and James M. Logan

Two hired killers for a ruthless drug lord, fed up with killing, decide to jump into the Dope Game. On a seemingly simple trafficking job, the two killers fly to Texas. The job: Drive to a small border town to buy $100,000 worth of heroin from a Mexican trafficker and transport it back to California safely. It sounded simple, but in the Dope Game, things are easier said than done. Will they succeed, or is this a game they never should have played?

Penitentiary Chances

Directors:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Writers:

Eduardo Quiroz, Jose Quiroz

Stars:

David Dyno Rocha, Eddie Eclips and Patrick Cutty

Release Date:

5 June 1998 (USA) See more »

Filming Locations:

Hayward, California, USA

 

 

Money Comes...Money Goes...Familia's For Ever

 

American Cholo

Original Title: Cholo americano 

Director:

Arturo Martínez hijo

Writer:

Patricia I. Fuentes

Stars:

Irene Arcila, Claudia Bringas and Rodolfo de Anda Jr.

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

2002 (Mexico) See more »

Filming Locations:

Mexico

No Name

Original Title: SIN NOMBRE
Año: 2009  

Star: Paulina Gaytán, Edgar Flores, Kristyan Ferrer, Diana García, Tenoch Huerta, Gerardo Taracena
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Universal Pictures México 

Sayra, an adolescent Honduran, hungry of a better future, than decides to along with emigrate to the United States its uncle and his father, whom now a new family has. Casper is an integral adolescent of the Mara Salvatrucha. It lives in Tapachula, Chiapas. Smiley, of twelve years of age, is put under the initiation process violently to belong to the Mara. Smiley quickly goes into in the life of the gang, and Casper tries to protect its relation with its fiancèe Martha Marlene, maintaining its secret love far from the Maras. When Martha Marlene knows the leader of the Maras de Tapachula, Magical Lil´, is brutally separated of its fiancè for always. Sayra and its relatives manage to cross to Mexico. There they are united with other immigrants who at night wait for in the routes of the train of Tapachula the arrival of a freight-carrying train that goes towards the United States to travel in the ceiling. Magical Lil´, Casper and Smiley, also raise the train to assault the undocumented people. Magical the Lil´ dawn it conducts battle and, as well, Casper makes an unexpected decision that will confront with the connections and the implacable physical violence of the Mara. 

Azotes de barrio en Petare (Gangsters of petare barrio)

Barber ‘Filmmaker' Finds Success for $100

he most sought-after film at hundreds of stands offering pirate DVDs and videos in the Venezuelan capital is a film that had a total production cost of less than 100 dollars.

The two-hour film, "Azotes de barrio en Petare", depicts the lives of adults, youths and children caught up in a spiral of violence between two rival gangs in the poor district of Petare on the east side of Caracas, which encompasses dozens of slums perched precariously on the hills bordering the city.

The plot, at times fast-paced and at other times dragging, involves robberies, shootings, bloodshed, drugs, domestic violence, police corruption, obscenity and death, set in the hazardous narrow streets of Petare.

The blood used in the film was actually tomato sauce, and the bullet holes in the bodies were made with mud. Firecrackers were used to simulate shooting, the cocaine was just flour, and the "actors" were not actors, but friends of the filmmaker - who is not a professional filmmaker, but a 23-year-old barber, Jackson Gutiérrez.

"Every day I shave around 20 guys in La Veguita (a neighbourhood in Petare) and I hear an average of five stories a day of violent incidents: that they killed so-and-so's brother last night, or what's his name's uncle," Gutiérrez told IPS.

"A film began to take shape in my mind where these same people would talk openly, and say whatever they wanted, in their own words," and "without a screenplay and without knowing anything about filmmaking, relatives and friends of mine from the neighbourhood and I just started making the film," he added.

The film turned out to be so vivid and real that many of the spectators thought they were watching a documentary, featuring real thieves, drug addicts and murderers.

But "that's not true," said Gutiérrez. "When they started to say that, I tried to show the media the people who appeared ‘dead' in the film."

