News

La película está protagonizada por Martin Scorsese. © Beta Fiction

Escape, la nueva película de Rodrigo Cortés, producida por Martin Scorsese y basada en la novela homónima de Enrique Rubio, se presentará en el Festival de San Sebastián, dentro de las galas de Rtve.

Escape sigue a N. (Mario Casas), un hombre estropeado. Algo no va bien en su interior. No quiere tomar una sola decisión más, sólo apearse del mundo. Dejar de tener opciones. El psicólogo a quien visita no sabe cómo abordarlo. Tampoco su hermana, que intenta apoyarlo sin frutos. N. sólo quiere vivir en la cárcel, y hará cuanto sea necesario para conseguirlo. ¿Lograrán sus allegados que desista de cometer delitos cada vez más graves? ¿Hasta dónde será capaz de llegar el juez para no concederle su propósito?

La película está protagonizada por Mario Casas (3 metros sobre el cielo). Completan el reparto Anna Castillo (Nowhere), José Sacristán (La...

Un reencuentro que revive viejas heridas. © Vanity Fair

Comienza en Cáceres, Extremadura, el rodaje de “Día de Caza”, la nueva película de Pedro Aguilera, que adapta libremente el clásico del cine español “La Caza”, de Carlos Saura.

“Día de Caza” sigue a Blanca, Rosa y Carmen, tres amigas de mediana edad que tras mucho tiempo sin coincidir todas juntas, quedan junto con Diana, la joven y taciturna sobrina de Rosa, para ir a cazar conejos a un coto de caza que Blanca heredó de su tío José. Entre risas comparten los complicados momentos por los que están pasando en sus vidas. El calor, insoportable, asfixiante, y las conversaciones sobre temas del pasado van subiendo de tono hasta acabar enfrentando a las mujeres. Imposible no recordar que casi 60 años atrás, otro día de caza, en aquella misma finca, acabó en tragedia.

La película está protagonizada por Carmen Machi (“Aída”), Rossy de Palma...

¿Qué tiene que hacer un hombre honrado para que lo metan en la cárcel? © Beta Fiction

Ya se ha publicado el primer tráiler de “Escape”, la nueva película de Rodrigo Cortés, producida por Martin Scorsese y basada en la novela homónima de Enrique Rubio.

“Escape” sigue a N. (Mario Casas), un hombre estropeado. Algo no va bien en su interior. No quiere tomar una sola decisión más, sólo apearse del mundo. Dejar de tener opciones. El psicólogo a quien visita no sabe cómo abordarlo. Tampoco su hermana, que intenta apoyarlo sin frutos. N. sólo quiere vivir en la cárcel, y hará cuanto sea necesario para conseguirlo. ¿Lograrán sus allegados que desista de cometer delitos cada vez más graves? ¿Hasta dónde será capaz de llegar el juez para no concederle su propósito?

La película está protagonizada por Mario Casas (“3 Metros sobre el Cielo”). Completan el reparto Anna Castillo (“Nowhere”), José Sacristán...

“La Mesías” star Carmen Machi, Almodóvar muse Rossy de Palma and Blanca Portillo, a Cannes best actress co-winner for Almodóvar’s “Volver,” are set to star in “The Prey” (“Dia de Caza”), billed as a contemporary revision of Carlos Saura’s 1965 pic “The Hunt,” quite possibly his crowing achievement.

The film is set to shoot in July in Spain’s Extremadura, with theatrical release scheduled for autumn 2025.

Brutal, kinetic at times and taking no prisoners, Saura’s original won a Berlin Silver Bear. The film follows three once-close friends reuinting for a rabbit hunt; the final bloody outcome was read as a broad metaphor of the social elite in dictator Francisco Franco’s Spain.

Directed by Pedro Aguilera “The Prey,” set in the summer of 2024, has three women reuniting for a rabbit hunt in the very same stark valley where Saura shot “The Hunt” almost 60 years before. Under a remorseless sun,...

One of Spain’s biggest and oldest movie events, the Valladolid Intl. Film Festival, known as the Seminci in Spain, is broadening its range of Spanish films and aims to strengthen its position as an international platform for art films.

Running Oct. 21-28 in Valladolid, the capital city of Spanish region Castilla-Leon, the Seminci’s 68th edition marks the first under new director José Luis Cienfuegos, named last April.

With an illustrious near 30-year career as a festival director, at the helm of the Seville European Film Festival (2012-2023) and prior to that at the Gijon Intl. Film Festival (1995-2011), Cienfuegos has arrived to Valladolid at a time when a new generation of Spanish film auteurs, often women, is booming, making waves at the international festivals circuit.

“Valladolid is a city absolutely dedicated to the festival that demands and needs to open the doors to a new generation of filmmakers,...

The 68th edition will screen a mix of new Spanish films and 2023 favourites and host an expanded industry programme.

The 68th edition of the Seminci, the Valladolid International Film Week opens this weekend (October 21) with a screening of The Movie Teller, directed by Lone Scherfig, starring Bérénice Béjo, Antonio de la Torre and Daniel Brühl and written by Walter Salles, Isabel Coixet and Rafa Russo.

For what is a vital launchpad into the Spanish market, new festival director José Luis Cienfuegos has programmed a series of international festival favourites from 2023 alongside new films by Spanish directors Antonio Méndez Esparza and...

As earning significant profile for shows in a packed marketplace has become one of Europe’s most pressing industry concerns, a new and ambitious TV series festival is launching in Cadiz, southern Spain, as an initiative of Mediaset España and backed by shows from other key players on the Spanish TV scene, such as The Mediapro Studio and Movistar Plus+.

