The Critics’ Week section of the Cannes film festival has set Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen as the president of the jury for its 63rd edition.
Sorogoyen is known for films including “Stockholm” in 2013, “The Candidate” in 2018, and “The Beasts” from 2022. The Beasts last year earned him the best foreign film prize at France’s Cesars awards. Sorogoyen also wrote and executive produced TV series “Antidisturbios.”
“It is a big responsibility, one that I look forward to very much,” said Sorogoyen in a Spanish-language video message posted to social media. “The Critics Week supports and rewards directors’ first and second feature films as well as short films, thus providing vital support to cinema, new voices and new ways to tell stories. Without these new voices there would be no new cinema. They’re the ones who make it live and make it work.”
Rodrigo Sorogoyen sera le Président du Jury de...
Sorogoyen is known for films including “Stockholm” in 2013, “The Candidate” in 2018, and “The Beasts” from 2022. The Beasts last year earned him the best foreign film prize at France’s Cesars awards. Sorogoyen also wrote and executive produced TV series “Antidisturbios.”
“It is a big responsibility, one that I look forward to very much,” said Sorogoyen in a Spanish-language video message posted to social media. “The Critics Week supports and rewards directors’ first and second feature films as well as short films, thus providing vital support to cinema, new voices and new ways to tell stories. Without these new voices there would be no new cinema. They’re the ones who make it live and make it work.”
Rodrigo Sorogoyen sera le Président du Jury de...
- 4/5/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Updated Lille, France — One of Spain’s most awaited drama series of the year, Rodrigo Sorogyen’s ‘The New Years’ will be co-produced by Spain’s Movistar Plus+, its original backer, and new partner Arte France, the upscale French public broadcaster.
Going into production last year on Oct. 2, and shooting in Madrid, Lyon (France) and Berlin (Germany), the series is produced in collaboration with Madrid-based independent production house Caballo Films, co-founded by Sorogoyen.
Movistar Plus+ International will handle distribution outside Spain and France. Arte France’s involvement guarantees the 10-part series’ distribution in all the territories where it operates.
Set on the same day every year for a decade, New Year’s Eve, “The New Years” stars Iria del Río and Francesco Carril. Ana and Óscar, meet at 30 and start a relationship which lasts 10 years.
The period from 30 to 40 is “a crucial decade for all of us,” Sorogoyen commented when the new series was announced.
Going into production last year on Oct. 2, and shooting in Madrid, Lyon (France) and Berlin (Germany), the series is produced in collaboration with Madrid-based independent production house Caballo Films, co-founded by Sorogoyen.
Movistar Plus+ International will handle distribution outside Spain and France. Arte France’s involvement guarantees the 10-part series’ distribution in all the territories where it operates.
Set on the same day every year for a decade, New Year’s Eve, “The New Years” stars Iria del Río and Francesco Carril. Ana and Óscar, meet at 30 and start a relationship which lasts 10 years.
The period from 30 to 40 is “a crucial decade for all of us,” Sorogoyen commented when the new series was announced.
- 3/20/2024
- by John Hopewell and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Money Heist: Berlin actor Julien Paschal has signed with international management company Alta Global Media.
The actor appears in the Netflix series playing Francois Polignac opposite star Pedro Alonso and Samantha Siquieros, who plays his wife Camille.
Berlin, which comes from Money Heist creator Álex Pina and Esther Martínez, is based around the life of Berlin, a character from the original series played by Alonso. Vancouver Media produces the show for Netflix, which launched the series globally on December 29 last year.
Set in Paris many years before the events of the original, it sees Berlin as the leader of a criminal gang who undertakes a jewel heist that becomes complicated when he falls in love with the victim’s wife.
Paschal has also appeared in Antidisturbios, which is written and directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and in “Un Año, Una Noche” directed by Isaki Lacuesta.
The actor appears in the Netflix series playing Francois Polignac opposite star Pedro Alonso and Samantha Siquieros, who plays his wife Camille.
Berlin, which comes from Money Heist creator Álex Pina and Esther Martínez, is based around the life of Berlin, a character from the original series played by Alonso. Vancouver Media produces the show for Netflix, which launched the series globally on December 29 last year.
Set in Paris many years before the events of the original, it sees Berlin as the leader of a criminal gang who undertakes a jewel heist that becomes complicated when he falls in love with the victim’s wife.
Paschal has also appeared in Antidisturbios, which is written and directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and in “Un Año, Una Noche” directed by Isaki Lacuesta.
- 2/14/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Telefonica’s Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest pay TV-svod operator, is set to co-produce new movies from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Iciar Bollaín, Alberto Rodríguez, Óliver Laxe and Ana Rujas. It’s a move which sees the high-end Spanish TV powerhouse become one of Spain’s most significant movie players.
Titles in the slate are backed by top Spanish producers such as Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García at El Deseo – backing Laxe’s next – and Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo at their high-flying new production house Suma Content, producing what will be Rujas’ debut feature as a director.
The acclaimed “La Mesías,” the latest series from Los Javis – as Ambrossi and Calvo are known – will have its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it will the only European series at this year’s event.
In a fillip for Spain’s box office, still 26% down on pre-pandemic levels, Movistar Plus+ will...
Titles in the slate are backed by top Spanish producers such as Agustín Almodóvar and Esther García at El Deseo – backing Laxe’s next – and Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo at their high-flying new production house Suma Content, producing what will be Rujas’ debut feature as a director.
The acclaimed “La Mesías,” the latest series from Los Javis – as Ambrossi and Calvo are known – will have its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it will the only European series at this year’s event.
In a fillip for Spain’s box office, still 26% down on pre-pandemic levels, Movistar Plus+ will...
- 1/18/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Barcelona-based filmmaker Abigail Schaaff is at the helm of the upcoming The Monster of Many Noses, and Variety brings us a first look at the unique genre title today.
Filmax has come on board the movie, Variety reports this afternoon, which is said to blend together the “fantasy genre and local lore to large social point.”
“Connecting 1960s Spain to its 1930s, the decade of Spain’s Civil War whose atrocities were silenced as the price of transition to democracy in 1970s Spain, The Monster of Many Noses (“L’home dels lassos”) is set in 1968 in a small village in the mountains.
“Three children try to escape the so-called Man of Many Noses, a figure in Catalan lore who hunts down children who have told too many lies on the last day of the year. But the children aren’t the only ones who fear him. Lies from the past can also be smelled.
Filmax has come on board the movie, Variety reports this afternoon, which is said to blend together the “fantasy genre and local lore to large social point.”
“Connecting 1960s Spain to its 1930s, the decade of Spain’s Civil War whose atrocities were silenced as the price of transition to democracy in 1970s Spain, The Monster of Many Noses (“L’home dels lassos”) is set in 1968 in a small village in the mountains.
“Three children try to escape the so-called Man of Many Noses, a figure in Catalan lore who hunts down children who have told too many lies on the last day of the year. But the children aren’t the only ones who fear him. Lies from the past can also be smelled.
- 11/2/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Filmax has boarded “The Monster of Many Noses,” which marks yet another feature debut of a Barcelona-based female director, Abigail Schaaff, here in a movie which blends fantasy genre and local lore to large social point.
Filmax, which also handles distribution in Spain, will show first images of the film at the American Film Market.
Connecting 1960s Spain to its 1930s, the decade of Spain’s Civil War whose atrocities were silenced as the price of transition to democracy in 1970s Spain, “The Monster of Many Noses” (“L’home dels lassos”) is set in 1968 in a small village in the mountains.
Three children try to escape the so-called Man of Many Noses, a figure in Catalan lore who hunts down children who have told too many lies on the last day of the year. “But the children aren’t the only ones who fear him. Lies from the past can also be smelled,...
Filmax, which also handles distribution in Spain, will show first images of the film at the American Film Market.
Connecting 1960s Spain to its 1930s, the decade of Spain’s Civil War whose atrocities were silenced as the price of transition to democracy in 1970s Spain, “The Monster of Many Noses” (“L’home dels lassos”) is set in 1968 in a small village in the mountains.
Three children try to escape the so-called Man of Many Noses, a figure in Catalan lore who hunts down children who have told too many lies on the last day of the year. “But the children aren’t the only ones who fear him. Lies from the past can also be smelled,...
- 11/2/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper has been transplanted to America in ViX Original Series “El Dentista” (“The Dentist”) (working title) with Oscar-nominated Demián Bichir (“A Better Life”) in the titular role. Behind-the-scenes pics of the series, now shooting in Mexico, have been exclusively shared with Variety.
Based on the novel by prominent Chilean scribe Julio Rojas, creator of podcast sensation “Caso 63” and a co-writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio,” the period thriller series is produced by Oscar-winning brothers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain and their powerhouse shingle, Fabula, along with the top Spanish pay TV/SVOD service Movistar Plus+, which will also handle international sales.