His aim in making the film, he said, was "to draw attention to the violence and lack of safety in poor areas" of Caracas, one of the most violent cities in Latin America.

Since February, the film has been selling like hot cakes in street stalls. An announcement by the public prosecutor's office that it would investigate the alleged illegal participation of minors in the film, and rumours that it would be banned and all copies would be confiscated, merely fuelled sales.

Producing the movie cost around 200,000 bolivars (less than 100 dollars), reported Gutiérrez. A copy can be purchased for two dollars, and usually includes another violence-packed film on the same disc.

What Gutiérrez has achieved "is important, it's a show of inspiration from a people who cannot be silenced," declared Venezuelan filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz.

Jakubowicz is the director of "Secuestro Express", a movie about the increasingly frequent crime of short-term kidnappings for ransom that broke Venezuelan box office records in 2005, while drawing fierce criticism from the authorities for its less than flattering portrayal of the country's militarised police.

"We have to celebrate this expression of community filmmaking in the barrios," said César Cortez of the Documentary Film School of Caracas.

Cortez is serving as an adviser to a group that was formed around Gutiérrez to improve "Azotes de barrio en Petare" and is now working on a new movie, "Pagan justos por pecadores" ("the just must pay for the sinners", a Spanish proverb) which also addresses the theme of urban violence.

Sociologist Verónica Zubillaga commented to IPS that "people feel a need to verbalise, to externalise the problem of violence. That is why people identify with the film."

She mentioned a scene where two police officers shoot two criminals in the back, take their guns and walk away as if nothing has happened. "This gives an idea of how the police forces have deteriorated," she added.

The weeks in which "Azotes de barrio en Petare" was the talk of the town coincided with a series of crimes that shook the country.

First an Italian-born businessman was kidnapped and killed within hours, apparently for refusing to cooperate with his abductors.

Shortly afterwards, three young Canadian-Venezuelan brothers - aged 12, 13 and 17 - and the family's driver were murdered after being held captive for 40 days, and their bodies dumped in one of the most poverty-stricken areas of Caracas. One of the men arrested and charged with the crime is himself only 18 years old.

Massive rallies erupted in Caracas after the discovery of their bodies, with protesters demanding greater efforts to curb crime and violence. A press photographer was shot and killed by an unknown assailant while covering the demonstrations.

Both active and retired police officers from different municipal and regional forces have been implicated in these and numerous other crimes.

In Venezuela, a country of 26.5 million people, judicial authorities stopped releasing homicide statistics when the total reached over 11,000 in 2003. Some experts estimate that more than 13,000 people were murdered nationwide last year.

 

Black River (1991)

 Original Title: Rio Negro

Director:

Atahualpa Lichy

Writers:

Eduardo de Gregorio, Antonio Larreta, and 2 more credits »

Stars:

Ángela Molina, Marie-José Nat and Nathalie Nell

Country:

Venezuela | Cuba | France | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

28 August 1991 (France) See more »

Also Known As:

Black River See more » 

Inspired by the true history of Tomás Funes military man, orerator of rubber and Venezuelan criminal who became famous during the first years of century XX by his cruelty in the rubber search and balatá in the Venezuelan Amazon.

History has been beginning in 1912, when already for years weighs on the Venezuelan town the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gomez, who administers those immense territories like a private property. In the old province of Rio Negro(Black River), the town waits for the arrival of Osuna, the new governor sent by Gomez, accompanied by its family. That behind schedule is made in the seat a reception in honor of Osuna and will count on the attendance of the notables of the region. During the celebration the first confrontation by the power arises; Carrera, the cacique of the zone, a brutal man, is arranged to mark Osuna, from the first moment, the limits of its authority. Osuna dominates the situation to its favor and arrests Carrera.

