Amy Hill (“Lilo & Stitch,” “Ballard”) and Yolonda Ross (“The Chi,” “Absolution”) have completed principal photography on “Flowers Para Los Muertos” in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico for an international co-production between The Ebersole Hughes Company, Candivision and the Yucatecan production entity Maquina. Hill and Ross are the leads in the Spanish and English script supported by a diverse cast of local first-time actors (including Miguel Angel Loret and Andrea Arenas). The bilingual production has the official support of the city of Mérida and incorporates some of their most iconic landmarks as locations.
The black comedy/thriller is written and directed by the award-winning married creative team of P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes (“House of Cardin,” “Dear Mom Love Cher”). ‘Flowers Para Los Muertos” follows New York photographer Aviva Lake (Hill) as she unexpectedly inherits a house in Mexico, overseen by real estate agent Raven Johnson (Ross) who had prior shady business deals with Aviva’s estranged gay husband. Raven tries to gaslight Aviva into believing the house is haunted in order to make a quick sale – but it turns out the house may indeed be haunted. Inspired both by the psychological thrillers produced by Val Lewton in the 1940s and the Mexican penchant for high-spirited melodrama (Ebersole directed and Hughes wrote on Fox Television’s 2006/2007 American adaptations of Spanish language telenovelas, “Desire” and “Wicked Wicked Games”), the film is shot in cinemascope, on location and in full color.
Ebersole and Hughes are producing with Candi Guterres (“Shakti,” “The Brothers Garcia”) who also did production design. Photography is by Mark Putnam (“The Fluffer,” “Scotch and Milk”) and costumes by Frank Helmer (“Cobra Kai,” “Drop Dead Diva”). This is the first narrative project from Ebersole Hughes in more than a decade. The team has been focusing on documentary films, and this film reunites Ebersole, Guterres, Helmer and Ross from HBO’s “Stranger Inside” (2001) as well as a reunion for Ebersole, Guterres, Putnam and Hill, who worked together on Sundance Channel’s “Straight Right” (2000). Hill also appeared in the duo’s 2001 indie feature “The New Women,” directed by Hughes.
Hill is represented by SMS Talent. Ross is represented by Principal Entertainment. The Ebersole Hughes Company is represented by Evoke Entertainment and Wallman PR.