News

“The Talent,” a glitzy party-set psychological thriller toplining Ester Expósito, one of the biggest breakouts of “Elite” stars, will be brought onto the market at Berlin by Spain’s Film Factory Entertainment.

Handling many of Spain’s biggest non-global streamer movies, Film Factory has acquired worldwide rights to “The Talent”outside Spain. It will present at next month’s European Film Market a first promo of the movie whose talent package is compounded by Fernando León de Aranoa, who co-writes and produces. Helmer of San Sebastian Film Festival Golden Shell winner “Mondays in the Sun,” one of the early big breakthroughs for Javier Bardem, León directed Bardem once more in the Oscar shortlisted “The Good Boss,” which also won six 2021 Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars, including Best Film and Director, and the European Film Award for Best Comedy.

Produced by Leon’s Reposado PC and The Mediapro Studio,...

Hours after Amazon MGM Studios announced that María José Rodríguez has departed as head of Spanish Originals, The Mediapro Studio has announced that she will take up the post of managing director of Globomedia, one of the jewels in its Spanish production house crown.

Rodríguez will take up her new position on Sept. 1, with oversight of Globomedia content strategy and production operations, reporting directly to Laura Fernández Espeso, The Mediapro Studio CEO.

A historic production house founded in 1993 as independent production lifted off in Spain looking to feed the prime time ambitions of newly created commercial networks Telecinco and Antena 3.

Creating massive hits such as its first series “Médico de Familia” (1995-99), “7 Vidas” (1999-2006), “Los Serrano” (2003-08), “The Boarding School” (2007-10)” and “Paco’s Men” (2005-21) which knocked U.S. shows out of primetime, fired up front and original sales abroad, forged a Spanish TV style which remains to...

María José Rodríguez, the veteran international TV executive who just exited her role in charge of original production at Amazon’s Prime Video in Spain, has been hired as managing director of Globomedia, the Spanish-based content producer run by The Mediapro Studio.

In the new role, Rodríguez, who worked in several capacities at Globomedia from 1997-2007, will be tasked with overseeing Globomedia’s content strategy and production operations, the Madrid-based company said Monday. She will report directly to Mediapro Studio CEO Laura Fernández Espeso and starts September 1.

“Globomedia is a pivotal brand for the studio, playing a crucial role in our overall strategy,” Espeso said. “With her extensive experience and impressive track record, María José brings invaluable expertise in both fiction and non-fiction content production. She is a respected and well-regarded professional within the industry. We are delighted to welcome her to our team, where she will lead such an important brand for us.

María José Rodríguez, a driver of Prime Video’s large success in Spain, has stepped down as Amazon Studios’ head of Spanish originals.

Announced Monday by Nicole Morganti, Amazon Studios head of local originals for Southern Europe, Rodríguez’s departure comes just a week after Prime Video unveiled its 2024 slate in Madrid, reviewing what it hailed as a “banner” first semester.

That included “Reina Roja” (“Red Queen”), greenlit by Rodríguez, which featured in the platform’s Top 10 most-watched titles internationally at launch, and singing competition show “Operación Triunfo,” brought to Amazon Studios by Rodríguez, becoming the most acquired Spanish Original in the history of Prime Video in Spain.

“María José’s impact on the Prime Video has been significant,” Morganti said Monday. “There is no greater demonstration of her vision than bringing the Culpables trilogy to life for customers, beginning with ‘Culpa Mia,’ Prime Video’s most successful international original movie of all time,...

FilmSharks has released the international trailer for “The Bus of Life,” the latest feature from Barcelona-based Arcadia Motion Pictures, producers of Pablo Berger’s Oscar-nominated movie “Robot Dreams” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Cesar and Goya-winner “The Beasts.”

“The Bus of Life,” which will be released in Spain by A Contracorriente Films on July 3, is directed by Ibón Cormenzana, a producer of both of those films.

In the film, Andrés, a music teacher diagnosed with cancer, heads into the city to seek treatment for the illness. He makes the commute in a dilapidated school bus accompanied by other cancer patients. The bus is inspired by the real-life experiences of a Basque relative of Cormenzana’s.