This is possibly the second time that Fabula handling a mythical figure after Pablo Larrain’s horror satire “The Count,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix. However, in “The Count,” Larrain reimagines...
Based on the novel by prominent Chilean scribe Julio Rojas, creator of podcast sensation “Caso 63” and a co-writer on Pablo Fendrik’s “El Refugio,” the period thriller series is produced by Oscar-winning brothers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain and their powerhouse shingle, Fabula, along with the top Spanish pay TV/SVOD service Movistar Plus+, which will also handle international sales.
This is possibly the second time that Fabula handling a mythical figure after Pablo Larrain’s horror satire “The Count,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix. However, in “The Count,” Larrain reimagines...
- 10/26/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Rodrigo Sorogoyen, director of ‘The Beasts,’ the Best Foreign Film winner at France’s 2023 Cesar Awards, has gone into production on a new series, “The New Year’s Eves.”
Following on Sorogoyen’s acclaimed “Riot Police,” and his episode in “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one the best international series of 2022, “The Beasts” is produced by Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/Ott operator, in collaboration with Madrid-based independent production house Caballo Films, co-founded by Sorogoyen.
Movistar Plus+ International will handle distribution outside Spain. Going into production on Oct. 2, the series will shoot in over the next few weeks in Madrid, Lyon (France) and Berlin (Germany).
“The New Year’s Eves” is created by Sara Cano (“Debts”), Paula Fabra, a writer on hit Prime Video series “A Private Affair,” the most-watched non-English-language series on Prime Video between July 2022 and June 2023 and Sorogoyen himself. Sorogoyen will executive produce, and direct four of the series’ 10 episodes.
Following on Sorogoyen’s acclaimed “Riot Police,” and his episode in “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one the best international series of 2022, “The Beasts” is produced by Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/Ott operator, in collaboration with Madrid-based independent production house Caballo Films, co-founded by Sorogoyen.
Movistar Plus+ International will handle distribution outside Spain. Going into production on Oct. 2, the series will shoot in over the next few weeks in Madrid, Lyon (France) and Berlin (Germany).
“The New Year’s Eves” is created by Sara Cano (“Debts”), Paula Fabra, a writer on hit Prime Video series “A Private Affair,” the most-watched non-English-language series on Prime Video between July 2022 and June 2023 and Sorogoyen himself. Sorogoyen will executive produce, and direct four of the series’ 10 episodes.
- 10/25/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
In the Spanish comedy drama series “Zorras,” based on the Noemí Casquet best selling novel of the same name, Andrea Ros, Mirela Balic, and Tai Fei play Alicia, Emily, and Diana, three women from very different backgrounds. They find a commonality, however, in a desire for friendship and exploration of themselves through sexual experimentation and novelty.
“Zorras” might translate as “sluts” or “tramps.” The show flips such terms and acts such as bondage on their head.
“I really think it’s about empowering ourselves through those words that have been pejorative to us throughout our existence simply by living and doing with our lives what we want to do with our lives,” Casquet told Variety.
“The term ‘sluts’ has always been very derogatory regardless of how many times we slept with someone. What this series wants to do is to turn the term around. To stop hurting us and to...
“Zorras” might translate as “sluts” or “tramps.” The show flips such terms and acts such as bondage on their head.
“I really think it’s about empowering ourselves through those words that have been pejorative to us throughout our existence simply by living and doing with our lives what we want to do with our lives,” Casquet told Variety.
“The term ‘sluts’ has always been very derogatory regardless of how many times we slept with someone. What this series wants to do is to turn the term around. To stop hurting us and to...
- 10/9/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish director becomes the fourth consecutive woman director to win the festival’s top prize
The Rye Horn (O Corno), the second feature by Jaione Camborda, has won the top prize, the Golden Shell, at the 2023 San Sebastian Film Festival.
Set on an island off the coast of Galicia in 1971, the film tells the story of a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She is also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth but has to flee and try to cross the border into Portugal after an unexpected event.
Camborda, who was born in San Sebastian,...
The Rye Horn (O Corno), the second feature by Jaione Camborda, has won the top prize, the Golden Shell, at the 2023 San Sebastian Film Festival.
Set on an island off the coast of Galicia in 1971, the film tells the story of a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She is also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth but has to flee and try to cross the border into Portugal after an unexpected event.
Camborda, who was born in San Sebastian,...
- 9/30/2023
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
In 2017, Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest SVOD-pay TV player, rocked the San Sebastian Festival, the highest-profile movie event in Spain and Latin America region, with “The Plague,” the biggest series ever made in Spain.
Movistar Plus, owned by Telefónica, looks set to make waves again at this week’s San Sebastian by world premiering another big, bold series: “La Mesías.”
It’s written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – known in Spain as Los Javis – marking their follow-up to overseas breakout “Veneno,” a raunchy but highly grounded bio of Spanish trans icon Cristina Ortiz. “Veneno” was picked up by HBO Max for the U.S. market and made Ambrossi and Calvo among the most courted young showrunners in Europe.
“We’ve had to say ‘no’ to a lot of things, to big offers, a lot of money from and outside Spain, to keep faithful to ourselves, and...
Movistar Plus, owned by Telefónica, looks set to make waves again at this week’s San Sebastian by world premiering another big, bold series: “La Mesías.”
It’s written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – known in Spain as Los Javis – marking their follow-up to overseas breakout “Veneno,” a raunchy but highly grounded bio of Spanish trans icon Cristina Ortiz. “Veneno” was picked up by HBO Max for the U.S. market and made Ambrossi and Calvo among the most courted young showrunners in Europe.
“We’ve had to say ‘no’ to a lot of things, to big offers, a lot of money from and outside Spain, to keep faithful to ourselves, and...
- 9/28/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
High-flying Madrid-based Caballo Films, behind Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and “Riot Police” and Borja Soler’s “The Route,” has put into development a fiction series adaptation of Mabel Lozano’s prized same-titled non-fiction work.
Shaping up as a deep drill-down into the growth of prostitution in Spain into large-scale organized crime, “El Proxeneta” packs a powerful talent package of creator-writers Isabel Peña, co-writer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas” and “Riot Police,” and Eduardo Villanueva, a co-scribe on “Riot Police” and producer on “Stockholm.”
Pilar Palomero, a Spanish Academy Goya best picture winner for “Schoolgirls,” will direct the series, her first TV work beyond one episode of “Venga Juan.”
“Pilar was always on our minds for this project, given her talent, and we wanted a female gaze behind all the key points of creative responsibility,” said Villanueva.
“El Proxeneta” is co-produced by Lozano’s label Mafalda Entertainment.
“My commitment...
Shaping up as a deep drill-down into the growth of prostitution in Spain into large-scale organized crime, “El Proxeneta” packs a powerful talent package of creator-writers Isabel Peña, co-writer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas” and “Riot Police,” and Eduardo Villanueva, a co-scribe on “Riot Police” and producer on “Stockholm.”
Pilar Palomero, a Spanish Academy Goya best picture winner for “Schoolgirls,” will direct the series, her first TV work beyond one episode of “Venga Juan.”
“Pilar was always on our minds for this project, given her talent, and we wanted a female gaze behind all the key points of creative responsibility,” said Villanueva.
“El Proxeneta” is co-produced by Lozano’s label Mafalda Entertainment.
“My commitment...
- 6/26/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Principal photography has wrapped in Spain’s La Rioja region on Isabel Coixet’s romantic drama “Un Amor,” a tale of obsessive passion that forces the film’s protagonist to reconsider the woman she thought she was. The 2023 Goya actress winner Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) stars opposite Hovik Keuchkerian (“Money Heist”); Film Constellation handles world sales. A sales promo will be unveiled for buyers in Cannes.
Based on the best-selling novel by Sara Mesa, selected by influential Spanish newspaper “El PaÍs” as Spain’s 2020 Book of the Year and translated into 13 languages internationally, “Un Amor” turns on Nat (Costa), 30, a translator who escapes the big city to start anew in the countryside.
Taking refuge in La Escapa, a hamlet, isolated by the hostility of her landlord and villagers’ distrust, she surprises herself by accepting an unsettling sexual proposal from neighbor Andreas. “From this strange and conflicting encounter sparks a devouring and...
Based on the best-selling novel by Sara Mesa, selected by influential Spanish newspaper “El PaÍs” as Spain’s 2020 Book of the Year and translated into 13 languages internationally, “Un Amor” turns on Nat (Costa), 30, a translator who escapes the big city to start anew in the countryside.
