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Filmax Nabs International Sales Rights to Costa del Sol Action Thriller ‘A Dead Man Cannot Live’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Costa del Sol-set action thriller “Hombre muerto no sabe vivir” (“A Dead Man Cannot Live”), the feature debut by producer Ezekiel Montes.

The Spanish mini-major has also taken local distribution rights to the film, which is scheduled for a summer theatrical release.

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Produced by Montes at his Málaga-based outfit 73140323 PC, “A Dead Man Cannot Live” is currently in post-production.

The story is set at one of Southern Spain’s most popular tourist hotspots, the Costa del Sol, known for its warm climate and white sand beaches, but also as a point of confluence or international drug trafficking.

“A Dead Man” revolves around Tano, who has worked his whole life for Manuel, a construction business man with strong local government connections which help him control drug-trafficking in the city.

54-year-old Tano, whose mission is to control the drug trade with Morocco, struggles to make ends meet, aware the business’ golden years are over.

However, when someone introduces samples of a new drug into the city – with devastating effects for local junkies – Angel, Manuel’s son, becomes convinced that dealing in the new drug, they could go back to making the millions they were in the past.

The film boasts a cast of well-known Spanish thesps that takes in Antonio Dechent (“I Know Who You Are”), Ruben Ochandiano (“The Infiltrator”), Elena Martinez (“Este amor es de otro planeta”), Jesus Castro (“El Niño”), Paco Tous (“La Casa de Papel”) and Nancho Novo (“I Know Who You Are”).

“This is an action movie, yes, but it’s mainly a story about people and the cruel reality of the drug-trafficking world as I know it. Writing and producing has given me the control to direct these characters and take them to the extreme the story needs,” Montes said.

He added: “’A Dead Man Cannot Live’ is about loyalty, about certain values that we’re losing as a society and about an age that is now long-gone.”

“The international market is paying increasing attention to well-made action movies in Spain and so we felt this would be a great title for us on a commercial level,” said Iván Díaz, head of international at Filmax.

“Our idea is to present the film to clients at the EFM with a strong promo and close the festival and Spanish cinema premiere for the coming summer, when we hope the box office will have recuperated some of the activity lost as a result of the pandemic,” he added.

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