Going into Berlin’s European Film Market, Spain’s biggest sales agents are under no illusion just how tough international markets have become.
“Paradoxically, in one of the best moments for Spanish productions, we are finding that some of our top dramas are getting hard to sell unless selected in Cannes, Venice or Berlin,” says Latido Films CEO Antonio Saura.
Also, “If American productions dominate at least 80% of markets, and local productions claim about half what remains. You’re left with just 10% of markets for many wonderful films to try to find audience opportunities. Competition is fiercer than ever,” he says.
“Many newer platforms are insisting on revenue shares. This rarely works for us,” observes Feel Sales’ Yennifer Fasciani.
Yet companies are fighting back. “Either a film works very well or not at all. Our strategy is increasingly focusing on major titles, leaving no middle ground,” states Film Factory Entertainment’s Vicente Canales,...
“Paradoxically, in one of the best moments for Spanish productions, we are finding that some of our top dramas are getting hard to sell unless selected in Cannes, Venice or Berlin,” says Latido Films CEO Antonio Saura.
Also, “If American productions dominate at least 80% of markets, and local productions claim about half what remains. You’re left with just 10% of markets for many wonderful films to try to find audience opportunities. Competition is fiercer than ever,” he says.
“Many newer platforms are insisting on revenue shares. This rarely works for us,” observes Feel Sales’ Yennifer Fasciani.
Yet companies are fighting back. “Either a film works very well or not at all. Our strategy is increasingly focusing on major titles, leaving no middle ground,” states Film Factory Entertainment’s Vicente Canales,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Fabula-Fremantle’s “Hot Sur,” The Mediapro Studio’s “El Mal” and “Two Nights in Lisbon,” from Portugal’s Hop Films and the U.K’s Heroes Films, look like potential standouts at next week’s Content Americas Copro Pitch 2024, one of its industry centerpieces.
These series projects will be joined by crime mystery thriller “Delito,” from Barcelona’s Grup Focus TV & Films, behind banner Amazon Original “Reina Roja,” “Iron Woman,” a tumultuous political saga from Brazil-based Jarsom Wayans, two high concept doc series – Argentina’s “Climate Migrants” and Brazil’s “Mystery of the Megafauna” – and bio doc feature “Farraquito, a Flamenco Story,” profiling the famed flamenco bailaor.
Shaping up as one of the biggest new titles to be brought onto the market at Content Americas, “Hot Sur” marks the latest from a fruitful 2019 multi-year first-look deal between Fremantle and Fabula, headed by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín, which has already yielded “La Jauría,...
These series projects will be joined by crime mystery thriller “Delito,” from Barcelona’s Grup Focus TV & Films, behind banner Amazon Original “Reina Roja,” “Iron Woman,” a tumultuous political saga from Brazil-based Jarsom Wayans, two high concept doc series – Argentina’s “Climate Migrants” and Brazil’s “Mystery of the Megafauna” – and bio doc feature “Farraquito, a Flamenco Story,” profiling the famed flamenco bailaor.
Shaping up as one of the biggest new titles to be brought onto the market at Content Americas, “Hot Sur” marks the latest from a fruitful 2019 multi-year first-look deal between Fremantle and Fabula, headed by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín, which has already yielded “La Jauría,...
- 1/19/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
In times of dramatic change for the film-tv industry, Spanish auteur cinema is booming, goosed by multiple significant and high-quality titles, reaping prizes, critical praise and profile at international festivals.
Beyond the preeminent interest in established auteurs such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, J.A. Bayona, Isabel Coixet and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Spanish sales agents and distributors celebrate the increasingly strong presence of young local film auteurs on the international scene. The big question is, however, how this profile can translate into box office impact and substantial sales.
“We are living a very sweet moment in terms of the recognition of our cinema at international festivals, with ever more filmmakers who are creating dazzling works,” says Luis Renart, founder of Santa Cruz de Tenerife-based sales company Bendita Films.
“There’s a generation of creators and producers who look to international auteur cinema when they build their projects, made with a European sensibility and a very marked identity,...
Beyond the preeminent interest in established auteurs such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, J.A. Bayona, Isabel Coixet and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Spanish sales agents and distributors celebrate the increasingly strong presence of young local film auteurs on the international scene. The big question is, however, how this profile can translate into box office impact and substantial sales.
“We are living a very sweet moment in terms of the recognition of our cinema at international festivals, with ever more filmmakers who are creating dazzling works,” says Luis Renart, founder of Santa Cruz de Tenerife-based sales company Bendita Films.
“There’s a generation of creators and producers who look to international auteur cinema when they build their projects, made with a European sensibility and a very marked identity,...
- 10/20/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Latido Films is venturing yet more into the inspiring world of e-sports and viral fame with Goya Award winning producer-helmer Alvaro Longoria’s new doc-feature, “La vida de Brianeitor.” The film serves as a spin-off from Javier Fesser’s Spanish box office smash hit, “Championext,” which Latido is also selling.