Speakers from the Spanish-speaking world take in writer-director-producer Armando Bo (“El Presidente”), an Oscar winning scribe for “Birdman, or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance,” and Daniel Écija, an executive producer on key hits in the last decade in Spain such as the multi-genre free-to-air series “Estoy Vivo,” and “Locked Up” “(Vis a vis,” a key into its lift-off into premium drama selling worldwide.

Some titles screening at Cadiz are already celebrated, such as Russell T. Davies’ “Nolly,” starring Helena Bonham-Carter.

Also in the Coming Next section is Norwegian political satire “Power Play,...

Cadiz-based festival kicks off today with gala for refugee drama ’La Ley Del Mar’.

The inaugural South International Series Festival has unveiled its industry programme which runs alongside its progamme of public screenings and events from October 6-12.

Based in the ancient port city of Cadiz, the festival launches today with an opening gala for refugee drama La Ley del Mar, starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, produced by Studio 60, Rtve and A punt. Some 45 series will play in the festival’s official selection in five different sections. Another 60 titles, spanning both fiction and non-fiction, will have previews and screenings.

45 series will play in the festival’s official selection across five different sections

Refugee drama La Ley del Mar, starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, is to open the first edition of the South International Series Festival in Cádiz, which runs from October 6-12.

Some 45 series will play in the festival’s official selection in five different sections. Another 60 titles, spanning both fiction and non-fiction, will have previews and screenings.

See below for full line-up

Based on a true story, La Ley Del Mar is about the first European fishing boat that in 2006 rescued 51 sub-Saharan refugees adrift in the Mediterranean.

45 series will play in the festival’s official selection across five different sections

Migration drama La Ley del Mar, starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, is to open the first edition of the South International Series Festival in Cádiz, which run from October 6-12.

45 series will play in the festival’s official selection in five different sections. Another 60 titles, spanning both fiction and non-fiction, will have previews and screenings.

See below for full line-up

Based on a true story, La Ley Del Mar is about the first European fishing boat that in 2006 rescued 51 sub-Saharan immigrants adrift in the Mediterranean. The...

Spanish mini-major Filmax has picked up international sales rights to “Teresa,” the new feature by Paula Ortiz, a fictional story turning on the prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer Saint Teresa of Jesus.

“Teresa” marks the big screen adaptation of Spaniard playwright Juan Mayorga’s stage play ”La lengua en pedazos,” which narrates a meeting between Saint Teresa of Jesus – also known as Teresa de Ávila – and a character called The Inquisitor.

The feature is not a classic biopic, but rather a free adaptation of the text written by Mayorga – a winner of Spain’s National Prize for Dramatic Literature – which in turn, is based on “The Book of Life,” by Saint Teresa herself.

In the movie, Teresa patiently awaits the Inquisitor’s arrival and judgement. His visit and his words will determine her future. They will hold a religious and dialectical duel, where the question will be if she is set free,...

Martin Scorsese is executive producing “Escape,” the next film from Spanish writer-director Rodrigo Cortés, who burst onto the international scene directing Ryan Reynolds in the 2010 Sundance hit “Buried.”

Set to go into production at the end of May, Cortés’ first Spanish-language film since his debut feature, 2007 madcap dark comedy “The Contestant,” “Escape” stars Mario Casas, a Spanish Academy Award Goya winner for 2020’s “Cross the Line.”

One of Spain’s biggest film-tv stars, Casas leads a top-notch Spanish cast in “Escape” which takes in Anna Castillo, José Garcia (“Bastille Day”), Guillermo Toledo (“I’m So Excited”), Josep Maria Pou (“The Realm”), Blanca Portillo (“Maixabel”), and Jose Sacristán (“Velvet”).

Produced by Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls at Barcelona-based Nostromo Pictures, “Escape” is a free adaptation of the same-title novel penned by Spanish author Enrique Rubio.

“Escape” turns on N., a young man who wants to live in prison and will do whatever...

Therapy is an extremely personal experience. Grief is also an extremely personal thing. Combine both of those, and you’re dealing with one of the most private situations a person can have. When You Least Expect It is a show that gives you rare insight into what is usually an un-talked about process, grief therapy. If you’re interested in going on a journey of learning more about dealing with grief through the stories that "When You Least Expect" It presents, you can watch the show on Paramount +.

A Plot You Wouldn’t Expect

"When You Least Expect It," (original title: "Dias Mejores") is a Spanish-language drama series that follows the stories and healing process of five widows as they embark on group therapy. To enter this group, the therapist conducts an interview consisting of just a few questions. “Any children?” she asks. Then, “did your partner die?” and “are you okay?...

A wandering love note to Madrid directed by local filmmaker Curro Sánchez Varela, “Voices of a City” ( “Voces de una ciudad”) merges prominent aesthetics with a charismatic populace, who so often blend into the background of photos taken of the bustling metropoli.

The film is a curated 24-hour journey through each urban corner, delving into the most integral part of any locale, the humans living within its confines, serving as an immersive peek into the city’s history, culture and enduring allure.

Breezily narrated by Goya Award-winning Spanish actress Blanca Portillo (“Maixabel”), the sprawling shots of familiar architecture run alongside sharply focused studies of residents from the mayor to a famed chef, taxi drivers to artists and musicians, as well as a most charming retired couple.

Sánchez Varela has “captured and lifted the personal stories of local Madrileños going about their daily lives over the course of a 24 hour period...

Prime Video has greenlit Season 2 of the hit Spanish series, “Dias Mejores” (“Better Days”), after the success of its first season. Created by Cristóbal Garrido and Adolfo Valor, the new season will continue to follow the stories of its lead characters Sara (Marta Hazas), Pardo (Erick Elías), Graci (Alba Planas), Luis (Francesc Orella) and Dr. Laforet (Blanca Portillo).

