Origami is the first co-production of Spanglish Studios with Big Bang Cine of Argentina, supported by the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Argentina (INCAA) and set in and around Manhattan (NY). The film has an American and Latin American cast, took three years to develop, and will be made entirely in English. Filming will begin between October and November of this year.
“Origami is a mix between Life is Beautiful and Sixth Sense. It is a drama that challenges the viewer. It is about a man that becomes homeless after his son is kidnapped and never returned, despite paying a ransom. Hiis wife committs suicide. He ends up in a psychiatric hospital. Faced with impotence and unable to deal with the pain of the loss of his son, after leaving the hospital, he ends up on the streets looking for his son,” said Diego Musiak, director of Original Content at Spanglish Movies, director and author of the story. Gustavo Aparicio of Spanglish Movies participates as a co-producer.
“We have high expectations for Origami. Our ideal auteur film launch strategy involves a limited platform release, complemented by screenings at festivals while seeking an Oscar nomination,” said Gustavo Aparicio, Managing Director of Spanglish Movies.
“After having 10 feature films, I feel this is my as an adult. In this emotional journey that is Origami I can include the ideological, the aesthetic, the social, the artistic and the experience that I gained after 30 years of directing films. I feel that it is my first original and authentic Musiak, ripe as wine,” he said.
Musiak hopes to include cameos from well-known celebrities as he did in the previous film he shot in the US, which featured actors Eric Roberts and Dylan Walsh.
For him, the co-production model makes windows viable and minimizes risks. “On the other hand, we believe in ‘special effects’ cinema, since we do not have enough budget. We believe in films that inspire the human being, that invite reflection without ceasing to entertain.”
Talking about beings invisible to most humans is like a point of pain we want to hide, but hundreds of thousands of people live on the streets. Being able to speak about these abandoned human beings seemed to us an original and necessary point of view in times like these. That caricature complexity is there even if you ignore it. We must consider what happens to these human beings and the entire ecosystem that surrounds them. And for us, it is a distinctive and human proposal for the times that run,” he said about the story of Origami.
