Salada, Querosene set 'High Five'

BUENOS AIRES -- Mariana Secco's Montevideo-based Salado Media is joining with Brazil's Querosene Filmes to create Manuel Facal's feature debut, "High Five." The Uruguayan movie underscores two building trends in Latin America: producers' growing concern to overcome local audiences and also the emergence of the new generation of filmmakers who view their films as mainly entertainment, not social-problem photos. "Five" activates a stoner who stumbles on the stash of marijuana, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and ketamine. He assembles four buddies and every takes one drug. "High Five" recounts the things they remember as happening later on. Shooting next summer time, "Five," which won Uruguay's primary Fona subsidy award, is "a workout in screwball comedy, a format usually associated with light comedies, modified to more powerful content," Facal stated. Its cinematographer, Pedro Luque, and production designer, Federico Capra, both done Uruguayan Gustavo Hernandez's micro-budget horror hit "The Quiet House," which sparked a U.S. remake and worldwide sales. Occur a Montevideo divided by class and wealth, "Five" "charts the lengthy and confusing transition from adolescence to their adult years," stated Secco, who known as "Five" " 'Scott Pilgrim' meets 'Dazed and Confused,'" She added, "What's interesting is to possess a new-generation director who does not wish to range from festival to festival but really wants to make movies such as the U.S. buddy comedies he was raised on." Querosene topper Joao Queiroz is within talks for theatrical distribution in South america. Given "Five's" 18-30 demo, Secco stated the producers are exploring straight-to-TV for many areas and Internet VOD distribution. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com