EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has greenlit a new feature documentary about Keiko, the orca who became world famous after appearing in the 1993 movie Free Willy.
The timing is on point, with Warner Bros. working on a reimagining of Free Willy with the Russo brothers’ AGBO banner. The film memorably told the story of a young boy who befriends and tries to free a killer whale who has been captured in the wild and is living in an aquarium.
The Netflix doc does not have a title yet, but we have the essentials. “Keiko, the world’s most famous orca, was the star attraction at an amusement park in Mexico City and an icon for an entire generation,” reads an early synopsis. “For years, he lived in a human-designed world. Hollywood thrust him onto the global stage as the star of Free Willy, sparking a worldwide animal rights movement. What began as a dream shared by millions of children to see him return to the ocean transformed into one of the most ambitious and controversial animal reintroduction experiments in history.”
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Mexican prodcos Mezcla and The Lift Films are making the feature doc. Santiago Fábregas is the director.
It will not be the only Keiko doc swimming onto screens. HBO Max and Sky in the UK have joined forces on a project about the iconic whale, also as-yet-unnamed. Don’t F*ck With Cats producer Raw Television is making that one.
The Netflix project is one of three new feature doc commissions out of Mexico that we can reveal. The streamer has invested heavily in Lat-Am, and has greenlit a raft of Mexico-originated projects ahead of Mexican Cinema Day on August 15. It will also create a section on its service dedicated to Mexican storytelling.
Liliana Rivera Garza & Subcomandante Marcos Docs
Liliana’s Invincible Summer will tell the story of Liliana Rivera Garza, a young architecture student who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1990, a time before femicide was legally recognized as a crime in Mexico.
The doc is based on the eponymous book by Liliana’s sister, Cristina Rivera Garza. It follows Cristina as she goes through Liliana’s diaries and letters, and testimonies from those who knew her, to reconstruct her memory.
Inna Payán and Samuel Kishi direct. The duo said: “We gathered her photos, her words, and the memories of those who knew her, allowing ourselves to be embraced by her presence. We name what was done to her without defining her by it.”
Rounding out the trio of docs is Marcos: Another World is Possible. Focusing on Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente, AKA Subcomandante Marcos, it tells his story and the story of the struggle of Zapatista communities in the wake of the 1994 uprising.
Diego Enrique Osorno is the director. “Like many of my generation, we first saw Marcos and only later learned to look at what lay behind him,” he said. “Driven by that initial emotional impact, I made this documentary to open a window into the Zapatista communities, who today continue to stand firm on an idea that some deemed impossible: refusing to surrender to a world forced upon them.”
Bernardo Loyola, Director of Documentaries for Latin America at Netflix, said the three new films are a celebration of Mexican documentary filmmaking.
“Investing in these stories in Mexico means placing our full trust in filmmakers’ vision and giving them the time, space and creative support to tell bold and complex stories. Our upcoming projects reflect that ambition. They each take very different approaches, but share a deep sense of honesty in exploring memory, identity and the figures who have shaped our country.”