Península Boards Sofía Carrillo's Stop-Motion Debut 'Insectario'

By Daniel Okafor

Mexican production company Península Films & Entertainment has boarded "Insectario," the debut feature of stop-motion animator Sofía Carrillo, co-producer of "Cerulia." Eduardo Díaz Casanova of Península and Nicolás Celis of Pimienta Films, producer of "Roma," closed the deal at the 24th Morelia Film Festival, which runs Oct. 16-25.

The film is in pre-production. Stop-motion (animation built by physically moving puppets frame by frame) suits Carrillo, a filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has hailed for her formidable talent in the craft. She worked on puppet costumes for Del Toro's "Pinocchio."

"'Insectario' is a wonderful opportunity to tell a magical story through the unique vision of Sofía Carrillo, one of the world's leading voices in animation," Díaz Casanova said.

He added: "The co-production between Pimienta Films and Península Films underscores the power of partnering with like-minded creators to bring profound stories to audiences across borders. We're confident this is the first of many collaborations to come."

What is the story about?

"Insectario" is set in a world without insects. It follows Lexi, a specimen archivist who accidentally brings a rare, supposedly extinct moth back to life after taking it home from her uncle's collection.

Monika Revilllo — credited in the source as Monika Revilla — wrote the script. Her credits include "The House of Flowers," "Someone Has to Die," "Somos" and "Blade Runner 2099."

Carrillo's shorts — "The Wandering Witch," "The Sad House," "Black Doll" and "Out of Control" — have screened at Annecy, Sundance and Sitges.

Who else is on board?

Península joins a co-production roster with real hardware on the mantelpiece:

• Cuadernos de Cine (Mexico), a post-production house working closely with Netflix and Pimienta Films
• Valérie Delpierre of Inicia Films (Spain)
• Daniela Mujica, Productions Ocho (Canada)
• Matīss Kaža, Trickster Pictures (Latvia)
• Hugh Welchman of BreakThru Films (Poland)

Kaža produced and co-wrote "Flow," Gints Zilbalodis' animated feature that won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the Lux Audience Award. It was the first Latvian film to win an Oscar.

Welchman won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Animated Short for "Peter & the Wolf." He later co-directed "Loving Vincent" and "The Peasants" with Dorota Kobiela, both built entirely from hand-painted imagery.

Delpierre, founder of Barcelona-based Inicia Films, has backed Pilar Palomero ("Schoolgirls"), Estibaliz Urresola ("20,000 Species of Bees") and Berlinale winner Carla Simón ("Alcarràs"). Montreal's Productions Ocho is known for the series "Hotel Beirut" and docu series "Kitsch QC."

Cuadernos de Cine's credits include Gabriel Mascaro's "The Blue Trail" and Joaquín del Paso's "The Garden We Dreamed," a Berlin hit now competing at Morelia and co-produced by Península.

Why does Península's slate matter?

Founded in 2018 by Eduardo and Gabriel Díaz Casanova, Península has built a busy Mexican slate of features, documentaries and series. The company also expanded internationally through Killer Films' "De Noche," the latest from Todd Haynes ("Carol"), starring Pedro Pascal.

At Morelia this year, Península-backed titles compete twice: "The Garden We Dreamed," which premiered in the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlinale, and Carlos Reygadas' "Heil Jupiter." Reygadas won the Cannes Jury Prize for "Silent Light" in 2007. J. M. Cravioto's psychological thriller "City of the Dead" ("Ciudad de muertos") just had its international premiere at the 59th Sitges Film Festival.

That is a lot of momentum for a seven-year-old company. If "Insectario" lands as expected, Díaz Casanova's promise of "many collaborations to come" looks less like press-release boilerplate and more like a schedule.