The doc follows Brian Albacete, better known as Brianeitor2022. With millions of social media followers, an acting role in a top-charting Spanish film “Championext” and a spot on Team Heretics—one of Spain’s leading e-sport entities—Brian is redefining what it means to be a star. And he’s doing it all despite living with muscular dystrophy and spina bifida.
“Javier Fesser…told me Brian was an amazing subject for a doc. I wasn’t really sure until I met him in person,” recalled Alvaro Longoria, the film’s director, and the producer at Morena Films behind “Championext.” Brian...
The doc follows Brian Albacete, better known as Brianeitor2022. With millions of social media followers, an acting role in a top-charting Spanish film “Championext” and a spot on Team Heretics—one of Spain’s leading e-sport entities—Brian is redefining what it means to be a star. And he’s doing it all despite living with muscular dystrophy and spina bifida.
“Javier Fesser…told me Brian was an amazing subject for a doc. I wasn’t really sure until I met him in person,” recalled Alvaro Longoria, the film’s director, and the producer at Morena Films behind “Championext.” Brian...
- 9/25/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid-based Latido Films has unveiled a slew of sales during the summer, led by standout deals reached on Daniel Calparsoro’s thriller “All the Names of God” and Gerardo Herrero’s comedy “Under Therapy.”
The announcement comes as the 20 year-old company Latido disclosed early sales deals to Javier Fesser’s “Championext,” the sequel to his comedy blockbuster “Champions”- which has become Spain’s biggest box office hit of 2023, scoring €7.52 million ($8.08 million) and 1.2 million tickets sold through Sept. 3, three weekends after its Aug. 18 release.
Latido deal details add some much needed granularity to the state of the non-English language sales scene as major festivals take place at Venice and now Toronto.
A Bullish Summer
“It has been a good summer for Latido. And we hope for an even better fall,” explained Latido CEO Antonio Saura.
“The way the post-covid market works is not only linked to the market events themselves.
The announcement comes as the 20 year-old company Latido disclosed early sales deals to Javier Fesser’s “Championext,” the sequel to his comedy blockbuster “Champions”- which has become Spain’s biggest box office hit of 2023, scoring €7.52 million ($8.08 million) and 1.2 million tickets sold through Sept. 3, three weekends after its Aug. 18 release.
Latido deal details add some much needed granularity to the state of the non-English language sales scene as major festivals take place at Venice and now Toronto.
A Bullish Summer
“It has been a good summer for Latido. And we hope for an even better fall,” explained Latido CEO Antonio Saura.
“The way the post-covid market works is not only linked to the market events themselves.
- 9/7/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid-based sales house Latido Films and indie distributor-producer #ConUnPack are joining forces to handle international distribution rights to Tribeca Festival’s hit “One Night with Adela,” the feature debut of Spanish writer-director Hugo Ruiz snagged Tribeca’s best new narrative director award.
An audacious revenge thriller, lensed using a single-shot technique, the film marries concepts of religion and sin with childhood trauma.
“One Night with Adela” toplines Laura Galán, the star of Carlota Pereda’s 2022 Sundance hit “Piggy,” a role that earned her a Goya prize for best new actress.
In “One Night,” Galán plays a disturbed street sweeper in Madrid, who savagely enacts retribution for an incident from her youth over the course of one night.
Although not everyone is to blame for her miserable life, a cocktail of drugs, sex, and deep-seated fury fuels her cruelty towards most who cross her path, culminating in a shocking scene.
Variety...
An audacious revenge thriller, lensed using a single-shot technique, the film marries concepts of religion and sin with childhood trauma.
“One Night with Adela” toplines Laura Galán, the star of Carlota Pereda’s 2022 Sundance hit “Piggy,” a role that earned her a Goya prize for best new actress.
In “One Night,” Galán plays a disturbed street sweeper in Madrid, who savagely enacts retribution for an incident from her youth over the course of one night.
Although not everyone is to blame for her miserable life, a cocktail of drugs, sex, and deep-seated fury fuels her cruelty towards most who cross her path, culminating in a shocking scene.
Variety...
- 8/28/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
A first clip has been unveiled from Luna Carmoon’s feature debut “Hoard,” which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
In the film, set in 1984 London, 7-year-old Maria and her mother live in their own loving world built on sorting through bins and collecting shiny rubbish. One night, their world falls apart, and the film joins Maria a decade later, living with her foster mother. An older stranger, Michael, then enters their home, opening the door to past trauma, magic and madness.
“‘Hoard’ came from a place of venom; spite really is the great transformer. It was a story I was writing for just me, the world of ‘Hoard’ and its characters saved me truly,” Carmoon told Variety. “I never intended it to be seen … I was going to leave it at the bottom of my bed wrapped in string for the Newshopper and family to find to their shock and horror,...
In the film, set in 1984 London, 7-year-old Maria and her mother live in their own loving world built on sorting through bins and collecting shiny rubbish. One night, their world falls apart, and the film joins Maria a decade later, living with her foster mother. An older stranger, Michael, then enters their home, opening the door to past trauma, magic and madness.
