Alfonso Cuarón has been working in relative secrecy on his follow-up to the much-lauded 2013 sci-fi survival tale Gravity for a little while now. His gestating project has yet to divulge its own title, its cast, or the basic plotline, but what’s known at present is that Cuarón has chosen a period setting for the film (the film takes place in the ‘70s) and that he’s already started production in his home of Mexico. And while much of the operation remains shrouded in mystery, a new report today relates a strange and troubling tale from the south-of-the-border set.

Deadline notes that on Tuesday, criminals posing as local authorities assaulted and robbed several members of Cuarón’s crew. Though the director himself was not on set at the time, police arrived on the scene and got statements indicating that five members of the crew had been sent to the hospital, two more were also struck, and the bandits made off with phone, wallets, and jewelry. The production released a letter detailing the incident, and Deadline provides a translation as follows:

Yesterday, Tuesday, November 1, 2016, while members of our production team were working at the location of José María Iglesias Street in the Tabacalera community with official permits from the Film Commission of Mexico City, they were assaulted by workers of the Cuahutémoc District. It was not a “simple fight” like the authorities have reported, it was assault and there were people injured: two women were hit; five of our crew members were taken to the hospital; and phones, wallets and jewelry were stolen.

After we filed the complaint, the response of the District was immediate and positive. We hope that the district authorities will keep their promise and help compensate for the stolen items, as well as bringing those responsible to justice.

At the moment, we are not worried about our team’s safety. However, it is alarming that union workers from the Cuahutémoc District will attack and assault citizens that are legally doing their jobs.

We are very grateful to all the neighbors from José María Iglesias Street for giving us their support and help to the affected crew members.

Respectfully,

Espectáculos Fílmicos El Coyúl

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