Principal photography has begun on “The Captive,” a historical epic from “The Others’” Alejandro Amenábar, starring Julio Peña (“Berlin”) as “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes, a prisoner of Ottoman corsairs, seen in a very first still from the film, alongside Alessandro Borghi (“Suburra”), playing his captor, which has been shared in exclusivity with Variety.
Paris and London-based production, finance and sales house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture is on board to release the film in Spain in 2025.
If Peña look spruce but worse for wear, little wonder. An origins story of the early flowering of literary genius in Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote” and slice of mean street life “Rinconete and Cortadillo,” this story is wrapped in a historical thriller.
“The Captive,” no ordinary bio, turns on an episode in Cervantes life which was to shape not only his gift for storytelling...
Paris and London-based production, finance and sales house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture is on board to release the film in Spain in 2025.
If Peña look spruce but worse for wear, little wonder. An origins story of the early flowering of literary genius in Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote” and slice of mean street life “Rinconete and Cortadillo,” this story is wrapped in a historical thriller.
“The Captive,” no ordinary bio, turns on an episode in Cervantes life which was to shape not only his gift for storytelling...
- 5/15/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a star-studded Marbella of the 1980s, and the glam Andalusian backdrop frames an opulent narrative that fuses suspense, betrayal and slow-simmering vengeance in the Atresmedia original series “Eva & Nicole,” teased by its producers – Spain’s Atresmedia TV (“Veneno”) alongside Good Mood (“Cristo y Rey”) – at the MipDrama showcase on April 7, a precursor to the broader MipTV international series market in Cannes, running April 8-10.
Handling global distribution, Atresmedia TV International Sales will attend MipTV.
One of only 10 international series selected by the MipDrama jury, the eight-episode affair is directed by David Molina, Antonio Hernández and Álvaro Vicario and structured around a fast-paced script written by Daniel Écija, Patricia Trueba, Andrés Martín Soto, Iñaki San Román, Paula López Cuervo and César Mendizábal.
The series opens with gusto at Nicole’s, the social club named after its owner who is framed from the back as she fiercely pulls open...
Handling global distribution, Atresmedia TV International Sales will attend MipTV.
One of only 10 international series selected by the MipDrama jury, the eight-episode affair is directed by David Molina, Antonio Hernández and Álvaro Vicario and structured around a fast-paced script written by Daniel Écija, Patricia Trueba, Andrés Martín Soto, Iñaki San Román, Paula López Cuervo and César Mendizábal.
The series opens with gusto at Nicole’s, the social club named after its owner who is framed from the back as she fiercely pulls open...
- 4/7/2024
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Orson Welles famously started but never finished an adaptation in Spain of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes’ beloved 17th-century novel. Terry Gilliam’s first attempt to shoot his take on Quixote fell apart so spectacularly in 2000 that it resulted in a widely viewed “unmaking-of” documentary titled, grimly, Lost in La Mancha.
But they weren’t just tilting at windmills. Gilliam completed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote nearly two decades later, making it one of literally dozens of screen adaptations from around the world based on the widely published novel. In April, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar (The Sea Inside)will start shooting on The Captive, an origin tale about a young, storytelling Cervantes in an Algiers prison in 1575.
Spanish literature — and its literary figures — have been inspiring filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. According to a now-defunct Cervantes Virtual Library database, considered incomplete by some accounts, in Spain almost 1,200 literary...
But they weren’t just tilting at windmills. Gilliam completed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote nearly two decades later, making it one of literally dozens of screen adaptations from around the world based on the widely published novel. In April, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar (The Sea Inside)will start shooting on The Captive, an origin tale about a young, storytelling Cervantes in an Algiers prison in 1575.
Spanish literature — and its literary figures — have been inspiring filmmakers since the dawn of cinema. According to a now-defunct Cervantes Virtual Library database, considered incomplete by some accounts, in Spain almost 1,200 literary...
- 2/16/2024
- by Jennifer Green
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It may not match last year’s sheer quantity in competition strands, but Spain still boasts a high quality presence at the Berlinale. Following, highlights the festival and EFM:
“Every You Every Me,” (Michael Fetter Nathansky)
A factory worker strives to reconnect with her distant husband, exploring the rediscovery of love within the complexities of relationships. From Contando Films, Studio Zentral, Network Movie and Nephilim, a German-Spanish production.
“Cura Sana,” (Lucía G. Romero)
Produced by Escac Films, this Generation 14plus premiere delves into sisters’ lives shaped by ancestral violence, exploring deep familial bonds and lasting impact of abuse.
“Deprisa, Deprisa,” (Carlos Saura)
A classic: Set to a memorable flamenco-pop score, four young Madrid delinquents pull robberies, snort heroin, steal cars the film capturing the raw energy youth and their vague, but visceral sense of ‘liberty.’ A restoration of a seminal work.
“The Human Hibernation,” (Anna Cornudella)
A sci-fi exploration of siblings undergoing hibernation,...
“Every You Every Me,” (Michael Fetter Nathansky)
A factory worker strives to reconnect with her distant husband, exploring the rediscovery of love within the complexities of relationships. From Contando Films, Studio Zentral, Network Movie and Nephilim, a German-Spanish production.
“Cura Sana,” (Lucía G. Romero)
Produced by Escac Films, this Generation 14plus premiere delves into sisters’ lives shaped by ancestral violence, exploring deep familial bonds and lasting impact of abuse.
“Deprisa, Deprisa,” (Carlos Saura)
A classic: Set to a memorable flamenco-pop score, four young Madrid delinquents pull robberies, snort heroin, steal cars the film capturing the raw energy youth and their vague, but visceral sense of ‘liberty.’ A restoration of a seminal work.
“The Human Hibernation,” (Anna Cornudella)
A sci-fi exploration of siblings undergoing hibernation,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants.
Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month.
Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.
Film Factory Ent. will take to market Iciar Bollain’s “I Am Nevenka,” about a feminist pioneer in Spain, and an untitled project from “Prison 77’s” Alberto Rodriguez, two fruit of the first movie slate from Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD player, announced in January.
Spanish movies overperform on Netflix and Movistar Plus+. As of Feb.
Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month.
Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.
Film Factory Ent. will take to market Iciar Bollain’s “I Am Nevenka,” about a feminist pioneer in Spain, and an untitled project from “Prison 77’s” Alberto Rodriguez, two fruit of the first movie slate from Movistar Plus+, the biggest Spanish pay TV/SVOD player, announced in January.
Spanish movies overperform on Netflix and Movistar Plus+. As of Feb.
