New films by Julio Medem, Alejandro Amenábar, Alberto Rodríguez, Isaki Lacuesta, Jonas Trueba and Oliver Laxe join a brace of smart thrillers in a rich Cannes lineup from Spain.
“8,” (Julio Medem)
Medem returns towhat he does best: a love story transcending time and space and a poetic critique of recent history, according to sales agent Latido Films. “Fariña’s” Javier Rey and “La Mesías” Ana Rujus star as the lovers. Morena Films produces.
Sales: Latido
“As Neves,” (Sonia Méndez)
After a magic mushroom-fueled party, teens in a snowbound Galician village discover one of them is missing. The film was well-received at the Malaga festival.
Sales: Begin Again Films
“Barren Land,” (Albert Pintó)
From a director on “Money Heist” and “Berlin,” this suspense thriller captures how the drug trade devastates friendships and lives in Andalusía’s Cádiz. Film sports a great cast: Luis Zahera (“The Beasts”), Karra Elejalde (“While at War...
“8,” (Julio Medem)
Medem returns towhat he does best: a love story transcending time and space and a poetic critique of recent history, according to sales agent Latido Films. “Fariña’s” Javier Rey and “La Mesías” Ana Rujus star as the lovers. Morena Films produces.
Sales: Latido
“As Neves,” (Sonia Méndez)
After a magic mushroom-fueled party, teens in a snowbound Galician village discover one of them is missing. The film was well-received at the Malaga festival.
Sales: Begin Again Films
“Barren Land,” (Albert Pintó)
From a director on “Money Heist” and “Berlin,” this suspense thriller captures how the drug trade devastates friendships and lives in Andalusía’s Cádiz. Film sports a great cast: Luis Zahera (“The Beasts”), Karra Elejalde (“While at War...
- 5/15/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Featuring famed directors such as Argentina’s Ariel Rotter and Spain’s Benito Zambrano, who have not only played but won at Berlin and San Sebastian respectively, Malaga’s 19-pic out of competition strand is a testament to the buyer-driven pulling power of Malaga , thanks to its significant market.
Multiple other name auteurs pack out the selection, which also includes a far stronger line is broad audience comedies than most festivals would risk.
This is certainly territory for discoveries and breakouts – a healthy Málaga tradition.
A brief drill down on titles:
“La Bandera”
Director: Martín Cuervo
“La Bandera,” produced by Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales and Idesia Films, humorously unfolds a family’s inheritance dispute, in the sense that sons, Aitor Luna and Miquel Fernández, aren’t getting what they expected from their father played by Spanish veteran actor Imanol Arias.
“A Blue Bird”
Director: Ariel Rotter
Respected Argentine auteur Rotter returns...
Multiple other name auteurs pack out the selection, which also includes a far stronger line is broad audience comedies than most festivals would risk.
This is certainly territory for discoveries and breakouts – a healthy Málaga tradition.
A brief drill down on titles:
“La Bandera”
Director: Martín Cuervo
“La Bandera,” produced by Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales and Idesia Films, humorously unfolds a family’s inheritance dispute, in the sense that sons, Aitor Luna and Miquel Fernández, aren’t getting what they expected from their father played by Spanish veteran actor Imanol Arias.
“A Blue Bird”
Director: Ariel Rotter
Respected Argentine auteur Rotter returns...
- 3/5/2024
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s TV fiction industry is exercising some caution after high-end Spanish-language series lifted off in 2018.
“We all wanted to launch so many projects, so many new platforms arrived that there was no time for analysis,” says Bambú co-founder Ramón Campos.
As streamers scale back on originals and sales cycles slow, the industry has time for larger re-calculation.
“We come from a spectacular moment, in terms of both quality and volume,” says Sonia Martínez, series editorial director at Buendía Estudios.
That groundbreaking moment, championed by series like “Money Heist” and “Elite,” propelled Spanish fiction production to historic heights of global popularity.