News was announced at the Iberseries & Platino Industria television event that was held in Madrid over Sept. 27-30.

The co-production between ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) and Madrid-based Zeta Studios, producers of Netflix hit, “Elite,” will stream exclusively on Prime Video in Spain.

Season 1 was showcased at March’s Malaga Festival. The new season just started shooting and includes an additional robust cast led by Marta Aledo as Emi, Sara’s sister; Carol Rovira (“#Luimelia”) as Claudia, the teacher of Pardo’s children, and Sonia Almarcha (“The Good Boss”) as Maite, the mother of Graci’s late boyfriend.

Spanish satire starring Javier Bardem one of the big winners at the Ibero-American film awards held in Madrid.

The Good Boss, produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado PC. took home four prizes at the Platino Awards, the ninth edition of the Ibero-American ceremony that took place in Madrid, on Sunday (May 1).

This satire about the petty boss of an industrial scales factory won best film, best director and screenplay for Fernando León de Aranoa, and best actor for Javier Bardem following its success t the Goyas in February when it won six prizes.

Blanca Portillo won the best actress...

Spanish satire starring Javier Bardem one of the big winners at the Ibero-American film awards held in Madrid.

The Good Boss produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado PC took home four prizes at the Platino Awards on Sunday (May 1), the Ibero-American equivalent to the Oscars which took place in Madrid.

This satire about the petty boss of an industrial scales factory won best film, best director and screenplay for Fernando León de Aranoa, and best actor for Javier Bardem following its success at Spanish Film Academy awards the Goyas in February when it won six prizes.

Blanca Portillo won...

Spanish satire starring Javier Bardem one of the big winners at the Ibero-American film awards held in Madrid.

The Good Boss produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado PC took home four prizes at the Platino Awards on Sunday (May 1), the Ibero-American equivalent to the Oscars which took place in Madrid.

This satire about the petty boss of an industrial scales factory won best film, best director and screenplay for Fernando León de Aranoa, and best actor for Javier Bardem following its success at Spanish Film Academy awards the Goyas in February when it won six prizes.

Blanca Portillo won...

by Nathaniel R

Cate Blanchett was honored with a Honorary Goya Award this weekend while The Good Boss, Spain's Oscar finalist (which did not secure a nomination) dominated the awards. Though Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) lost Best Actress to her Volver co-star Blanca Portillo (Maixabel) she still emerged as quite a winner given Cate's shout-out to her brilliance in her own acceptance speech. The list of winners, photos, and fashion after the jump...

The Good Boss, Fernando León de Aranoa’s comedy-drama starring Javier Bardem, dominated Spain’s top film prizes this year, The Goyas, collecting six awards including Best Picture.

The film also nabbed Best Director and Best Screenplay for Aranoa, Best Actor for Javier Bardem, Best Original Score (Zeltia Montes) and Best Editing (Vanessa L. Marimbert). It had previously received a record-setting 20 nominations.

The ceremony saw Bardem continue his streak at the awards, collecting his sixth Goya in total, while filmmaker Aranoa is now up to seven across his career.

The Good Boss stars Bardem as a factory owner who deviously schemes his way to solving all of the problems within his business and his personal life, including his infidelities. It was produced by companies including The MediaPro Studio and MK2 Films. Cohen Media Group will handle the U.S. release.

Deadline sat down with Bardem and Aranoa at last year...

Pedro Almodovar’s ‘Parallel Mothers’ went home empty-handed.

The Good Boss, directed by Fernando León de Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem, scored big at the 36th edition of the Goyas, the Spanish Academy Awards held on Saturday in Valencia. With a record 20 nominations, it won six wards including best film, best director and screenplay for León de Aranoa and best actor for Javier Bardem.

Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, nominated for eight awards, left empty handed.

Produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado PC, The Good Boss premiered in competition at the San Sebastián Film Festival and went on to...

Shortlisted for the Academy Awards in the international feature film category, Fernando León de Aranoa’s “The Good Boss” capped a record 20 Spanish Academy Goya nominations by scoring best picture and actor for Javier Bardem at Saturday’s Goya prize ceremony.

The prizes marked both Leon and Bardem’s seventh Goya wins. Produced by El Reposado and The Mediapro Studio, and a workplace dramedy skewering the abuse of power practised by a seemingly benign factory owner, “The Good Boss” also won best director and original screenplay for León, as well as best score and editing.

Blanca Portillo beat out “Parallel Mothers’” Oscar-nominated Penélope Cruz, thanks to Portillo’s powerful performance as Maixabel Lasa, the real life widow of former Basque Country governor Juan Mari Jauregui who agreed in 2011 to meet one of his Eta killers. Her forgiveness, and Portillo’s portrait, has touched a large nerve in Spain.

One highlight...

La Fortuna has its premiere date! AMC+ has set a January launch date for the six-episode limited series. Starring Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, the thriller follows a man trying to take back a stolen sunken treasure. Álvaro Mel, Ana Polvorosa, T'Nia Miller, Karra Elejalde, Manolo Solo, Alfonso Lara, Blanca Portillo, and Pedro Casablanc also star in the show.

revealed more about the new series in a press release.

“AMC Networks announced today that the adventure thriller La Fortuna, starring two-time Golden Globe winner Stanley Tucci and acclaimed actor Clarke Peters, will premiere on Thursday, January 20 on AMC+ with two episodes, followed by new episodes streaming weekly, every Thursday. The international production from AMC and Movistar+ is the first television series from acclaimed film director and Academy Award(R)-winner Alejandro Amenábar.

In addition to...

‘The Good Boss’ leads Icíar Bollaín’s ‘Maixabel’ and Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Parallel Mothers’.

The Good Boss, directed by Fernando León de Aranoa and starring Javier Bardem, led the Goya nominations from the Spanish Film Academy with 20 nods, an all-time record.

