Culture 4 min read By Trevor Kendall
Peanuts Entertainment Launches in London With Mirabal Sisters Feature 'Alive in Their Garden'
London-based Peanuts Entertainment, founded by Dominican actor-filmmaker Amílcar Franco, launches with 'Alive in Their Garden,' a feature about the Mirabal sisters, as its debut project.
A new production company dedicated to bringing Latin American stories to international screens has launched in London. Peanuts Entertainment, founded by Dominican actor and filmmaker Amílcar Franco, will focus on developing what it describes as culturally rooted Latin American narratives for global audiences.
The company's first announced project is a feature film titled «Alive in Their Garden,» centered on the Mirabal sisters, the Dominican activists whose resistance to the Trujillo dictatorship made them enduring symbols of courage and whose story has become a touchstone of Latin American history and culture.
Franco, a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, brings a dual perspective to the venture as both a performer and a filmmaker. As an actor, he is set to appear next in a project directed by Gareth, though further details about that role were not immediately available.
The Mirabal sisters — Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa — were assassinated in 1960 for their opposition to the regime of Rafael Trujillo. Their legacy is commemorated internationally, and the date of their deaths, November 25, is observed as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Their story has previously inspired literature and film, and the new feature aims to bring their history to a wider audience through a production company explicitly focused on Latin American perspectives.
Peanuts Entertainment's launch reflects a growing appetite for internationally produced films that center on regional histories and figures. By establishing itself in London while drawing on Dominican and broader Latin American material, the company positions itself between two markets: the creative industries of the United Kingdom and the rich storytelling traditions of the Caribbean and Latin America.
The choice of the Mirabal sisters as a debut subject signals an ambition to tackle stories with both historical weight and contemporary resonance. Their lives have been the subject of novels, including Julia Alvarez's «In the Time of the Butterflies,» and their symbolic importance continues to grow as conversations about gender-based violence and political resistance remain urgent around the world.
No release date, cast, or distribution details for «Alive in Their Garden» have been announced. The company has not yet indicated whether the film will be produced in Spanish, English, or both, nor where production might take place.
For audiences who follow Latin American cinema and international co-productions, the arrival of a new outfit with a clear curatorial mission is notable. Peanuts Entertainment joins a landscape of independent companies seeking to bridge cultural specificity and global reach, a balance that has proven fruitful for recent films from the region.
Franco's background in both acting and filmmaking may inform how the company approaches development, potentially giving it an artist-driven sensibility. His training at one of the United Kingdom's leading drama schools also suggests a network that could support cross-border collaboration.
The launch comes at a time when streamers and studios are increasingly investing in stories from underrepresented regions, though the sustainability of that interest remains a subject of debate within the industry. For now, Peanuts Entertainment has staked its identity on the belief that Latin American stories can travel — and that the Mirabal sisters are a fitting place to begin.
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