‘Fateful Harvest’ And ‘The Loss of life And Life Of Aida Hernandez’ Movies In Works – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Kat Taylor & Tom Steyer’s TomKat MeDiA has unveiled its slate of social justice-themed tasks for 2022. The multi-platform media firm has secured rights to Duff Wilson’s eco-thriller Fateful Harvest and Aaron Bobrow-Pressure’s award-winning work of narrative non-fiction, The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez, with plans to develop each as function movies.

Based mostly on a Seattle Instances investigative sequence reported by Wilson that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Fateful Harvest is the riveting account of an alarming environmental scandal. Printed in 2001, the e book tells the story of Patty Martin — the mayor of a small Washington city referred to as Quincy — who discovers American industries are dumping poisonous waste into farmers’ fields and residential gardens by labeling it “fertilizer.” She turns into outraged on the contaminated soil, failed crops, useless horses, and deadly, uncommon ailments in her city, in addition to the direct risk to her personal youngsters’s well being. But, when she blows the whistle on a nationwide drawback, Patty Martin is almost run out of city. Fateful Harvest is a examine of corruption and braveness, of recklessness and reckoning. It’s a story that speaks to the best fears — and supreme hope — in us all.

Anne Pinheiro-Guimarães (Uncoupled in Rio) will pen the function adaptation.

Printed in 2019, The Loss of life and Lifetime of Aida Hernandez is the story of a younger lady whose life spans each side of the U.S.-Mexican border — a radiantly optimistic character in a relentlessly bleak, unfortunate world. Aida’s resilience pushes her to outlive her personal tried homicide, household abuse, incarceration, deportation, separation from her son and the U.S. immigration system. The daughter of a insurgent hero from the mountains of Chihuahua, she has a genius for survival — however returning to the USA is just the start of her quest.

New York Instances bestselling writer Héctor Tobar (Deep Down Darkish: The Untold Tales of 33 Males Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free) will deal with the screenplay adaptation for the movie, to be titled Aida. MacArthur “Genius” fellows and Sundance winners Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera (The Infiltrators) will function its administrators, with Taylor and Marcela Davison Avilés producing each movies for TomKat MeDiA.

“As we advocate for extra equitable reforms to assist shut America’s racial, financial and environmental disparities, the tales of TomKat MeDiA will every contribute to a typical understanding by shedding snug myths in favor of extra genuine narratives instructed and led by beforehand unheard voices and untapped expertise,” stated Taylor. “Collectively, with our companions, we are going to uncover and domesticate new voices, expertise and enterprise companions who’re equally dedicated to entertaining and remodeling society for the widespread good.”

“We’re so delighted to help the work of those excellent storytellers within the Hollywood group with uplifting tasks that get to the guts of our resilience and capability for hope, braveness and love,” added Avilés, who joined TomKat as Managing Accomplice in 2020. “Their creativity reaches a world viewers with magnificence, verve and inspirational impression.”

After Pinheiro-Guimarães’s quick movie Desejo starring Narcos‘ Wagner Moura premiered at Sundance, she started writing and directing on such notable Brazilian sequence as As Canalhas, Desnude and Nós. She most just lately directed on the critically acclaimed sequence Uncoupled in Rio, which was launched worldwide by way of Amazon in December of final 12 months, additionally co-writing and co-directing the upcoming Brazilian function, Transe.

Ibarra and Rivera beforehand directed the function doc The Infiltrators, which received the Viewers and Innovator Awards within the NEXT part of the 2019 Sundance Movie Pageant. Ibarra additionally beforehand helmed the award-winning documentary Las Marthas, amongst different tasks. Rivera’s first function was Sleep Supplier, which received awards on the 2008 Sundance Movie Pageant and the Berlin Movie Pageant.

Tobar is the writer of 5 books revealed in fifteen languages together with Deep Down Darkish, which was tailored into the movie The 33 starring Antonio Banderas. Tobar’s most up-to-date novel is The Final Nice Street Bum. He was a member of the Pulitzer-winning workforce reporting on the 1992 Los Angeles riots for the L.A. Instances and has additionally written for The New Yorker, amongst different publications.

TomKat MeDiA was based by Taylor and Steyer with a mandate to develop and produce content material from traditionally marginalized storytellers throughout platforms together with movie, tv, podcasts and the performing arts. Different upcoming tasks from the corporate embrace a podcast sequence renewing the unique journalism for Fateful Harvest, and Mudbone, a scripted episodic sequence in growth with Alpita Patel and Peter and Benjamin Bratt’s 5 Stick Movies, and Erika Alexander and Ben Arnon at Shade Farm Media. The corporate additionally just lately participated in financing for The Massive Payback, a documentary in regards to the reparations invoice for Black Individuals handed in Evanston, IL., directed by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow.

TomKat MeDiA is represented by Rick Berg and Wealthy Freeman at Code Administration and attorneys Invoice Skrzyniarz and Tanya Mallean. Wilson and Martin are repped by Echo Lake Leisure; Pinheiro-Guimarães by Gersh, Black Rabbit Media, and lawyer Shep Rosenman; Bobrow-Pressure by Matt McGowan on the Frances Golden Literary Company; Ibarra by lawyer Andrew Hurwitz; Rivera by The Rookery, APA, and Andrew Hurwitz; and Tobar by WME.