Despite the consequences of their journey, the passengers strike quick friendships and turn the voyage into a celebratory one, where many learn a more joyous understanding of life. Andrés also learns to face his fears, such as stage fright,...

Omar Ayuso shines as Omar Shanaa in Elite, portraying a complex character dealing with identity and acceptance. Ayuso's career is on the rise with diverse roles, from music videos to feature films like "On the Go." With a growing online presence and 3.9M Instagram followers, Ayuso is making a name for himself as a talented actor.

Omar Ayuso is an up-and-coming Spanish actor who has already had a starring part in a popular Netflix show and has since appeared in significant movie roles as well. While most fans will recognize Ayuso for his role on the popular Netflix show Elite, the Madrid-born actor has been slowly adding a wider array of performances to his maturing filmography. Born on March 26, 1998, Ayuso began his acting career in 2018, first appearing in Danna Paola's "Final Feliz" music video followed by Netflix's hit high school drama series Elite and the short-lived El Continental.

Spain’s film and TV industries are in their second wave as standout content providers for global streamers. Some of the country’s most intriguing titles will take the international stage this weekend at MipTV in Cannes.

Built on a foundation of hits such as “The Red Band Society,” “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and “Locked Up,” a new era of internationally renowned content creation in Spain kicked off in 2018 with Alex Pina’s blockbuster series “Money Heist,” picked up by Netflix.

Since then, Spain has enjoyed a place among the steadiest content suppliers for major players worldwide, taking advantage of its often character-driven dramas, high-quality creators and producers, and a language spoken by more than 600 million people around the globe.

Although the market is continuously evolving, local industry has adapted to different new business models, entering bigger and more ambitious productions, often via co-production. Spanish fiction’s global popularity continues to grow to accommodate audience appetites.

A sign of Spain’s rising profile as a top market for Prime Video, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, and James Farrell, the L.A.-based VP of international originals at Prime Video, flew to Madrid this week, with the world premiere of “Red Queen” (“Reina Roja”), the series adaption of the first book in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s hit trilogy, taking place on Monday night.

The streamer is rolling off the record-breaking finale of its first weekly live entertainment show “Operación Triunfo,” and has revealed that the top three of the the ten most-watched Spanish Originals of 2023 – “My Fault,” “Awareness” and “Los Farad” – have received on average 80% of streams outside of Spain, reaching a milestone for the international reach of Prime Video’s non-English language content.

“The last 12 months has been a truly remarkable time for Spanish-language content,” said Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios at Prime Video.

FilmSharks has taken world sales rights outside Spain to “The Bus of Life,” next up from Arcadia Motion Pictures, producer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Cesar and Goya winner “The Beasts” and Neon U.S. pick-up “Robot Dreams,” nominated last month for a best animated feature Academy Award.

The production and sales company has also revealed first look art work on the film, currently in post and set for delivery in 2024.

Directed by Ibón Cormenzana, producer of both “The Beasts” and Robot “Dreams,” “The Bus of Life” turns on Andrés, a music teacher diagnosed with cancer who seeks treatment at a hospital in the city.

His travels there on a singular, dilapidated bus accompanied by other cancer patients. It soon becomes an extraordinary experience, giving him new friends and a far more joyous understanding of life.He also learns to conquer his fears, such as the stage fright which has frustrated...

Madrid-based Rock & Ruz – the production company of Netflix’s “Nowhere,” which has just been confirmed by Netflix as its most-viewed Spanish-language movie of all time – has pacted new projects with Italy’s Leonardo Fasoli, a head-writer of “Gomorrah” and creator of “ZeroZeroZero,” and Spain-based Alejandro Hernández, a co-writer on Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War” and “La Fortuna.”

Targeting the key to high-end fiction success in Europe – its screenwriters – and added to “Nowhere” and an upcoming Spanish-Mexican remake of hit Korean movie “Miracle in Cell No. 7” – the freshly-announced projects mark out Rock & Ruz as a new and significant Spain-based international player.

As international markets – both theatrical and global streamers – are asking for bigger films with identifiable audiences, Rock & Ruz’s bold slate looks like a ready source of titles.

“Our company is focused on producing global strategic projects. No matter if they are in English or Spanish,” Rock & Ruz...

