In her first major casting since breaking out with Cannes hit Emilia Pérez, Karla Sofía Gascón has signed on to star in Las Malas, a Spanish-language adaptation of the dark fairy tale novel Bad Girls by author Camila Sosa Villada.
Girls was the debut novel by Villada, an Argentinian actress who is also trans.
Gascón broke out with Emilia Pérez, the bold crime musical directed by Jacques Audiard that Netflix picked up out of Cannes.
Gascón was honored with the Cannes best actress award, marking the first time a transgender woman has won the award.
Emilia Pérez, meanwhile, is the second most–nominated movie in Globes history and was selected to be France’s Oscar entry for the best international feature category.
Las Malas, a Spanish-language adaptation of author Camila Sosa Villada’s dark fairy tale novel Bad Girls, has cast Karla Sofía Gascón in her first major role since making her debut with Cannes hit Emilia Pérez.
The feature will be directed by Armando Bó, who co-wrote the 2014 drama Birdman with Alejandro González Iñárritu and won an Academy Award for it. Bó and Josefina Licitra are also co-writing the script.
About Entertainment, which has offices in Uruguay and Argentina; Infinity Hill, which is well-known for their Oscar-nominated film Argentina 1985; and Suma Content, a Spanish independent international production company, are the project’s originators.
In the film, Gascón plays Aunt Encarna, a tough but maternal boss of a group of transgender sex workers whose routine is disrupted when she discovers an abandoned baby and chooses to adopt him without considering the risks to those around her.
Villada, an Argentine actress who is also transgender, wrote her first book, Girls. The book was first published in 2019 and won multiple awards, including the Spanish Narrative Prize from the Barcelona bookstore Finestres, the Grand Prix de L’Héroïne from the French magazine Madame Figaro, and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize from the Guadalajara International Book Fair. It blends the magical and gritty everyday street life.
The project is being produced by Bó, Natacha Cervi, Mercedes Reincke, Ezequiel Olemberg, Axel Kuschevatzky, Cindy Teperman, Javier Calvo, and Javier Ambrossi.
Villada, Delfina Montecchia, and Phin Glynn are executive producers.
Jacques Audiard’s daring crime musical Emilia Pérez, which Netflix acquired from Cannes, was Gascón’s breakthrough hit. For the first time, a transgender woman received the Cannes Best Actress award, which was given to Gascón.
Additional honors for the actress included nominations for a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice, as well as recognition with the Savannah Film Festival’s Distinguished Performance award and a European Film Award for best European actress. In contrast, Emilia Pérez, France’s Oscar submission for the best international feature category, is the second most nominated film in Globes history. Zoe Saldaña, Adriana Paz, and Selena Gomez are also featured.
Bó co-wrote the drama Biutiful, which starred Javier Bardem. He is also the executive producer, director, and showrunner of the limited series Cromañon and the two-season Amazon Prime Video series El Presidente. In 2012, he directed El Último Elvis, his first feature film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2018, he directed Animal.
GET Agency and UTA are Gascón’s representatives. Johnson Shapiro, CAA, and Untitled Entertainment are Bo’s representatives.