The satire, also Spain’s entry for the Oscars, is ahead of Icíar Bollaín’s Maixabel and Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, on 14 and eight nominations respectively.

The Good Boss is the fifth highest-grossing film in Spain this year with €2.6m. Written and directed by León de Aranoa, it follows the petty boss of an industrial scales factory, played...

Already selected as this year’s Spanish Best International Feature Film submission for the Oscars, Fernando León de Aranoa’s dark workplace comedy “The Good Boss,” starring Javier Bardem, has set a new record for most Spanish Academy Goya Award nominations with 20, ahead of Icíar Bollaín’s standout Basque drama “Maixabel” with 14 and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers,” which secured eight.

The 20 nominations include: Best picture, director, original screenplay, original music, lead actor, three nominations for supporting actor, supporting actress, two nominations for best new male actor and one for best new female actor, production design, cinematography, editing, art direction, costume design, makeup, sound design and special effects. It’s a total which breaks an almost 30-year-old record held by Imanol Uribe’s “Numbered Days,” which received 19 nominations in 1994.

León’s latest, produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado PC, is a return to a fruitful partnership between the director and his leading man.

Director Icíar Bollaín’s “Maixabel” – which world premiered last month in San Sebastian’s main competition and screens at this week’s Spanish Screenings-Malaga de Cine – is a turbulent and emotional look into the repercussions of terrorist violence, both for the victims and the victimizers. The film follows the aftermath of the murder of politician Juan María Jáuregui from the perspective of his widow, Maixabel (Blanca Portillo), as well as the Eta terrorists who committed the killing.

The Basque film is produced by San Sebastian-based Kowalski Films (“Coven”) and Feelgood Films, with Film Factory Entertainment handling international sales. The screenplay, based on the real life story of Basque Country political activist Maixabel Lasa, was co-authored by Bollaín and Isa Campo, co-scribe of “Between Two Waters,” a San Sebastian Golden Shell winner

Variety spoke with Bollaín during the Spanish Screenings.

“Maixabel” is filled with nuanced, complex characters. How did you go...

Looking at a map of Spain, the Basque region seems to be tucked neatly into one corner, cozy as can be. On the ground, of course, it’s a different matter: the Pais Vasco has its own language, culture, food and politics, plus its own history of violence. Eta, the region’s equivalent to the Ira, assassinated more than 820 people over almost 50 years before declaring a ceasefire in 2011; the last shreds of the organization disbanded in 2018. It was the end of an era, but a huge legacy of bitterness remained. The assassinated were still mourned; on the Eta side, hundreds of convicted terrorists remain in jail.

Director Iciar Bollain — whose last film, incongruously, was the agreeably bouncy comedy Rosa’s Wedding — has taken a single, powerful story from the messy remains of that struggle in Maixabel, the first film to screen in competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The story closely follows fact.

Vicente Canales’ Film Factory Entertainment has sold Icíar Bollaín’s San Sebastian Festival-bound Basque reconciliation drama “Maixabel” to Germany, striking a deal with Berlin-based distributor Piffl Medien.

The film is set to make its theatrical release in Spain on Sept. 24 via Buena Vista Intl.

World premiering in San Sebastian’s main competition this weekend, Bollaín’s film – which she co-wrote with screenwriter Isa Campo (“The Next Skin”) – stars “Volver’s” Blanca Portillo as the widow of murdered socialist leader Juan María Jáuregui who makes steps towards forgiving the Eta terrorist who killed her husband a decade earlier.

The feature is based around the experience of Maixabel Lasa, a key figure in the journey that the Basque Country is making towards peace and reconciliation following the violence of its recent past.

Co-starring Luis Tosar (“Retribution,” “Way Down”), the film was made by top Basque production company Kowalski Films (“Coven”) and Feelgood Films...

La Fortuna is headed to AMC+, and the streaming service has now released a teaser for the series starring Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters. The drama follows a young diplomat who gets in over his head when he is put in charge of a big mission. The rest of the cast includes Álvaro Mel, Ana Polvorosa, T’Nia Miller, Karra Elejalde, Manolo Solo, Blanca Portillo, and Pedro Casablanc

Read More…...

Fernando León de Aranoa’s ‘The Good Boss’, Icíar Bollaín’s ‘Maixabel’ and ‘La Abuela’ from Paco Plaza are all in competition.

A total of 14 Spanish productions have been selected for the 69th San Sebastian Film Festival (September 17-25).

These include four titles which will compete for the Golden Shell, including The Good Boss, starring Javier Bardem, which marks the third time in official selection for Fernando León de Aranoa. The Madrid filmmaker won the Golden Shell for best film with Mondays In the Sun back in 2002. The Good Boss is a black comedy and is set in an industrial sales manufacturing business.

San Sebastian Film Festival has unveiled the Spanish titles that will comprise its official selection this year.

On the roster is Fernando León de Aranoa’s latest pic The Good Boss, a tragicomedy starring Javier Bardem. Aranoa has been in San Seb’s competition three times before, winning the Golden Shell for best film in 2002 with Mondays in the Sun. Bardem stars in the new pic as a benevolent factory owner.

High-profile Spanish filmmaker Paco Plaza will also compete at San Seb this year with his latest horror movie La Abuela. Plaza is the director behind [Rec] and Veronica, his latest follows the nightmarish journey taken by the life of a young woman who leaves her job as a model in Paris to return to Madrid and take care of her sick grandmother.

Also returning this year is Icíar Bollaín, who will present Maixabel, starring Blanca Portillo as the widow...