- 2/16/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Principal photography is set to begin in April on “The Captive” (“El Cautivo”), the period adventure epic from Alejandro Amenábar, whose “The Sea Inside” won an Oscar for best foreign language film. Film Constellation has boarded worldwide sales, and will introduce the project to buyers at the European Film Market.
The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.
The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.
The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...
The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.
The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.
The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...
- 1/30/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny have joined “Monster” Season 2 at Netflix, Variety has learned.
The two A-listers join previously announced stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez in the upcoming season of the anthology series, which will focus on the Menéndez brothers. The season is officially titled “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story” and is slated to debut later in 2024.
Erik (Koch) and Lyle Menéndez (Chavez) were convicted of the murders of their parents, José (Bardem) and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez (Sevigny), in 1996. Authorities argued the brothers committed the murders to inherit their father’s fortune, while the brothers maintained that they killed their parents after years of mental and physical abuse.
“Monster” was co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Both serve as executive producers along with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, David McMillan, Louise Shore, and Carl Franklin. The first season focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
The two A-listers join previously announced stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez in the upcoming season of the anthology series, which will focus on the Menéndez brothers. The season is officially titled “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story” and is slated to debut later in 2024.
Erik (Koch) and Lyle Menéndez (Chavez) were convicted of the murders of their parents, José (Bardem) and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez (Sevigny), in 1996. Authorities argued the brothers committed the murders to inherit their father’s fortune, while the brothers maintained that they killed their parents after years of mental and physical abuse.
“Monster” was co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Both serve as executive producers along with Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, David McMillan, Louise Shore, and Carl Franklin. The first season focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
- 1/15/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
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.
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.
- 12/13/2023
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Three titles received €500,000.
Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend is among 29 projects to receive a share of €8.1m in Eurimages’ latest round of co-production funding.
The new feature from Hungarian filmmaker Enyedi, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear for On Body And Soul in 2017, is a co-production between Germany, France and Hungary, and received €500,000 – the largest amount awarded in this round of funding. The film focuses on an ancient tree in the Botanical Gardens of the university town of Marburg to explore the relationship between man and nature.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Two more titles received €500,000: The Captive...
Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend is among 29 projects to receive a share of €8.1m in Eurimages’ latest round of co-production funding.
The new feature from Hungarian filmmaker Enyedi, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear for On Body And Soul in 2017, is a co-production between Germany, France and Hungary, and received €500,000 – the largest amount awarded in this round of funding. The film focuses on an ancient tree in the Botanical Gardens of the university town of Marburg to explore the relationship between man and nature.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Two more titles received €500,000: The Captive...
- 11/27/2023
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Director J.A Bayona’s real-life-disaster Spanish film ‘Society of the Snow’, has been chosen as the Spanish pick for the 2024 Oscars for Best International Film. The decision comes less than two weeks after the film had its world premiere as the closing feature of the Venice Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The director is best known for directing films such as ‘The Orphanage’ as well as the ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’; and his most recent outing is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster based on Pablo Vierci’s book.
This marks the second time that Bayona’s film has been selected by Spain for Oscar submission after this 2007 gothic horror film ‘The Orphanage’ which was also his last Spanish film. The film also marks the first time that a Netflix film has been selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race,...
The director is best known for directing films such as ‘The Orphanage’ as well as the ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’; and his most recent outing is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster based on Pablo Vierci’s book.
This marks the second time that Bayona’s film has been selected by Spain for Oscar submission after this 2007 gothic horror film ‘The Orphanage’ which was also his last Spanish film. The film also marks the first time that a Netflix film has been selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Director J.A Bayona’s real-life-disaster Spanish film ‘Society of the Snow’, has been chosen as the Spanish pick for the 2024 Oscars for Best International Film. The decision comes less than two weeks after the film had its world premiere as the closing feature of the Venice Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The director is best known for directing films such as ‘The Orphanage’ as well as the ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’; and his most recent outing is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster based on Pablo Vierci’s book.
This marks the second time that Bayona’s film has been selected by Spain for Oscar submission after this 2007 gothic horror film ‘The Orphanage’ which was also his last Spanish film. The film also marks the first time that a Netflix film has been selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race,...
The director is best known for directing films such as ‘The Orphanage’ as well as the ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’; and his most recent outing is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster based on Pablo Vierci’s book.
This marks the second time that Bayona’s film has been selected by Spain for Oscar submission after this 2007 gothic horror film ‘The Orphanage’ which was also his last Spanish film. The film also marks the first time that a Netflix film has been selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Agency News Desk
J.A. Bayona’s real-life disaster thriller Society of the Snow has been selected by Spain as it submission for the best international feature category at the 2024 Oscars.
The decision comes less than two weeks after the Netflix film had its world premiere as the closing feature of the Venice Film Festival.
Society of the Snow — about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster and based on Pablo Vierci’s book — becomes Bayona’s second time representing him home country for international feature award after his 2007 breakout The Orphanage, which was also his last film in Spanish.
It also becomes the first Netflix film selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race, with four wins — most recently in 2004 for The Sea Inside — from 20 nominations. Its last appearance in the category was in 2019, when Pedro Almodovar — who won in 1999 for All About My Mother — was nominated for Pain and Glory.
The decision comes less than two weeks after the Netflix film had its world premiere as the closing feature of the Venice Film Festival.
Society of the Snow — about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster and based on Pablo Vierci’s book — becomes Bayona’s second time representing him home country for international feature award after his 2007 breakout The Orphanage, which was also his last film in Spanish.
It also becomes the first Netflix film selected by Spain.
Spain has a solid track record in the Oscars international feature race, with four wins — most recently in 2004 for The Sea Inside — from 20 nominations. Its last appearance in the category was in 2019, when Pedro Almodovar — who won in 1999 for All About My Mother — was nominated for Pain and Glory.
- 9/20/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Netflix film closed this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Ja Bayona’s Society Of The Snow will represent Spain as its submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Netflix’s Spanish-language drama closed Venice earlier this month and will also screen at San Sebastian and Sitges festivals.
Based on the real-life plane crash of a Uruguayan rugby team in 1972, Society Of The Snow follows the remaining passenrs as they try to survive in the middle of the Andes. It is produced by Misión de Audaces,
Netflix title All Quiet On The Western Front. won the...
Ja Bayona’s Society Of The Snow will represent Spain as its submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Netflix’s Spanish-language drama closed Venice earlier this month and will also screen at San Sebastian and Sitges festivals.
Based on the real-life plane crash of a Uruguayan rugby team in 1972, Society Of The Snow follows the remaining passenrs as they try to survive in the middle of the Andes. It is produced by Misión de Audaces,
Netflix title All Quiet On The Western Front. won the...