Taking refuge in La Escapa, a hamlet, isolated by the hostility of her landlord and villagers’ distrust, she surprises herself by accepting an unsettling sexual proposal from neighbor Andreas. “From this strange and conflicting encounter sparks a devouring and...
- 5/16/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
In a significant play for audience growth at Telefonica’s Movistar+, Domingo Corral has been promoted to the position of director of fiction and entertainment at the company, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD service.
The move, which in some ways echoes the larger oversight of ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, marks further recognition for the former director of original fiction who has spearheaded Movistar+’s notably successful drive into scripted production, begun with its first releases in 2017.
Playing off Corral’s innate flair at forge talent relationships his passion for premium entertainment and willingness to explore flexible market models, Movistar+ has created some of the most lauded and prized series in Spain, such as Canneseries double winner “A Perfect Life,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Riot Police” and “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one of its best international TV shows of 2022.
Most recently, Alberto Rodriguez “Prison 1977” has bowed on Movistar+ to become...
The move, which in some ways echoes the larger oversight of ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, marks further recognition for the former director of original fiction who has spearheaded Movistar+’s notably successful drive into scripted production, begun with its first releases in 2017.
Playing off Corral’s innate flair at forge talent relationships his passion for premium entertainment and willingness to explore flexible market models, Movistar+ has created some of the most lauded and prized series in Spain, such as Canneseries double winner “A Perfect Life,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Riot Police” and “Offworld,” chosen by Variety as one of its best international TV shows of 2022.
Most recently, Alberto Rodriguez “Prison 1977” has bowed on Movistar+ to become...
- 4/26/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish super-indie production-sales companies are stepping back in time with vigor, building on opportunities opened up by streamers’ growing market flexibility to retain IP and sell territory-by-territory.
Prioritizing bottom lines over market share, global platforms are ever more splitting rights and investing less in single titles. As budgets reduce, projects’ producers are forced to court ever more partners.
That often means partnering on productions. “We accustomed customers to enjoying high-quality series with large budgets. In the new context, it is increasingly difficult to continue in this vein if you don’t partner,” says Onza’s Carlos Garde.
Aiding this, Spain’s TV drama sector is still living a Golden Age. “Spanish TV fiction presence is on the rise, both on platforms and on international pay TV and free-to-air channels,” argues Atresmedia’s José Antonio Salso, who is moving buzz title “Nights in Tefía” at MipTV.
“There’s a large demand for Spanish-language content,...
Prioritizing bottom lines over market share, global platforms are ever more splitting rights and investing less in single titles. As budgets reduce, projects’ producers are forced to court ever more partners.
That often means partnering on productions. “We accustomed customers to enjoying high-quality series with large budgets. In the new context, it is increasingly difficult to continue in this vein if you don’t partner,” says Onza’s Carlos Garde.
Aiding this, Spain’s TV drama sector is still living a Golden Age. “Spanish TV fiction presence is on the rise, both on platforms and on international pay TV and free-to-air channels,” argues Atresmedia’s José Antonio Salso, who is moving buzz title “Nights in Tefía” at MipTV.
“There’s a large demand for Spanish-language content,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired international sales rights to “Matar cangrejos” (”Killing Crabs”), Canarian filmmaker Omar Al Abdul Razzak’s feature fiction debut which world premieres in the Zonazine section of the Malaga Film Festival.
Produced by Manuel Arango and Abdul Razzak at Tourmalet Films, in co-production with Netherlands’ Ijswater Films, ”Killing Crabs” is an autobiographical coming-of-age story set in Tenerife in the early 1990s.
Rayco, an eight-year-old boy, and his 14-year-old sister Paula kill the time in any way they can, excitedly waiting for Michael Jackson’s visit to the island.
While Rayco is fascinated by a hermit who lives in a cave by the sea, Paula is dealing with her grandmother’s imminent eviction by roaming around abandoned, coastal hotels.
Young thesps Paula Campos and Agustín Díaz topline the cast, completed by Sigrid Ojel, Nino Hernández and non-professional Tenerife-based actors.
”’Killing Crabs’ is a snapshot of a time and...
Produced by Manuel Arango and Abdul Razzak at Tourmalet Films, in co-production with Netherlands’ Ijswater Films, ”Killing Crabs” is an autobiographical coming-of-age story set in Tenerife in the early 1990s.
Rayco, an eight-year-old boy, and his 14-year-old sister Paula kill the time in any way they can, excitedly waiting for Michael Jackson’s visit to the island.
While Rayco is fascinated by a hermit who lives in a cave by the sea, Paula is dealing with her grandmother’s imminent eviction by roaming around abandoned, coastal hotels.
Young thesps Paula Campos and Agustín Díaz topline the cast, completed by Sigrid Ojel, Nino Hernández and non-professional Tenerife-based actors.
”’Killing Crabs’ is a snapshot of a time and...
- 3/14/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Ester Expósito, one of the stars of Netflix global hit “Elite,” is attached to star “The Wailing” (“El Llanto”), co-written by Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s regular co-scribe Isabel Peña (“The Beasts”) and directed by talent-to-track Pedro Martín-Calero (“Secrets”). It’s one of the most powerful Spanish-language packages being brought onto Berlin’s European Film Market.
The auteur genre movie has gone into production, shooting in Madrid, Buenos Aires and La Plata.
Film Factory Entertainment has acquired international rights. “The Wailing” is lead produced by on-the-rise Madrid production house Caballo Films, behind Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s films, including “The Beasts,” a best picture Goya on Feb. 11.
The feature debut of Spain’s Pedro Martín-Calero, “The Wailing” turns on a seemingly invisible evil. “No one can see it with the naked eye, but its presence has always been there. 20 years ago he stalked Camila and Marie. Now, 10,000 kilometers away, Andrea has begun to hear the wailing,...
The auteur genre movie has gone into production, shooting in Madrid, Buenos Aires and La Plata.
Film Factory Entertainment has acquired international rights. “The Wailing” is lead produced by on-the-rise Madrid production house Caballo Films, behind Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s films, including “The Beasts,” a best picture Goya on Feb. 11.
The feature debut of Spain’s Pedro Martín-Calero, “The Wailing” turns on a seemingly invisible evil. “No one can see it with the naked eye, but its presence has always been there. 20 years ago he stalked Camila and Marie. Now, 10,000 kilometers away, Andrea has begun to hear the wailing,...
- 2/17/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Fresh off her 2023 Goya best actress win for “Lullaby” on Saturday night,” Laia Costa is set to star in the passionate romance drama “Un Amor,” by multi-prized Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet.
Film Constellation, the London and now Paris-based production, finance & sales company, will introduce the new production to buyers at thus and next week’s Berlin European Film Market.
Distributor of Berlin competition entry “20,000 Species if Bees” and La Maternal, a San Sebastian best leading performance winner for Carla Quílez, BTeam Pictures will handle the film’s release in Spain.
Written by Spanish novelist and short-story writer Laura Ferrero and Coixet, “Un Amor” is based on an admired novel by Sara Mesa. A fiction study of emotional dependence in which Mesa returns to the themes of power and subjugation which thread much of her work, “Un Amor” was selected by Spanish newspaper El Pais as Spain’s 2020 book of the year.
Film Constellation, the London and now Paris-based production, finance & sales company, will introduce the new production to buyers at thus and next week’s Berlin European Film Market.
Distributor of Berlin competition entry “20,000 Species if Bees” and La Maternal, a San Sebastian best leading performance winner for Carla Quílez, BTeam Pictures will handle the film’s release in Spain.
Written by Spanish novelist and short-story writer Laura Ferrero and Coixet, “Un Amor” is based on an admired novel by Sara Mesa. A fiction study of emotional dependence in which Mesa returns to the themes of power and subjugation which thread much of her work, “Un Amor” was selected by Spanish newspaper El Pais as Spain’s 2020 book of the year.
- 2/16/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Vying for the top Gold Shell at the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, Basque native Mikel Gurrea’s debut feature “Suro” stems from Gurrea’s experience working in the cork forests north of Catalonia. He had just finished his studies and was at a loss when his then girlfriend’s parents suggested he work in the forests where they stripped cork from the trees. “I discovered a fascinating world that stayed with me; the work is tough but you’re in the middle of nature,” he said. “It was also a good workout!” he added.
“Suro” revolves around a young couple, Helena and Ivan, who decide to leave Barcelona and start anew on the land that Helena has inherited. Ivan takes it upon himself to join the workers and learn how to strip the bark from the cork trees that now belong to them. But their contrasting viewpoints will jeopardize their future as a couple,...
“Suro” revolves around a young couple, Helena and Ivan, who decide to leave Barcelona and start anew on the land that Helena has inherited. Ivan takes it upon himself to join the workers and learn how to strip the bark from the cork trees that now belong to them. But their contrasting viewpoints will jeopardize their future as a couple,...