Fernando León de Aranoa’s “The Good Boss,” starring Javier Bardem, Alejandro Amenábar’s first drama series “La Fortuna,” and Carlos Saura’s “Rosa Rosae. A Civil War Elegy” head a robust Spanish presence at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival.

Also in the mix are new films from Jonás Trueba, Iciar Bollaín and Paco Plaza, all playing in main competition, plus Daniel Monzón’s Warner Bros.-distributed “Las leyes de la frontera,” selected as San Sebastián’s closing night film, and “The Daughter,” from Manuel Martín Cuenca. “Rosa Rosae” will screen at the San Sebastian’s opening night ceremony on Sept. 17.

World premiering at Venice, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas movie shoot comedy “Official Competition” will open San Sebastian’s best of fests section Perlak.

Spanish cinema’s socio-political traditions remain strong: “The Good Boss” is a study of company management machinations. In a highly polarized Spain, Bollaín’s “Maixabel,...

AMC has released the first stills from Oscar-winner Alejandro Amenábar’s first TV series La Fortuna, which is in the final stages of production in Spain and the U.S.

Based on Paco Roca and Guillermo Corral’s graphic novel El Tesoro del Cisne Negro (The Treasure Of The Black Swan), the story centers on young diplomat Alex Ventura who teams with a combative public official and a brilliant American lawyer to recover treasure stolen by Frank Wild, who travels the world plundering historic items from the ocean.

Stanley Tucci plays Wild, while Spanish actor Álvaro Mel features as Ventura. Spain’s Ana Polvorosa stars as Ventura’s colleague in work and adventure, Lucia. Rounding out the cast are Clarke Peters as attorney Jonas Pierce, and British actress T’Nia Miller, who plays attorney Susan McLean. Karra Elejalde, Manolo Solo, Blanca Portillo and Pedro Casablanc also feature.

The six-part Mod Pictures...

Luis Tosar also stars in this film currently being shot in Northern Spain, which reconstructs the true story of the widow of a politician assassinated by terrorist group Eta. While this is the first time that Blanca Portillo (Volver) has put herself in the capable hands of Icíar Bollaín, the same cannot be said of Luis Tosar, who previously worked with the Madrilenian filmmaker on Even the Rain, Take My Eyes and Flowers from Another World. Both actors now star in Maixabel, the new film by the director of Rosa’s Wedding, a comedy for which she is in the running for a Goya Award in a few weeks’ time. Filming for this new feature kicked off on 8 February in Guipúzcoa and Álava, and the cast is rounded off by thesps María Cerezuela and Urko Olazabal.With an original score composed by Alberto Iglesias (Julieta), cinematography by Javier Agirre (Giant) and.

After the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill, shoots have now returned to Madrid, including this adventure series starring Stanley Tucci, Blanca Portillo, Ana Polvorosa and Álvaro Mel. “Filming is an immense challenge that our entire team is taking on with a huge amount of excitement and responsibility. La Fortuna is about optimism and the will to fight,” stated Alejandro Amenábar about this project based on the graphic novel El tesoro del Cisne Negro by Paco Roca and Guillermo Corral, which was interrupted by the start of the pandemic in March 2020, like so many others. However, once the state of emergency had been lifted in Spain, its shoot resumed in Madrid. Its six episodes are being produced by Movistar + and AMC Studios, in conjunction with Mod Producciones, and it stars Stanley Tucci, Blanca Portillo, Manolo Solo, Karra Elejalde, Ana Polvorosa and Álvaro Mel. The synopsis introduces us...

The Hunger Games and Fortitude actor Stanley Tucci is to star in Oscar-winner Alejandro Amenábar’s first TV series La Fortuna, which is a co-production between AMC and Spain’s pay-tv broadcaster Movistar+.

Based on Paco Roca and Guillermo Corral’s graphic novel El Tesoro del Cisne Negro (The Treasure Of The Black Swan), the story centers on young diplomat Alex Ventura who teams with a combative public official and a brilliant American lawyer to recover treasure stolen by Frank Wild, who travels the world plundering historic items from the ocean.

Tucci will play Wild, while Spanish actor Álvaro Mel features as Ventura. Spain’s Ana Polvorosa stars as Ventura’s colleague in work and adventure, Lucia. Rounding out the cast are Clarke Peters as attorney Jonas Pierce, and British actress T’Nia Miller, who plays attorney Susan McLean. Karra Elejalde, Manolo Solo, Blanca Portillo and Pedro Casablanc also feature.

Amenábar...

Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci is set to star as a buccaneering treasure hunter in “La Fortuna,” a modern-day six-part adventure thriller from AMC Studios and Spain’s Movistar Plus, representing one of the most ambitious drama series to come out of Spain to date.

Linking AMC Studios to Spain’s biggest content investor, Movistar Plus, the pay TV division of telecom Telefonica, “La Fortuna” also marks the drama series directorial debut of “The Others” helmer Alejandro Amenábar, who won an Academy Award for “The Sea Inside.”

Now sporting an official title, and produced in collaboration with Mod Pictures, the thriller also stars Spanish actors Álvaro Mel, who has appeared in several TV series such as Spanish public broadcaster Rtve’s “A Different View,” and Ana Polvorosa, star of Netflix Spanish hit “Cable Girls,” where she plays cross dresser Sara Millán.

“La Fortuna” will see Tucci take on the role of adventurer Frank Wild,...

The actress will put herself in the capable hands of the director of The Bride in this adaptation of Juan Mayorga’s play La lengua en pedazos, based on the life of Saint Teresa of Avila. In the last few days, Blanca Portillo has been in Toledo to resume filming for the feature debut by Iván Ruiz Flores, Retrato de mujer blanco con pelo cano y arrugas, the shoot for which was interrupted by the state of emergency brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. However, she already has another, equally interesting, project in her diary: Teresa, a film adaptation of the stage play La lengua en pedazos, written by Juan Mayorga, about the titular Saint Teresa of Avila, famed for her poems and mystical deeds. The woman tasked...

