Issa López is set to direct another supernatural pic with a young cast. The “Tigers Are Not Afraid” helmer will step behind the camera for “Our Lady of Tears,” Deadline reports. Blumhouse is producing in association with Epic Media.
Based on Daniel Hernandez’s Epic magazine article “The Haunting of Girlstown,” which was recently published on Vox, “Our Lady of Tears” will be penned and directed by López.
“The article focuses on a mass hysteria epidemic with supernatural roots, that in 2007 spread through Villa de las Niñas, an all girls, Catholic boarding school in the outskirts of Mexico City,” Deadline notes. “The school recruited and isolated socially neglected girls coming from families living in extreme poverty and in remote areas of Mexico.”
“The moment I read the Epic article, I knew I wanted to tell this story,” said López. “I myself attended a Catholic school in Mexico City. I grew up on a steady diet of supernatural visitations and miracles, and of the real life horrors that young girls who grow up in poverty face every day in Mexico, and around the world. Having the chance to tell that story with Jason and his team, producers of such socially incisive genre classics like ‘Get Out,’ and of so many true horror gems, is a huge privilege. I couldn’t be more excited about this movie,” she emphasized.
Jason Blum, Blumhouse’s co-founder and CEO, added, “The Blumhouse team was enthralled by the original article and Daniel’s deep reporting around such a terrifying and heartbreaking story. Ever since I first watched ‘Tiger’s Are Not Afraid,’ I have wanted to find a project to collaborate on with Issa and I knew this was a perfect fit. I can’t wait for audiences to see her take on this material.”
A critically acclaimed dark fable set against the backdrop of Mexico’s drug wars, “Tigers Are Not Afraid” sees its young protagonists haunted by ghosts. “Todo mal” and “Casi divas” are among López’s other credits. Her upcoming projects include a werewolf Western and “Lost Souls,” a Searchlight Pictures film set in a world in which some babies are born without souls.
