Today came the announcement of the first Chilean film to compete in the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival, taking place from August 26th to September 7th. It is Prince, first feature by director Sebastián Muñoz, which will have its world premiere in the official competition, International Critics’ Week.

Prince is a feature-length fiction based on a novel of the same name by the author Mario Cruz. The history takes place in 1970, when, following a night of drunken debauchery, Jaime stabs his best friend in an apparent fit of passion. In prison, he becomes close with “Potro”, a respected older man, with whom he begins a relationship. Jaime then becomes known as “The Prince”, and he’ll discover affection and loyalty, all the while confronting the power struggles that happen behind bars.

It’s the first feature film by Muñoz, who has been an art director on films by Alicia Scherson and Pablo Larraín. The film was produced by Marianne Mayer-Beckh from El Otro Film (Chile) and Roberto Doveris from NiñaNiño Films (Chile), co-produced by Le Tiro Films (Argentina) and Be Revolution Pictures (Belgium). The cast includes Juan Carlos Maldonado, Alfredo Castro, Cesare Serra, Gastón Pauls, Lucas Balmaceda, Sebastián Ayala, and José Antonio Raffo.

During its development stage, the project participated in important international development instances such as Cine en Construcción at the 2018 San Sebastián Film Festival. It boasts the work of Carolina Espina in wardrobe, Claudia Gallardo in art direction, Enrique Stindt as director of photography, Gerson Valenzuela as general producer, Danielle Fillios as editor, Guido Deniro in sound, Ángela Acuña in original music, and Luis Barrales and Sebastián Muñoz as screenwriters.

On the film, the director commented that “it picks up this story and puts it on the big screen, transmitting all of my experience as an Art Director in the creation of spaces, architecture, textures, and colors, in order to build the universe of Prince.”

The Venice Film Festival is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, and for decades, it has taken on the task of promoting international cinema in all its forms — art, entertainment, and industry. In the coming weeks, the announcements for this edition will continue.