- 9/19/2022
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Atresplayer Premium, the burgeoning Ott service behind HBO Max hit “Veneno,” has renewed “The Gypsy Bride” (“La novia gitana”), whose Season 1, from “Penny Dreadful” director Paco Cabezas, world premieres at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Atresmedia Television will produce with Banijay Iberia’s Diagonal TV, producer of Netflix hit “Heirs to the Land.”Produced by Vis with the participation of Atresmedia Television and the collaboration of the Diagonal TV, the first season of “The Gypsy Bride” will bow on Atresplayer Premium on Sept. 25.
Directed in its totality by Cabezas, whose credits also include “American Gods,” Season 1 is set in a gypsy community on Madrid’s humble outskirts as homicide inspector Elena Blanco, is called in to investigate the torture and assassination of a young woman just before her wedding.
Channelling echoes of a Lorca tragedy, the series, shot with large visual ambition by Cabezas – mixing bold panoramics and hand-held camerawork...
Atresmedia Television will produce with Banijay Iberia’s Diagonal TV, producer of Netflix hit “Heirs to the Land.”Produced by Vis with the participation of Atresmedia Television and the collaboration of the Diagonal TV, the first season of “The Gypsy Bride” will bow on Atresplayer Premium on Sept. 25.
Directed in its totality by Cabezas, whose credits also include “American Gods,” Season 1 is set in a gypsy community on Madrid’s humble outskirts as homicide inspector Elena Blanco, is called in to investigate the torture and assassination of a young woman just before her wedding.
Channelling echoes of a Lorca tragedy, the series, shot with large visual ambition by Cabezas – mixing bold panoramics and hand-held camerawork...
- 9/15/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
In the first shot of “OffWorld” (“Apagon”), the camera focuses on Ernesto – balding, serious, tired, lost in thought. It then pulls back to reveal the whole of his office, a computer-screen packed rom at an emergency intervention unit.
The shot says much about the latest series from Movistar+, “Off world,” which world premieres in Official Selection at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival and in turn speaks volumes of the ambitions and priorities of Telefonica-owned Movistar+, Southern Europe’s biggest national pay-tv/SVOD service.
Produced with Buendía Estudios, “OffWorld” presents five stories which place very different individuals in the same context, a world where there’s no electricity thanks to a massive power outage; things taken for granted like phones and the internet don’t work.
Opening close-ups in each episode underscore the protagonists’ initial identities. In Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Denial,” workaholic Ernesto is defined by his job as...
The shot says much about the latest series from Movistar+, “Off world,” which world premieres in Official Selection at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival and in turn speaks volumes of the ambitions and priorities of Telefonica-owned Movistar+, Southern Europe’s biggest national pay-tv/SVOD service.
Produced with Buendía Estudios, “OffWorld” presents five stories which place very different individuals in the same context, a world where there’s no electricity thanks to a massive power outage; things taken for granted like phones and the internet don’t work.
Opening close-ups in each episode underscore the protagonists’ initial identities. In Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Denial,” workaholic Ernesto is defined by his job as...
- 9/12/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Canal Plus Group-owned Studiocanal and Spain’s Bambu Producciones, producer of “Cable Girls” and “Velvet,” have teamed for “13 Exorcisms,” which looks to be one of Spain’s biggest genre movies in 2022.
Studiocanal is launching worldwide sales on the horror movie at Toronto.
New Spain-based distributor Beta Fiction will release “13 Exorcisms” theatrically in Spain Nov. 4.
Set in 2015 and starring María Romanillos (“Riot Police”), the title is the feature debut of Jacobo Martínez, who worked with Bambú on Netflix series “Jaguar.” It turns on Laura who, shy and highly sensitive, struggles to fit in at school. On Halloween, she takes part in a seance. From that day on, she is assailed by dark presences, horrifying visions, ominous voices and painful marks on her skin. Convinced she is possessed, her parents and the local priest force her to submit to a series of exorcisms, each more violent and terrifying than the last.
The...
Studiocanal is launching worldwide sales on the horror movie at Toronto.
New Spain-based distributor Beta Fiction will release “13 Exorcisms” theatrically in Spain Nov. 4.
Set in 2015 and starring María Romanillos (“Riot Police”), the title is the feature debut of Jacobo Martínez, who worked with Bambú on Netflix series “Jaguar.” It turns on Laura who, shy and highly sensitive, struggles to fit in at school. On Halloween, she takes part in a seance. From that day on, she is assailed by dark presences, horrifying visions, ominous voices and painful marks on her skin. Convinced she is possessed, her parents and the local priest force her to submit to a series of exorcisms, each more violent and terrifying than the last.
The...
- 9/8/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Spanish director reflects on a change of pace following the thrillers and crime dramas for which he has become known.
The Cannes Premiere screening of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts throws an international spotlight on the acclaimed Spanish director for the first time.
The film stars Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs as a French couple who settle in a remote Galician village to run an organic farm. However their arrival does not go down well witih all of the villagers, some of whom regard them as a threat to their way of life.
It is Sorogoyen’s Cannes debut,...
The Cannes Premiere screening of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts throws an international spotlight on the acclaimed Spanish director for the first time.
The film stars Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs as a French couple who settle in a remote Galician village to run an organic farm. However their arrival does not go down well witih all of the villagers, some of whom regard them as a threat to their way of life.
It is Sorogoyen’s Cannes debut,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
From the 100-second tracking shot to building pulse music that opens “The Realm” to the slug-fest finale of “May God Save Us,” Oscar-nominated Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Mother”) has filmed some of the most exhilarating shots in recent Spanish cinema.
His status as a filmmaker consolidated by a series, Movistar Plus’ “Riot Police,” “The Beasts” (“As Bestas”), which plays in Cannes Premiere, rates as one of, if not the most awaited Spanish movie of 2022.
From a brief synopsis, it might look like a return to one of Sorogoyen’s central obsessions: Violence. But that is most likely a half truth. Based on real-life events, “The Beasts,” written by Sorogoyen and co-scribe Isabel Peña, follows a married couple, Vincent and Olga, (Denis Menochet and Marina Fois) who have settled in a small village in Galicia, in Spain’s verdant North-West. They grow vegetables and rehabilitate abandoned cottages.
Disrupting established village power structures, however,...
His status as a filmmaker consolidated by a series, Movistar Plus’ “Riot Police,” “The Beasts” (“As Bestas”), which plays in Cannes Premiere, rates as one of, if not the most awaited Spanish movie of 2022.
From a brief synopsis, it might look like a return to one of Sorogoyen’s central obsessions: Violence. But that is most likely a half truth. Based on real-life events, “The Beasts,” written by Sorogoyen and co-scribe Isabel Peña, follows a married couple, Vincent and Olga, (Denis Menochet and Marina Fois) who have settled in a small village in Galicia, in Spain’s verdant North-West. They grow vegetables and rehabilitate abandoned cottages.
Disrupting established village power structures, however,...
- 5/21/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
“El agua,” (Elena López Riera)
A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver
“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation. S.A. MK2 Films
“Amazing Elisa,” (Sádrac González-Perellón)
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González-Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, plans revenge after her mother’s tragic death. S.A. Filmax
“The Beasts,” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, playing Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte. S.A. Latido Films
“The Communion Girl,” (Víctor García)
A revenge thriller involving an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress. S.
A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver
“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)
The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation. S.A. MK2 Films
“Amazing Elisa,” (Sádrac González-Perellón)
The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González-Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, plans revenge after her mother’s tragic death. S.A. Filmax
“The Beasts,” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, playing Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte. S.A. Latido Films
“The Communion Girl,” (Víctor García)
A revenge thriller involving an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress. S.
- 5/19/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
World premiering in Cannes’ Premiere section, Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s thriller “The Beasts”(“As Bestas”) has shared with Variety its poster, crafted by James Verdesoto at New York’s Indika Entertainment Advertising, who as creative director at Miramax was responsible for the original award-winning film poster of “Pulp Fiction,” as well as those for “The Piano” and “The Crying Game,” among 200 posters.
In advance of its Cannes bow, “The Beasts’” sales agent Latido Films has granted Variety an exclusive first look at its key art campaign, which may well drive to the heart of the film.
The poster depicts three men entangled, close up. Two men grasp a third whose mouth opens in agony, consumed by a raw, animalistic rage, in a vertical tangle. The characters are nearly unrecognizable, anguish on their faces, the hostility of the attack quite palpable. One demonstrates subjugation to the struggle, the attackers’ clothes speckled with...
In advance of its Cannes bow, “The Beasts’” sales agent Latido Films has granted Variety an exclusive first look at its key art campaign, which may well drive to the heart of the film.