“‘Hoard’ came from a place of venom; spite really is the great transformer. It was a story I was writing for just me, the world of ‘Hoard’ and its characters saved me truly,” Carmoon told Variety. “I never intended it to be seen … I was going to leave it at the bottom of my bed wrapped in string for the Newshopper and family to find to their shock and horror,...
- 8/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The first screening of the uncensored version of ’Andrei Rublev’ by Andrei Tarkovsky has also been programmed.
Venice Classics will include a screening of ‘The Exorcist’ and tributes to late filmmakers Ruggero Deodato and Carlos Saura as part of its line-up of restored features for the 2023 edition.
The Exorcist, by William Friedkin, returns in a restored version, to mark the 100th anniversary of its distributor, Warner Bros.
Italian genre master Deodato passed away last year. One of his most extreme films, Ultimo Mondo Cannibale, has been programmed in tribute. This edition also pays homage to Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida, who died in January,...
Venice Classics will include a screening of ‘The Exorcist’ and tributes to late filmmakers Ruggero Deodato and Carlos Saura as part of its line-up of restored features for the 2023 edition.
The Exorcist, by William Friedkin, returns in a restored version, to mark the 100th anniversary of its distributor, Warner Bros.
Italian genre master Deodato passed away last year. One of his most extreme films, Ultimo Mondo Cannibale, has been programmed in tribute. This edition also pays homage to Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida, who died in January,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
In the lead-up to Cannes, Spanish film sales continue to show resilience despite shifting market trends and global challenges. The market signals suggest an enduring preference for genre movies and high-concept films, while the sale of arthouse fare remains tough.
Antonio Saura, director general of Latido Films, tells Variety, “The trends we are seeing confirm the trends we identified last year — movies with a strong concept, genre in general, generate interest, [whereas] drama and ‘art house’ is more complicated and requires a different type of attention and positioning.”
While there are signs of interest for movies with top talent attached, smaller films without a significant festival presence face an uphill battle.
This trend is underscored by the Spanish films selected for Cannes, which range from Benito Zambrano’s “Jumping the Fence” and Roya Sadat’s “Sima’s Song,” to Pau Calpe’s “Werewolf.” These films, part of the Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes section,...
Antonio Saura, director general of Latido Films, tells Variety, “The trends we are seeing confirm the trends we identified last year — movies with a strong concept, genre in general, generate interest, [whereas] drama and ‘art house’ is more complicated and requires a different type of attention and positioning.”
While there are signs of interest for movies with top talent attached, smaller films without a significant festival presence face an uphill battle.
This trend is underscored by the Spanish films selected for Cannes, which range from Benito Zambrano’s “Jumping the Fence” and Roya Sadat’s “Sima’s Song,” to Pau Calpe’s “Werewolf.” These films, part of the Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes section,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran Spanish actor Ana Torrent was around five-years-old when she was cast in her first movie, the landmark drama The Spirit of the Beehive, by maverick filmmaker Víctor Erice.
Fifty years later, the pair have reunited on a new pic, Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos), Erice’s first feature-length film in over a decade. The film debuts Out-of-Competition in the Cannes Premiere section on Monday.
The film follows a famous Spanish actor, Julio Arenas, who disappears while shooting a film. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he’s been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance is brought back into the spotlight by a TV show outlining his life and death, showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, the director Miguel Garay.
Fifty years later, the pair have reunited on a new pic, Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos), Erice’s first feature-length film in over a decade. The film debuts Out-of-Competition in the Cannes Premiere section on Monday.
The film follows a famous Spanish actor, Julio Arenas, who disappears while shooting a film. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he’s been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, the mystery surrounding his disappearance is brought back into the spotlight by a TV show outlining his life and death, showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, the director Miguel Garay.
- 5/18/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Dominican filmmaker Leticia Tonos’ sci-fi drama “Aire” has won the inaugural Fantastic Latido Award at the Cannes Film Market’s new Fantastic Pavilion genre hub.
Presented by Madrid-based Latido Films, the Fantastic Latido Award offers international sales representation for the winning film.
“Aire” centers on Tania, a conservation biologist living in a future dystopian world where the human race has been reduced to extinction level by pollution and disease. In an effort to keep her species from disappearing completely, she tries with the help of Vida, an artificial intelligence system, to self-inseminate herself.
Her life with the AI system is disrupted, however, when Azarias, a mysterious traveler, arrives, creating a tense and dangerously toxic three-way relationship.
“Aire” stars Sophie Gaelle Gomez (“Rosario Tijeras”), Dominican actor Jalsen Santana and Spain’s Paz Vega as the voice of Vida.
Produced by Tonos’ Producciones Línea Espiral Srl and Lantica Media along with Dominican...
Presented by Madrid-based Latido Films, the Fantastic Latido Award offers international sales representation for the winning film.
“Aire” centers on Tania, a conservation biologist living in a future dystopian world where the human race has been reduced to extinction level by pollution and disease. In an effort to keep her species from disappearing completely, she tries with the help of Vida, an artificial intelligence system, to self-inseminate herself.
Her life with the AI system is disrupted, however, when Azarias, a mysterious traveler, arrives, creating a tense and dangerously toxic three-way relationship.
