Chile’s Julio Rojas Series ‘Hidden Island’ Stars Néstor Cantillana

Chile’s Néstor Cantillana has been a triple threat at the Guadalajara Film Fest (FICG), starring in two pics as well as “Hidden Island,” a series penned by international sci fi phenomenon Julio Rojas. Cantillana is also developing his second directorial outing with the short, ‘Humedal.”

“This has been my first time at a festival with two films and a series, all so different—from characters to visual style to the unique voices of young Chilean directors. I’m grateful to be here and to feel the love from the people in Guadalajara,” Cantillana told Variety.

Participating in FICG’s series showcase where its pilot episode played, sci fi thriller “Hidden Island” (“Isla oculta”), co-written by Rojas, Juan M. Dartizio and Felipe Carmona (“Prison in tghe Andes”), centers on a detective who returns to her hometown in southern Chile to investigate the disappearance of a Mexican archeologist who was searching for the mythical Friendship Island.

Rojas is best known for his acclaimed audio series, “Caso 63,” the most popular Latin American podcast and starring Cantillana. He also served as story editor on Lucía Puenzo’s “La Jauría,” and writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio” and Matías Bize’s “The Life of Fish,” selected by Variety in 2020 as one of the 10 best foreign films in the last decade still without U.S. distribution.

“There’s been great interest in this Chilean-Mexican co-production, and the collaboration between artists from both countries has been wonderful,” said Cantillana.

The two pics are Chilean film “Cuerpo Celeste,” directed by Nayra Ilic García, which had its world premiere at Tribeca and now vies for the Premio Mayahuel in FICG’s Ibero-American official competition, and genre pic, “Patio de Chacales.”

“’Cuerpo Celeste’ is an intimate, moving coming-of-age film about a 15-year-old girl. I act alongside Daniela Ramírez as the…