The poster depicts three men entangled, close up. Two men grasp a third whose mouth opens in agony, consumed by a raw, animalistic rage, in a vertical tangle. The characters are nearly unrecognizable, anguish on their faces, the hostility of the attack quite palpable. One demonstrates subjugation to the struggle, the attackers’ clothes speckled with...
- 5/9/2022
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
In an alignment of two of the most powerful forces in Spanish- language fiction, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, creators of “Veneno” and producers of “Cardo,” have joined forces with Movistar Plus, the pay TV/SVOD of Telefonica, to develop and produce a new series, “La Mesías.”
Presented on Tuesday in Madrid, like “Veneno,” the series has been written by Los Javis – as they are popularly known in Spain – and, according to Javier Ambrossi, the scale of the series marks the natural “next step” in the growth of Suma Content.
A Movistar Plus original series, the series will be written, directed and produced by Ambrossi and Calvo and made in collaboration with Suma Content, their new production label launched last year.
Movistar Plus International will handle international distribution of what rates from the get-go as one of the hottest Spanish series which will be brought onto the global market this year.
Presented on Tuesday in Madrid, like “Veneno,” the series has been written by Los Javis – as they are popularly known in Spain – and, according to Javier Ambrossi, the scale of the series marks the natural “next step” in the growth of Suma Content.
A Movistar Plus original series, the series will be written, directed and produced by Ambrossi and Calvo and made in collaboration with Suma Content, their new production label launched last year.
Movistar Plus International will handle international distribution of what rates from the get-go as one of the hottest Spanish series which will be brought onto the global market this year.
- 5/5/2022
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Many, if not most, of Spain’s Malaga Festival’s main section lineup, from Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarrás” to Panorama player “Lullaby,” will screen for buyers during the Spanish Screenings. Festival titles are detailed in a separate article. Following, a breakdown of further titles swelling the Screenings to a record 63-title cut.
“Ainarak,”
Directed by Juan San Martín and starring singer-songwriter Anne Etchegoyen, the documentary follows the annual diaspora from 1870 to 1940 of hundreds of women from Navarre and Aragon to Mauléon in the French Pyrenees, where they worked from fall to spring making canvas shoes. First presented at Conecta Fiction in 2021.
“Beach House,”
Hector H. Vicens, co-director of the genre-twisting “The Corpse of Anna Fritz,” which caught some heat at 2016’s SXSW, is back with a reportedly acerbic beach-set young adult comedy which lifts off as a thriller. Carles Torras, director of Malaga winner “Callback,” produces.
“The Buried World,...
“Ainarak,”
Directed by Juan San Martín and starring singer-songwriter Anne Etchegoyen, the documentary follows the annual diaspora from 1870 to 1940 of hundreds of women from Navarre and Aragon to Mauléon in the French Pyrenees, where they worked from fall to spring making canvas shoes. First presented at Conecta Fiction in 2021.
“Beach House,”
Hector H. Vicens, co-director of the genre-twisting “The Corpse of Anna Fritz,” which caught some heat at 2016’s SXSW, is back with a reportedly acerbic beach-set young adult comedy which lifts off as a thriller. Carles Torras, director of Malaga winner “Callback,” produces.
“The Buried World,...
- 3/21/2022
- by John Hopewell, Emilio Mayorga, Justin Morgan and Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Germany’s Beta Film has picked up international distribution rights to two anticipated Movistar Plus originals, Canneseries-bound “El Inmortal – Gangs of Madrid” and Galician crime drama “Rapa.”
Sneak peeked at Series Mania, “Rapa” screens at the Malaga Festival on March 22.
The acquisitions form part of an ongoing multi-year distribution-production alliance unveiled in 2019, giving Beta exclusive international distribution rights to about six Movistar Plus series a year.
A Movistar Plus co-production with Telemundo Streaming Studios in collaboration with Banijay’s Dlo Producciones, “El Inmortal” inspired by true events, marks a deep dive into a figure and gang which reshaped Madrid’s 1990s criminal underworld.
There, José Antonio, played by Álex Garcia, rises up the ranks to drug lord, through a combination of burning ambition, innocence, and merciless elimination of rivals. But what he cherishes most may just cause his downfall, the synopsis runs.
Created by Dlo head José Manuel Lorenzo, eight-episode...
Sneak peeked at Series Mania, “Rapa” screens at the Malaga Festival on March 22.
The acquisitions form part of an ongoing multi-year distribution-production alliance unveiled in 2019, giving Beta exclusive international distribution rights to about six Movistar Plus series a year.
A Movistar Plus co-production with Telemundo Streaming Studios in collaboration with Banijay’s Dlo Producciones, “El Inmortal” inspired by true events, marks a deep dive into a figure and gang which reshaped Madrid’s 1990s criminal underworld.
There, José Antonio, played by Álex Garcia, rises up the ranks to drug lord, through a combination of burning ambition, innocence, and merciless elimination of rivals. But what he cherishes most may just cause his downfall, the synopsis runs.
Created by Dlo head José Manuel Lorenzo, eight-episode...
- 3/16/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s TV industry will make history at Series Mania Forum 2022, with its biggest panel and sneak peek series presentation presence ever at a major TV market.
The Spanish conference attendance – alongside Finland’s panel spread – also weighs in as the biggest from any single country at the upcoming edition of the most important co-production event for scripted TV series in Europe.
Series Mania Forum runs on-site over March 22-24 in Lille, northern France, under the larger Series Mania Festival umbrella.
Organized by Icex Spain Trade & Investment, the country’s export and inward investment board, the Spanish pavilion at the Lille Grand Palais will host a record-breaking delegation for Spain of around 20 companies and more than 50 executives.
That’s a sign of just how much Series Mania has grown as an industry forum in the last few years, and of Spain’s ambition to ramp up exports of Spanish movies...
The Spanish conference attendance – alongside Finland’s panel spread – also weighs in as the biggest from any single country at the upcoming edition of the most important co-production event for scripted TV series in Europe.
Series Mania Forum runs on-site over March 22-24 in Lille, northern France, under the larger Series Mania Festival umbrella.
Organized by Icex Spain Trade & Investment, the country’s export and inward investment board, the Spanish pavilion at the Lille Grand Palais will host a record-breaking delegation for Spain of around 20 companies and more than 50 executives.
That’s a sign of just how much Series Mania has grown as an industry forum in the last few years, and of Spain’s ambition to ramp up exports of Spanish movies...
- 3/14/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Telefonica’s Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest pay-tv/SVOD operator, has launched an in-house overseas sales division, Movistar Plus Internacional, headed up by former Sony and Buendía Estudios exec Maria Valenzuela.
Lorena Molloy, an ex-exec at The Mediapro Studio, has joined Movistar Plus Internacional beginning in March as its head of communication and marketing.
Valenzuela, who began working with the platform last summer, heading international strategy and business development, reports directly to Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus’ director of original production.
Movistar Plus Internacional is making further appointments, raising staff to around 10 employees, Valenzuela said. It will attend all major markets, beginning with Series Mania and MipTV/Canneseries, focusing at least in the short term on sales to Europe, Eastern Europe, U.S. and Latin America, she added.
Presented officially on March 4 in Madrid, the new distribution arm comes after Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest content investor, has until recently used...
Lorena Molloy, an ex-exec at The Mediapro Studio, has joined Movistar Plus Internacional beginning in March as its head of communication and marketing.
Valenzuela, who began working with the platform last summer, heading international strategy and business development, reports directly to Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus’ director of original production.
Movistar Plus Internacional is making further appointments, raising staff to around 10 employees, Valenzuela said. It will attend all major markets, beginning with Series Mania and MipTV/Canneseries, focusing at least in the short term on sales to Europe, Eastern Europe, U.S. and Latin America, she added.
Presented officially on March 4 in Madrid, the new distribution arm comes after Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest content investor, has until recently used...
- 3/7/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
As other European TV giants such as the Rtl Group, Spain’s Atresmedia, owner of the Ott service Atresplayer Premium, is finding the sweet spot between auteur and broad audience shows.
Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone – and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.
Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America, with a strong impact on the international media, which contributed to strengthening the Atresplayer brand.
Now, “Cardo,” from creators and writers Claudia Costafreda and Ana Rujas, executive produced by Los Javis after becoming one of the hottest indie series of last year for TV critics and audiences, is close to an important international distribution deal.
Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone – and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.
Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America, with a strong impact on the international media, which contributed to strengthening the Atresplayer brand.
Now, “Cardo,” from creators and writers Claudia Costafreda and Ana Rujas, executive produced by Los Javis after becoming one of the hottest indie series of last year for TV critics and audiences, is close to an important international distribution deal.
- 2/15/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Movistar Plus, the streaming and broadcast arm of Spanish telco giant Telefonica, has confirmed a breathtaking roster of talent which will helm its upcoming five-part anthology series “Apagón,” produced by Buendía Estudios.