“Aire” stars Sophie Gaelle Gomez (“Rosario Tijeras”), Dominican actor Jalsen Santana and Spain’s Paz Vega as the voice of Vida.
Produced by Tonos’ Producciones Línea Espiral Srl and Lantica Media along with Dominican...
- 5/17/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Few European arthouse-crossover film sales agents have better weathered the ebb and flow of international market dynamics than Madrid’s Latido Films, which turns 20 in 2023.
Proof of that came at April’s Platino Awards, where Latido scored six statuettes, split between an acting double for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby” and four for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts,” which has already swept Spain’s Goya Awards and scored a French Cesar for foreign film.
Scoring €6.8 million ($7.5 million) in Spain, and 327,000 admissions in France, “The Beasts” also rates as one of the top-performing recent Spanish-language movies.
If Latido has survived for so long, insists director general Antonio Saura, it’s because of a core strategy of “working with talent, our search for talent.” Beyond that, other keys have been “collaboration with production companies that understand long-term relationships, and well-established relationships with clients.”
Companies with which Latido has held or holds...
Proof of that came at April’s Platino Awards, where Latido scored six statuettes, split between an acting double for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby” and four for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts,” which has already swept Spain’s Goya Awards and scored a French Cesar for foreign film.
Scoring €6.8 million ($7.5 million) in Spain, and 327,000 admissions in France, “The Beasts” also rates as one of the top-performing recent Spanish-language movies.
If Latido has survived for so long, insists director general Antonio Saura, it’s because of a core strategy of “working with talent, our search for talent.” Beyond that, other keys have been “collaboration with production companies that understand long-term relationships, and well-established relationships with clients.”
Companies with which Latido has held or holds...
- 5/16/2023
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Above: Spanish poster by José María Cruz Novillo for The Garden of Delights.When the great Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura died in February at the age of 90, I searched through his posters to find a suitable piece to post as a tribute and came across several very stylized, diagrammatic designs for his early ’70s films. They turned out to be the work of José María Cruz Novillo, an artist I surprisingly hadn't been aware of previously, but who, I have since found out, is a titan of Spanish graphic design.Above: José María Cruz Novillo (right) with his son Pepe in front of a wall of his film posters. Photo: Fernando Sánchez.Cruz Novillo, who is still working at the age of 86 (in partnership with his architect son Pepe), could rightfully be called the Saul Bass of Spain. Like Bass, he excels in both film marketing and logo design. Since...
- 5/5/2023
- MUBI
Recently, there has been a consistent tide of well crafted and highly regarded films coming out of Spain. “Alcarràs,” “The Beasts,” “Lullaby,” “La Maternal,” “Prison 77,” to name just the five that the Spanish Academy Goyas singled out in early February.
This level of quality, over a short period, is getting noticed internationally. Last week the Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland’s largest, shone a light on eight films in its Viva el Cine Español program. A cultural moment is a strange beast, hard to fathom, but there are strong signals that Spanish Film is having one.
In addition to the aforementioned five, Glasgow added Andrea Bagney’s debut “Ramona,” “Wild Flowers,” from Jaime Rosales, another debut with Elena López Riera’s “The Water,” and a Penelope Cruz starrer, in Juan Diego Botto’s “On The Fringe.”
Glasgow’s Festival co-director Allison Gardner told Variety: “We seem to be seeing films...
This level of quality, over a short period, is getting noticed internationally. Last week the Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland’s largest, shone a light on eight films in its Viva el Cine Español program. A cultural moment is a strange beast, hard to fathom, but there are strong signals that Spanish Film is having one.
In addition to the aforementioned five, Glasgow added Andrea Bagney’s debut “Ramona,” “Wild Flowers,” from Jaime Rosales, another debut with Elena López Riera’s “The Water,” and a Penelope Cruz starrer, in Juan Diego Botto’s “On The Fringe.”
Glasgow’s Festival co-director Allison Gardner told Variety: “We seem to be seeing films...
- 3/16/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Major deals close for Latin American and Spanish content at EFM.
In one of the largest deals done at the European Film Market (EFM) this year for Spanish and Latin American fare, Madrid-based Latido Films has closed a raft of deals on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thrillerThe Beasts, Rocío Mesa’s magical-realist tale Tobacco Barns and Gustavo Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32.
A big winner at the Goyas earlier this month and a box-office hit in Spain and France, The Beasts has been licensed to Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), while Hernán Jabes’ erotic crime thriller Jezabel has gone to Italy, and...
In one of the largest deals done at the European Film Market (EFM) this year for Spanish and Latin American fare, Madrid-based Latido Films has closed a raft of deals on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thrillerThe Beasts, Rocío Mesa’s magical-realist tale Tobacco Barns and Gustavo Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32.
A big winner at the Goyas earlier this month and a box-office hit in Spain and France, The Beasts has been licensed to Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), while Hernán Jabes’ erotic crime thriller Jezabel has gone to Italy, and...
- 2/24/2023
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
It is huge deal for Latin American and Spanish content at the EFM.
