A formidable troika of Chilean thesps – Alfredo Castro (“The Count”), Paulina García(“Gloria”) and Benjamín Vicuña (“Envious”) – have boarded the upcoming horror series by author-screenwriter Ernesto Garratt, who has adapted his own book “Allegados” for an 8-episode series.
New project makes its market debut at the Santiago International Film Festival’s Sanfic Industria Series LAB, where it is open to sealing potential co-production and distribution deals.
Titled “The Unwelcome” in English, “Allegados” is the first book of a trilogy which will be adapted into three seasons, said producer Claudia Pérez-Muñoz of By LACE Films, the Santiago-based company she founded a year ago. The scripts for Season 2, based on the second novel, are also done, she added.
She has also signed on Yagán Films Chile for the series’ post-production in sound while image post-production will be performed by Chemistry, México led by Andrés Martínez-Ríos who has been invited to direct a few episodes.
“This will mark my return to directing,” he told Variety, noting that the last series he helmed, “Los betas,” was some 10 years ago. He also directed shorts, commercials, and music videos in the past. He joins Oscar Chamo Godoy, who has worked on Pablo Larrain’s “The Count” and “The Club” as a First AD, and María José San Martín (“Rara”) who will also direct a few episodes each.
“When Ernesto came to me with his project, I immediately jumped on it,” said Pérez-Muñoz who had already read the trilogy.
Set in 1980s Chile, it follows a 16-year-old boy and his sickly mother, played by García, who copes with his troubled home life by writing and drawing a vampire story in his school notebook. They live with his abusive uncle (Castro) and his family who treat them with increasing disdain. They are allegados – guests without a home of their own – who quietly try to stay unnoticed, make no noise and take up as little space as possible. Vicuña plays the prophetic vampire who emerges from the teen’s drawing.
The series is set to shoot in the second half of 2026. “As a director, writer and film critic with years of experience and interviews behind me, I have always wanted to adapt my novel ‘Allegados‘ for the screen – bringing together Latin American sensibilities and popular culture,” said Garratt, adding that he aims to challenge the elitist perception of Chilean cinema by creating more engaging and grounded narratives that weave in elements of magical realism and fantasy.
“The Unwelcome” is among eight titles selected for Sanfic Series LAB that explore a broad range of genres. These include a procedural, a comedy, crime dramas, an animated children’s skein, a docu-series and a dramedy.
Sanfic runs over Aug. 17-24.