- 9/20/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Inspired by the simmering one-man rebellion that kicked off a tremendous tide-change in Barcelona, writer-director Marcel Barrena (“Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea”) and Spain’s The Mediapro Studio have begun filming “The 47.”
Tms has released first look images. The premise centers on social activist bus driver Manolo Vital, played by three-time Goya Award winner Eduardo Fernández (“Smoke & Mirrors”), as he grows increasingly outraged at the abject neglect faced by immigrant communities outside the city’s center, whose neighborhoods, peeled by immigrants from Extremadura and Andalusia, had only just achieved running water.
Stonewalled by the City Council, Vital seizes a bus used on Barcelona’s #47 line and extends its route to Torre Baró in an attempt to prove that the vehicle can safely service the outlying communities in need.
“What the film shows is that this good man tried to convince everyone that it was feasible. The contempt of...
Tms has released first look images. The premise centers on social activist bus driver Manolo Vital, played by three-time Goya Award winner Eduardo Fernández (“Smoke & Mirrors”), as he grows increasingly outraged at the abject neglect faced by immigrant communities outside the city’s center, whose neighborhoods, peeled by immigrants from Extremadura and Andalusia, had only just achieved running water.
Stonewalled by the City Council, Vital seizes a bus used on Barcelona’s #47 line and extends its route to Torre Baró in an attempt to prove that the vehicle can safely service the outlying communities in need.
“What the film shows is that this good man tried to convince everyone that it was feasible. The contempt of...
- 6/29/2023
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
El 47, the latest feature from Spanish production powerhouse Mediapro Studio, is kicking into gear with cameras set to roll on the pic in Barcelona in the coming days.
Directed by Marcel Barrena (Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea), the pic is billed as a “tribute to the working class and to the men and women who built our cities, not only physically but also culturally.” The pic tells the story of Manolo Vital, a bus driver who helped create modern Barcelona during the city’s 1970s boom. Barrena co-wrote the pic with Alberto Marini (El desconocido).
Synopsis reads: In the 1960s and 70s Spain, rural Barcelona was built, for the most part, by immigrants from Extremadura and Andalusia who, although they had built the neighborhoods with their bare hands, were still not considered part of the city. Their homes didn’t even have running water or electricity. Tired of hearing...
Directed by Marcel Barrena (Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea), the pic is billed as a “tribute to the working class and to the men and women who built our cities, not only physically but also culturally.” The pic tells the story of Manolo Vital, a bus driver who helped create modern Barcelona during the city’s 1970s boom. Barrena co-wrote the pic with Alberto Marini (El desconocido).
Synopsis reads: In the 1960s and 70s Spain, rural Barcelona was built, for the most part, by immigrants from Extremadura and Andalusia who, although they had built the neighborhoods with their bare hands, were still not considered part of the city. Their homes didn’t even have running water or electricity. Tired of hearing...
- 6/28/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Five years after the original "Bird Box" became an absolute sensation on Netflix, we're finally getting a follow-up. While it's not a proper sequel, it is more of a spin-off taking place elsewhere in the world. In this case, Spain, which is why the forthcoming movie is aptly titled "Bird Box Barcelona." That also has a nice alliterative ring to it. But that's about the only thing about this movie that looks nice, as it seems absolutely chaotic and tense.
This appears to be going with a very similar conceit as the original film, with survivors trying to avoid eye contact with the mysterious beings at the center of this disaster at all costs. It's a new group of people in an entirely new location. What will those new elements bring to the table? Let's have a look-see.
Bird Box Barcelona Trailer Brings Back The Blindfolds
This trailer offers up...
This appears to be going with a very similar conceit as the original film, with survivors trying to avoid eye contact with the mysterious beings at the center of this disaster at all costs. It's a new group of people in an entirely new location. What will those new elements bring to the table? Let's have a look-see.
Bird Box Barcelona Trailer Brings Back The Blindfolds
This trailer offers up...
- 6/5/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Belén Rueda stars in drama about demanding national gymnastics coach.
Spanish sales company Film Factory has boarded Laura Jou’s Free Falling, which is being produced by Juan Antonio Bayona and stars Belén Rueda.
Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Impossible, is producing Free Fall alongside his regular producers Sandra Hermida and Belén Atienza at Suspense Entertainment, who are both behind Bayona’s upcoming The Society of Snow for Netflix. Free Fall is also co-produced by Oriol Maymó Corte at Confección de Películas.
Free Falling is Jou’s second feature after Life Without Sara Amat, which won plaudits from local reviewers.
Spanish sales company Film Factory has boarded Laura Jou’s Free Falling, which is being produced by Juan Antonio Bayona and stars Belén Rueda.
Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Impossible, is producing Free Fall alongside his regular producers Sandra Hermida and Belén Atienza at Suspense Entertainment, who are both behind Bayona’s upcoming The Society of Snow for Netflix. Free Fall is also co-produced by Oriol Maymó Corte at Confección de Películas.
Free Falling is Jou’s second feature after Life Without Sara Amat, which won plaudits from local reviewers.
- 5/20/2023
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Belén Rueda stars in drama about demanding national gymnastics coach.
Spanish sales company Film Factory has boarded Laura Jou’s Free Fall, which is being produced by Juan Antonio Bayona and stars Belén Rueda.
Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Impossible, is producing Free Fall alongside his regular producers Sandra Hermida and Belén Atienza at Suspense Entertainment, who are both behind Bayona’s upcoming The Society of Snow for Netflix. Free Fall is also co-produced by Oriol Maymó Corte at Confección de Películas.
Free Fall is Jou’s second feature after Life Without Sara Amat, which won plaudits from local reviewers.
Spanish sales company Film Factory has boarded Laura Jou’s Free Fall, which is being produced by Juan Antonio Bayona and stars Belén Rueda.
Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Impossible, is producing Free Fall alongside his regular producers Sandra Hermida and Belén Atienza at Suspense Entertainment, who are both behind Bayona’s upcoming The Society of Snow for Netflix. Free Fall is also co-produced by Oriol Maymó Corte at Confección de Películas.
Free Fall is Jou’s second feature after Life Without Sara Amat, which won plaudits from local reviewers.
- 5/20/2023
- by Emilio Mayorga
- ScreenDaily
Spain’s The Mediapro Studio is teaming with writer-director Marcel Barrena and Spanish star Eduard Fernández on real-life inspired social film “The 47.”
Scheduled to shoot in Catalan and Spanish June-July in Barcelona, “The 47” is based on the true story of Manolo Vital, a bus driver who, during the city’s expansion in the 1970s, help shape the Barcelona of today.