In one of the largest deals done at the European Film Market (EFM) this year for Spanish and Latin American fare, Madrid-based Latido Films has closed a raft of deals on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thrillerThe Beasts, Rocío Mesa’s magical-realist tale Tobacco Barns and Gustavo Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32.
A big winner at the Goyas earlier this month and a box-office hit in Spain and France, The Beasts has been licensed to Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32 has been sold...
In one of the largest deals done at the European Film Market (EFM) this year for Spanish and Latin American fare, Madrid-based Latido Films has closed a raft of deals on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thrillerThe Beasts, Rocío Mesa’s magical-realist tale Tobacco Barns and Gustavo Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32.
A big winner at the Goyas earlier this month and a box-office hit in Spain and France, The Beasts has been licensed to Scandinavia (Edge Entertainment), Hernández’s zombie horror Virus 32 has been sold...
- 2/24/2023
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Attendees included Carlo Chatrian, Agnieszka Holland, Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff.
The Berlin film festival honoured the legacy of legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, who died aged 91 earlier this month, with a special screening of his last film, documentary Walls Can Talk yesterday (Feb 20).
The attendees included Berlinale’s director Carlo Chatrian, the president of the European Film Academy and Polish director Agnieszka Holland and German directors Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff.
Chatrian said the festival wanted to honour his contribution to cinema and also the special link he had with the Berlinale where he premiered The Hunt (1966), winner of...
The Berlin film festival honoured the legacy of legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, who died aged 91 earlier this month, with a special screening of his last film, documentary Walls Can Talk yesterday (Feb 20).
The attendees included Berlinale’s director Carlo Chatrian, the president of the European Film Academy and Polish director Agnieszka Holland and German directors Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff.
Chatrian said the festival wanted to honour his contribution to cinema and also the special link he had with the Berlinale where he premiered The Hunt (1966), winner of...
- 2/21/2023
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
One of Spain’s most celebrated directors best known for his 1990 film ¡Ay Carmela!
When the Spanish film director Carlos Saura, who has died aged 91, completed his first feature, Los Golfos (The Delinquents), a ferocious story of six impoverished children from the Madrid slums, it was invited to the 1960 Cannes film festival.
However, its implicit critique of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco meant that it was forbidden in Spain for another couple of years. Taking his films outside Spain to bypass censorship was a strategy Saura adopted several times, although – an awkward contradiction that he recognised – his films’ success abroad made the dictatorship seem more liberal.
When the Spanish film director Carlos Saura, who has died aged 91, completed his first feature, Los Golfos (The Delinquents), a ferocious story of six impoverished children from the Madrid slums, it was invited to the 1960 Cannes film festival.
However, its implicit critique of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco meant that it was forbidden in Spain for another couple of years. Taking his films outside Spain to bypass censorship was a strategy Saura adopted several times, although – an awkward contradiction that he recognised – his films’ success abroad made the dictatorship seem more liberal.
- 2/21/2023
- by Michael Eaude
- The Guardian - Film News
He was working to the last. Five days before his latest work, “Lorca by Saura,” opened at Madrid’s Infanta Isabel Theater – in what he saw as a new phase of theatre-based creativity – Carlos Saura died on Feb. 10 at his Collado Mediano home in the lap of the Guadarrama mountains, north of Madrid. Agnieszka Holland and Volker Schlöndorff look set to attend a Carlos Saura Homage Screening which will be held at the Berlin Film Festival on Monday Feb. 20 at 17:30.
Further good and great are still to confirmed at an event backed by the Berlin Festival and the European Film Academy.
The tribute will be combined with the double bill of “Rosa, Rosae” and “Walls Can Talk” (“Las paredes hablan”), films which premiered at San Sebastian in 2021 and last year.
A tribute at Berlin, the presence of two great European auteurs, Holland and Schlöndorff, and the double bill all seem highly appropriate.
Further good and great are still to confirmed at an event backed by the Berlin Festival and the European Film Academy.
The tribute will be combined with the double bill of “Rosa, Rosae” and “Walls Can Talk” (“Las paredes hablan”), films which premiered at San Sebastian in 2021 and last year.
A tribute at Berlin, the presence of two great European auteurs, Holland and Schlöndorff, and the double bill all seem highly appropriate.
- 2/18/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Over the past 20 years or so, a surfeit of arthouse titles and an older demographic turning away from theaters have worn away at the sales of non-English language films.
Currently, cinema across the world, and especially arthouse, is stuck between a rock — global streamers often paying less, striking fewer worldwide deals and buying fewer finished movies — and a hard place: a pandemic-drained theatrical business for all but a few tentpoles.
“A few years ago, even if a film wasn’t perfect and had limited festival play, it sold at least a little,” says Film Factory founder Vicente Canales. “Now, either a film works, and sells pretty much the world, or it doesn’t work at all.”
Yet Spain’s top sales agents remain broadly optimistic about the future.
For one thing, some films do still do business, led by new titles from star auteurs that have A-festival play, such as...
Currently, cinema across the world, and especially arthouse, is stuck between a rock — global streamers often paying less, striking fewer worldwide deals and buying fewer finished movies — and a hard place: a pandemic-drained theatrical business for all but a few tentpoles.
