Mexico's Martfilms boards 'Looking for Sam' Bad Hair follow-up
Mexico's Martfilms has boarded "Looking for Sam," Mariana Rondón's follow-up to her San Sebastián Golden Shell winner "Bad Hair." The docu-fiction hybrid reunites original stars Sam Lange and Samantha Castillo—both forced to leave Venezuela—as it heads to San Sebastián's Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum.
Key Takeaways
- Martfilms joins Sudaca Films on Rondón's docu-fiction follow-up to the 2013 Golden Shell winner "Bad Hair."
- Sam Lange and Samantha Castillo return after emigrating from Venezuela; Lange now walks Paris fashion runways.
- The project is bound for San Sebastián's Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum during the festival's 74th edition.
- Sudaca Films secured a 2026–2027 Écritures residency in Paris to continue developing the screenplay with Lange.
- Martfilms brings a track record in socially committed cinema, including Cannes documentary winner "Beyond My Grandfather Allende."
What Is 'Looking for Sam' About?
"Looking for Sam" is a docu-fiction hybrid from Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón and producing partner Marité Ugás of Sudaca Films. It follows two lead actors from Rondón's 2013 San Sebastián Golden Shell winner "Bad Hair" ("Pelo Malo"): Sam Lange, who played the child Junior, and Samantha Castillo, who played his mother.
Both performers were forced to leave Venezuela after the original film. Ugás said the team found Lange walking fashion runways in Paris while Castillo emigrated to Mexico.
Rondón told Variety the film "wanders between fiction and documentary, where memory and identity blur and transform one another." Ugás added that the story crosses "geographical, temporal, bodily and borders of identity."
Why Did Martfilms Board This Project?
For Martfilms founder Martha Orozco, the partnership was years in the making. She told Variety she had long followed Rondón and Ugás and that their filmographies had often intersected on parallel cinematic journeys.
Orozco called "Pelo Malo" a bold film that dared to address racism, homophobia and polarization, leaving a mark on Latin American cinema. She said it inspired her belief in resilient cinema and that "Looking for Sam" will be a nostalgic reunion as Venezuela, the protagonists and the filmmakers have all changed.
Martfilms is dedicated to films committed to diversity, inclusion and social transformation. Its credits include the Chile-Mexico co-production "Beyond My Grandfather Allende," which won the L'Œil d'Or documentary prize at Cannes in 2015, and "Niñxs."
When Will 'Looking for Sam' Reach Audiences?
The project is headed to San Sebastián's Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum. The 74th San Sebastián Film Festival runs Sept. 18–26, 2026. Martfilms has previously won industry prizes at the festival, including the WIP award for "Pornomelancholia" and the Forum prize for Laura Baumeister's "Daughter of Rage."
Production is still in development. Sudaca Films was invited to the Écritures Residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris for 2026–2027, starting in December 2026. The six-month residency will allow Rondón and Ugás to continue working on the screenplay and spend time with Lange in Paris.
Ugás, who is co-writing the screenplay with Rondón, said meeting a French partner at the co-production forum is particularly important given Lange's base in the French capital. Sudaca Films, which Rondón and Ugás founded and which turned 30 this year, is also known for Tribeca 2021 title "Contactado" and "Zafari," winner of the French Film Critics Award in 2024.
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