 But it will have to face more dangerous rival (Tomas Funes)

Yo El Vaquilla

Directors:

José Antonio de la Loma hijo, José Antonio de la Loma

Writers:

Juan José Moreno Cuenca (book), José Antonio de la Loma

Stars:

Raúl García Losada, Teresa Giménez and Carmen de Lirio

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

25 November 1985 (Spain) See more »

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain See more »

Witness the life of a street boy forced to live a life of crime.With only 12 years old he`s the leader of his own gang and the best driver around, on the way of becoming one of the most famous delinquents in the country.

A powerful and realistic true story,with a sound track that makes it even better.

El Vaquilla is not a bad person,he is only a poor gypsy boy, but will stop at nothing to keep the only thing his got in life. His Liberty.

A good low budget film that deserve a lot of respect.

 

 

Street Warriors 2

 Original Title: Perros Callejeros 2

Director:

José Antonio de la Loma

Writer:

José Antonio de la Loma

Stars:

Ángel Fernández Franco, Teresa Giménez and Reyes Poveda

 

Country:

Mexico | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

1979 (Spain) See more »

Also Known As:

Bestias juveniles II See more »

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

 

This one, rather than the first part concentrates more on the dramatic side of whats behind the delinquents life.Poverty,misery and discrimination can be watched together with prostitution and life behind steel bars.This film is brutal,and has a very explicit look on this reality that society ignores.Like the first its based on a true story. The sound track is great for those who like Rumba, especially the end credits song called `Soy un Perro Callejero`.

Street Warriors

 Original Title : Perros Callejeros (1977)

Director:

José Antonio de la Loma

Writer:

José Antonio de la Loma

Stars:

Víctor Petit, Frank Braña and Xabier Elorriaga

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

24 December 1977 (Spain) See more »

Also Known As:

Street Warriors See more »

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Perros Callejeros is based on the juvenile delinquence of the 1970`s and 80`s in Spain. The story is set in `Barrio de la Mina` in Barcelona one of the most conflict neighbourhoods in Spain. The charectars chosen were real juvenile delinquents all with criminal records, which the director used to give the film a realistic touch,and maybe to give them the chance to change, but unfortunately non of them live today.

This film is very powerful and dramatic, it shows how these kids were brought up to survive on the streets, and how life mistreated them because they were poor!

The movie is very realisticly made and has a strong content of the Marginated life in Spain. Something that everyone seems to ignore when they have no direct relation with. It is full of realistic action and suspence. Car thefts, Car chases, Bag Snatchers, Armed robberies, Sex and a soundtrack that comes straightout of this world - `Rumba`.

Angel Fernandez Franco, `El Torete` was one of the most famous deliquents of that time, which the director `Jose Antonio de la Loma` Contracted him to play himself as he had a natural talent to act. The Success of this film drove `de la Loma` to use `El Torete` for two more films based on his life, which were `Perros Callejeros 2` and `Los Ultimos Golpes del Torete`. Unfortunately when the films were over `El Torete` turned back to his normal life and died at the age of 29, in 1989 victim of H.I.V.

Garimpeiros/ Devil Gold

 Original title :    Garimpeiros   

Alternative Title: Oro Diablo                                     

Director: 

José Ramón Novoa

Writer:

Sonia Chocrón

Stars:

Rocío Miranda, Laureano Olivares and Armando Gota

Country:

Venezuela | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

13 June 2000 (Venezuela) See more »

Also Known As:

Devil Gold See more »

Filming Locations:

Venezuela

The town of Papayal is located in the Amazon jungle. It is ruled by violence, greed and vice. It has grown around mines where gold is extracted, and where mercury has severely destroyed the environment. Apart from the local bar and brothel, the settlers have nothing to do but work on the mines. Every once in a while a man called Fellini arrives and projects films. One day the mother of teenager Isabel and her lover steal the gold from miner El Gallego and flee from Papayal. The girl is forced to pay their debt, by working on the brothel. Isabel tries to escape, but she is caught by the police, and meets Cae, a young man who is bought by a trader to work in the gold mines. Back on Papayal, Isabel falls in love with Cae, who tells her that both her mother and her lover have been killed.