Entertainment

Authorized Vanessa Guillén Biopic Set at Mighty Aphrodite Pictures, With Family Collaboration

Jonah VillalbaPublished 2w ago3 min readBased on 2 sources
Authorized Vanessa Guillén Biopic Set at Mighty Aphrodite Pictures, With Family Collaboration
Photo by The White House from Washington, DC / Public domain

Mighty Aphrodite Pictures has secured an exclusive option agreement to develop an authorised narrative feature drama based on the life and legacy of U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén, with the project developed in collaboration with the Guillén family (Deadline).

The deal was signed directly with Vanessa Guillén's sister, Mayra Guillén, and was facilitated by the Palomera Group and Levy Law PLLC, the team representing Mayra (Latin Heat; Deadline). Mayra Guillén and Alejandra Palomera will serve as executive producers on the film.

Jorge Xolalpa, founder and CEO of Mighty Aphrodite Pictures — a production company specialising in projects with a Latinx focus — will direct. Jolene Rodriguez of Broken English Productions will produce alongside Xolalpa (Deadline). Xolalpa and Rodriguez have also entered into a three-film producing agreement that extends beyond the Guillén project. Xolalpa's recent directing credits include the features Union Station and Lolita, the latter starring Johnny Ortiz, Alexis Vazquez and Eric Roberts.

Vanessa Guillén was a U.S. Army recruit whose 2020 disappearance and murder at Fort Hood, Texas, sparked a nationwide outcry and demands for reform within the U.S. military. After being assigned to the base, Guillén told friends and family that she was being sexually harassed by a superior but did not file an official report, fearing retaliation (Deadline).

She was bludgeoned to death by fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson. Guillén had been missing for more than two months before some of her remains were found buried along the Leon River. Robinson fled Fort Hood after learning of the discovery and fatally shot himself when law enforcement moved to apprehend him (Deadline).

Her story was previously spotlighted in Netflix's 2022 documentary I Am Vanessa Guillén and an ABC 20/20 episode from the same year (Deadline). Those projects were documentary treatments; the Mighty Aphrodite Pictures project would be the first authorised narrative feature.

No release date, start of production, or further casting has been announced.

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