Rigoberto Castañeda
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rigoberto Castañeda was born in Mexico City, studied in the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Mexico City's film school). Helmer of several school short films, standing out "Necrophilia" and "Sin Sentido", making a worldwide recognition at film festivals. His dream has always been to make Horror films, one of his favorite genres, as Science Fiction and Fantasy.
He wrote his first feature based on a widely known Mexican legend, "La Llorona". Immediately optioned by Mexican mini studio Lemon Films. He directed the horror film based on his own script "Kilometer 31" - Km 31 - in 2007, starred by Iliana Fox ("Señor Ávila"), Raúl Méndez ("El Señor de los Cielos", "Narcos"), and the Spanish Adriá Collado ("Aquí no hay Quién Viva", "Lo que se Avecina"); the result, the highest-grossing film of 2007 in Mexico, and number one box-office Mexican horror film of all time. His first film also swept the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Mexico awards, with 6 nominations and taking a total of 5 statuettes.
The success of this film creates the opportunity to direct the Hitchcockian psychological thriller "Blackout", released in 2008. The independent film premiered in Mexico, Uk, and other European countries. International figures starred the film, like Amber Tamblyn ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", "Two and a Half Men", "House"), Armie Hammer ("Call Me by Your Name", "The Social Network", "Death on the Nile"), and Aidan Guillen ("Game of Thrones", "Peaky Blinders", "Bohemian Rhapsody").
During the same period, he created, directed, wrote, and produced the series "M13DOS" for Televisa, an anthology horror series in prime time for Mexican National channel XHGC. The series is one of the very few "horror themed" titles ever made for Mexican television.
In 2010, he debuted as a producer, carrying the bestselling book of Mexican writer Juan Jose Rodríguez entitled "Murder in a Chinese Laundry", the film was released in 2012 and finally titled "Reincarnation".
Rigoberto also has directed many different TV series, winning experience in a wide variety of genres. He led "Terminales" for Televisa, a successful drama series about a group of -out of the ordinary- terminal illness patients, becoming friends and supporting each other. Starring Ana Claudia Talancón ("El Crimen del Padre Amaro", "Arráncame la Vida") and Poncho Herrera ("La Reina del Sur", "Sense8", "The Exorcist" series) the series had such great success, a remake was requested in the United States.
Another series he directed was the action/drama for Channel 11 "Paramedics"; an intensity charged story of real-life cases from paramedics working at the Mexican Red Cross, starring Irene Azuela ("Hotel de los Secretos", "Monarca") and a multi-talented cast.
For Disney, Rigoberto directs a dramatic biography series, portraying the famous Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. "Hasta que te Conocí", starring Julián Román ("Historia de un Crimen"), was a massive success in Latin America and the Latin audiences in the United States, being nominated for the 45th International Emmy Awards.
After the resounding success of "KM31" he writes and directs the sequel, "Km31-2", also based on the crying lady legend and released in 2016, with Carlos Aragón ("Señor Ávila", "Cantinflas"), film nominated for several technical achievements in the Mexican Academy Awards.
Rigoberto directs Netflix original "Diablero", a fantastic new horror-comedy, demon-hunters concept, based on the book by Francisco Haghenbeck. The series starred by Horacio García Rojas ("La Carga", "Narcos"), and Christopher Von Uckermann ("Rebelde", "Kdabra"), gain a grand reception in Mexico, but surprisingly, more with Latin audiences in the United States.
In the last few months, Rigoberto has directed and adapted for the screen "Sin Origen" (Unsourced), a vampire story set in Mexico, and produced "Karem's Diary" a possession/exorcism film based on real events, both films to be released in 2020. He also directed all 8 episodes of an Amazon Zombies themed series ("Narcos Vs. Zombies" working title) that is already creating high expectations worldwide, this also to be premiered in 2020.
He wrote his first feature based on a widely known Mexican legend, "La Llorona". Immediately optioned by Mexican mini studio Lemon Films. He directed the horror film based on his own script "Kilometer 31" - Km 31 - in 2007, starred by Iliana Fox ("Señor Ávila"), Raúl Méndez ("El Señor de los Cielos", "Narcos"), and the Spanish Adriá Collado ("Aquí no hay Quién Viva", "Lo que se Avecina"); the result, the highest-grossing film of 2007 in Mexico, and number one box-office Mexican horror film of all time. His first film also swept the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Mexico awards, with 6 nominations and taking a total of 5 statuettes.
The success of this film creates the opportunity to direct the Hitchcockian psychological thriller "Blackout", released in 2008. The independent film premiered in Mexico, Uk, and other European countries. International figures starred the film, like Amber Tamblyn ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", "Two and a Half Men", "House"), Armie Hammer ("Call Me by Your Name", "The Social Network", "Death on the Nile"), and Aidan Guillen ("Game of Thrones", "Peaky Blinders", "Bohemian Rhapsody").
During the same period, he created, directed, wrote, and produced the series "M13DOS" for Televisa, an anthology horror series in prime time for Mexican National channel XHGC. The series is one of the very few "horror themed" titles ever made for Mexican television.
In 2010, he debuted as a producer, carrying the bestselling book of Mexican writer Juan Jose Rodríguez entitled "Murder in a Chinese Laundry", the film was released in 2012 and finally titled "Reincarnation".
Rigoberto also has directed many different TV series, winning experience in a wide variety of genres. He led "Terminales" for Televisa, a successful drama series about a group of -out of the ordinary- terminal illness patients, becoming friends and supporting each other. Starring Ana Claudia Talancón ("El Crimen del Padre Amaro", "Arráncame la Vida") and Poncho Herrera ("La Reina del Sur", "Sense8", "The Exorcist" series) the series had such great success, a remake was requested in the United States.
Another series he directed was the action/drama for Channel 11 "Paramedics"; an intensity charged story of real-life cases from paramedics working at the Mexican Red Cross, starring Irene Azuela ("Hotel de los Secretos", "Monarca") and a multi-talented cast.
For Disney, Rigoberto directs a dramatic biography series, portraying the famous Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. "Hasta que te Conocí", starring Julián Román ("Historia de un Crimen"), was a massive success in Latin America and the Latin audiences in the United States, being nominated for the 45th International Emmy Awards.
After the resounding success of "KM31" he writes and directs the sequel, "Km31-2", also based on the crying lady legend and released in 2016, with Carlos Aragón ("Señor Ávila", "Cantinflas"), film nominated for several technical achievements in the Mexican Academy Awards.
Rigoberto directs Netflix original "Diablero", a fantastic new horror-comedy, demon-hunters concept, based on the book by Francisco Haghenbeck. The series starred by Horacio García Rojas ("La Carga", "Narcos"), and Christopher Von Uckermann ("Rebelde", "Kdabra"), gain a grand reception in Mexico, but surprisingly, more with Latin audiences in the United States.
In the last few months, Rigoberto has directed and adapted for the screen "Sin Origen" (Unsourced), a vampire story set in Mexico, and produced "Karem's Diary" a possession/exorcism film based on real events, both films to be released in 2020. He also directed all 8 episodes of an Amazon Zombies themed series ("Narcos Vs. Zombies" working title) that is already creating high expectations worldwide, this also to be premiered in 2020.