“There is a virtuous circle that began in 2018 and has been continuously regenerating. Spain’s talent base already interests international audiences,” says María Valenzuela, Movistar Plus Intl.’s general manager.
But the country’s TV production scene is still cycling through the fruits of the boom: the number of...
“We all wanted to launch so many projects, so many new platforms arrived that there was no time for analysis,” says Bambú co-founder Ramón Campos.
As streamers scale back on originals and sales cycles slow, the industry has time for larger re-calculation.
“We come from a spectacular moment, in terms of both quality and volume,” says Sonia Martínez, series editorial director at Buendía Estudios.
That groundbreaking moment, championed by series like “Money Heist” and “Elite,” propelled Spanish fiction production to historic heights of global popularity.
“There is a virtuous circle that began in 2018 and has been continuously regenerating. Spain’s talent base already interests international audiences,” says María Valenzuela, Movistar Plus Intl.’s general manager.
But the country’s TV production scene is still cycling through the fruits of the boom: the number of...
- 10/16/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s Vertice 360, one of the country’s leading indie production-distribution companies, has picked up from FilmSharks all Spanish rights to “El juego” (“The Game”), starring Maggie Civantos and Nico Furtado, of Netflix’s “El Marginal.”
Written-directed by first-timer Paco Sepúlveda, “The Game” has bowed a trailer ahead of its Spanish theatrical release, scheduled by Vertice 360 for Sept. 1.
“The Game” tells the story of Victor (Furtado) and Eva (Civantos), a couple which broke up after several years and due to the emergency lockdown are forced to live together.
In order not to go crazy, and make the confinement more bearable, they decide to play a game that has two rules: start from scratch as if nothing had happened and conclude their relationship when the confinement ends.
“This is an intimate portrait, with the lockdown like a very subtle context, turning on forgiveness, the importance of loving well and the acceptance of loss,...
Written-directed by first-timer Paco Sepúlveda, “The Game” has bowed a trailer ahead of its Spanish theatrical release, scheduled by Vertice 360 for Sept. 1.
“The Game” tells the story of Victor (Furtado) and Eva (Civantos), a couple which broke up after several years and due to the emergency lockdown are forced to live together.
In order not to go crazy, and make the confinement more bearable, they decide to play a game that has two rules: start from scratch as if nothing had happened and conclude their relationship when the confinement ends.
“This is an intimate portrait, with the lockdown like a very subtle context, turning on forgiveness, the importance of loving well and the acceptance of loss,...
- 8/23/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Toledo, Spain — Adding to its bullish line-up of primetime dramas, Spain’s Atresmedia TV is set to adapt “Angela Black,” its second ITV drama makeover from “The Missing” creators, Harry and Jack Williams, after the Spanish commercial broadcaster’s reversion of “Liar.”
Currently casting and set to go into production this fall in Bizkaia’s Bilbao, “Angela,” as the Spanish redo is known, is produced by Buendía Estudios Vizcaya with the participation of Atresmedia TV.
An original idea of the Williams’ Two Brothers Pictures, “Angela Black’s” international distribution is handled by All3Media International.
Buendía Estudios is behind “Veneno,” “Cardo” and “The Cook of Castamar.” “Angela” is directed by Norberto López Amado, who has helmed episodes on some of the biggest hits on Spanish TV in the last 10 years, such as “The Time in Between” and “El Príncipe” as well as two episodes of “Liar.”
In now well-established windowing, “Angela...
Currently casting and set to go into production this fall in Bizkaia’s Bilbao, “Angela,” as the Spanish redo is known, is produced by Buendía Estudios Vizcaya with the participation of Atresmedia TV.
An original idea of the Williams’ Two Brothers Pictures, “Angela Black’s” international distribution is handled by All3Media International.