Inspired by the popular “El gran apagón” podcast, the series features five stand-alone stories, connected only in that they take place after a solar flair causes a worldwide blackout – “apagón” in Spanish – and deals with the consequences that such a catastrophe might impose.
The series’ impressive lineup of writing talent was first announced in June of this year, and Movistar has today confirmed that award-winning directors Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alberto Rodríguez, Raúl Arévalo, Isa Campo, and Isaki Lacuesta will helm the five stories. For the first two filmmakers, the series is a return to Movistar Plus. The three new recruits further establishes the broadcaster as one of the Spanish industry’s premier platforms for upscale Spanish talent to express...
Inspired by the popular “El gran apagón” podcast, the series features five stand-alone stories, connected only in that they take place after a solar flair causes a worldwide blackout – “apagón” in Spanish – and deals with the consequences that such a catastrophe might impose.
The series’ impressive lineup of writing talent was first announced in June of this year, and Movistar has today confirmed that award-winning directors Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alberto Rodríguez, Raúl Arévalo, Isa Campo, and Isaki Lacuesta will helm the five stories. For the first two filmmakers, the series is a return to Movistar Plus. The three new recruits further establishes the broadcaster as one of the Spanish industry’s premier platforms for upscale Spanish talent to express...
- 11/11/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix’s Spanish adaptation of its hit original movie “Bird Box” is coming together.
Cast and a handful of early details were announced for the previously announced project from Àlex and David Pastor. Leading the international cast are Mario Casas, one of Spain’s most bankable leading men who this year won a best actor Spanish Academy Goya Award for his performance in “Cross the Line,” and Georgina Campbell, a best leading actress BAFTA winner for her work in “Murdered by My Boyfriend.”
Casas was also the star of horror thriller “The Paramedic,” one of Netflix’s best performing Spanish original films to date.
Other cast includes Diego Calva (“I Promise You Anarchy”), Alejandra Howard (“Ana. all in”), Naila Schuberth (“Unbroken”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and Celia Freijeiro (“Perfect Life”), with Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”), Gonzalo de Castro (“La torre de Suso”), Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”) and Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory...
Cast and a handful of early details were announced for the previously announced project from Àlex and David Pastor. Leading the international cast are Mario Casas, one of Spain’s most bankable leading men who this year won a best actor Spanish Academy Goya Award for his performance in “Cross the Line,” and Georgina Campbell, a best leading actress BAFTA winner for her work in “Murdered by My Boyfriend.”
Casas was also the star of horror thriller “The Paramedic,” one of Netflix’s best performing Spanish original films to date.
Other cast includes Diego Calva (“I Promise You Anarchy”), Alejandra Howard (“Ana. all in”), Naila Schuberth (“Unbroken”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and Celia Freijeiro (“Perfect Life”), with Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”), Gonzalo de Castro (“La torre de Suso”), Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”) and Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory...
- 10/28/2021
- by Jamie Lang and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
No event in the world offers a broader spread of recent movies from Spain than the Malaga de Cine – Spanish Screenings. Unspooling online over Oct. 20-22, this year’s lineup offers buyers a chance to catch up with titles at San Sebastian, as well as upcoming releases, 2021 Malaga fest winners and its pix-in-post panorama. At the heart of the event are its Screenings, new or newish titles which in an ordinary onsite year would play in cinema theaters in Malaga. Variety drills down on a score of films playing at this year’s event, including a clutch of notable debuts.
“All the Moons,” (Arcadia Motion Pictures, Kowalski Films, Pris & Batty, Ilargia Films, Noodles Production)
A fantasy vampire period drama, set in 19th century Spain during its Carlist wars. Bullish sales prospects. Sales agency: Filmax
“Ama,” (Julia de Paz Solvas, La Dalia Films)
Paz Solvas’ first feature and a Malaga best...
“All the Moons,” (Arcadia Motion Pictures, Kowalski Films, Pris & Batty, Ilargia Films, Noodles Production)
A fantasy vampire period drama, set in 19th century Spain during its Carlist wars. Bullish sales prospects. Sales agency: Filmax
“Ama,” (Julia de Paz Solvas, La Dalia Films)
Paz Solvas’ first feature and a Malaga best...
- 10/20/2021
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Atresplayer Premium, the pay TV platform of Spanish media conglom Atresmedia Group, is dipping its toe into true-crime docuseries production with “Besos Marvin.”
Produced in-house by Atresplayer, the five-episode docuseries tells the story of Patrick Nogueira, a young murderer who shared his crime through WhatsApp with his 17-year-old best friend Marvin Enriques.
The events took place in the summer of 2016 in Pioz, a small town in the province of Guadalajara, in Spain’s Castille-La Mancha region.
When the bodies of a Brazilian couple, Marcos and Janaína, and their two young children, María Carolina and David, were found, a police investigation concluded that the murderer was Patrick, a 19-year-old nephew of the family, but the case took on a new dimension when it was discovered that on the night of the crime the young man talked via WhatsApp with his friend Marvin.
That chat circulated among the gang, a group of...
Produced in-house by Atresplayer, the five-episode docuseries tells the story of Patrick Nogueira, a young murderer who shared his crime through WhatsApp with his 17-year-old best friend Marvin Enriques.
The events took place in the summer of 2016 in Pioz, a small town in the province of Guadalajara, in Spain’s Castille-La Mancha region.
When the bodies of a Brazilian couple, Marcos and Janaína, and their two young children, María Carolina and David, were found, a police investigation concluded that the murderer was Patrick, a 19-year-old nephew of the family, but the case took on a new dimension when it was discovered that on the night of the crime the young man talked via WhatsApp with his friend Marvin.
That chat circulated among the gang, a group of...
- 10/12/2021
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish Horror
Two of Spain’s highest-profile upcoming horror titles got release dates and trailers today, David Casademunt’s “El páramo” (formerly “La bestia”) at Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s horror anthology “Historias para no dormir.”
“El páramo” is the highly anticipated feature debut of award-winning short filmmaker Casademunt, and boasts a small yet star-filled cast including Inma Cuesta (“The Bride”), Roberto Álamo (“The Skin I Live In”) and Asier Flores (“Pain and Glory”). The film is set in an isolated cabin where a family of three are visited by a terrible monster which threatens the ties that bind them. It will world premiere on Oct. 11 at the Sitges Film Festival and hit Netflix worldwide on Jan. 26, 2022. Rodar y Rodar produces.
Amazon Prime Video and Spanish broadcaster Rtve’s reboot of Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s legendary Spanish horror anthology series “Historias para no dormir” will hit the streaming platform on Nov.
Two of Spain’s highest-profile upcoming horror titles got release dates and trailers today, David Casademunt’s “El páramo” (formerly “La bestia”) at Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s horror anthology “Historias para no dormir.”
“El páramo” is the highly anticipated feature debut of award-winning short filmmaker Casademunt, and boasts a small yet star-filled cast including Inma Cuesta (“The Bride”), Roberto Álamo (“The Skin I Live In”) and Asier Flores (“Pain and Glory”). The film is set in an isolated cabin where a family of three are visited by a terrible monster which threatens the ties that bind them. It will world premiere on Oct. 11 at the Sitges Film Festival and hit Netflix worldwide on Jan. 26, 2022. Rodar y Rodar produces.
Amazon Prime Video and Spanish broadcaster Rtve’s reboot of Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s legendary Spanish horror anthology series “Historias para no dormir” will hit the streaming platform on Nov.
- 10/7/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Streaming
Netflix has unveiled that actors Miguel Ángel Silvestre (“Sky Rojo”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and José Manuel Seda (“23-F: la película”) will appear in the fifth and final season of its hit Spanish series “Money Heist,” (“La Casa de Papel”) launching globally on Sept. 3.
It’s been a long time coming, but in Season 1, Episode 1, Berlin (Pedro Alonso) told Rio (Miguel Herrán) what it’s like to have child, using a colorful metaphor which compared his own son’s birth to “a nuclear warhead that’s going to destroy everything.” Now, the world will meet the atomic weapon of Berlin’s affection, his son Rafael (Criado).
Another ghost from a main character’s past appearing in Part 5 is René (Silvestre), the former love of Tokio’s life who was first referenced at the very beginning of the series when Tokio the narrator introduced herself to the audience saying,...
Netflix has unveiled that actors Miguel Ángel Silvestre (“Sky Rojo”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and José Manuel Seda (“23-F: la película”) will appear in the fifth and final season of its hit Spanish series “Money Heist,” (“La Casa de Papel”) launching globally on Sept. 3.
