Director Oren Stambouli: My opera prima TQM debuted on Amazon LatAm and the US

TQM, a Hispanic thriller film that debuted on Amazon in Latin America and the US this Monday 14th, is the feature debut by Venezuelan producer and director, Oren Stambouli of Cool Geeks Production. He has 15 years of experience in production -particularly TV- both in the English and Latin American markets, with productions for MTV and Nickelodeon, such as Every Witch Way, Talia’s Kitchen and Club 57, to name a few.

Stambouli decided to write a script having in mind actors like Ana Silvetti and Venezuelan Gabriel Tarantini; with a small crew of 13 people and in a Little Haiti studio that resembled an insane asylum and create a bubble for the safety of everyone involved. The idea of the project came as a response to the demand for content generated in the market due to the pandemic, a moment when all content creators began to make their pitches.

The film was recorded in Miami in march 2021 and it took 12 days to shoot. It was made using its own resources and was completely finished by August 17, but before that, it began to seek its distribution on a streaming platform.

Amazon was one of the platforms that Stambouli approached to show the trailer and it attracted their attention to the point that they requested him to show them the film as soon as it was finished and finally decided to acquire it.

For Stambouli, independents like him, who are looking for a screen in a streamer, it’s important to be very concise and direct in their presentations. “Having a very strong presentation deck, with photos of the characters, the marketing strategy, a concise synopsis, a good trailer that shows what the film is about. I feel that all platforms are looking for good, new things from Latino cinema. They are open to listening,” he recommended.

He would like his next project to have the financial support of a platform. He currently has three movie scripts written and a pilot for a series. “We are super grateful that a platform as big as Amazon has given us that springboard to reach more people,” he said.

Prior to TQM, Stambouli was the director of the documentary Trust 22 (Best Documentary at the Tenerife Film Festival), the short Liminality (Best Short at Los Cortos Film Festival), and Teogonia (New York Latino Film Market Official Selection).

View tráiler here