Buendía Estudios is behind “Veneno,” “Cardo” and “The Cook of Castamar.” “Angela” is directed by Norberto López Amado, who has helmed episodes on some of the biggest hits on Spanish TV in the last 10 years, such as “The Time in Between” and “El Príncipe” as well as two episodes of “Liar.”
In now well-established windowing, “Angela...
- 6/28/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Starzplay, Starz’s premium international streaming service, and The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s biggest indie film-tv producers, are joining forces again to produce the second season of “Express,” the first Starzplay’s original series made in Spain.
Spanish thesps Alejo Sauras (“Estoy vivo”) and “Paradise’s” Laura Laprida are joining the cast of the new season, which is scheduled for a 11-week shoot on location in and around the city of Madrid.
Heading the cast of the series for a second season is actress Maggie Civantos, who reprises her character, Bárbara, a criminal psychologist who, after becoming the victim of an express kidnapping, works as a negotiator in similar cases to hers at the private company, Zentral Risk.
“Express” Season 2 will premiere on Starzplay in Spain and Latin America. It marks the first local production from Starzplay to be renewed.
The streamer is creating international originals through co-production...
Spanish thesps Alejo Sauras (“Estoy vivo”) and “Paradise’s” Laura Laprida are joining the cast of the new season, which is scheduled for a 11-week shoot on location in and around the city of Madrid.
Heading the cast of the series for a second season is actress Maggie Civantos, who reprises her character, Bárbara, a criminal psychologist who, after becoming the victim of an express kidnapping, works as a negotiator in similar cases to hers at the private company, Zentral Risk.
“Express” Season 2 will premiere on Starzplay in Spain and Latin America. It marks the first local production from Starzplay to be renewed.
The streamer is creating international originals through co-production...
- 6/27/2022
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
First Look At Starzplay’s Spanish Original ‘Express’ Season Two
Starzplay has put a second season of its Mediapro Studio-produced drama Express into production and you can see a first image here. The show, Starzplay’s first original series from Spain sees Alejo Sauras (Estoy Vivo) as the new police chief, and Laura Laprida (Millennials), a new member of the case-solving ‘express’ team. Maggie Civantos (Vis a Vis) returns as the series lead, a criminal psychologist who once was a victim of an express kidnapping, now working as a negotiator to solve cases similar to hers. The eight-episode series will shoot for 11 weeks on location in and around Madrid. The Mediapro Studio Distribution will handle international sales.
‘I’m A Celebrity…’ Gets Mexican and French-Canadian Remakes
New local iterations of ITV Studios’ hit reality game show I Am A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! have been commissioned in Mexico and French-speaking Canada.
Starzplay has put a second season of its Mediapro Studio-produced drama Express into production and you can see a first image here. The show, Starzplay’s first original series from Spain sees Alejo Sauras (Estoy Vivo) as the new police chief, and Laura Laprida (Millennials), a new member of the case-solving ‘express’ team. Maggie Civantos (Vis a Vis) returns as the series lead, a criminal psychologist who once was a victim of an express kidnapping, now working as a negotiator to solve cases similar to hers. The eight-episode series will shoot for 11 weeks on location in and around Madrid. The Mediapro Studio Distribution will handle international sales.
‘I’m A Celebrity…’ Gets Mexican and French-Canadian Remakes
New local iterations of ITV Studios’ hit reality game show I Am A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! have been commissioned in Mexico and French-speaking Canada.
- 6/15/2022
- by Jesse Whittock, Nancy Tartaglione and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Max among those to pick up crime thriller from the producer of ’Elite Squad’.
Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has launched worldwide sales in Cannes on Paco Sepulveda’s comedy drama The Game from and announced a raft of deals on Macabre including a sale to HBO Max.
The Game (El Juego) follows Victor and Eva, a recently split couple that end up stuck together during lockdown. They decide to play a game and start over as if nothing had happened. Nicolas Furtado and Maggie Civantos star.
FilmSharks head Guido Rud has closed multiple territories on Macabre (Macabro), directed by on Marcos Prado,...
Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has launched worldwide sales in Cannes on Paco Sepulveda’s comedy drama The Game from and announced a raft of deals on Macabre including a sale to HBO Max.
The Game (El Juego) follows Victor and Eva, a recently split couple that end up stuck together during lockdown. They decide to play a game and start over as if nothing had happened. Nicolas Furtado and Maggie Civantos star.
FilmSharks head Guido Rud has closed multiple territories on Macabre (Macabro), directed by on Marcos Prado,...
- 5/21/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
One of four Starzplay productions for the Spanish-speaking market, “Express” was commissioned by the platform in Spain and U.S.-based Spanish-language premium streamer Pantaya, marking the arrival in Spain of both international production companies which have fully embraced the not-so-hidden talent in the Spanish and Latin American markets and foresee their potential development.
Written by “Locked Up” co-creator Iván Escobar and co-produced by Spanish giant The Mediapro Studio, responsible for some of Spain’s biggest international TV titles (“The Head”), the show embodies the meeting of Spanish writing talent and international high production values. The result is a high octane thriller that spins the police procedural genre and devotes its attention to the emotional consequences that hit its characters with the violence of shrapnel.
The series’ thrilling pace is held together by the strong presence of its female lead Barbara, played by a versatile Maggie Civantos (“Locked Up”), a...
Written by “Locked Up” co-creator Iván Escobar and co-produced by Spanish giant The Mediapro Studio, responsible for some of Spain’s biggest international TV titles (“The Head”), the show embodies the meeting of Spanish writing talent and international high production values. The result is a high octane thriller that spins the police procedural genre and devotes its attention to the emotional consequences that hit its characters with the violence of shrapnel.
The series’ thrilling pace is held together by the strong presence of its female lead Barbara, played by a versatile Maggie Civantos (“Locked Up”), a...
- 1/20/2022
- by Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
“17 Khz,” (Mediacrest)
Cut off in a border region, five people from different generations and countries confront Tiamat, a conspiracy of young teens who have ermined that the inly way to stop climate change is to eliminate all adults. That, for Tiamat, however, is not the end of their plan, just a beginning. A three-season fantasy thriller from Mediacrest, a fast-growing production-distribution outfit, multi-prized at September’s Conecta Fiction, partnered in Spain by A Contracorriente Films. ID: Mediacrest.
“The Age of Anger,” (“La edad de la ira,” Atresmedia Televisión, Big Bang Media, Masficción)
Penned by renowned young Spanish playwright Lucía Carballal, a writer on “Locked Up,” a high-school thriller plumbing the social angst assailing today’s youth. Produced by Atresmedia TV and The Mediapro Studio – a fertile production axis – through Tms’s Big Bang Media (“Caronte”) as well as by Masficción (“Hospital Central”). ID: Atresmedia TV International Sales, The Mediapro Studio Distribution
“Cardo,...
Cut off in a border region, five people from different generations and countries confront Tiamat, a conspiracy of young teens who have ermined that the inly way to stop climate change is to eliminate all adults. That, for Tiamat, however, is not the end of their plan, just a beginning. A three-season fantasy thriller from Mediacrest, a fast-growing production-distribution outfit, multi-prized at September’s Conecta Fiction, partnered in Spain by A Contracorriente Films. ID: Mediacrest.
“The Age of Anger,” (“La edad de la ira,” Atresmedia Televisión, Big Bang Media, Masficción)
Penned by renowned young Spanish playwright Lucía Carballal, a writer on “Locked Up,” a high-school thriller plumbing the social angst assailing today’s youth. Produced by Atresmedia TV and The Mediapro Studio – a fertile production axis – through Tms’s Big Bang Media (“Caronte”) as well as by Masficción (“Hospital Central”). ID: Atresmedia TV International Sales, The Mediapro Studio Distribution
“Cardo,...