It’s been a long time coming, but in Season 1, Episode 1, Berlin (Pedro Alonso) told Rio (Miguel Herrán) what it’s like to have child, using a colorful metaphor which compared his own son’s birth to “a nuclear warhead that’s going to destroy everything.” Now, the world will meet the atomic weapon of Berlin’s affection, his son Rafael (Criado).
Another ghost from a main character’s past appearing in Part 5 is René (Silvestre), the former love of Tokio’s life who was first referenced at the very beginning of the series when Tokio the narrator introduced herself to the audience saying,...
- 8/19/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix in Spain has kicked off production on “Rainbow,” a new feature film from celebrated film and TV multi-hyphenate Paco León. Inspired by “The Wizard of Oz,” the film will heavily feature important aspects of contemporary culture such as dance, fashion, plastic arts and above all, music.
Netflix has teamed with Mediaset España’s Telecinco Cinema, the powerful feature film production arm of Spanish broadcaster Telecinco, to produce the new film, which his currently shooting in Madrid. The film will track the journey of a modern-day Dorothy teenage girl who embarks on a journey of her own.
According to León, he is “dead scared and hugely excited to see how this film, written during quarantine, comes out as I believe it is a step forward in my career as a director.”
“This is also a bigger film than my previous ones, not only budget-wise but also because of the complexity...
Netflix has teamed with Mediaset España’s Telecinco Cinema, the powerful feature film production arm of Spanish broadcaster Telecinco, to produce the new film, which his currently shooting in Madrid. The film will track the journey of a modern-day Dorothy teenage girl who embarks on a journey of her own.
According to León, he is “dead scared and hugely excited to see how this film, written during quarantine, comes out as I believe it is a step forward in my career as a director.”
“This is also a bigger film than my previous ones, not only budget-wise but also because of the complexity...
- 8/5/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Telco giant Telefonica’s Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest pay TV player, is putting through a major restructuring, aimed at capitalizing on its Spanish market preeminence in an age of full-on global studio streamer dominance.
Key to the Movistar Plus reset is the creation of two new strategic divisions: Alliances and Content Experience.
Alliances will see Movistar Plus seeking to tie down even more strategic partnerships in carriage deals and production with what a company statement on Friday called, “the most relevant partners in the sector,” citing integration on Movistar Plus’ platform of Disney Plus, Netflix, Dazn and Spanish platforms Atresmedia Ott operator Atresplayer and Mediaset España’s Mitele.
With HBO carried by Vodafone, the most obvious candidate for further aggregation would look to be Amazon Prime Video.
Movistar Plus looks likely, moreover, to continue to pursue strategic alliances in international production where, under Movistar Plus president Sergio Oslé, the...
Key to the Movistar Plus reset is the creation of two new strategic divisions: Alliances and Content Experience.
Alliances will see Movistar Plus seeking to tie down even more strategic partnerships in carriage deals and production with what a company statement on Friday called, “the most relevant partners in the sector,” citing integration on Movistar Plus’ platform of Disney Plus, Netflix, Dazn and Spanish platforms Atresmedia Ott operator Atresplayer and Mediaset España’s Mitele.
With HBO carried by Vodafone, the most obvious candidate for further aggregation would look to be Amazon Prime Video.
Movistar Plus looks likely, moreover, to continue to pursue strategic alliances in international production where, under Movistar Plus president Sergio Oslé, the...
- 6/25/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Filmax has acquired the Spanish and international rights to a psychological thriller about a woman in the middle of a marital crises who is stalked by an unknown entity on return to her hometown.
Called “Visitor,” the film is the directorial debut of Alberto Evangelio, a producer and director of shorts and branded content, as well as the 13-part Catalan TV series “Sunday Paella.”
Currently in post production, the producer-distributor’s latest pick up will be among the thrillers it is set to show buyers a glimpse of during the Pre-Cannes Screening.
The film stars Iria del Río, from Spanish riot police drama “Antidisturbios,” Miquel Fernández (“Adú”), Jan Cornet (“The Skin I Live In”) and Sandra Cervera, (“Old Bridge’s Secret”).
The feature was made through two fiction and commercials production companies: Beniwood Producciones – which Evangelio cofounded – and Madrid’s Chester Media Producciones as well as The Otherside Films and Barcelona-based Life&Pictures.
Called “Visitor,” the film is the directorial debut of Alberto Evangelio, a producer and director of shorts and branded content, as well as the 13-part Catalan TV series “Sunday Paella.”
Currently in post production, the producer-distributor’s latest pick up will be among the thrillers it is set to show buyers a glimpse of during the Pre-Cannes Screening.
The film stars Iria del Río, from Spanish riot police drama “Antidisturbios,” Miquel Fernández (“Adú”), Jan Cornet (“The Skin I Live In”) and Sandra Cervera, (“Old Bridge’s Secret”).
The feature was made through two fiction and commercials production companies: Beniwood Producciones – which Evangelio cofounded – and Madrid’s Chester Media Producciones as well as The Otherside Films and Barcelona-based Life&Pictures.
- 6/22/2021
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s Movistar Plus and Buendía Estudios are teaming to create groundbreaking series “El Apagón,” Movistar Plus’ first original to explore global dystopia and Buendía Estudios’ first full production for the Telefonica Spanish pay TV operator.
Scheduled to shoot in fall 2021, and inspired by the Spanish podcast “El gran apagón,” the series will bring together a top-of-their-class Spanish team of creatives, led by Fran Araujo as co-creator and executive producer on this show.
Araujo’s illustrious writers’ room includes Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s longtime co-scribe (“Riot Police”) and Isa Campo, co-writer of Isaki Lacuesta’s two San Sebastian Golden Shell winners “Between Two Waters” and “The Double Steps.”
Further writers are Rafael Cobos, scribe of “The Plague,” one of Movistar Plus’ biggest series swings to date; and Alberto Marini, a preeminent writer-director of Spanish genre movies who also co-penned Movistar Plus’ 2020 espionage action thriller “The Unit.”
“As Movistar Plus’ first incursion into dystopia,...
Scheduled to shoot in fall 2021, and inspired by the Spanish podcast “El gran apagón,” the series will bring together a top-of-their-class Spanish team of creatives, led by Fran Araujo as co-creator and executive producer on this show.
Araujo’s illustrious writers’ room includes Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s longtime co-scribe (“Riot Police”) and Isa Campo, co-writer of Isaki Lacuesta’s two San Sebastian Golden Shell winners “Between Two Waters” and “The Double Steps.”
Further writers are Rafael Cobos, scribe of “The Plague,” one of Movistar Plus’ biggest series swings to date; and Alberto Marini, a preeminent writer-director of Spanish genre movies who also co-penned Movistar Plus’ 2020 espionage action thriller “The Unit.”
“As Movistar Plus’ first incursion into dystopia,...
- 6/16/2021
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Romanian festival sets opening film for in-person event.
Transilvania International Film Festival has selected Cesc Gay’s Spanish comedy The People Upstairs as the opening film of its 20th edition, marking a new collaboration with San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The opener is part of a Spanish focus planned for this year’s festival, which TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov said had been in the works for some time.
“We had been thinking for the last couple of years about having a more consistent focus on Spanish cinema and had been discussing with [Ssiff director] Jose Louis Rebordinos and [programmer] Roberto Cueto about...
Transilvania International Film Festival has selected Cesc Gay’s Spanish comedy The People Upstairs as the opening film of its 20th edition, marking a new collaboration with San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The opener is part of a Spanish focus planned for this year’s festival, which TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov said had been in the works for some time.
“We had been thinking for the last couple of years about having a more consistent focus on Spanish cinema and had been discussing with [Ssiff director] Jose Louis Rebordinos and [programmer] Roberto Cueto about...
- 5/24/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
In today’s Global Bulletin, the BBC launches its “Songs to Live By” podcast with Warner Music Group; Netflix orders “Santo” from Spain’s Nostromo Pictures; Mubi makes two executive hires; and “Jersey Boys” heads to London’s West End.
Podcast
The BBC has launched “Songs to Live By,” a new podcast series hosted by Vick Hope celebrating Black voices and experiences. In each episode, Hope will be joined by two guests who will discuss how music has defined their stories and their personalities.
“Songs to Live By” is the first podcast from a new collaboration between the BBC and Warner Music Group as part of a commitment to producing several new podcasts of different formats with music and storytelling at the core.
Episode one, available now on BBC Sounds, features actor and singer Jordan Stephens and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Future confirmed guests include comedian Dane Baptiste, singer Mica Paris,...
Podcast
The BBC has launched “Songs to Live By,” a new podcast series hosted by Vick Hope celebrating Black voices and experiences. In each episode, Hope will be joined by two guests who will discuss how music has defined their stories and their personalities.
