New Buena Vista film to beproduced by city company

The Londonderry affiliate of US-based media law firm, SmithDehn LLP exceeded its revenue targets and now plans to take on more staff as it announces it also plans producing a new film about the acclaimed Cuban music sensation, the Buena Vista Social Club.
By Staff Reporter
Published 4th May 2015, 17:57 BST

On top of this, Convergent Media (formerly named Social Construct Media), which was launched in Londonderry last April by international media law firm SmithDehn, and which has set up offices and brought on new-hires at the NorthWest Regional Science Park (NWRSP) is to make a new film entitled ‘Buena Vista Social Club - Adios.’

The film is going into production next month, sixteen years after the Academy Award nominated ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ movie first debuted, catapulting Cuba’s vibrant music and culture onto the global stage alongside the band’s release of their landmark Grammy-winning album.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The film will be directed by the Academy Award Nominated Director Lucy Walker.

It is being fully financed and US-distributed by leading Hollywood independent film studio, Broad Green Pictures. International sales outside of the US are being handled by Mister Smith Entertainment, starting at the Cannes Film Festival.

With the band on their final and hugely ambitious world tour, the five original band members will take audiences on an intimate journey, revealing the band’s personal and professional highs and lows since 1999, while remembering the infamous and beloved band members no longer with us.

The tour will culminate in a series of spectacular homecoming concerts in Havana.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Set against the unique and unprecedented political, social and cultural backdrop of this rapidly evolving time in Cuban history, this film will cement the enduring legacy of the band, the musicians and the music at the end of an era.

Director Lucy Walker stated: “The original Buena Vista Social Club movie introduced the world to a group of fantastically charming and talented musicians who have inspired the world with their stories, hearts and music.”

Ms Walker added: “Those are big shoes to fill and I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of such a beloved, popular movie about such beloved, popular artists, and it’s especially fascinating during this important moment in Cuban history.”

Meanwhile, SmithDehn and Ulster University have just completed the second year of their annual graduate-level module, ‘The Law and Business of Film and Television,’ at Ulster’s Magee campus. Visiting “professors” last week included Hollywood execs Bonnie Bogin (20th Century Fox) and Susan Seager (Fox Entertainment Group).