Nineteen films are in contention for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 14 to May 25. The history of a filmmaker at this festival can offer wisdom as to who could be out front to win the coveted Palme d’Or. Seven of the entries are by filmmakers that have been honored during past closing ceremonies. Newcomers to Cannes could end up being big winners with three filmmakers making their first appearance on the Croisette and another four having their films shown for the first time in competition. The jury will be headed by four-time Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, who claimed the Best Director prize at Cannes in 2006 for “Babel.”

Below is a breakdown of the 19 films competing this year and the history of their helmers at the festival.

Pedro Almodóvar (“Pain and Glory”)

The acclaimed Spanish director is back at Cannes...

Paramount Network has put in development thriller drama I Know Who You Are, based on the 2017 Spanish limited series Sé quién eres. The project hails from The Last Ship co-creator Steven Kane, director David Semel (Star Trek: Discovery) and CBS TV Studios.

Written by Kane and directed by Semel, I Know Who You Are is a missing-person thriller that follows a morally ambiguous celebrity journalist who awakens from a car accident as a suspect in the disappearance of his own niece.

The 16-episode Spanish series, created by Pau Freixas for Telecino, premiered in January 2017 and starred Blanca Portillo, Francesc Garrido, Carles Francino, Eva Santolaria and Aida Folch. You can see a trailer below.

Kane and Semel executive produce along with Tripp Vinson (Red Dawn), Lucas Carter and Alex Coscas. This marks a collaboration between Paramount Network and CBS Studios as the two companies’ parents, Paramount and CBS, are negotiating a merger.

