CAA Signs ‘The Settlers’ Filmmaker Felipe Gálvez (EXCLUSIVE)

Chilean filmmaker Felipe Glvez, whose debut feature The Settlers premiered at this years Cannes Film Festival, has signed with CAA for representation.

Set in 1901, The Settlers centers on Segundo, a mixed-race Chilean, who rides south on an expedition led by a former Boer War English captain and an American mercenary to fence off land granted to Spanish landowner Jos Menndez. Their mission soon turns into a civilizing raid. Based on true events, the Western exposes a particularly brutal period of Chiles colonial history and the genocide of Indigenous tribes.

I love to be controversial, Glvez told Variety about the uncomfortable questions the film poses about his countrys past. If something is controversial, its a good sign. It means its interesting. I am trying to provoke with my film, because this conversation is far from over.

Glvez directed and co-wrote the film with Antonia Girardi, in collaboration with Mariano Llins, which made a splashy debut in Cannes Un Certain Regard section. The Settlers marked Glvezs return to the festival after his short film Raptor premiered in the 2018 Critics Week section.

After the films world premiere, Mubi acquired the rights for North America, the U.K., Latin America, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Benelux and India, with plans to release the film theatrically in the U.S. and U.K. A rollout in other territories has yet to be announced. In the meantime, The Settlers continues along the festival circuit, selected to screen at the Munich Film Festival in June, as well as next months Toronto International Film Festival (as part of TIFFs Centrepiece program), San Sebastin and the New York Film Festival (NYFF).

Before transitioning to directing, Glvez worked as an editor, collaborating with international filmmakers such as Marialy Rivas (Princesita), Kiro Russo (The Great Movement) and Alex Andwandter (Youll Never Be Alone), among others.

In addition to CAA, Glvez is managed by Benjamn Domenech at his producing partner Rei Pictures.