Dídac Gimeno’s film presents its work-in-progress cut at the 2026 Marché du Film
Las Mantis is a fantasy feature film Spain-Argentina co-production, directed and co-written by Dídac Gimeno alongside Marina Velázquez. The story follows Aitana, a 13-year-old girl who travels to her relatives’ rural home after her mother’s death. There she meets her cousin Lope, an introverted boy obsessed with ghosts. One night, following a heated argument, Aitana gets lost in the forest. An unexpected encounter with a spirit guide leads her to discover a fantastic world.The film addresses childhood grief through the language of fantasy — a genre that both Latin American cinema and European filmmaking have been exploring with growing maturity. Productions like this are exactly what Lahaye Media follows closely: projects that combine emotional storytelling with demanding technical work in image post-production and color correction.
A co-production with strong institutional backing
Las Mantis is a Spain-Argentina co-production bringing together the production companies MGC (Canary Islands), El Médano Producciones (Madrid), Wild Lemon Films (Murcia) and Motoneta Cine SRL (Argentina). The project is supported by Spain’s Instituto de Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), the Government of the Canary Islands, Argentina’s Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA) and the Ibermedia Programme. Additional backing comes from the Government of Aragón, La7 TV Región de Murcia and the Murcia Film Commission.
Principal photography took place in Moratalla, in the Region of Murcia, making use of the area’s natural landscapes to build the film’s atmospheric tone. For the audiovisual industry, this kind of multinational co-production — with shared financing between Spain and Argentina — strengthens the value chain of Latin American cinema, from film and series production all the way through to final post-production stages.
Cast and crew
The cast is led by María Caballero and Ruth Díaz, with José Luis García-Pérez, Jorge Bosch, Iván García and Venecia Franco, among others. Direction and screenplay are by Dídac Gimeno, co-written with Marina Velázquez.
A second trip to Cannes and the road to release
The film already had a first presence at the Cannes Film Festival the previous year, when a preview was selected for the Blood Window Showcase at the Fantastic Pavilion of the Marché du Film. This year, on 18 May 2026, the team will present a work-in-progress cut to distributors, sales agents and festival programmers. The presentation is part of the Ventana Sur section, Latin America’s most important audiovisual market, co-organised by the Marché du Film and the Argentine INCAA.
Lahaye Media particularly values moments like these: the stages of image post-production, DCP mastering and color correction are decisive for a project to meet the technical standards demanded by international markets and festivals. Distribution will be handled by Syldavia Cinema, with Bendita Films as international sales agent.
Technical sheet
- Title: Las Mantis
- Director: Dídac Gimeno
- Screenplay: Dídac Gimeno, Marina Velázquez
- Genre: Fantasy
- Countries: Spain / Argentina
- Production companies: DarkStudios, El Médano Producciones, Wild Lemon Films, Motoneta Cine SRL
- Main cast: María Caballero, Ruth Díaz, José Luis García-Pérez, Jorge Bosch, Iván García, Venecia Franco
- Distributor: Syldavia Cinema
- Sales agent: Bendita Films
- Institutional support: ICAA Spain, INCAA Argentina, Government of the Canary Islands, Government of Aragón, Ibermedia Programme
- Expected release: 2026
- Post-production and DCP mastering: Lahaye Media — post-production, color correction and DCP mastering services for Latin American and Ibero-American cinema.