New Amazon Prime Video series “Los Farad,” released Dec. 12, takes a look at the Cold War from one of its strangest geo-political hubs, 1980s Málaga. The action-packed show follows a family that is normal in many ways, despite earning a luxurious living as arms traffickers.

Part of a determinedly diverse and burgeoning lineup at Spain’s Prime Video, “Los Farad” is a high-profile prestige package starring Miguel Herrán – who plays Rio in “Money Heist” and Cristián in “Elite” – and the on-the-rise Susana Abaitúa, who delivered a tearaway performance in Netflix rom-com “Crazy About Her.”

Co-created by Alejandro Aménabar co-scribe Alejandro Hernández, “Los Farad” is directed by Mariano Barroso in his fifth collaboration with Hernández.

Emerging as one of Spain’s most notable drama series directors in an age of premium fiction, Barroso has extracted terrific, nuanced performances in series set in Spain’s recent past, such as “The Invisible Line” and “What the Future Holds.

Netflix’s longstanding drama “The Crown” is releasing its season finale this week, but what other new titles are coming to a streamer near you?

December is normally when scripted TV shows are winding down for a midseason break. There was nothing normal about the TV production schedule in 2023, however, as strikes by both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) knocked Tinseltown off its production schedule for more than 100 days.

Despite the irregularities, there are two series that are preparing to air their final episodes this week! Check out which two they are, and take in the rest of the list to find something new and exciting to stream each and every day until Sunday.

Monday, Dec. 11 ‘Candace Renoir’ Season 8 Premiere | Acorn TV

After 10 years abroad, Candice Renoir is back in the south of France and back on...

Amazon’s Prime Video has announced a 2023 Spanish production slate which takes in movies and series from directors, writers and above all producers who have set Spain’s box office and global streamer rankings on fire over the last decade.

Talent attached to the three new movies and three series unveiled Tuesday in Madrid at a Prime Video Presents Spain event include “Hildegart,” from the producers of 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” “Un hipster en la España vacía,” produced by Lazona Films, which made ”Spanish Affair,” the highest grossing Spanish film ever in Spain; and “Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin,” backed by Nostromo Pictures, behind “Through My Window,” the sixth-most watched non-English movie ever on Netflix.

Another title, docuseries “El Circo de los Muchachos” is co-written by Pepe Coira, co-scribe of “Hierro” and “Rapa,” two of the most popular series to date on Telefonica’s Movistar+.

The news slate...

In a bid to give more opportunities to women directors and boost the romcom genre, Sony Pictures International has teamed up with Maria Ripoll’s Cahuenga Filmmakers and transatlantic production shingle El Estudio to launch The Love Collection, a series of romantic comedy features to be written and helmed by women.

Ripoll, best known for her romcom “Ahora o nunca,” the highest-grossing femme-directed film in Spain, will serve as executive producer on all the titles, and will direct the first in the collection, “Yo no soy esa,” (roughly translated to “I’m Not That One” or “I’m Not Her”) starring Verónica Echegui. El Estudio’s Enrique López Lavigne will serve as producer on all the titles.

In “Yo no soy esa,” Susana (Echegui) wakes up after a 20-year coma. Stuck in a grown woman’s body but emotionally and psychologically still a teenager, Susana must learn to navigate an unfamiliar world and rediscover herself.

Seismic shifts in the world’s entertainment industry have thrown a global spotlight on Spain’s film and TV industry as never before.

Foreign productions are flocking to Spain, spending €263 million (266 million) in 2021, double the 2016-19 average, according to a ProFilm study. International inward investment in national productions has also grown on an unprecedented scale.

All the big streamers have beached in Spain. Reed Hastings cut the tape on Netflix’s first European Production Hub, in Madrid’s Tres Cantos, in 2019. Viacom Intl. Studios (Vis) Emea and Asia and AMC Networks Intl. Southern Europe have set up production operations in Spain. Other players — Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max and Starzplay — run offices in the country.

Capitalizing on such a massive presence, in March 2021 the federal government announced an Avs Hub plan aimed at sinking 1.6 billion into the entertainment industry. It is designed to turn Spain into one of the...