Produced by Jaume Roures and executive produced by Laura Fernández Espeso, Javier Méndez and Eva Garrido, the film is one of the projects The Mediapro Studio Distribution is presenting for international sales at the current Cannes’ Marché du Film.
Award-winning screenwriter-producer Alberto Marini co-wrote the script alongside Barrena.
Winner of three Goya Awards and a San Sebastian Silver Shell, Fernández plays the central character in the film.
The cast also takes in Clara Segura (“The Sea Inside”), Zoe Bonafonte, Salva Reina (“Con quién viajas”), Aimar Vega (“Prison 77”), Carlos Cuevas...
Scheduled to shoot in Catalan and Spanish June-July in Barcelona, “The 47” is based on the true story of Manolo Vital, a bus driver who, during the city’s expansion in the 1970s, help shape the Barcelona of today.
Produced by Jaume Roures and executive produced by Laura Fernández Espeso, Javier Méndez and Eva Garrido, the film is one of the projects The Mediapro Studio Distribution is presenting for international sales at the current Cannes’ Marché du Film.
Award-winning screenwriter-producer Alberto Marini co-wrote the script alongside Barrena.
Winner of three Goya Awards and a San Sebastian Silver Shell, Fernández plays the central character in the film.
The cast also takes in Clara Segura (“The Sea Inside”), Zoe Bonafonte, Salva Reina (“Con quién viajas”), Aimar Vega (“Prison 77”), Carlos Cuevas...
- 5/17/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Coming Next from Spain, a showcase of five series, unspooled at Series Mania on March 21 just after a Spanish series, “Wrong Side of the Tracks” from Mediaset España and Alea Media, had scored 149.6 million watching hours in three weeks on Netflix for Seasons 1 and 2.
That platform connection and power of Spanish series threaded most of the series and much of the commentary at Tuesday’s Next from Spain, supported by Audiiovisual from Spain.
At least in terms of titles now ready to hit the market, there’s little sign as yet of platform pullback in Spain. Rather, it remains a ground zero in the streamer wars.
2023 will see the release of 70 new Spanish scripted series and 27 returning seasons of titles such as “Elite” “Rapa” “30 Coins” and “Veneno,” presenter Irene Jiménez, at Audiovisual 451, told a Next From Spain audience.
Of these new titles, 36% will be produced by linear TV broadcasters,...
That platform connection and power of Spanish series threaded most of the series and much of the commentary at Tuesday’s Next from Spain, supported by Audiiovisual from Spain.
At least in terms of titles now ready to hit the market, there’s little sign as yet of platform pullback in Spain. Rather, it remains a ground zero in the streamer wars.
2023 will see the release of 70 new Spanish scripted series and 27 returning seasons of titles such as “Elite” “Rapa” “30 Coins” and “Veneno,” presenter Irene Jiménez, at Audiovisual 451, told a Next From Spain audience.
Of these new titles, 36% will be produced by linear TV broadcasters,...
- 3/24/2023
- by John Hopewell and Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Carla Simòn’s drama won the Golden Bear in Berlin.
Carla Simon’s Catalan drama Alcarràs will be Spain’s entry to the best international feature award at the 2023 Oscars.
The film was selected by Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, from a three-strong shortlist ahead of Alauda Ruiz de Azua’s Lullaby and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts.
Alcarràs will be a leading contender to reach the nomination stage, having won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in February.
Mk2 handles international sales on the film, s it did for Spain’s entry last year, Fernando Leon de Aranoa...
Carla Simon’s Catalan drama Alcarràs will be Spain’s entry to the best international feature award at the 2023 Oscars.
The film was selected by Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, from a three-strong shortlist ahead of Alauda Ruiz de Azua’s Lullaby and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts.
Alcarràs will be a leading contender to reach the nomination stage, having won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in February.
Mk2 handles international sales on the film, s it did for Spain’s entry last year, Fernando Leon de Aranoa...
- 9/13/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Quad Cinema has announced that “Boundless Bardem,” a retrospective on Javier Bardem’s acting career tied to the release of his upcoming film “The Good Boss,” will run at The Quad in New York City from August 19th – 25th.
The films in the retrospective are Julian Schnabel’s “Before Night Falls“ (35mm); Bigas Luna’s “Golden Balls” (35mm) and “Jamón Jamón” (35mm); Pedro Almodóvar’s “Live Flesh” (35mm); Bond film “Skyfall” (4K); Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows”; Ethan and Joel Coen’s “No Country for Old Men,” Fernando León de Aranoa’s “Loving Pablo” and “Mondays in the Sun”; Álex de la Iglesia’s “Perdita Durango”, Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!”; and Alejandro Amenábar’s “The Sea Inside.”
The screening series will be co-produced with the Consulate General of Spain in New York.
“One of the most exciting moments of my work as a Cultural Consul are the times when we...
The films in the retrospective are Julian Schnabel’s “Before Night Falls“ (35mm); Bigas Luna’s “Golden Balls” (35mm) and “Jamón Jamón” (35mm); Pedro Almodóvar’s “Live Flesh” (35mm); Bond film “Skyfall” (4K); Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows”; Ethan and Joel Coen’s “No Country for Old Men,” Fernando León de Aranoa’s “Loving Pablo” and “Mondays in the Sun”; Álex de la Iglesia’s “Perdita Durango”, Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!”; and Alejandro Amenábar’s “The Sea Inside.”
The screening series will be co-produced with the Consulate General of Spain in New York.
“One of the most exciting moments of my work as a Cultural Consul are the times when we...
- 8/12/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Oscar winner Javier Bardem is enjoying a strong awards season run with a Best Actor nomination for Being The Ricardos and is also coming off his first Spanish-language movie in nearly two decades, Goya laureate The Good Boss. Below, we talk about balance — both at home and at work, as well as what the future holds. On the day Bardem and I were initially due to speak, Russia invaded Ukraine and the actor made a beeline to protest at the Russian embassy in Madrid. When we did hook up, we discussed why that was so important to him.
Deadline: You are having quite the awards season, between the record number of Goya nominations for The Good Boss — and six wins — along with yet another Oscar nomination for Being The Ricardos…
Javier Bardem: It was a helluva week. I mean there was a week with the Oscar nominations and the Goyas and you’re like,...
Deadline: You are having quite the awards season, between the record number of Goya nominations for The Good Boss — and six wins — along with yet another Oscar nomination for Being The Ricardos…
Javier Bardem: It was a helluva week. I mean there was a week with the Oscar nominations and the Goyas and you’re like,...
