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[title]Pepita la Pistolera has crossed the Atlantic. Directed by Lucía Puenzo and starring Luisana Lopilato, the film was presented in Madrid as part of Iberseries & Platino Industria, to a packed theater filled with special guests, and has just begun its international festival run. Meanwhile, in Argentina, it has already surpassed 100,000 viewers in theaters, making it one of the most-watched Argentine films of the year.
The film’s arrival in Madrid also has something of a full-circle quality to it: Pepita la Pistolera was originally developed as a project at Iberseries itself. There, the team took part in the Co-Production and Co-Financing Forum and looked for partners to bring the film to life. Now it has returned to the event, this time as a finished film ready to begin its international journey.
The film revisits the true story of Margarita Di Tullio, known as Pepita la Pistolera, a figure in Mar del Plata’s underworld during the 1980s. The story is set in the winter of 1985, when Margarita takes on the mafia and corrupt authorities and builds a clandestine empire that also serves as a refuge and protection for women working on the streets.
Behind the film is Lucía Puenzo, who directs and also co-wrote the screenplay with Andrés Gelos and Tatiana Mereñuk. Luisana Lopilato, in addition to playing Pepita, is one of the film’s producers. The cast also includes Claudio Tolcachir, Alberto Ajaka, Charo López, Marcelo Subiotto, Camila Peralta, Esteban Bigliardi and Gustavo Bassani, while the production team includes Lucas Jinkis, Esteban Puenzo, Cabe Bossi, Pol Bossi and Javier Furgang, among others.
From Madrid to the world
The film’s appearance at Iberseries marks the starting point of a festival tour that will take Pepita la Pistolera to different events across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Its next stop will be Mexico, where it will screen at the Morelia International Film Festival, as part of the International Premieres section. It will then travel to Brazil for the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, where it will have its Latin American Premiere as part of the Official Selection.
The journey continues in Italy, with a spot in the Official Selection of the Festival of Ibero-American Cinema of Trieste, before returning to Spain for the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival, also as part of its Official Selection. In Thailand, the film will be part of the Official Selection of the International Thai Film Festival, where it will also compete for the festival’s awards.
And there is one particularly significant stop: Pepita la Pistolera will also be part of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, one of the region’s major film events.
From theaters to Disney+
After its run in Argentine theaters and before continuing its festival tour, the film has already confirmed its next destination: Disney+.
The platform will release it exclusively across Latin America, while Film Factory will handle its commercial distribution across European territories. According to the producers, the strategy was to first maintain an exclusive theatrical window before making the jump to streaming.
For an Argentine film that has already passed the 100,000-viewer mark, the map is now expanding considerably: Madrid, Morelia, Rio de Janeiro, Trieste, Huelva, Thailand and Mar del Plata are among the next stops for a story born in Argentina that is now beginning to find audiences abroad.