‘Leap Year’ Director Michael Rowe’s Cross Border Drama ‘Last Weekend’ Boarded by Mexico’s Paloma Negra

Paloma Negra, one of Mexico’s most prominent production companies, founded by producer Cristina Velasco and distinguished directors Rigoberto Perezcano (“Carmin Tropical”) and Jorge Hernandez Aldana (“The Night Buffalo”), has boarded Michael Rowe’s “Last Weekend,” a topical cross-border child custody battle drama shot in Southern California and Mexico.

“Last Weekend” just wrapped filming on Oct. 15, per the Mexico City-based Australian filmmaker, likely best known for his debut feature “Leap Year,” which took home the Cannes best first feature Camera d’Or award, described by Variety as a “raunchy and acutely minimalist study of urban alienation, romantic longing and bedroom practices no one should try at home.”

Rowe’s 2013 feature “The Well” played Korea’s Jeonju Festival and 2015’s “Early Winter” competed at Venice Days.

“This project resonated deeply with me, as I’m from Tijuana and have a firsthand understanding of the issues the film explores,” said Velasco, attending the Morelia Film Festival for a recent film Paloma Negra produced, Carlos Reygadas’ “Heil Jupiter,” which premieres Oct. 19 at the fest.

The drama follows Adrian, an undocumented Mexican migrant worker in San Diego, who is finally reunited with his six-year-old daughter after a year-long custody battle. As he struggles to rebuild their bond and reconnect her with her cultural roots, he faces the added weight of a government that criminalizes and persecutes undocumented migrants.

“I think it’s a very moving story. I cried a lot during the shoot, so it worked on me anyway. There are some strong moments,” Rowe told Variety.

While interiors were filmed in a Mexico City soundstage, they shot on locations where migrant workers actually live, above all in San Ysidro and Barrio Logan, two suburbs south of San Diego, said Rowe.

As they were shooting at the height of the ICE raids in the U.S., they had to tread carefully despite securing shooting permits. “We had a great deal of support from the migrant community through several local organizations in San Ysidro who were very supportive in every single way imaginable,” said Rowe who also wrote the screenplay.

His cast of Mexican actors are led by Fernando Cuatle (“Heroic”) who plays the father opposite young newcomer Rose Peraza Benítez. Alejandra Cosío (“La casa azul”) and Víctor Oliveira (“Hernan”) round off the cast.

According to Rowe, he employed a very small crew and had a tightly scheduled shoot. They wrapped the entire production in just 17 days. “I’m very grateful to the whole crew and the actors who went into it knowing that these were the conditions and who gave everything to make it into the film that it is going to be, I hope.”

It was produced by Rowe and Mariana Castro, whose credits include Valentina Leduc’s “The Dreams We Share” and Juan Carlos Rulfo’s “Binniza, the Beings of the Cloud.”

“We’re still hoping to find more producing partners to help cover post-production costs,” said Rowe, who has just started editing the film.