The commercial journey of Stealing From Pablo begins at the TIFF Market. Myriad Pictures will present the thriller inspired by true events from the 1980s to international buyers, directed by Carlos V. Gutierrez and built around Noah Schnapp, David Mazouz, and Seu Jorge. This is not the announcement of a release date or the start of a theatrical rollout: the project is entering the phase where territorial rights are shopped to buyers, with Toronto serving as the first hub of its international strategy.
For an independent film, the market running alongside the Toronto International Film Festival remains one of the places where cast, narrative premise, and genre positioning are put to the test before distributors and local partners. Myriad is banking on a crime-thriller setup and three actors recognizable to different audiences: Schnapp comes off the global popularity of Stranger Things, Mazouz is best known for Gotham, while Seu Jorge brings an international career that includes City of God to the project.
Two teenagers on a property linked to Escobar
The story follows Red, a teenager trapped in the foster care system, and his best friend Dylan. The two organize an illicit skateboarding session at an abandoned Florida mansion. What is supposed to be a high-risk diversion takes a far more dangerous turn when they discover that the property belongs to Pablo Escobar.
From that moment, according to the film's presentation, the boys are dragged into the orbit of the Colombian drug lord's criminal organization and find themselves caught between his accountant and the man responsible for the killings. The reference to Escobar immediately anchors the narrative in a criminal mythos already heavily explored by film and television; Gutierrez's choice, at least on paper, is to look at it from below, through two young protagonists outside the machinery of power.
The source of inspiration is real events dating back to the 1980s, but neither the specific incident the film refers to nor the script's degree of adherence to the facts has been disclosed at this stage. It is an important distinction: the label "inspired by a true story" defines the project's origins, without yet clarifying how documentary-style the reconstruction will be or how much it will instead rely on thriller conventions. Nor have the specific roles assigned to Schnapp, Mazouz, and Jorge been revealed.
A package designed for international sales
In the pre-sales market, an easily pitchable premise can carry as much weight as the finished film. Stealing From Pablo combines a universally recognized name like Escobar with a coming-of-age story that veers into crime, using skateboarding as both a visual and narrative device. It is a straightforward package for industry players who need to quickly assess audience potential, cast marketability, and catalogue placement.
Noah Schnapp's presence is key in this respect as well. The actor has just wrapped work on the series Stranger Things and will be in London starting in September with the dark comedy Affluenza by Andy Sandberg. For Stealing From Pablo, he will reunite with Seu Jorge following Abe, a 2019 coming-of-age film in which they previously starred together. While that earlier project does not define the tone of the new feature, it provides the production with an already established working relationship between two of its marquee names.
Mazouz, who grew up on the set of Gotham, rounds out a pair of young actors with high-profile television experience. Gutierrez highlighted the chemistry between Schnapp and Mazouz, both of whom grew up in front of the camera, and also pointed to their shared interest in skateboarding as a reason for the casting choice. These factors help shape the dynamic between Red and Dylan, but the actual result will depend on the work on set and their interpretation of roles whose specific details remain under wraps.
Seu Jorge is the face broadening the project's perimeter beyond the younger audience associated with US series. A Brazilian actor and musician, he brings a filmography that has earned him recognition across multiple markets. His involvement, alongside the story's crime-related appeal, is one of the assets Myriad will leverage to generate interest in the film outside North America as well.
Production and directing: who is behind the project
The film is produced by Fabio Golombek and Shannon Alexander for FJ Productions. Executive producers include Schnapp, Seu Jorge, Alex Cohen, and Marco Gomez. The involvement of two cast members on the executive side signals an engagement that goes beyond mere casting, without however revealing what creative or financial authority they hold in the project: such details have not been made public.
Carlos V. Gutierrez comes to the film following work across television and cinema. The Emmy-nominated director has worked for networks and platforms including HBO, Showtime, and Peacock; his theatrical feature debut was Locked In, starring Mena Suvari and Jeff Fahey, followed by the crime thriller Stay Safe, starring Kate Miner and produced under his banner No Parachute Films. Stealing From Pablo therefore continues on ground—that of criminal tension—that is already part of his recent trajectory.
Myriad Pictures will handle the rollout of global pre-sales. At this stage, the sales company has announced neither a single distributor nor a release window: it is seeking territory-by-territory deals and gauging partner interest. The outcome of meetings at the TIFF Market could impact the distribution setup, remaining financing, and the film's overall trajectory, but none of these steps have been publicly finalized yet.
The Escobar name: between advantage and limitation
Associating a project with Pablo Escobar gives marketing a powerful shortcut, as the historical figure has long since entered popular culture through documentaries, biographical dramas, crime series, and fictional narratives. It is also a choice that demands caution. The title risks suggesting a work centered on the drug lord, whereas the synopsis primarily describes the experience of two young men who stumble by chance into territory controlled by his network.
This difference could become the film's true hallmark: not another chronicle of Escobar's rise, but a story of intrusion, adolescent vulnerability, and the consequences of an encounter with criminal power. For now, however, no details are available regarding the visual style, the level of violence, filming, the budget, or the production schedule. Italian distribution has not been announced either.
The next concrete developments will therefore come from the Toronto market: potential territorial sales, new partners, or updates on the production path will clarify whether the combination of a television cast, Seu Jorge, and a 1980s-set crime story can translate into a real international presence. Until then, Stealing From Pablo remains a project for sale, with an announced cast and a premise designed to stand out on the independent thriller circuit.
