Overview
Canana Films is a Mexican film and television production company founded in 2005 by actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna alongside producer Pablo Cruz. The company produced 28 feature films and 6 television series across 15 years, becoming one of Mexico's leading production companies during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Canana has been inactive since 2020.
Garcia Bernal and Luna departed the company in 2018. Co-founder Pablo Cruz and Arturo Sampson continued leading Canana, but the company has not produced a new project since Dance of the 41 (2020, Netflix). Cruz went on to co-found the international production studio El Estudio in 2020. Garcia Bernal and Luna subsequently launched a new production company, La Corriente del Golfo, which produced Diego Luna's 2026 Cannes film Ashes (Ceniza en la boca).
Canana's best-known productions include Cary Joji Fukunaga's Sin Nombre (2009), the Oscar-nominated No (2012) starring Garcia Bernal, the comedy Rudo y Cursi (2008) starring both founders, the action thriller Miss Bala (2011) and its 2019 American remake, the biopic Cesar Chavez (2014) starring Michael Pena, and Lucrecia Martel's Zama (2017).
History
Luna, Garcia Bernal, and Cruz launched Canana in 2005, drawing on the visibility the actors had gained through Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) and their subsequent international acting careers. The founders wanted to build a production infrastructure in Mexico capable of supporting ambitious, socially engaged filmmaking. Their connections within the international film industry helped Canana secure co-production partnerships and distribution relationships that a newly established Mexican company would not have accessed independently.
In 2005, Canana partnered with Focus Features for worldwide film rights. Starting in 2007, the company began distributing films in Mexico, focusing on both Mexican and international independent titles. Canana pioneered upscale VOD, genre pic, and indie 3D movie distribution in the Mexican market.
In 2012, Canana signed a global deal with IM Global, launching the joint venture Mundial to promote worldwide sales of Latin American movies. In 2013, the company joined Participant Media's five-year production deal Participant PanAmerica. Their first project under that deal was No (2012), directed by Pablo Larrain and starring Garcia Bernal, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 2018, Garcia Bernal and Luna announced they were leaving Canana. A statement released at the time said Canana would "begin a new phase" under Cruz and Sampson. Both actors had been increasingly focused on their Hollywood acting careers: Luna starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and the Disney+ series Andor, while Garcia Bernal won a Golden Globe for Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle and appeared in Pixar's Coco (2017). After leaving Canana, the pair launched La Corriente del Golfo, named after the Gulf Stream ocean current, and signed a production deal with Amazon Studios.
Key Productions
Canana's feature film output spans Mexican cinema, international co-productions, and US-bound projects:
- Rudo y Cursi (2008) - Comedy starring Garcia Bernal and Luna, directed by Carlos Cuarón
- Sin Nombre (2009) - Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance
- Abel (2010) - Directed by Diego Luna, screened at Cannes
- Miss Bala (2011) - Directed by Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico's submission for the Foreign Language Oscar
- No (2012) - Directed by Pablo Larrain, nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Cesar Chavez (2014) - Directed by Diego Luna, starring Michael Pena, premiered at SXSW
- Mr. Pig (2016) - Directed by Luna, starring Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph, premiered at Sundance
- Zama (2017) - Directed by Lucrecia Martel, premiered at Venice
- Miss Bala (2019) - American remake starring Gina Rodriguez, $15 million budget, $15 million worldwide gross
- Dance of the 41 (2020) - Netflix release, Canana's final production
Television output included Luis Miguel: The Series (Netflix/Telemundo, 2018-2021), Taco Chronicles (Netflix, 2019-2020), Nino Santo (Once TV, 2011-2014), and Soy tu fan (Once TV/MTV Latin America, 2010-2012).
Ambulante Documentary Festival
Canana created Ambulante, a traveling documentary film festival that brings documentary cinema to communities across Mexico with limited access to theatrical exhibition. The festival launched in 2006 and continues to operate independently, having become one of the largest documentary festivals in Latin America. Ambulante reflects the founders' commitment to cinema as a tool for social engagement beyond commercial entertainment.
House Style / Genre Focus
Canana built its identity on socially engaged Mexican cinema spanning political drama, immigration stories, and biographical films. The company produced films with clear social consciousness: Sin Nombre (immigration and gang violence), No (Pinochet-era Chile), Cesar Chavez (labor activism), and Miss Bala (drug war violence).
Canana did not produce traditional masala Bollywood-style entertainment, pure genre fare without social commentary, or big-budget commercial blockbusters. The company avoided films without international festival potential or cross-border co-production appeal. Period pieces and conventional action films fell outside its typical development slate.
How They Typically Find Talent / Take Submissions
Canana operated through established industry relationships rather than open submissions. Projects reached the company through:
- Direct creative partnerships: Garcia Bernal and Luna developed projects with directors they met through acting work
- International co-production deals: Partnerships with Focus Features, Participant Media, and IM Global brought projects to Canana
- Mexican public funding: Canana accessed FOPROCINE and IMCINE funding, which required formal application processes
The company did not accept unsolicited pitches. Filmmakers needed representation through a Mexican or international agency, or an existing relationship with the founders or co-founder Pablo Cruz.
Recent Output / Slate Year
Canana has been inactive since 2020. The company's last production was Dance of the 41 (2020, Netflix). Garcia Bernal and Luna departed in 2018 and launched La Corriente del Golfo, which produced Ashes (premiered Cannes 2026, acquired by Netflix for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal). Pablo Cruz co-founded El Estudio in 2020, focusing on Spanish-language content.
For filmmakers seeking production partners in Mexico, IMCINE and FOPROCINE remain the primary public funding sources. Tax incentive article 189 of the LISR allows private investors to deduct 100% of investments in Mexican film production.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Canana is inactive. The company has not produced a new project since 2020, and the founding creative team has moved on. Garcia Bernal and Luna now operate La Corriente del Golfo, which produced Ashes (premiered at Cannes 2026 in the Special Screenings program, acquired by Netflix for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal). Pablo Cruz co-founded El Estudio, an international production studio focused on Spanish-language content.
For filmmakers seeking production partners in Mexico, the landscape has shifted. IMCINE (Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografia) and FOPROCINE (Fondo para la Produccion Cinematografica de Calidad) remain the primary public funding sources for Mexican films. The tax incentive article 189 of the LISR (Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta) allows private investors to deduct 100% of investments in Mexican film production, capped at 10% of the investor's annual taxable income.
Canana's historical model of combining Mexican public funding with international co-production financing and US studio partnerships (Focus Features, Participant Media, IM Global) remains a viable template for Mexican producers. The company's 15-year track record demonstrates that Mexican productions can achieve both critical recognition (Academy Award nominations, Cannes, Venice, Sundance premieres) and commercial distribution (Netflix, theatrical releases in multiple territories).
Key Numbers
- Founded: 2005
- Founders departed: 2018 (Garcia Bernal and Luna)
- Last production: Dance of the 41 (2020, Netflix)
- Total feature films produced: 28
- Total television series: 6
- Academy Award nominations: 1 (No, 2012, Best Foreign Language Film)
- Notable box office: Miss Bala (2019) - $15M budget, $15M worldwide gross
- Major partnerships: Focus Features (2005), IM Global/Mundial (2012), Participant PanAmerica (2013)
- Current status: Inactive since 2020
- Successor companies: La Corriente del Golfo (Garcia Bernal and Luna), El Estudio (Pablo Cruz)
Watch: Trailers & Behind the Scenes
See Also
For understanding how Latin American co-production financing works, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue projections for international co-productions, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For budgeting independent features with mixed funding sources, see the Indie Film Budget Calculator.
