Versatile producer Gabriela Gavica is premiering her film Marioneta

At the age of 31, Gabriela has moved from making music videos and producing the Top Chef program to attending the Cannes Film Festival and producing feature-length films.

The movie Marioneta, which opens this weekend in Mexico, is the latest one to bear the particular stamp of producer Gabriela Gavica.

A graduate in Communications and currently taking a Master’s in Business Administration at Tec de Monterrey, Gaby seeks to continue creating high-impact projects at the Mandarina Cine production house she co-founded.

MARIONETA AND SOCIAL CINEMA

“The best thing is that it’s a sincere film that shows working-class Mexico with great dignity. It’s about people looking for a better life,” she tells CONECTA.

Marioneta has a positive message about the lives of two street vendors (or “vagoneros”) on the Mexico City subway.

The film is directed by Álvaro Curiel, who also directed successful series such as El Dragón, La Balada de Hugo Sánchez (a spin-off from Club de Cuervos), Los Simuladores, and Cumbia Ninja.

As producer, Gavica shares the film credits with icons of Mexican film production, such as Mónica Lozano.

“It’s a film that has a clear message: it tells you that you have to look for opportunities and pay attention to them.”

In the film, Cuban theater actor Ernesto (Rafael Ernesto) meets Belén (Fátima Molina).  Their lives take a different turn after they meet in the city’s underground world.

“It’s not just about making movies, but about creating culture in the country.”

FROM CLASSROOMS TO THE SEVENTH ART

Gabriela began her career studying Communications at the at the Tec’s Monterrey campus and went on to finish her professional studies at the Mexico City campus.

It was there where her interest in the movie industry began. However, as she became involved in projects, she began to realize what it implied.

“You think cinema is all glamor but it’s not glamorous at all. It was a shock to deal with these new work structures,” she confessed.

For a moment, she thought that perhaps cinema might not be for her, but her taste for cinema returned when she took part in the film “La Cristiada”.

Later, she joined Canal Once and sometime later entered the Cinematographic Training Center, where she specialized in production.

“It’s one of the best film schools in Mexico, only 15 students enter,” she said with pride.

BEING A PRODUCER: A PASSION

The Tec graduate’s career includes music videos, television shows, and movies presented at well-known festivals. 

While specializing in production, Gabriela worked as a production assistant on a music video for the singer Chayanne’s song Madre Tierra.

“Right after the music video, I was invited to produce Top Chef in Mexico. Not as an assistant, but as a producer.

“It was one of those decisions that change your life. I was afraid, but what scares you is what you should do,” she stressed.

At the end of Top Chef, she was invited to produce the film “Noches de Julia”. The experience left her with the desire to branch out on her own, developing into the production company Mandarina Cine.

HER OWN PRODUCTION COMPANY AND THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Mandarina Cine’s first film, “Ayer Maravilla Fui”, accomplished much more than Gabriela had imagined.

“My first experience as a producer of my own film led me to the Cannes Film Festival,” she said proudly.

This made her look for projects with stronger stories and try to position Mexico in that sense.

“In Mexico, we’re at a time when cultural cinema is gaining relevance “It’s not just about making movies, but about creating culture in the country,” she said.

“Production makes you part of the project from the beginning. It’s part of what excites me, that ability to create and follow something through to its very core.”

FUTURE PROJECTS

With Mandarina Cine, Gabriela has produced movies, documentaries, and short films. The 2018 drama “Cría Puercos” was nominated for the Ariel Awards.

Gabriela is currently studying a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the EGADE Business School of Tec de Monterrey, to continue developing her production house.

What’s more, she says she will continue helping directors to tell their stories and accompany their creations as they come to life.

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