David Martínez, executive director of Raindance, and Jacky Orozco, its producer, have launched Casa Leo PR, a boutique publicity and strategy agency and a much needed addition to Europe and Latin America’s indie scene.
London-based, Casa Leo PR offers specialized “end-to-end and bespoke PR, strategic guidance and in-house productions to a select number of films, filmmakers and their partners to navigate film festivals and awards seasons, from initial submission to final screening,” Martínez told Variety.
“We’re also excited to offer our film festival consultancy to other festivals like the U.K. chapter of HollyShorts, while continuing my work with London Flair PR as an awards consultant. We’re here to collaborate in a truly symbiotic way,” Martínez added.
“This is a thrilling time to support films and filmmakers across a truly global festival landscape,” he said.
Casa Leo PR’s launch comes as festival presence has become a vital necessity for cineastes who are caught by a paradox. The number of films produced in the world has gone up not down, since COVID, from an average of 7,677 over 2017-19 to 7,707 in 2025, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory Focus Report.
Yet, global box office plunged 18% to €29.6 billion ($34.0 billion), though 2026 looks like a better year, part coming from micro-budget genre breakout “Obsession.” In TV, first-run commissions remain 25% down on peak TV, Ampere Analysis reports.
Many producers, caught in the tunnel of getting films made, have little time nor the expertise to leverage festivals to cut through the crowd, where immersion in a knowledge economy is a key to success.
Making an Academy Award best short shortlist delights producers. But may also realize that they haven’t got a clue as to how to build chances of a nomination.
Martínez joined Raindance in 2012 as part of the programming team for Latin American territories, later becoming festival producer before his appointment as executive director in 2021.
Orozco worked in the cultural department at London’s Embassy of Mexico, where her passion for cultural events and diplomacy flourished, helping to connect filmmakers, institutions and audiences. She has served as festival producer at Raindance since the summer of 2023.
Both Martínez and Orozco are bilingual and bi-cultural. “We’ve opened Casa Leo PR because we saw independent filmmakers struggling to connect the dots. I’ve been immersed in and built trusted relationships with programmers, the press and industry stakeholders across major local and global festivals, not only Europe, but also Latin America. We have accumulated masses of knowledge that we want to share and to use, which can be highly useful to filmmakers,” Martínez told Variety.
“For independent filmmakers, it’s very scary to even think about the costs for awards campaigns,” he added. Casa Leo PR can explain what they need to do, where they need to submit, what programs they need to know, what sort of press they need during that time.”
Casa Leo PR’s principal client base is independent filmmakers from anywhere in the world and also Latin American filmmakers aiming to access the European festival circuit.
Mexicans, Martínez and Orozco have begun to work with Mexico’s Humberto Busto, who broke out as an actor with Gael García Bernal in “Amores Perros” but is now seeking on-the-ground support at the upcoming Venice Festival for his Venice Biennale College title “Tijuana Todavía,” which he produced.
Casa Leo PR also recently worked with Netflix on a special London screening of Maite Alberdi’s upcoming Mexican documentary “A Child of My Own.”
In-house production and events take in overseeing concept, production, and on‑site management of film galas, premieres, special events and industry activations.
Casa Leo PR aims to craft bespoke strategies, ensuring films reach the right people at the right time, in the right way, Martínez and Orozco said. It is beginning with just five clients, plus Netflix, a highly select number.
“At Casa Leo PR, we see every film as a unique story with its own path to an audience,” said Orozco. “Our role is to navigate that path alongside filmmakers and partners, aligning strategy and on‑the‑ground execution so that festival journeys feel intentional, impactful, and creatively true to the work.
“‘Casa’ means ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Spanish,” she added. “We’re both Latin, but have lived in the U.K. for a long time, so we can bring a homey welcome to Latin American filmmakers but also to independent filmmakers in the U.K. and beyond as well.”
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