Four years after his subversive socio-genre creature feature The Untamed (which won Best Director in Venice 2016), Amat Escalante will return with his fifth feature State of the Empire. Produced by Nicolas Celis of Pimienta Films, the project won a CTT Exp & Rentals Award at the 2018 Los Cabos Film Festival. While the narrative details have yet to be revealed, we’re assuming something dark and disturbing given the Mexican auteur’s track record, which includes 2008’s Bastards and 2013’s Heli (which won him Best Director at Cannes).