“A few years ago, even if a film wasn’t perfect and had limited festival play, it sold at least a little,” says Film Factory founder Vicente Canales. “Now, either a film works, and sells pretty much the world, or it doesn’t work at all.”
Yet Spain’s top sales agents remain broadly optimistic about the future.
For one thing, some films do still do business, led by new titles from star auteurs that have A-festival play, such as...
- 2/17/2023
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.NEWSKristen Stewart in Olivier Assayas's Personal Shopper (2016).The next film directed by Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson and Dick Johnson is Dead) will star Kristen Stewart as…Susan Sontag. Based on Ben Moser’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Sontag: Her Life, the project will have some hybrid-doc elements, as we might expect from Johnson: according to Screen Daily, Johnson will film an interview with the actress about her preparation for the role at the Berlinale, where Stewart is jury president.Richard Ayoade will direct and star in an adaptation of George Saunders’s The Semplica Girl Diaries, with casting currently underway.New Spanish Cinema luminary Carlos Saura died last week aged 91. His best-known films depicted and critiqued life under the Franco dictatorship, like La Caza...
- 2/15/2023
- MUBI
The Beasts Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival Rodrigo Sorogoyen's The Beasts tore through the competition at the Goya awards - Spain's equivalent of the Oscars - last night.
The western-style tale about a middle-aged French couple who come into conflict with locals after moving to a Galician village, stars Denis Ménochet - who was named best actor - and Marina Foïs. It took home nine awards in total, including best film and best director.
The evening was overshadowed by the death of Cría Cuervos veteran writer/director Carlos Saura, who passed away on Friday before he could receive this year's Goya of Honour.
Actor Eulalia Ramón, Carlos Saura’s widow, read out a note dictated by Saura days before his death. It read: “I would be happy if I’ve served as some inspiration for the directors of today. I see myself as a shooting star in the immensity of the cosmos.
The western-style tale about a middle-aged French couple who come into conflict with locals after moving to a Galician village, stars Denis Ménochet - who was named best actor - and Marina Foïs. It took home nine awards in total, including best film and best director.
The evening was overshadowed by the death of Cría Cuervos veteran writer/director Carlos Saura, who passed away on Friday before he could receive this year's Goya of Honour.
Actor Eulalia Ramón, Carlos Saura’s widow, read out a note dictated by Saura days before his death. It read: “I would be happy if I’ve served as some inspiration for the directors of today. I see myself as a shooting star in the immensity of the cosmos.
- 2/12/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
One of Spain’s most prolific auteurs continued to work until the end – his last film, Walls Can Talk, was released last week
Veteran Spanish film-maker Carlos Saura, director of award-winning films such as Peppermint Frappé, ¡Ay Carmela! and Tango, has died aged 91, the day before he was due to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Goyas, Spain’s version of the Oscars.
Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, the body that hands out the Goya awards, confirmed his death on social media, saying: “Saura, one of the essential film-makers in the history of Spanish cinema, has died at home today at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones. His final film, Walls Can Talk, came out last week and demonstrated his tireless activity and his love for his work until the very last moment.”...
Veteran Spanish film-maker Carlos Saura, director of award-winning films such as Peppermint Frappé, ¡Ay Carmela! and Tango, has died aged 91, the day before he was due to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Goyas, Spain’s version of the Oscars.
Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, the body that hands out the Goya awards, confirmed his death on social media, saying: “Saura, one of the essential film-makers in the history of Spanish cinema, has died at home today at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones. His final film, Walls Can Talk, came out last week and demonstrated his tireless activity and his love for his work until the very last moment.”...
- 2/10/2023
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Spanish auteur Carlos Saura died on Friday of natural causes, the Film Academy of Spain confirmed. He was 91.
In a statement, the org stated: “The Film Academy deeply regrets to announce the death of Carlos Saura, Goya de Honor 2023. Saura, one of the fundamental filmmakers in the history of Spanish cinema, died today at his home at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones.”
Born in 1932 in Huesca, Aragon – the same part of Spain as Luis Buñuel, whom he recognised as his mentor – Saura was taken by his family to Madrid during its Civil War. As a child, Saura he listened with horror to its bombings, the trauma of its violence never leaving him, inspiring his third feature, 1965’s “The Hunt,” a portrait of a Franquist ruling class which won him a Berlin Silver Bear.
This crowned him as the leading light of a New Spanish Cinema, an attempt...
In a statement, the org stated: “The Film Academy deeply regrets to announce the death of Carlos Saura, Goya de Honor 2023. Saura, one of the fundamental filmmakers in the history of Spanish cinema, died today at his home at the age of 91, surrounded by his loved ones.”
Born in 1932 in Huesca, Aragon – the same part of Spain as Luis Buñuel, whom he recognised as his mentor – Saura was taken by his family to Madrid during its Civil War. As a child, Saura he listened with horror to its bombings, the trauma of its violence never leaving him, inspiring his third feature, 1965’s “The Hunt,” a portrait of a Franquist ruling class which won him a Berlin Silver Bear.