- 1/19/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Produced with U.S. streamer Pantaya and top European production house The Mediapro Studio, “Express,” Starzplay’s first Spanish-language original, is rounding the final bend of production, shooting last week at the Casa Huarte in a leafy luxury suburb of northern Madrid.
Reuniting “Locked Up” creator Ivan Escobar with its star, Maggie Civantos, “Express” refers to the phenomenon of short-lived abductions, lasting a few hours, where the victim or relatives are forced by assailants to max out their credit cards or rapidly pay off assailants. Abductions sometimes end in murder.
Created by Escobar, the series’ showrunner and writer, “Express” is shaping up as one of the banner Spanish-language productions of 2021. It also points an alternative – and often complementary – way forward for top producers which do not want to work just as producers for hire for the world’s biggest studio streamers. Seven takes on the eight-part series:
Grasping the Holy...
Reuniting “Locked Up” creator Ivan Escobar with its star, Maggie Civantos, “Express” refers to the phenomenon of short-lived abductions, lasting a few hours, where the victim or relatives are forced by assailants to max out their credit cards or rapidly pay off assailants. Abductions sometimes end in murder.
Created by Escobar, the series’ showrunner and writer, “Express” is shaping up as one of the banner Spanish-language productions of 2021. It also points an alternative – and often complementary – way forward for top producers which do not want to work just as producers for hire for the world’s biggest studio streamers. Seven takes on the eight-part series:
Grasping the Holy...
- 6/7/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Starzplay has unveiled plot details, casting and a first-look image for “Express,” an original co-produced with Spanish production giant The Mediapro Studio and U.S. streaming platform Pantaya. “Express” is Starzplay’s first local language Spanish production, but one of several announced in August of last year. Each will be available on the Starzplay platform in Spain and Latin America as well as Spanish-language focused streamer Pantaya – a co-venture between Lionsgate and Hemisphere Media Group – in the U.S.
Heading the cast of “Express” is “Locked Up” and “Cable Girls” star Maggie Civantos, joined by Spanish Academy Goya Award nominee Kiti Mánver, Vicente Romero (“Cell 211”), Loreto Mauleón (“Patria”), Esteban Meloni (“Los Internacionales”), Alba Planas (the Spanish version of “Skam”), Ana Marzoa (“Locked Up”), Omar Banana (“Veneno”), Bernardo Flores (“Women in Charge”) and newcomer Carmen Daza and Manuela Rojas.
In “Express,” criminal psychologist Bárbara (Civantos) becomes the victim of an express kidnapping,...
Heading the cast of “Express” is “Locked Up” and “Cable Girls” star Maggie Civantos, joined by Spanish Academy Goya Award nominee Kiti Mánver, Vicente Romero (“Cell 211”), Loreto Mauleón (“Patria”), Esteban Meloni (“Los Internacionales”), Alba Planas (the Spanish version of “Skam”), Ana Marzoa (“Locked Up”), Omar Banana (“Veneno”), Bernardo Flores (“Women in Charge”) and newcomer Carmen Daza and Manuela Rojas.
In “Express,” criminal psychologist Bárbara (Civantos) becomes the victim of an express kidnapping,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Fox Network Groups in Spain and Globomedia, the Barcelona-based parent company of production house The Mediapro Studio, have announced a spinoff to Mediapro’s flagship Catalan series “Vis a Vis” (“Locked Up”).
Set to air on Fox networks in 2020, “Vis a Vis: El Oasis” will close the circle on narratives from the original series, bringing back familiar fan-favorites in the process, led by characters Macarena “Maca” Ferreiro, played by Maggie Civantos, and Zulema, played by five-time Spanish Academy Goya nominated actress Najwa Nimri.
Fans of the hit series have been clamoring on social media platforms for more, and will be thrilled to know that eight new episodes will release next year. The producers promised that the series’ narrative will wrap in a clean and concise way.