- 3/21/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The international-film category was once littered with feel-good stories about the relationship between an older person and a child, such as “Madame Rosa,” “Pelle the Conqueror,” “Burnt by the Sun” and “Kolya” that took home the statuette. Given the Oscars bestowed on the likes of “Cinema Paradiso” and “Life Is Beautiful,” individual nations could be forgiven for skewing their annual submissions in a crowd-pleasing direction.
However, the global film establishment had to take notice as the Academy started honoring tough-minded stories about “The Lives of Others,” as the title of 2006’s examination of post-Cold War suspicion puts it. A heartbreaking Balkan standoff fuels “No Man’s Land.” Assisted suicide is central to “The Sea Inside” and “Amour.” Bullying and xenophobia animate “In a Better World.”
The 2021 Oscars feature five nominees that reflect the sometimes-bleak world but there is always a strong note of hope. The five contenders are “Drive My Car,...
However, the global film establishment had to take notice as the Academy started honoring tough-minded stories about “The Lives of Others,” as the title of 2006’s examination of post-Cold War suspicion puts it. A heartbreaking Balkan standoff fuels “No Man’s Land.” Assisted suicide is central to “The Sea Inside” and “Amour.” Bullying and xenophobia animate “In a Better World.”
The 2021 Oscars feature five nominees that reflect the sometimes-bleak world but there is always a strong note of hope. The five contenders are “Drive My Car,...
- 2/26/2022
- by Shalini Dore and Bob Verini
- Variety Film + TV
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...
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...
- 12/9/2021
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Netflix’s Spanish adaptation of its hit original movie “Bird Box” is coming together.
Cast and a handful of early details were announced for the previously announced project from Àlex and David Pastor. Leading the international cast are Mario Casas, one of Spain’s most bankable leading men who this year won a best actor Spanish Academy Goya Award for his performance in “Cross the Line,” and Georgina Campbell, a best leading actress BAFTA winner for her work in “Murdered by My Boyfriend.”
Casas was also the star of horror thriller “The Paramedic,” one of Netflix’s best performing Spanish original films to date.
Other cast includes Diego Calva (“I Promise You Anarchy”), Alejandra Howard (“Ana. all in”), Naila Schuberth (“Unbroken”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and Celia Freijeiro (“Perfect Life”), with Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”), Gonzalo de Castro (“La torre de Suso”), Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”) and Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory...
Cast and a handful of early details were announced for the previously announced project from Àlex and David Pastor. Leading the international cast are Mario Casas, one of Spain’s most bankable leading men who this year won a best actor Spanish Academy Goya Award for his performance in “Cross the Line,” and Georgina Campbell, a best leading actress BAFTA winner for her work in “Murdered by My Boyfriend.”
Casas was also the star of horror thriller “The Paramedic,” one of Netflix’s best performing Spanish original films to date.
Other cast includes Diego Calva (“I Promise You Anarchy”), Alejandra Howard (“Ana. all in”), Naila Schuberth (“Unbroken”), Patrick Criado (“Riot Police”) and Celia Freijeiro (“Perfect Life”), with Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”), Gonzalo de Castro (“La torre de Suso”), Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”) and Leonardo Sbaraglia (“Pain and Glory...
- 10/28/2021
- by Jamie Lang and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Few high-end series say as much about their producers’ ambitions as Movistar Plus’ “La Fortuna,” starring Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters, one of nine market screenings at this year’s Mipcom trade fair.
“La Fortuna” weighs in as the single biggest U.S.-Spain co-production in history, teaming Spain’s Movistar Plus, the pay TV-svod unit of giant European telecom Telefonica, and AMC Studios.
It has the Spanish media company’s biggest stars to date. Tucci, a 2021 Emmy winner for “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” plays Frank Wild, owner of Atlantis Underwater Searching, the world’s biggest American deep-sea discovery company. Peters (“The Wire”) takes on the role of Jonas Pierce, the world’s best maritime rights lawyer.
The AMC deal delivers, moreover, the most far-reaching distribution deal for any Movistar series to date with AMC Plus releasing the series in the U.S. and Canada this winter and Latin...
“La Fortuna” weighs in as the single biggest U.S.-Spain co-production in history, teaming Spain’s Movistar Plus, the pay TV-svod unit of giant European telecom Telefonica, and AMC Studios.
It has the Spanish media company’s biggest stars to date. Tucci, a 2021 Emmy winner for “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” plays Frank Wild, owner of Atlantis Underwater Searching, the world’s biggest American deep-sea discovery company. Peters (“The Wire”) takes on the role of Jonas Pierce, the world’s best maritime rights lawyer.
The AMC deal delivers, moreover, the most far-reaching distribution deal for any Movistar series to date with AMC Plus releasing the series in the U.S. and Canada this winter and Latin...
- 10/8/2021
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Shortlist also inclued Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers and Marcel Barrena’s Mediterraneo: The Law Of The Sea.
Fernando León de Aranoa’s black comedy The Good Boss, starring Javier Bardem, will represent Spain in the upcoming best international feature film Oscar race.
The Spanish Film Academy selected the film from a shortlist that also included Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers and Marcel Barrena’s Mediterraneo: The Law Of The Sea.
Produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado P.C., The Good Boss premiered last month at the San Sebastián Film Festival, reuniting director Aranoa with Bardem 19 years after Mondays In The Sun,...
Fernando León de Aranoa’s black comedy The Good Boss, starring Javier Bardem, will represent Spain in the upcoming best international feature film Oscar race.
The Spanish Film Academy selected the film from a shortlist that also included Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers and Marcel Barrena’s Mediterraneo: The Law Of The Sea.
Produced by The Mediapro Studio and Reposado P.C., The Good Boss premiered last month at the San Sebastián Film Festival, reuniting director Aranoa with Bardem 19 years after Mondays In The Sun,...
- 10/6/2021
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
Few big European telecoms have driven into original high-end drama series production at the scale of Movistar Plus.
When it world-premiered at the San Sebastian festival in 2017, “The Plague,” a re-creation of 1580 Seville in its dazzling glory and poverty, was most probably the biggest-budget Spanish series ever made.
Yet, even by such measures, Alejandro Amenábar’s “La Fortuna,” which world-premieres at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, sets a new bar for Movistar Plus’ ambitions.
The six-part series also says much about how Movistar Plus, the pay TV-svod unit of giant European telecom Telefonica, is setting out to consolidate audiences in Spain and secure even more of a global viewership.
“La Fortuna” weighs in as the single biggest single U.S.-Spain co-production in history, teaming AMC Studios, Movistar Plus and Spain’s Mod Producciones. It has the Spanish media company’s biggest stars to date: Stanley Tucci, who plays Frank Wild,...
