By Christopher Vourlias

Spanish film star Paz Vega has been selected to headline “Death Has No Master,” by Venezuelan director Jorge Thielen Armand. The film has been selected to participate in Venice Production Bridge’s Gap-Financing Market, which will take place from August 30 to September 1.

The film follows a Venezuelan woman, Carolina (Vega), who returns to the country after 20 years abroad, only to find her family’s cocoa plantation occupied by former workers determined to stay put at all costs. In the cat-and-mouse game that ensues, she unmasks a cruel side of herself as she attempts to seek justice in a lawless land.

Producer Stefano Centini of Rome-based Volos Films Italia said it would be a "breakthrough role" for the Spanish superstar, who recently premiered her directorial debut, "Rita," at the Piazza Grande of the Locarno Film Festival. Armand added: "We're used to seeing Paz Vega as an icon of beauty and glamour, and this is a film where we see her in the mud."