We want to thank our investors, crew, talent and our fans for their support on our latest productions. And we also want to announce a few surprises!
We are honored to announce that Tú y Yo en Queens (An Affair in Queens) is now available on Tubi, YouTube and Amazon. Let me send a big thank you to everyone who helped make this a reality.
We are also proud to announce that SMEI is teaming with my Ecuador Productions again, this time in the production of a horror flick! We will be providing details (but no spoilers, don’t worry) through this website and our IG accounts.
And to make 2025 even more spectacular, we are teaming with two important institutions to produce a complete set of educational videos in Spanish aimed to reduce work-related accidents among Hispanic construction workers. We are extremely proud of this initiative and we are using our full powers as filmmakers and psychologists to produce education videos that will be easy to follow, understand, remember and apply. You will be able to follow this project here and in our Instagram account.
If you are interested in auditioning for this production, please send us an email at: info@south-magellan.com and we will reply with application instructions and links.
You can follow me on Instagram at: @casanova.psyfilm
Make sure to come back for more announcements!
We have been lucky to work on some very exciting and relevant projects that speak to the core of our values, like:
Name
Services
Company
Tú Y yo en Queens Feature Length Romantic Comedy
Scriptwriting Production Direction
Co-production SMEI and Latino FILMS
El Baile Fiction Short
Scriptwriting Production services Directorial Services
James Garcia-Sotomayor Producciones
The Nature Of Madness Feature Length Psychological Thriller
Scripwriting Development
SMEI
Chicken Out Of The Water On-location TV Comedy
Scripwriting Development Financing Distribution
SMEI
Ecos de Queens Web Series Magazine
Casting Services Development
HCM Medios
Allie’s World: Cancun Reality Tourism
Production Distribution
Casanova Films & BUJO Productions
I ❤ Jackson Heights Feature Length Romantic Drama
Scripwriting
James Garcia-Sotomayor Producciones
Jump! Fiction Short
Scriptwriting Production Direction
SMEI
We look forward to continue developing relevant and entertaining material and cooperating with other filmmakers in creating engaging drama that takes social responsibility at heart.
The Dance
“El Baile”, spanish for “The Dance” is a 7 minutes short created as a proof of concept for “I ❤ Jackson Heights” but has so mesmerized its audience that is now being submitted to several film festivals.
This short celebrates Hispanic culture while tipping the hat at the magnificent composers and performers of Salsa and Bolero music.
Lisa, played by the gorgeous Milagros Simon, has just discovered that the dancing partner she has rehearsed with for months to impress an important talent scout is now in the hospital with a twisted ankle. She will have to choose between forfeiting or dance with clumsy Javi, played by a charming Marlon Quijije. Though life!
The short also features renowned Franco Galecio playing a wonderfully bitchy manager in drag and a toe curling choreography created by the talented Jeimi Mora that you won’t want to miss.
Check what the local press has to say about this short by following the link below:
Tu y Yo en Queens, english title “An Affair in Queens”, is a feature length romantic comedy full of music. We believe it's the right note after such difficult times created by the world-wide pandemic. The story revolves around Miguel, a first generation Hispanic in Queens and sophisticated Jazz musician who struggles to make a living out of music that is hired to chaperon Danira, a successful but crass Urban Music performer invited to a summer Hispanic Culture festival. Their very different worlds collide in very explosive ways, for our amusement, but slowly admiration emerges and love seems to start brewing. But will they admit it?
Miguel is performed by the talented Mario Peguero, of The Blacklist and Telemundo 47 fame, who has starred and produced several successful films.
Danira is played by the beautiful Rocío de la Grana, who traveled from LA to NY exclusively to participate of this production.
Several talented actors lend supporting roles with an amazing sense of humor and great performances. You can follow production by checking:
IG: @tuyyoenqueens
IG: @casanova.psyfilm
www.facebook.com/tuyyoenqueens
Don't forget to like!
I ❤ Jackson Heights
I ❤ Jackson Heights is a romantic drama that provides a compassionate view of the struggle created by being forced to leave behind culture, family and friends to settle as a Hispanic immigrant in Queens, NY. This is a topic largely absent in media representation, discounting the exploitative use of stereotypes that are not representative of all immigrants, that affects not only hundreds of thousands in NY but also millions of people around the world. A must see for anyone who believes in empathy as central to cultural understanding.