“Songs to Live By” is the first podcast from a new collaboration between the BBC and Warner Music Group as part of a commitment to producing several new podcasts of different formats with music and storytelling at the core.
Episode one, available now on BBC Sounds, features actor and singer Jordan Stephens and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Future confirmed guests include comedian Dane Baptiste, singer Mica Paris,...
- 3/19/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish director and screenwriter Rodrigo Sorogoyen, fresh off large acclaim, prizes and recording-breaking viewership on Movistar Plus for “Riot Police,” is preparing a follow-up series for the Telefonica Spanish pay TV/SVOD service in Spain, which will deliver Sorogoyen’s personal take on the Spanish Civil War.
The untitled series will be co-written by Isabel Peña and Eduardo Villanueva, Sorogoyen’s regular co-scribes. It will go into production in 2022.
The move is a natural one. In his breakout movie, “May God Save Us,” a grueling, grimy melancholic serial killer thriller about men who cannot control their actions, as well as “Riot Police” – the chronicle of a Police Intervention Unit bungling an eviction in a Senagalese community in Madrid, its results and cause – Sorogoyen has shown a fascination with toxic authoritarianism and violence.
There have been few more violent conflicts or chamber of military horrors than the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War,...
The untitled series will be co-written by Isabel Peña and Eduardo Villanueva, Sorogoyen’s regular co-scribes. It will go into production in 2022.
The move is a natural one. In his breakout movie, “May God Save Us,” a grueling, grimy melancholic serial killer thriller about men who cannot control their actions, as well as “Riot Police” – the chronicle of a Police Intervention Unit bungling an eviction in a Senagalese community in Madrid, its results and cause – Sorogoyen has shown a fascination with toxic authoritarianism and violence.
There have been few more violent conflicts or chamber of military horrors than the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War,...
- 3/4/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
First they conquered Hollywood film shoots, now they’re aiming to drive up local production, adding a new local edge to one of Europe’s most popular big shoot locales.
A decade ago, Spain’s Canary Islands started to become a top shoot destination for big international films, offering wide-ranging landscapes and unique tax advantages.
An influx of international film and TV shoots served to establish an industrial base, nurturing high-profile crew talent and sparking the creation of competitive production services companies.
Now in second stage growth, the Atlantic Ocean islands are raising the ante, boosting local industry’s production subsidies and their international exposure.
Early fruit of new ambitious measures, the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster is introducing at next week’s virtual Berlin European Film Market an 80-minute promo reel dubbed Canarias Unleashed which offers a sneak preview of six upcoming features produced on the Islands by local companies tapping into local talent.
A decade ago, Spain’s Canary Islands started to become a top shoot destination for big international films, offering wide-ranging landscapes and unique tax advantages.
An influx of international film and TV shoots served to establish an industrial base, nurturing high-profile crew talent and sparking the creation of competitive production services companies.
Now in second stage growth, the Atlantic Ocean islands are raising the ante, boosting local industry’s production subsidies and their international exposure.
Early fruit of new ambitious measures, the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster is introducing at next week’s virtual Berlin European Film Market an 80-minute promo reel dubbed Canarias Unleashed which offers a sneak preview of six upcoming features produced on the Islands by local companies tapping into local talent.
- 2/26/2021
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Few European TV execs have a better sense of the bigger picture than Movistar Plus president Sergio Oslé. Variety caught up with him as HBO Max announced it had acquired “Perfect Life” for the U.S. and committed to produce a second season with Movistar Plus, the pay-tv arm of telco giant Telefonica, which has also wrapped the first Spanish shoot on Alejandro Amenábar’s “La Fortuna,” produced with AMC Studios.
Here, Oslé reflects on how Movistar Plus has found its own audience; puts production value before production volume; and how upscale drama series now form part of a larger cultural conversation.
Through to the mid-2000s, national fiction dominated free-to-air and U.S. series and movies largely made the running on pay TV. Movistar’s 2020 results — where its five top shows were all Movistar Plus original series — suggests some kind of paradigm shift. Would you agree?
People are now watching television more than ever,...
Here, Oslé reflects on how Movistar Plus has found its own audience; puts production value before production volume; and how upscale drama series now form part of a larger cultural conversation.
Through to the mid-2000s, national fiction dominated free-to-air and U.S. series and movies largely made the running on pay TV. Movistar’s 2020 results — where its five top shows were all Movistar Plus original series — suggests some kind of paradigm shift. Would you agree?
People are now watching television more than ever,...
- 1/25/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) has unveiled a new slate of projects tapping talents as diverse as “Guilt” writer-creator Neil Forsyth, “The Great” writer Vanessa Alexander, “Wild District” originator Cristian Conti and “High School Musical” writer Peter Barsocchini.
Underscoring Vis’ ambitions to play in the big league of international local content producer-distributors, both in production volume and breadth of content, Vis also confirmed its drive into documentary production, of both doc features and series, and unveiled its first four titles.
This year will, moreover, see Vis bow development and production of its first made-for-streaming movies and first content for Vis Kids, created last year.
Launched in 2018, Vis has proved one of the fastest-growing production powers on the Latin American and Latinx scene, signing first-look deals with Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Oscar winning “The Secret in Their Eyes,” and Ariel Winograd, director of remake phenomenon “Ten Days Without Mom.
Underscoring Vis’ ambitions to play in the big league of international local content producer-distributors, both in production volume and breadth of content, Vis also confirmed its drive into documentary production, of both doc features and series, and unveiled its first four titles.
This year will, moreover, see Vis bow development and production of its first made-for-streaming movies and first content for Vis Kids, created last year.
Launched in 2018, Vis has proved one of the fastest-growing production powers on the Latin American and Latinx scene, signing first-look deals with Argentina’s Juan José Campanella, writer-director of the Oscar winning “The Secret in Their Eyes,” and Ariel Winograd, director of remake phenomenon “Ten Days Without Mom.
- 1/21/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
For decades, local fiction dominated free-to-air primetime over much of Europe. Many big U.S. water cooler titles like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” made the running on pay TV.
That old order is now more challenged than ever as Movistar Plus, Spain’s leading pay TV operator, underscored on Tuesday, announcing the top 5 series across its pay TV and SVOD platform in Spain in 2020. All shows are Spanish and Movistar Plus originals.
Topping the list is Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Antidisturbios” (Riot Police), which was a big hit with critics and audiences at September’s San Sebastian Festival. The series also proved the most addictive hit on Movistar Plus with almost nine out of 10 viewers finishing the title. It’s now tracking to become the most watched Movistar Plus original series ever.
Elsewhere, Movistar Plus’ first series out of the gate after Covid-19 clampdown, and moved forward to an April bow,...
That old order is now more challenged than ever as Movistar Plus, Spain’s leading pay TV operator, underscored on Tuesday, announcing the top 5 series across its pay TV and SVOD platform in Spain in 2020. All shows are Spanish and Movistar Plus originals.
Topping the list is Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “Antidisturbios” (Riot Police), which was a big hit with critics and audiences at September’s San Sebastian Festival. The series also proved the most addictive hit on Movistar Plus with almost nine out of 10 viewers finishing the title. It’s now tracking to become the most watched Movistar Plus original series ever.
Elsewhere, Movistar Plus’ first series out of the gate after Covid-19 clampdown, and moved forward to an April bow,...
- 12/29/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Lending some bigger movie heft to the Malaga market, Latido Films is bringing onto the international sales scene two thrillers – though very different propositions – from Academy Award winning producer Tornasol Media (“The Secret in Their Eyes”).
“Thrillers have high export potential, but they’re a highly competitive market and since Spanish movies can’t compete with U.S. films’ star power, they have to offer something else,” said Latido Films head Antonio Saura.
Both in production, what Imanol Uribe’s “La Mirada de Lucía” and Oscar Aibar’s “El sustituto” offer is high quality entertainment grounded in different but powerful social realities.
The directors go about addressing that reality in highly different ways, however.
Winner of San Sebastian’s Golden Shell with “Running Out of Time” and “Bwana,” a feat only achieved by five other directors, the first Francis Ford Coppola, Imanol Uribe’s “La mirada de Lucía,” written by...
“Thrillers have high export potential, but they’re a highly competitive market and since Spanish movies can’t compete with U.S. films’ star power, they have to offer something else,” said Latido Films head Antonio Saura.
Both in production, what Imanol Uribe’s “La Mirada de Lucía” and Oscar Aibar’s “El sustituto” offer is high quality entertainment grounded in different but powerful social realities.
The directors go about addressing that reality in highly different ways, however.
Winner of San Sebastian’s Golden Shell with “Running Out of Time” and “Bwana,” a feat only achieved by five other directors, the first Francis Ford Coppola, Imanol Uribe’s “La mirada de Lucía,” written by...
- 11/19/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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