Sartaj Singh
Catalina Aguilar-Mastretta will be cozying up in the director’s chair for a historical romantic drama this winter! She is slated to direct the upcoming TV show, ‘Mal De Amores,’ which is gearing up to begin filming in Mexico City, Mexico, between November 25, 2024, and April 5, 2025.
‘Mal De Amores’ promises an epic tale of love, revolution, and self-discovery intertwined with the tumultuous backdrop of the Mexican Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We follow Emilia Sauri, a woman ahead of her time, born into a world of turmoil and change. Raised by a family of strong, independent women, Emilia defies societal norms to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. She is inspired by her apothecary father, Diego Sauri, who teaches her everything he knows about remedies and inspires her in her medical pursuits.
As Mexico undergoes its own revolution, so does Emilia, torn between two great loves: Daniel, her childhood friend and fiery revolutionary, and Antonio, a doctor who advocates peace. Her leaning towards either man becomes indicative of her own stance on the conflict and society. The title, ‘Mal De Amores,’ roughly translates to lovesickness, but the show isn’t just a tale of romance—it’s the journey of a woman choosing herself amidst the chaos of war and desire.
Catalina Aguilar-Mastretta is a Mexico-born director whose recent directorials include episodes of Apple TV’s ‘Acapulco,’ Fox’s ‘Welcome to Flatch,’ and HBO’s ‘Generation.’ She is most well known for directing on Netflix’s ‘Ginny & Georgia,’ which follows a mother-daughter duo as they settle into a new town, with the daughter feeling like she is becoming more of a parent. Her credits also include the TV miniseries ‘The Search,’ about the true story of a small girl disappearing in Mexico City. Furthermore, she has completed work on an unreleased comedy TV movie about a mother navigating the ups and downs of family life in Hollywood Hills.
Catalina is particularly mindful of the honesty with which a director should produce media and the individuality one is privileged to have inherited from their own community, making her a fitting choice for ‘Mal De Amores.’ “ In general, we are all responsible for the media that we consume, and certainly, when you produce that media, it’s our responsibility to be as honest as you can about the content that you put in front of people,” Catalina said in an interview. “I think you’re obligated to be honest about the things that you love, the things that you believe, in the things that you say because that’s the way they connect with every other person.” Born and raised in Mexico City, Catalina is especially suited to helm a production based there.
Mexico City is the national capital and a growing hub for commercials and Hollywood productions. Owing to substantially more affordable prices and fewer regulations, an increasing number of projects are employing the city’s fast-expanding filming infrastructure. Mexico City offers a wide range of settings to suit various film genres and narratives. The city’s blend of old-world charm and contemporary vibrancy provides filmmakers with a versatile canvas. Some prominent productions utilizing its backdrops and studios include A24’s ‘Love Lies Bleeding,’ ‘Alex Rider,’ ‘Saw X,’ ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters,’ ‘Spectre,’ ‘Man on Fire,’ ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado,’ and ‘Infinite.’
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