When it world-premiered at the San Sebastian festival in 2017, “The Plague,” a re-creation of 1580 Seville in its dazzling glory and poverty, was most probably the biggest-budget Spanish series ever made.
Yet, even by such measures, Alejandro Amenábar’s “La Fortuna,” which world-premieres at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, sets a new bar for Movistar Plus’ ambitions.
The six-part series also says much about how Movistar Plus, the pay TV-svod unit of giant European telecom Telefonica, is setting out to consolidate audiences in Spain and secure even more of a global viewership.
“La Fortuna” weighs in as the single biggest single U.S.-Spain co-production in history, teaming AMC Studios, Movistar Plus and Spain’s Mod Producciones. It has the Spanish media company’s biggest stars to date: Stanley Tucci, who plays Frank Wild,...
- 9/13/2021
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Production on AMC-Movistar Plus high-end original “La Fortuna,” starring “Supernova’s” Stanley Tucci, wrapped Tuesday in Spain, ending principal photography on one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most ambitious upcoming drama series.
Scheduled to bow this fall, “La Fortuna” also marks the first TV show from Oscar winner Amenábar, who directed “The Others” and “The Sea Inside.”
Both that ambition and authorship shone through on Monday’s last full day of shooting, which took place in Pasajes de San Pedro, a Bay of Biscay fishing village and shipyard on the northern Spanish coast, a half-hour drive from France.
Produced by Movistar Plus, AMC Studios and Mod Pictures, with AMC bowing the series in the U.S., Canada and Latin America and Beta Film selling the rest of international, the six-hour adventure thriller casts Tucci as Frank Wild, a modern-day, business-driven treasure hunter.
Wild retrieves the biggest sunken booty in...
Scheduled to bow this fall, “La Fortuna” also marks the first TV show from Oscar winner Amenábar, who directed “The Others” and “The Sea Inside.”
Both that ambition and authorship shone through on Monday’s last full day of shooting, which took place in Pasajes de San Pedro, a Bay of Biscay fishing village and shipyard on the northern Spanish coast, a half-hour drive from France.
Produced by Movistar Plus, AMC Studios and Mod Pictures, with AMC bowing the series in the U.S., Canada and Latin America and Beta Film selling the rest of international, the six-hour adventure thriller casts Tucci as Frank Wild, a modern-day, business-driven treasure hunter.
Wild retrieves the biggest sunken booty in...
- 4/27/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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...
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...
- 2/25/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Gearing up for its final-phase filming on locations in northern Spain and North America, Movistar Plus-AMC’s high-end original “La Fortuna,” starring Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci and Clarke Peters (“The Wire”), has shared a behind-the-scenes featurette with Variety.
The on-set first-look comes as Germany’s Beta Film has acquired international rights to “La Fortuna,” which marks the first incursion into drama series direction by Oscar winning director Alejandro Amenabar.
An adventure series, based on the true-to-life discovery of the biggest sunken treasure of all time in 2007, “La Fortuna’s” two-minute making of video marks the first footage of any sort from the six-hour series, one of the most-anticipated TV shows from the Spanish-speaking world.
The teaser forefronts the cast, taking in high-caliber character actors such as T’Nia Miller (“Years & Years”) and Peters, as well as Tucci, who’s gaining heat for his performance in “Supernova.” The video also features...
The on-set first-look comes as Germany’s Beta Film has acquired international rights to “La Fortuna,” which marks the first incursion into drama series direction by Oscar winning director Alejandro Amenabar.
An adventure series, based on the true-to-life discovery of the biggest sunken treasure of all time in 2007, “La Fortuna’s” two-minute making of video marks the first footage of any sort from the six-hour series, one of the most-anticipated TV shows from the Spanish-speaking world.
The teaser forefronts the cast, taking in high-caliber character actors such as T’Nia Miller (“Years & Years”) and Peters, as well as Tucci, who’s gaining heat for his performance in “Supernova.” The video also features...
- 2/25/2021
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
Palme d’Or winning producer Luis Miñarro (“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”) is set to direct his fifth feature, ”Impalpable” (a working title), produced by Miñarro’s label, Barcelona-based Eddie Saeta, one of Spain’s most prominent arthouse shingles.
Written by Miñarro, “Impalpable” follows a series of characters who take a bus to an unspecified destination. The situation becomes gradually
stranger as the bus make no stops. Nor can the passengers descend.
“Impalpable”‘s cast will include Naomi Kawase, Geraldine Chaplin and Spain’s Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”) and Francesc Orella (“Julia’s Eyes”), among others.
By chance, though with foresight, ”I first thought of this project before the pandemic. It’s a homage to Luis Buñuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel,’” Miñarro told Variety. Over three days and two nights, its characters get to know one another, as the audience enters the minds of main characters, unleashing...
Written by Miñarro, “Impalpable” follows a series of characters who take a bus to an unspecified destination. The situation becomes gradually
stranger as the bus make no stops. Nor can the passengers descend.
“Impalpable”‘s cast will include Naomi Kawase, Geraldine Chaplin and Spain’s Lola Dueñas (“The Sea Inside”) and Francesc Orella (“Julia’s Eyes”), among others.
By chance, though with foresight, ”I first thought of this project before the pandemic. It’s a homage to Luis Buñuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel,’” Miñarro told Variety. Over three days and two nights, its characters get to know one another, as the audience enters the minds of main characters, unleashing...
- 9/20/2020
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
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...
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...
- 7/29/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
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,...
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,...
- 7/29/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The creatures who survived their time with the Tiger King will be the focus of the Animal Planet documentary Surviving Joe Exotic, airing Saturday, July 25 at 10/9c.
“Viewers will follow the emotional stories of animals that made it out of the zoo for a second chance at life, and hear from ex-employees, including Saff Saffery — who lost an arm to one of Joe’s tigers — rescue leaders, exotic animal experts, and others with firsthand knowledge of the animal trafficking and breeding that fueled Joe Exotic’s empire,” reads the official release. “Paired with never-before-seen footage of Joe filmed for Animal Planet...
“Viewers will follow the emotional stories of animals that made it out of the zoo for a second chance at life, and hear from ex-employees, including Saff Saffery — who lost an arm to one of Joe’s tigers — rescue leaders, exotic animal experts, and others with firsthand knowledge of the animal trafficking and breeding that fueled Joe Exotic’s empire,” reads the official release. “Paired with never-before-seen footage of Joe filmed for Animal Planet...
- 7/16/2020
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Alejandro Amenábar, the Oscar-winning director behind The Others and The Sea Inside, is to make his first-ever television drama for AMC and Spain’s pay-tv broadcaster Movistar+.
