Founded by Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Pablo Cruz, Mexican producer-distributor Canana Films is expanding -- in production budgets, co-production accords and home turf distribution.

Launched in 2003, Canana broke through with low-budget pics rooted in Mexican realities: films like Diego Luna's directorial debut, "J.C. Chavez," or Toronto Discovery Award winner, "Cochochi," a docu-like fiction film, spoken in indigenous Raramuri, about two boys crossing Mexico's out-of-the-way Sierra Tarahamara.

With budgets of less than $1 million, the producers hope to minimize risk and market pressure. But Pablo Cruz says its time to up the ante. "It's time for Canana to grow -- to have projects with larger economic and international prospects."

Canana is already producing Agustin Diaz Yanes' "Solo quiero caminar" with Spain's Boomerang. Toplining Diego Luna, Elena Anaya and Ariadna Gil, the Mexican-set femme crime drama, which is in post production, is budgeted at $10 million.

Among the bigger projects, according to Cruz, are a feature with Jim Sheridan and a U.S. adaptation of "My Name is Joe" with Ken Loach's production company. Gael Garcia says that, after making his directing debut with "Deficit," he'd like to helm a bigger pic.

Tapping of its slate from Ambulante, Canana's traveling documentary fest, Canana has increased domestic releases to 15 a year. The touring fest is now in Johannesburg and Zanzibar. Next stops include Spain, the U.K. and Greece.

"We've really enjoyed working with the principals at Canana -- they are at the cutting edge of the explosion of talent that is emerging in Mexico, and they're also citizens of the world," says John Lyons, president of production for Focus Features. Canana's first film with Focus, Cary Fukunaga's "Sin nombre," exec-produced by Canana, is now in post production. Focus handles U.S. domestic.

Canana also can take advantage of the name recognition for Garcia and Luna, at home and abroad, as well as a grassroots distribution savvy. It distributed "El violin," a small black-and-white Mexican film from tyro Francisco Vargas, turning it into 2007's biggest Mexican arthouse release.

Cruz maintains Canana's expansion won't distract from its core mission: developing new Mexican talent. And Canana can draw on Mexico's emerging generation of edgy, original directorial talent. Distributing in a studio-dominated Mexican market, Cruz says, is "like hacking stones." But that, like production, he says, is part of building for the future.

Taken from: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987846.html?categoryid=2523&cs=1