This timely movie has already entered financing and is set to begin production in 2022
Jump!
Jump! follows an up-and-coming young architect that seems overwhelmed by the demands of early success and disappointed at the materialistic nature of its rewards. The story shows how we tend to judge others from our preconceptions and how reality can surpass our assumptions in ways that should humble us. The British cast is magnificent and the humor deft and in your face. You blink, you miss it!
To celebrate the twenty years since this architect heard for the first time the alluring voices urging him to jump out of the window from his skyscraper office, we are working on a remastering to restore color and sound and make this remarkable piece available to a new generation in all its splendor.
The Nature Of Madness
The Nature Of Madness let’s us experience first hand the descent into madness and the horrifying struggle of trying to tell reality from delusion. The story poignantly shows the political nature of mental health and how any of us could slip into labels from which we could never again interact with others on an equal standing. If that is not bone chilling then we don’t know horror.
About Us
South-Magellan Entertainment International is a New York based TV/Film Production and Development company whose primary mission is to develop and produce engaging and entertaining audiovisual content that will promote cultural understanding and the deconstruction of cultural and social stereotypes.
The company's name was chosen to evoke the pioneering spirit of XVI century explorers like Ferdinand Magellan, that went on to chart new territories that ultimately resulted in a new understanding of the world and our position in it.
Setting Sail
South-Magellan was founded by Mariano Casanova on June 2016, tapping on over 30 years of experience both in front and behind the cameras producing fiction and education content that helps people from different walks of life better understand and adapt to their natural, social and psychological environments and generate a sense of self and community that helps foster both individual and collective growth.
South-Magellan is expanding such reach by developing fiction for TV and Film that will not only be entertaining and engaging but that will also help us reflect on who we are, as individuals and as a collective.
Throughout his career, Mariano has produced, written, directed and even acted for countless projects in over 3 continents and several countries. Currently he is partnering with James Garcia Sotomayor, the Image award recipient producer and director of “Taught to Hate” starred by Brandon Hannan and Arturo Castro, in the production of "El Baile" and "I ❤ Jackson Heights"; and with Chucao Films in Chile and Hans Films in China, both award winning production powerhouses, to produce "Chicken Out Of the Water".
South-Magellan regularly partners and co-produces with Casanova Films in Chile, managed by Alvaro Casanova. Alvaro provides exquisite cinematography both for advertisement and stock photography that is later post-produced here in New York. A reel is available on request, but you can also check “Allie’s World” some links above.
If you would like to know more about our shows and their scope, don't hesitate to contact us using the following link:
Mariano graduated with a MA from Goldsmiths, University of London, from their Film Drama Direction and Production program. He directed his first short “A Day in the Life of Angela Bustamante” at the age of thirteen in the U-matic format and a year later shot an adventure silent short in 8mm. Along with drama, Mariano has produced, written and directed countless AV and web shows that educate recent immigrants how to better adapt to their new social and legal environment, that educates Spanish speaking women in the USA to lower the risk of Cancer or help diagnose it on time, that help prevent teen pregnancy, domestic violence and countless other critical social issues.
Mariano is also a psychologist and a psychotherapist. He has done research on Perception and Cognition for audiovisual media, studying the psychological factors that better handle the attention of perceivers, produce longer memory curves, aid in the generation of meaning and facilitate attitudinal change. The product of this research has been extensively applied to education and advertisement. He has also taught these subjects at the college level.
Mariano has worked for a multitude of industrial and corporate films in a variety of roles that include 1st AD, 2nd Unit Director and Director. He got his first gig as an actor/model at the age of six for a children's Christmas special called "Villa Encantada", and has later lent his talent to countless TV ads, many of which have won international awards. A reel is available on request.
After over 30 years working as producer, writer, director and actor for several production companies, he established South-Magellan to develop innovative and rich dramatic content that debunks stereotypes and promotes cultural understanding, working with award winning production companies in Asia and North and South America.
South-Magellan Entertainment International E-mail: info@south-magellan.com New York City, USA
![Yo [Heart] Jackson Heights](yajk2.jpg)