AMC Studios and Movistar+ will work with Amenábar and Mod Pictures to adapt 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.
The yet-to-be-titled six-part series goes into production this summer and will premiere in 2021 on AMC in the United States, Canada, UK, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Movistar+ in Spain.
Ed Carroll, COO at AMC Networks, said: “This project is uniquely a Spanish/American story inspired by real life events that at...
AMC Studios and Movistar+ will work with Amenábar and Mod Pictures to adapt 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.
The yet-to-be-titled six-part series goes into production this summer and will premiere in 2021 on AMC in the United States, Canada, UK, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Movistar+ in Spain.
Ed Carroll, COO at AMC Networks, said: “This project is uniquely a Spanish/American story inspired by real life events that at...
- 7/16/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Signaling one of the biggest deals ever struck by a U.S. company on a single Spanish drama series, AMC Studios and Spanish pay TV/SVOD operator Movistar Plus are partnering on the production and distribution of a sunken treasure adventure series from Academy Award winner Alejandro Amenábar.
Inspired by the Spanish graphic novel “The Treasure of the Black Swan,” the as-yet-untitled series will premiere in 2021 on AMC in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America and the Caribbean as well as on Movistar Plus in Spain.
The six-part thriller is produced in collaboration with independent production house Mod Producciones, whose head, Fernando Bovaira, has produced all of Amenábar’s movies from his second feature, 1997’s “Open Your Eyes.”
Featuring an international cast, set on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the near-present day but with flashbacks to 1804, the series also weighs in as one of the most...
Inspired by the Spanish graphic novel “The Treasure of the Black Swan,” the as-yet-untitled series will premiere in 2021 on AMC in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America and the Caribbean as well as on Movistar Plus in Spain.
The six-part thriller is produced in collaboration with independent production house Mod Producciones, whose head, Fernando Bovaira, has produced all of Amenábar’s movies from his second feature, 1997’s “Open Your Eyes.”
Featuring an international cast, set on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the near-present day but with flashbacks to 1804, the series also weighs in as one of the most...
- 7/16/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
"This is really hard for me... and I need your support." 1091 Media has unveiled the official trailer for an indie drama titled Here Awhile, which is arriving on VOD in June after originally premiering last fall. The film stars actress Anna Camp as Anna, a terminally ill woman who returns to Oregon to reconnect with her estranged brother while simultaneously making the heart-wrenching choice to end her life – putting to use the unique "Death with Dignity Act" in Oregon. The cast includes Steven Strait as her brother, along with Joe Lo Truglio, Chloe Mason, Kristin Taylor, Reza Leal-Smartt, and Dana Millican. This isn't the first film about assisted suicide - there's Million Dollar Baby and The Sea Inside, along with Me Before You and the doc How to Die in Oregon. It's a tough topic to even talk about, not to mention make a film about, that always brings out intense emotions from everyone.
- 4/29/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In 2013, Sally Potter lost her younger brother, artist and musician Nic Potter, to early onset dementia, although the disease is so cruel, one could say that she began losing him a couple years earlier — that he started to disappear on her in 2010 — and that her film “The Roads Not Taken” is the celebrated director’s abstract way of coping with his death. The time Potter spent caring for Nic no doubt inspired the character of Leo, played by Javier Bardem, in a film in which the actor works awfully hard at communicating things that neither the audience nor his on-screen daughter Molly (Elle Fanning) can reasonably understand.
The movie is an exasperating puzzle with most of the pieces missing, set over the course of one day, and centered on the idea that while Leo looks braindead to everyone around him — everyone but Molly, whose sympathy reads more like an irresponsible...
The movie is an exasperating puzzle with most of the pieces missing, set over the course of one day, and centered on the idea that while Leo looks braindead to everyone around him — everyone but Molly, whose sympathy reads more like an irresponsible...
- 2/26/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The final five titles nominated for the newly named International Feature Film Oscar category included some surprises when they were announced in January. Chief among the latter is Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, an awards season darling that has continued to cement its position as a leading candidate for this particular race, while also increasingly moving into serious contention for some other categories.
The blackly comic thriller about the members of a poor family who scheme to work in a wealthy household by posing as unrelated, highly-qualified help, is only the sixth movie to land Best Picture and International Film (formerly Foreign Language) nods, and the first Korean film to do so. It is the 11th non-English language film ever nominated for Best Picture.
What makes the feat even more impressive is that Korea has such a rich homegrown industry, bursting with talent and very sophisticated audiences. It’s surprising...
The blackly comic thriller about the members of a poor family who scheme to work in a wealthy household by posing as unrelated, highly-qualified help, is only the sixth movie to land Best Picture and International Film (formerly Foreign Language) nods, and the first Korean film to do so. It is the 11th non-English language film ever nominated for Best Picture.
What makes the feat even more impressive is that Korea has such a rich homegrown industry, bursting with talent and very sophisticated audiences. It’s surprising...
- 1/31/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
On Oct. 12, 1936, as Spain’s Civil War raged, the aged Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno, rector of the University of Salamanca, rose to address rebel general Francisco Franco’s fascist supporters, declaring that he abominated their cause.
He risked execution with his near insanely brave speech. It marks the climax of “While at War,” directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The first Movistar+ Original Film, which carries one of the biggest-budgets of a Spanish movie in 2019, the psychological drama world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival as a Special Presentation and now screens at Mia in Rome. Variety spoke to Amenabar.
“While at War” marks your return to Spanish-language filmmaking 14 years after the Oscar-winning “The Sea Inside.” Why now?
It’s always a question of the story: Finding something, real or invented, through which to express myself. I knew nothing about Unamuno’s speech in the great hall of the University of Salamanca.
He risked execution with his near insanely brave speech. It marks the climax of “While at War,” directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The first Movistar+ Original Film, which carries one of the biggest-budgets of a Spanish movie in 2019, the psychological drama world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival as a Special Presentation and now screens at Mia in Rome. Variety spoke to Amenabar.
“While at War” marks your return to Spanish-language filmmaking 14 years after the Oscar-winning “The Sea Inside.” Why now?
It’s always a question of the story: Finding something, real or invented, through which to express myself. I knew nothing about Unamuno’s speech in the great hall of the University of Salamanca.
- 10/16/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — In one of the big deals to go down at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, prestigious French production-distribution house Haut et Court has secured French distribution rights to Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War.”
Buena Vista Intl. (Bvi) releases the film, Amenabar’s first in Spanish since the Oscar-winning “The Sea Inside,” in Spain this Friday Sept. 27.
Negotiations on Amenábar’s historical psychological drama-thriller began at early September’s Toronto Festival and closed at San Sebastian.