This crowned him as the leading light of a New Spanish Cinema, an attempt...
- 2/10/2023
- by Manori Ravindran and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish director Carlos Saura has died at home in Spain at the age of 91.
The filmmaker was one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers alongside Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar.
The Spanish Cinema Academy said the director had died at his home surrounded by loved ones and described him as “one of the most important filmmakers in the history of Spanish cinema”.
Saura began his filmmaking career in the 1950s, making short documentaries.
He broke out internationally with The Hunt which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 1966, winning the Silver Bear.
The drama tackled the legacy of the Spanish Civil War through the tale of three middle-aged veterans as they reminisce about their experiences while on a rabbit hunting trip.
Sam Peckinpah described it as a classic of Spanish Cinema and a major influence on his work.
Born in Huesca in northeastern Spain on January 4, 1932, Saura was just...
The filmmaker was one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers alongside Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar.
The Spanish Cinema Academy said the director had died at his home surrounded by loved ones and described him as “one of the most important filmmakers in the history of Spanish cinema”.
Saura began his filmmaking career in the 1950s, making short documentaries.
He broke out internationally with The Hunt which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 1966, winning the Silver Bear.
The drama tackled the legacy of the Spanish Civil War through the tale of three middle-aged veterans as they reminisce about their experiences while on a rabbit hunting trip.
Sam Peckinpah described it as a classic of Spanish Cinema and a major influence on his work.
Born in Huesca in northeastern Spain on January 4, 1932, Saura was just...
- 2/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Attendees also noted Buenos Aires event is becoming more of a project development market than a sales market.
Genre and animation titles dominated at Latin America’s leading film and TV market Ventana Sur as business vied for attention with the World Cup in Qatar, where the progress of the Argentinian national side led by Lionel Messi has created a festive mood in Buenos Aires.
Of particular interest at the market, which ran from November 28-December 2 and hosted screenings, presentations, panels and meetings, was the new Fan Latina Blood Window sidebar dedicated to female creators. Argentinian titles such as Jimena Monteoliva...
Genre and animation titles dominated at Latin America’s leading film and TV market Ventana Sur as business vied for attention with the World Cup in Qatar, where the progress of the Argentinian national side led by Lionel Messi has created a festive mood in Buenos Aires.
Of particular interest at the market, which ran from November 28-December 2 and hosted screenings, presentations, panels and meetings, was the new Fan Latina Blood Window sidebar dedicated to female creators. Argentinian titles such as Jimena Monteoliva...
- 12/5/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Closing Japan with Medallion and French-speaking Canada with Axiom and fielding offers for the U.S., China and the U.K, “The Beasts” is on track to shortly sell well over half the major territories in the world for sales agent Latido Films. as
The sales come as Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thriller heads to this week’s Ventana Sur as one of its biggest market highlights.
In further new deals, the Spain-set modern-day Western has also now been swooped on by HBO Eastern Europe and has licensed Poland (Aurora), Hungary (Cinefil), Portugal (Outsiders) and the Baltics (Capella).
These pacts add to prior acquisitions by Movies Inspired in Italy and Imagine in Benelux, Kino Mediteran in ex-Yugoslavia territories and Transilvania Film for Romania.
A Cannes Premiere world bow co-produced by Spain’s Arcadia Motion Pictures and Sorogoyen’s Caballo Films with France’s Le Pacte, “The Beasts” ran up 327,125 ticket sales...
The sales come as Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s rural thriller heads to this week’s Ventana Sur as one of its biggest market highlights.
In further new deals, the Spain-set modern-day Western has also now been swooped on by HBO Eastern Europe and has licensed Poland (Aurora), Hungary (Cinefil), Portugal (Outsiders) and the Baltics (Capella).
These pacts add to prior acquisitions by Movies Inspired in Italy and Imagine in Benelux, Kino Mediteran in ex-Yugoslavia territories and Transilvania Film for Romania.
A Cannes Premiere world bow co-produced by Spain’s Arcadia Motion Pictures and Sorogoyen’s Caballo Films with France’s Le Pacte, “The Beasts” ran up 327,125 ticket sales...
- 11/28/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Carlos Saura’s “Walls Can Talk,” Alex de la Iglesia’s “Four’s a Crowd” and Alex Murrull and Dani de la Orden’s “The Final Game” head as market premieres the most major addition to this year’s Cannes-backed Ventana Sur, Spanish Screenings on Tour, Spanish cinema’s biggest international industry platform ever.
Since 2009, when Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur launched, also backed by Argentina’s Incaa institute, no single country has had such a powerful presence at the event. The Screenings also catch Spanish cinema in a magnificent year of multiple standout titles which are impacting at Spain’s domestic box office, where national titles are making much of the running.
Forming part of Spain’s 1.6 billion Spain Avs Hub Plan, and packing 150 titles – from projects to pix in post, theater and online screenings and potential remake properties – the Screenings will also host 20 events, including a panel on Ibero-American co-productions,...