Javier Pons, head of TV at The Mediapro Studio described the spin-off as a “final showdown,” praising the work series creator Iván Escobar has done in shaping the series.
Set to air on Fox networks in 2020, “Vis a Vis: El Oasis” will close the circle on narratives from the original series, bringing back familiar fan-favorites in the process, led by characters Macarena “Maca” Ferreiro, played by Maggie Civantos, and Zulema, played by five-time Spanish Academy Goya nominated actress Najwa Nimri.
Fans of the hit series have been clamoring on social media platforms for more, and will be thrilled to know that eight new episodes will release next year. The producers promised that the series’ narrative will wrap in a clean and concise way.
Javier Pons, head of TV at The Mediapro Studio described the spin-off as a “final showdown,” praising the work series creator Iván Escobar has done in shaping the series.
- 5/24/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Spain’s big shoot business is rocking, galvanized by more regional options and incentives that are highly competitive — at least in rates.
With a long tradition of hosting international productions, Spain earned larger global visibility after “Game of Thrones” filmed there from 2014 to 2018.
Production services has become one of the healthiest audiovisual sectors in Spain, driven by a golden age of local and international TV drama, as well as greater legal stability of its incentives. Spain’s mainland offers 20% tax rebates for international productions, capped at €3 million ($3.4 million); in the Canary Islands, the rate is 40%, with a €5.4 million ($6.1 million) ceiling.
“Tax advantages are attracting all kind of international productions,” says Nostromo’s Adrián Guerra, president of producers’ association Profilm.
“There are so many productions going on all over Spain that it’s becoming difficult to crew up on new productions,” he adds.
Challenges remain. The tax system is predominantly luring low-to-mid-range foreign projects.
With a long tradition of hosting international productions, Spain earned larger global visibility after “Game of Thrones” filmed there from 2014 to 2018.
Production services has become one of the healthiest audiovisual sectors in Spain, driven by a golden age of local and international TV drama, as well as greater legal stability of its incentives. Spain’s mainland offers 20% tax rebates for international productions, capped at €3 million ($3.4 million); in the Canary Islands, the rate is 40%, with a €5.4 million ($6.1 million) ceiling.
“Tax advantages are attracting all kind of international productions,” says Nostromo’s Adrián Guerra, president of producers’ association Profilm.
“There are so many productions going on all over Spain that it’s becoming difficult to crew up on new productions,” he adds.
Challenges remain. The tax system is predominantly luring low-to-mid-range foreign projects.
- 5/17/2019
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Looking past the regular popular streaming playlists, audiences can find quality television shows to binge made in countries both across the pond and south of the border. Read on to find the best international television shows to watch this summer.
Breathe
“Breathe,” starring R. Madhavan and Amit Sadh, is an Indian thriller that features a cat-and-mouse story as a police detective tries to solve a string of murders of organ donors. His prime suspect is a father desperately seeking a donor to save his dying son.
How to Watch: Amazon Prime
Cable Girls
This Spanish period drama follows four women working in Madrid’s first and only telephone company in 1929 right before the global financial crash. The show showcases the hardships working women faced during the time period and how they overcame them. The series stars Blanca Suárez, Maggie Civantos, Ángela Cremonte, and Nadia de Santiago.
How to Watch: Netflix...
Breathe
“Breathe,” starring R. Madhavan and Amit Sadh, is an Indian thriller that features a cat-and-mouse story as a police detective tries to solve a string of murders of organ donors. His prime suspect is a father desperately seeking a donor to save his dying son.
How to Watch: Amazon Prime
Cable Girls
This Spanish period drama follows four women working in Madrid’s first and only telephone company in 1929 right before the global financial crash. The show showcases the hardships working women faced during the time period and how they overcame them. The series stars Blanca Suárez, Maggie Civantos, Ángela Cremonte, and Nadia de Santiago.
How to Watch: Netflix...
- 6/21/2018
- by Ellis Clopton
- Variety Film + TV
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