This is a written version of the LeaderSpeak podcast with Guido Rud, transcribed and summarized for quick reading in a Q&A format. The questions are from Vitrina and the answers are direct quotes from the guest.

---

1. Vitrina: FilmSharks International is one of the top Ibero-American distribution and production companies. Is that the right way to introduce the company?

Guido Rud: “You know, it’s a matter of perceptions. Of course, we are a hardworking company and I had a professor in the university that in Spanish we have different ways of use the verb being and we say that companies are not big or small. They are in a momentum big or small. So it’s very fluctuating, you know, and you never know like. We always struggle like everybody to make our best year, but then the market has the limits and yourself too, because sometimes you think something is going to work and it doesn’t, no, it’s life, you know, but we are one of the flagship companies from the Iberia American market that I could say because we are very prominent and we are like very active, I would not like the word big or small is it’s something that it’s a term that I prefer not to use in order to be humble as well, you know.”

“We say that companies are not big or small. They are in a momentum big or small.”

---

2. Vitrina: Could you provide a brief introduction to FilmSharks International, explaining how its journey began and where the company is positioned in the ecosystem today?

Guido Rud: “We started 25 years ago and we started some sub-brand that started doing international sales of what would be the new wave of Argentinian cinema. We took, let’s say, advantage of that and also knowing that in 2001, Argentina had a very, before 2001, they have an economical system where Argentina was very expensive and the exchange rate was one on one on the local currency and was not in the mind of any businessman from Argentina to export rather than to import. It was the mentality on those days, 25 years ago. It was more an inbound market than an export market. And suddenly after 9-11 and everything that happened worldwide, Argentina collapsed and crashed the economic crisis in 2001. I didn’t see much of Latin American cinema those days. And I thought, why? I thought, this is a very good moment to start exporting films and I don’t see many people doing that. So because of all my contacts coming from the film school that I study, I started building a catalogue to export Argentinian cinema worldwide, taking advantage on the new wave of Argentinian filmmakers.”

“This is a very good moment to start exporting films and I don’t see many people doing that.”

---

3. Vitrina: You mentioned that a film called “A Boyfriend for My Wife” was remade everywhere, including China and Korea. Can you tell us more about this film and how it led to the creation of The Remake Company?

Guido Rud: “What happened with A Boyfriend for My Wife, that the film was in development in 2006, 2007, they shoot the film. And we were working with them and we thought this is an amazing high concept for a remake. The film ended up being remade everywhere, including China in everywhere, everywhere. And in Korea, it made 5 million tickets. It became like an outstanding hit. And then we decided to open a sub label called the remake company. And we thought we’re going to be the number one company getting IP from the world and selling IP from the world. And that’s how we started the remake company.”

“We thought we’re going to be the number one company getting IP from the world and selling IP from the world.”

---

4. Vitrina: Can you describe the three main business models for FilmSharks, and how you decide which productions to get involved in?

Guido Rud: “World sales, business model number two, remake distribution, and business model number three, production. Basically production, we decided not to expand and try to do what everybody was doing, like open, offices everywhere. We decided to make it in a realistic way where we can focus in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain. which are the main territories for Spanish language cinema, making films for Mexico connects you to the US in the production side. We made a film last year with Hulu, Hulu is Disney, and it was a Mexican film, the first US Hispanic film they kind of financed in a almost, not fully financed, but in a great percentage of financing. And of course that triggered a lot of people that they saw a film that we produced for the US Hispanic audiences. We now have in post-production three films. One is a huge sci-fi creature film with fantasy adventure that on a level and value of production that you will see in a studio film like Alien or Predator, this kind of top line studio film that If you see the logo of a major studio before the film begins, you think, this is studio film.”

“We decided to make it in a realistic way where we can focus in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain.”

---

5. Vitrina: Your world sales business has been very successful across multiple major markets. What’s the secret to that, and what kind of content do you focus on?

Guido Rud: “I think everything takes you to everywhere because, for example, we are selling a film called 55 and it’s an Indian US co-production and that film has been sold everywhere and it’s an Indian film. When you see a great storyline that flies internationally and you have the connection because you know exactly what every single buyer on earth buys. You know whether they buy horror and fantasy or you have the buyers that only go to Prestige Cinema. The key element is to meet people in person. You make much more connections with people going to have a dinner than going to…”

“The key element is to meet people in person.”

---

6. Vitrina: How has the world sales business changed for you due to COVID-19 and the rise of streaming platforms?

Guido Rud: “I learned even though that if the story is great, you can forget that the format, the production value or the DP is not as great as you want. I personally believe that everything has to be in a very high standard because there is a lot of competition and if you don’t buy them a few minutes of quality on the production value, it’s difficult to get someone engaged, but it’s like a boyfriend for my wife. This guy is so ugly, but he’s so good in connecting that he makes her forget that he’s horrible. This is the same with cinema. The storytelling is so good that in 10 minutes you can be inside any format, including Dogville, the film from Lars Borgtrid. So then when, of course, you asked me, which is my superpower, a hardworking, I would say, but hardworking also means being very committed to making an excellent storyline and a refreshing story.”

“The storytelling is so good that in 10 minutes you can be inside any format.”

---

7. Vitrina: On the remake business, how do you identify the right companies to take up the rights, and what’s the business model? Additionally, how many IPs do you have in your catalog for licensing or optioning?

Guido Rud: “In the remake catalog, we have over 300 films and we do not throw them in the face of anyone. We know exactly what they’re looking for. We know that companies are more focused into comedies, more of their prestige films that are to be made by certain companies, we give them more touching stories or life-affirming, tearjerker kind of cinematic experiences into them. So for us, it’s much more into a curated experience of making the client that we understand what they are looking for.”

“We know exactly what they’re looking for. We know that companies are more focused into comedies… so for us, it’s much more into a curated experience.”

---

8. Vitrina: Are there any new territories or countries that you are looking to expand into for your business?

Guido Rud: “I know China is coming back. It’s not that I would like to expand to China. I would like to get China back on the game like we had in the past and relearn who is really active in China, which is something that we are doing now. China marketplace changed a lot. So we have to relearn Chinese market post pandemic. It’s a post pandemic market. And also there are Russia. Russia has been very active for us, very prominent. But they are, like Italy is going down.”

“I would like to get China back on the game like we had in the past and relearn who is really active in China.”