Since 2009, when Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur launched, also backed by Argentina’s Incaa institute, no single country has had such a powerful presence at the event. The Screenings also catch Spanish cinema in a magnificent year of multiple standout titles which are impacting at Spain’s domestic box office, where national titles are making much of the running.
Forming part of Spain’s 1.6 billion Spain Avs Hub Plan, and packing 150 titles – from projects to pix in post, theater and online screenings and potential remake properties – the Screenings will also host 20 events, including a panel on Ibero-American co-productions,...
- 11/25/2022
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
The 53rd International Film Festival of India (Iffi), Goa got off to a spectacular start on Nov. 20, with the best of Bollywood on display.
A near full house at the 4,000-seater capacity Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium witnessed performances from Bollywood stars Varun Dhawan, whose next film “Bhediya” is premiering at the festival, and Mrunal Thakur. There were on-stage appearances from A-listers Ajay Devgn, Kartik Aaryan, Manoj Bajpayee, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Sara Ali Khan. Actor Aparshakti Khurana compered the evening.
South Indian cinema star Catherine Tresa Alexander performed to a medley of Telugu, Tamil and Kannada-language cinema hit songs and the southern industries were also represented by “Rrr” and “Baahubali” writer Vijayendra Prasad.
Presiding over proceedings was India’s Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur. The country is celebrating 75 years of independence and Thakur said that India is on track over the next 25 years to become a global film shooting,...
A near full house at the 4,000-seater capacity Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium witnessed performances from Bollywood stars Varun Dhawan, whose next film “Bhediya” is premiering at the festival, and Mrunal Thakur. There were on-stage appearances from A-listers Ajay Devgn, Kartik Aaryan, Manoj Bajpayee, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Sara Ali Khan. Actor Aparshakti Khurana compered the evening.
South Indian cinema star Catherine Tresa Alexander performed to a medley of Telugu, Tamil and Kannada-language cinema hit songs and the southern industries were also represented by “Rrr” and “Baahubali” writer Vijayendra Prasad.
Presiding over proceedings was India’s Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur. The country is celebrating 75 years of independence and Thakur said that India is on track over the next 25 years to become a global film shooting,...
- 11/20/2022
- by Udita Jhunjhunwala and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Carlos Saura has suffered a minor fall and will no longer attend San Sebastian for the premiere of his latest film, The Walls Can Talk (Las paredes hablan), the festival has said.
In a statement, the festival said Saura’s injuries were not serious but he is no longer able to travel. The Walls Can Talk will still screen on Wednesday as planned as part of the festival’s Rtve Galas.
Produced by María del Puy Alvarado of Malvalanda, the doc is billed as Saura’s take on the origin of art and its relationship with the most avant-garde tendencies. Seen from the Spanish moviemaker’s personal and distinctive point of view, the movie portrays the evolution and relationship of art with walls as a creative canvas, from the first graphic revolutions of the prehistoric caves to the most cutting-edge expressions of urban art.
Contemporary visual artists like Suso33, Zeta,...
In a statement, the festival said Saura’s injuries were not serious but he is no longer able to travel. The Walls Can Talk will still screen on Wednesday as planned as part of the festival’s Rtve Galas.
Produced by María del Puy Alvarado of Malvalanda, the doc is billed as Saura’s take on the origin of art and its relationship with the most avant-garde tendencies. Seen from the Spanish moviemaker’s personal and distinctive point of view, the movie portrays the evolution and relationship of art with walls as a creative canvas, from the first graphic revolutions of the prehistoric caves to the most cutting-edge expressions of urban art.
Contemporary visual artists like Suso33, Zeta,...
- 9/20/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
“Walls Can Talk,” the latest film by Spain Carlos Saura, director of “Raise Ravens,” “Deprisa, Deprisa” and “Carmen,” has been acquired for intentional sales by Madrid-based Latido.
Produced by María del Puy Alvarado at Malvalanda and distributed in Spain by José Maria nd Miguel Morales’ Wanda Vision, “Walls Can Talk” will world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival as an Rtve Gala.
The doc feature sees Saura conduct his own inquest into the origins of art, directing and for once starring in a film. In it, he visits masterpieces of paleolithic art– in Spain’s Altamira and El Castillo caves, for instance – and asks modern (Miquel Barceló) and graffiti artists and urban creators about what drives them to paint.
Also taking in the extraordinary art at France’s Chauvet Cave – “painting’s great masterpiece,” as it is described in the film – “Walls Can Talk” (“Las paredes hablan”) suggests that...
Produced by María del Puy Alvarado at Malvalanda and distributed in Spain by José Maria nd Miguel Morales’ Wanda Vision, “Walls Can Talk” will world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival as an Rtve Gala.
The doc feature sees Saura conduct his own inquest into the origins of art, directing and for once starring in a film. In it, he visits masterpieces of paleolithic art– in Spain’s Altamira and El Castillo caves, for instance – and asks modern (Miquel Barceló) and graffiti artists and urban creators about what drives them to paint.
Also taking in the extraordinary art at France’s Chauvet Cave – “painting’s great masterpiece,” as it is described in the film – “Walls Can Talk” (“Las paredes hablan”) suggests that...
- 9/2/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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