'In the Fade' with Diane Kruger: Fatih Akin's German-language Avenging Woman drama may give its star the chance to become next awards season Isabelle Huppert. Diane Kruger: 2017–2018 awards season's Isabelle Huppert? The 2003 Cannes Film Festival's Female Revelation Chopard Trophy winner, Diane Kruger was Cannes' 2017 Best Actress winner for Fatih Akin's In the Fade / Aus dem Nichts. If Akin's German drama finds a U.S. distributor before the end of the year, Kruger could theoretically become the Isabelle Huppert of the 2017–2018 awards season – that is, in case the former does become a U.S. critics favorite while we stretch things a bit regarding the Kruger-Huppert commonalities. Just a bit, as both are European-born Best Actress Cannes winners who have been around for a while (in Huppert's case, for quite a while). Perhaps most importantly, like Huppert in Paul Verhoeven's Elle, Kruger plays a woman out for revenge in In the Fade. Diane Kruger-Isabelle Huppert 'differences' There is, however, one key difference between the two characters: in Elle, Huppert wants to avenge her own rape; in In the Fade, Kruger wants to avenge the death of her Turkish husband (Numan Acar) and their son (Rafael Santana) at the hands of white supremacist terrorists. Another key difference, this time about the Kruger-Huppert Cannes Film Festival connection: although Isabelle Huppert became a U.S. critics favorite – and later a Best Actress Oscar nominee – for her performance in Elle, her (unanimous) Best Actress Cannes win was for another movie, Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher / La pianiste back in 2001. At that time, Huppert also became a U.S. critics favorite (winning Best Actress honors in San Diego and San Francisco; a runner-up in Los Angeles and New York), but, perhaps because of the psychological drama's sexually charged nature, she failed to receive a matching Oscar nod. Last year's Cannes Best Actress, by the way, was Jaclyn Jose for Brillante Mendoza's Philippine drama Ma' Rosa. Huppert had been in contention as well, as Elle was in the running for the Palme d'Or. Diane Kruger Best Actress Oscar nomination chances? A Best Actress nomination for Diane Kruger at the German Academy Awards (a.k.a. Lolas) – for her first German-language starring role – is all but guaranteed. Curiously, that would be her first. As for a Best Actress Oscar nod, that's less certain. For starters, unlike the mostly well-reviewed Elle, In the Fade has sharply divided critics. The Hollywood Reporter, for one, summarized Akin's film as a “thriller made riveting by an emotional performance from Diane Kruger,” while The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called it a “mediocre revenge drama” with “a not particularly good” star turn. Besides, since the year 2000 just one “individual” Best Actress Cannes winner has gone on to receive an Oscar nomination for the same performance: Rooney Mara*, who, though one of the two leads in Todd Haynes' Carol (2011), was shortlisted in the Oscars' Best Supporting Actress category so as not to compete with her co-star and eventual Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett. Then there's the special case of Penélope Cruz; the 2006 Best Actress Oscar nominee – for Pedro Almodóvar's Volver – was a Cannes winner as part of that family comedy-drama ensemble†. And finally, despite their Cannes Best Actress win for performances in (at least partly) English-language films, no less than seven other actresses have failed to be shortlisted for the Academy Awards this century. Björk, Dancer in the Dark (2000). Maggie Cheung, Clean (2004). Hanna Laslo, Free Zone (2005). Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist (2009). Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy (2010). Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia (2011). Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars (2014). Coincidentally, that same year Moore starred in Still Alice, which eventually earned her the Best Actress Oscar. Warner Bros. will be distributing In the Fade in Germany later this year. Regarding the Oscars, whether late in 2017 or late in 2018, seems like it would be helpful if Diane Kruger got a hold of Isabelle Huppert's – and/or Marion Cotillard's and Jean Dujardin's – U.S.-based awards season publicists. * Rooney Mara shared the 2011 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award with Emmanuelle Bercot for My King / Mon roi. † Also in the Cannes-winning Volver ensemble: Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Chus Lampreave, and Yohana Cobo. 'The Beguiled' trailer: Colin Farrell cast in the old Clint Eastwood role in Sofia Coppola's readaptation of Civil War-set, lust & circumstance drama. Sofia Coppola ends Cannes female drought About 13 years ago, Sofia Coppola became the first American woman to be shortlisted for the Best Director Academy Award – for the Tokyo-set drama Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Coppola eventually lost in that category to Peter Jackson for the blockbuster The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but she did take home that year's Best Original Screenplay Oscar statuette. There haven't been any other Oscar nominations since, but her father-daughter drama Somewhere, toplining Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning, was the controversial Golden Lion winner at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. This year, Coppola has become only the second woman to win the Cannes Film Festival's Best Director Award – for The Beguiled, an American Civil War-set drama based on Thomas P. Cullinan's 1966 novel of the same name (originally published as A Painted Devil). With shades of Rumer Godden's Black Narcissus, The Beguiled follows a wounded Union soldier as he finds refuge at a girls' boarding school in Virginia. Sexual tension and assorted forms of pathological behavior ensue. Tenuous Cannes-Oscar Best Director connection From 2000 to 2016, 20 filmmakers† have taken home the Cannes Film Festival's Best Director Award. Of these, only four have gone on to receive matching Best Director Oscar nominations – but no wins: David Lynch, Mulholland Dr. (2001). Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel (2006). Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher (2014). Four other Cannes Best Director winners were bypassed by the Academy even though their movies featured – at least a sizable chunk of – English-language dialogue: Joel Coen, The Man Who Wasn't There§ (2001). Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love (2002). Gus Van Sant, Elephant (2004). Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive (2011). In other words, a Best Director Cannes Film Festival win is no guarantee of a Best Director Academy Award nomination. Ultimately, Sofia Coppola's chances of an Oscar nod in the Best Director category depend on how well The Beguiled is received among Los Angeles and New York film circles, and how commercially successful – for an “arthouse movie” – it turns out to be. † During that period, there were three Cannes Film Festival Best Director ties: 2001: Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn't There§ & David Lynch for Mulholland Dr. 2002: Im Kwon-taek for Painted Fire & Paul Thomas Anderson for Punch-Drunk Love. 2016: Cristian Mungiu for Graduation & Olivier Assayas for Personal Shopper. Both films opened in the U.S. in spring 2017 and may thus be eligible for the upcoming awards season. § Ethan Coen co-directed The Man Who Wasn't There, but didn't receive credit in that capacity. 'The Beguiled' with Nicole Kidman. The Best Actress Oscar winner ('The Hours,' 2002) had two movies in the Cannes Film Festival's Official Competition; the other one was 'The Killing of the Secret Deer,' also with Colin Farrell. Moreover, Kidman was the recipient of Cannes' special 70th Anniversary Prize. 'Sly' & 'elegant' Also adapted by Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled will be distributed in the U.S. by Oscar veteran Focus Features (Brokeback Mountain, The Danish Girl). The film has generally received positive notices – e.g., “sly” and “elegant” in the words of Time magazine's Stephanie Zacharek – and could well become a strong awards season contender in various categories. The cast includes The Killing of a Sacred Deer actors Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell, in addition to Kirsten Dunst (the star of Coppola's Marie Antoinette), Somewhere actress Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Addison Riecke, Angourie Rice, and Emma Howard. As an aside, Cullinan's novel also served as the basis for Don Siegel's The Beguiled (1971), a Southern Gothic effort adapted by Irene Kamp and former Hollywood Ten member Albert Maltz. In the cast of what turned out to be a major box office flop: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, and Jo Ann Harris. Women directors at Cannes & the Oscars For the record, Soviet filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva was the Cannes Film Festival's first Best Director winner, for The Story of the Flaming Years back in 1961. The only woman to have directed a Palme d'Or winner is Jane Campion, for The Piano (1993). Early in 1994, Campion became the second woman to be shortlisted for an Academy Award in the Best Director category. The first one was Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976). 'A Gentle Night' & 'Montparnasse Bienvenue' Qiu Yang's short film Palme d'Or winner A Gentle Night should be automatically eligible for the 2018 Academy Awards. But competition, as usual, will be fierce. In the last decade, the only short film Palme d'Or winner to have received an Oscar nomination is Juanjo Giménez Peña's Timecode (2016), in the Best Live Action Short Film category. This article was originally published at Alt Film Guide (http://www.altfg.com/).

Álex de la Iglesia's As Luck Would Have It (La chispa de la vida) has new images in the gallery. The drama stars José Mota and Salma Hayek as well as Blanca Portillo, Juan Luis Galiardo, Fernando Tejero, Manuel Tallafé, Antonio Garrido and Carolina Bang. The film opens Friday in select theaters, Cable VOD, SundanceNOW and other digital platforms. Roberto (famed Spanish comic José Mota) once had a promising career in advertising. But now out of work during the economic downturn, he struggles to keep his family afloat and their dire situation a secret from his adoring wife Luisa (Salma Hayek). After yet another dead end interview, it seems like reality will come crashing down on Roberto – until a freak accident places him at the center of a wild media storm. Realizing his opportunity, Roberto hires a brazen agent to help him leverage his new found fame into fortune,...

Álex de la Iglesia's As Luck Would Have It (La chispa de la vida) has new images in the gallery. The drama stars José Mota and Salma Hayek as well as Blanca Portillo, Juan Luis Galiardo, Fernando Tejero, Manuel Tallafé, Antonio Garrido and Carolina Bang. The film opens Friday in select theaters, Cable VOD, SundanceNOW and other digital platforms. Roberto (famed Spanish comic José Mota) once had a promising career in advertising. But now out of work during the economic downturn, he struggles to keep his family afloat and their dire situation a secret from his adoring wife Luisa (Salma Hayek). After yet another dead end interview, it seems like reality will come crashing down on Roberto – until a freak accident places him at the center of a wild media storm. Realizing his opportunity, Roberto hires a brazen agent to help him leverage his new found fame into fortune,...

