Filming is underway on one of Peru’s most ambitious film or TV projects ever, Los Principiantes.
The eight-part Spanish-language drama, inspired by real events, is set in 1980s Lima, Peru, and follows the rise of an elite law school cabal that infiltrates academia, politics, and organized crime. According to producers, the series explores how “ambition and power can transform young men into dangerous forces against a backdrop of corruption and social upheaval.”
The project, heralding from local outfit La Soga Producciones, is being designed as an eight-part series for a streamer but also as a feature film. The film’s release is being lined up for July 28, 2027, Peru’s Independence Day, via BF Distribution. A second season has already been written.
The large cast includes established Latin American actors, Peruvian talent and a bevvy of newcomers. Vets include Colombian actors Ana Maria Orozco and Christian Tappan, Mexican Flavio Medina, Argentinian Osmar Nunez and Cuban-American actor Oscar Torre.
The young protagonists include Mario Cortijo, Mathias Spitzer, Franco Pennano, José Miguel Argüelles, Guadalupe Farfán, Fabiana Valcárcel and Yahir Manosalva. The casting process is said to have taken two years.
Filming started June 1st in Lima, Peru, and will run until August 11th. The budget, sourced from domestic and international, is reported to be at the $1.8M mark, which is at the high end for a Peruvian film or TV project. Below are first-look images from the shoot.
The show is co-created and written by Eduardo Carrillo and Eduardo Gutiérrez and is being directed by Peruvian filmmaker Daniel Vega, whose 2010 film Octubre (October) won the Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and whose 2013 drama El Mudo (The Mute) won Best Actor at Locarno.
Producers are Eduardo Carrillo, Gustavo Sánchez, Gianella Neyra, Vincenzo Gratteri, Gregorio González, Alex Zito, and Joshua Friedlander.
La Soga is one of Peru’s most established producers with credits including recent war-drama El Corazón Del Lobo, which played at international film festivals including Mar Del Plata and Malaga.
Los Principiantes, credit: La Soga Producciones
Los Principiantes, credit: La Soga Producciones
