The Universe Series has been transformed into a high-performance sport

Buenos Aires audiovisual producer Mariano Hueter does not doubt this and says that the competitive world of the series, in the midst of the boiling point of platforms, has become a high-performance sport, “as is the football of the world’s top leagues”. “A series made this way, with few resources or with basic ideas, quickly drains the viewer. The question today is how do we get the attention of the viewer who has access to everything,” he analyzes.

It was one of his last achievements Butterflies cryOne of those big projects that don’t always touch you in life.

It is a series in the key of historical drama and inspired by real events, depicting the life of Minerva Mirabal, the famous activist who confronted the authoritarian regime of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, and became a symbol of the fight against gender violence around the world.

With Disney’s endorsement, the series has been released worldwide. “Butterflies cry It was in the top ten of Star Plus for the first two weeks. Feedback came to us from all sides, people who saw it in the US on Hulu and Disney Plus in Europe,” reviews Mariano.

“In addition to the success, it is a story that has not yet been told in this way and that is fundamental in the times we live in, because it is the life of the first great feminist, who was Minerva Mirabal, for whose death the United Nations celebrates November 25 as the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women. To be able to tell this story in a 13-episode series, with all the publishing we were able to do, and direct, was a huge satisfaction.”

Filming was almost entirely in the Colombian Caribbean, and a little in Spain. It was in the midst of a pandemic, so it couldn’t be filmed in the Dominican Republic, where the story takes place. There is a series “very well hit”. Protagonist Sandy Hernandez, who plays Minerva Mirabal, was “wonderfully received”.

Although it is clear that some Dominicans raised their voices and complained a little that they were going to shoot us there, for health reasons this was not possible.

“This is a story that punctually captures Cuba, Colombia and Costa Rica for everything that happened in the dictatorship of Trujillo. The reception in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean was amazing, especially since the previous thing they received in this story was a movie with Salma Hayek, very Hollywood visionary, not an American production. A real Latino like that.”

– And how did you end up in history? What was the back room for work?

– Yes, the truth is, it was intense and grueling work. The proposal comes to me from Juan Pablo Buscarini, the creator of the series, as he is the one with the idea to make this series and who acquires the necessary rights to be able to tell this story, and with his production company, Palma Films.

Hueter, along with other directors, Leandro Piña and Inés París, formed a multi-ethnic cast, with Cuban, Colombian, Dominican, North American, and Spanish actors.

The Great Achievement Production is from Pampa Films, an Argentinian production company. They, as well as a Spanish producer named Gloria Mundi, convinced Disney to finance this story and that they could do this project with all the resources we had.

“I’ve been musing every now and then all the time to see how we can squeeze in every place and every location and get the most out of the settings we shot in, which I think is the big difference in the series.”

he does himself

Mariano lives with his wife and children in Valeria del Mar, near the beach and in the middle of the jungle.

“Last year we developed series for MGM and it was all virtual. It’s like I’m actually one of those who thinks where you live really doesn’t matter if you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit and move around and travel.”

He is currently working on a series with MGM and Gato Grande (Series Producer Luis Miguel) set in Mexico around the world of esports, all the behind the scenes behind these amazing sports tournaments and competitions. electronics. “It’s interesting, he’s a cop, with plot twists.”

“And now I’m shooting a Turner series, WarnerMedia, a nice cop, political thriller that I’m very interested in doing.”

At what stage do you say the world of soap operas? I see an incredible overabundance of competition that makes it difficult, both for the viewer to choose and for the director.

– Look, the truth is, I very much agree with the premise of your question, which gives a hint of something I think: We are now in a moment that we can define as a plateau, a recession, if you will. Post-pandemic, it seemed like a lot of content would be produced and that this had no end, because it was bundled up as a kind of production funnel and couldn’t be filmed for two years. What is happening today is that after so many things have been produced together that are left hanging, there is an abundance of content. People don’t get to see how many things are released per day. It just so happens that I ended up discovering a series three years later that I couldn’t at the time pay attention to when it premiered, because it had gone unnoticed. The positive thing about it is that it raises the bar quite a bit. One has to produce content that should stand out from the crowd. At the same time, it also seems to me that the viewer gets tired of seeing so many things for the first time, and becomes more eclectic and more groovy. This is another challenge for us.

to see

Butterflies cry13 episodes available on STAR+ about the story of Minerva Mirabal and her sisters.