The Berlin International Film Festival has just announced the first five films lined up for the Competition and five more for the Berlinale Special. The 62nd edition runs from February 9 through 19.

Update: The Berlinale's also announced that the members of the International Jury, presided over by Mike Leigh, will be Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa.

Competition

Captive

France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain

By Brillante Mendoza (Serbis, Kinatay, Lola)

With Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta

World premiere

From Ioncinema: "Based on a real-life event that occurred in 2001. It centers on Thérèse Bourgoin (Huppert), a French woman who works for a humanitarian organization on Palawan Island in the Philippines. While she is transporting equipment to Puerto Princesa, she is kidnapped by mistake with a colleague by Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, who are fighting for Mindanao independence."

Dictado (Childish Games)

Spain

By Antonio Chavarrías (Susanna,...

Now that the fall “awards festival” circuit is finally at a close — but with Sundance looming in the distance — it’s easy to forget about Biff — the Berlin International Film Festival, that is. (See, I even have to give the name.) This might have something to do with their less-than-huge lineup; in terms of films playing in competition, last year’s biggest art house title was The Turin Horse, while the most mainstream was probably Margin Call. Nothing too slim, but not much compared to Cannes, Venice, or Tiff.

The first round of titles to play this coming February (via Twitch) do carry a few major titles, though. Among them are The Flowers of War (which we were quite ecstatic about), Guy Maddin‘s Keyhole, Extremely Loud…, Kevin Macdonald‘s Bob Marley documentary, and an expansion of Werner Herzog‘s Into the Abyss. A few other foreign titles carry potential,...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: We continue to preview anticipated titles screening at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in our “Road to Toronto” feature.

The fest kicks off on Sept. 9, and HollywoodNews.com will be on the ground bringing you reviews, interviews, and a clearer glimpse at the ever-shifting Oscar race.

To read our previous preview columns, punch “Tiff” into our search window. Today, we’re digging in to a difficult, emotional drama that divided audiences and critics at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival last May, but recently secured a major victory when Roadside Attractions acquired its U.S. distribution rights.

Biutiful

The Plot: Tormented family man Uxbal (Javier Bardem) struggles with present-day problems in Barcelona while confronting the sins of his checkered past.

The Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Babel,” “21 Grams,” “Amores perros”)

The Cast: Javier Bardem, Blanca Portillo, Ruben Ochandiano, Felix Cubero, Martina Garcia

The Scoop: Iñárritu...

We’ve already talked about Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful and we finally have a chance to show you the first poster and two photos from this movie which stars Javier Bardem.

Javier Bardem In Biutiful

As we know, Biutiful will be shown at this year’s Cannes Film Festival In Competition. With star power of Javier Bardem in the leading role, the public probably have more eyes on this one than on the other In Competition rivals, from the start. Biutiful is already described as Spanish-language “urban thriller.”

Javier Bardem In Biutiful

Here’s Biutiful synopsis: A man involved in illegal dealing is confronted by his childhood friend, who is now a policeman. At the heart of Biutiful is the intimate, powerful story of Uxbal, a man who finds himself desperately alone, trying to maintain his balance between survival in a marginal neighborhood and safeguarding the future of his...

Ok, we all love Javier Bardem, right, especially after No Country For Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

That’s why, although, at first moment, we had no detailed information about Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s upcoming movie titled Biutiful, we already have a feeling that it would be awesome.

And we’ll finally have a chance to enjoy Bardem on big screen at Cannes Film Festival 2010 because this movie is in this year competition!

So, as we said, Javier Bardem is the leading star in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful, which is actually the first project of Gonzalez after his much-publicized bust-up with former screenwriting partner Guillermo Arriaga.

If you don’t remember these names, let us remind you that Arriaga and Gonzalez Inarritu were Mexico’s most successful filmmaking duo, starting with their breakout hit Amores Perros in 2000 and the subsequent leap into Hollywood with English-language pics 21 Grams and Babel that formed a trilogy.

Red Carpet Lineup: each monday (oops, it's Wednesday!) a random batch of movie peeps out and about. Who is Where and Why? And What (are they wearing)?

from left to right: Chloe Moretz just turned 13 and she'll be ubiquitous before anyone can decide whether they want to see her constantly. I have only seen her in (500) Days of Summer in which she essayed the beyond cliche role of "little person who is wiser than adults", a blight on an otherwise great movie. I can't blame her for that exactly but I hate that there's no ümläüts (or whatever the heck they're called) hanging over her name. And that I Can blame her for. It's spelled Chloë, right big mouth? The fanboys already love "Chloe" [sic] in advance for being "Hit Girl" in Kick-Ass . That's the movie she's been out promoting this week here with shiny checkers (dress) and snarky accessory (face...

Chicago – Very few directors have known how to utilize a star more effectively than the way Pedro Almodovar has turned Penelope Cruz from a gorgeous face into one of our best working actresses. Just the two films she’s made recently with Pedro - “Volver” and the new-to-dvd “Broken Embraces” - would earn her that title. “Broken Embraces” may not be perfect Pedro but sub-par Almodovar is still required viewing for all cineasts.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Broken Embraces” may not be quite the masterpiece that was the director’s “Talk to Her” or “Volver” but it is a far better film than one might think based on its general dismissal during its small theatrical release at the end of 2009, especially in HD. Very few directors have the colorful eye of Almodovar, a man made for 1080p.

Wildly self-referential and genre-hopping, “Broken Embraces” is a confidently directed slice of self-examination through the world of noir,...