The deal has been brokered by Vicente Canales,founder of Film Factory Ent. the film’s sales agent, and Carole Scotta, co-head of Haut et Court Distribution, and Laure Caillol, its head of acquisitions.
The distribution accord will see the French distribution house open “While at War” on 80-100 screens, a location spread reserved for higher-profile foreign language titles in traditionally their biggest territory in Europe.
“Haut et Court is perfect for ‘While at War.
Buena Vista Intl. (Bvi) releases the film, Amenabar’s first in Spanish since the Oscar-winning “The Sea Inside,” in Spain this Friday Sept. 27.
Negotiations on Amenábar’s historical psychological drama-thriller began at early September’s Toronto Festival and closed at San Sebastian.
The deal has been brokered by Vicente Canales,founder of Film Factory Ent. the film’s sales agent, and Carole Scotta, co-head of Haut et Court Distribution, and Laure Caillol, its head of acquisitions.
The distribution accord will see the French distribution house open “While at War” on 80-100 screens, a location spread reserved for higher-profile foreign language titles in traditionally their biggest territory in Europe.
“Haut et Court is perfect for ‘While at War.
- 9/25/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Though set in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, “While at War,” Movistar Plus’ first original film, “talks more about present-day Spain than the past,” says director Alejandro Amenábar.
Contemporary relevance and social-issue substance are two hallmarks of Movistar Plus’ productions. Others abound in Amenábar’s movie, which plays in the main competition at the San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival, having world-premiered as a Toronto festival Special Presentation.
A period psychological drama, “While at War” charts Francisco Franco’s rise
to power while writer Miguel de Unamuno, rector of the University of Salamanca, grows increasingly outraged at the barbarity of the Nationalists’ summary executions.
As with many Movistar Plus productions, “While at War” couldn’t have been made so sumptiously without its backing. Movistar boarding the movie was “providential,” says Amenábar. As a project, the film had been rejected or simply ignored by Spain’s free-to-air broadcasters.
“One role of fiction in general — not just series,...
Contemporary relevance and social-issue substance are two hallmarks of Movistar Plus’ productions. Others abound in Amenábar’s movie, which plays in the main competition at the San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival, having world-premiered as a Toronto festival Special Presentation.
A period psychological drama, “While at War” charts Francisco Franco’s rise
to power while writer Miguel de Unamuno, rector of the University of Salamanca, grows increasingly outraged at the barbarity of the Nationalists’ summary executions.
As with many Movistar Plus productions, “While at War” couldn’t have been made so sumptiously without its backing. Movistar boarding the movie was “providential,” says Amenábar. As a project, the film had been rejected or simply ignored by Spain’s free-to-air broadcasters.
“One role of fiction in general — not just series,...
- 9/13/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Which film will follow on from ‘Roma’ in winning the prize?
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
- 9/11/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Alejandro Amenábar went 15 years without making a feature in Spain, and his first such since the excellent “The Sea Inside” is notable not only for being a 20th-century Spanish history lesson, but also for providing a particularly timely anti-fascist message.
Climaxing in a famous speech of protest from literary lion Miguel de Unamuno, this is a worthy enterprise that errs on the side of caution, carrying the slightly stale whiff of awards-bait cinema in which greatness is frequently signaled but inspiration somehow lacking. Though surely due a certain amount of international travel, it’s unlikely to stir the kind of critical or viewer excitement needed to make this political back-chapter enticing to audiences outside Spanish-speaking territories.
To an extent, Amenábar and co-writer Alejandro Hernandez are hemmed in by the perspective of their protagonist (played by Karra Elejalde), an esteemed author and philosopher then considered by some “Spain’s greatest writer...
Climaxing in a famous speech of protest from literary lion Miguel de Unamuno, this is a worthy enterprise that errs on the side of caution, carrying the slightly stale whiff of awards-bait cinema in which greatness is frequently signaled but inspiration somehow lacking. Though surely due a certain amount of international travel, it’s unlikely to stir the kind of critical or viewer excitement needed to make this political back-chapter enticing to audiences outside Spanish-speaking territories.
To an extent, Amenábar and co-writer Alejandro Hernandez are hemmed in by the perspective of their protagonist (played by Karra Elejalde), an esteemed author and philosopher then considered by some “Spain’s greatest writer...
- 9/6/2019
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Which film will follow on from ‘Roma’ in winning the prize?
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
- 9/5/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Variety has been given access to an exclusive clip and poster from Toronto Special Presentation “La Odisea de los Giles” (“Heroic Losers”) which, starring Ricardo Darín, has just scored in is native Argentina a standout opening weekend of Peso 58.8 million ($1.1 million) and 316,300 admissions for Warner Bros. Pictures.
With “Heroic Losers” having released on Thursday Aug. 15, that four-day first weekend bow is two-to-three times better than any other national title of the year, putting “Heroic Losers” well on track to become the highest-grossing Argentine movie of 2019 in Argentina.
The news would be if the film hadn’t made that kind of box office. It has been released in prime mid-August box office real-estate, when local audiences now expect a big Argentine movie.
Rarely, moreover, has an Argentine movie weighed in with such a pedigree package. A feel-good revenge heist comedy-thriller, studded with tragedy which gives the film momentary harder edges, “Heroic Losers” features the star,...
With “Heroic Losers” having released on Thursday Aug. 15, that four-day first weekend bow is two-to-three times better than any other national title of the year, putting “Heroic Losers” well on track to become the highest-grossing Argentine movie of 2019 in Argentina.
The news would be if the film hadn’t made that kind of box office. It has been released in prime mid-August box office real-estate, when local audiences now expect a big Argentine movie.
Rarely, moreover, has an Argentine movie weighed in with such a pedigree package. A feel-good revenge heist comedy-thriller, studded with tragedy which gives the film momentary harder edges, “Heroic Losers” features the star,...
- 8/19/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Rolling off their partnership on “While at War,” one of the biggest and highest-profile Spanish movies of 2019, Academy Award winning director Alejandro Amenábar is now teaming with Movistar +, the pay TV division of Spain’s Telefonica, on the development of a drama series, inspired by the Spanish graphic novel “El tesoro del Cisne Negro.”
Created by comic book artist Paco Roca and Spanish diplomat Guillermo Corral, the six part series will turn on the the Black Swan Project: the Odyssey Marine Exploration’s discovery and recovery and transport to Florida of 17.1 tons of coins from the wreckage of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a 30-gun Spanish frigate sunk by the British Navy off the Portuguese coast in 1804. Beginning in 1807, the Spanish government fought a legal battle through U.S. courts to claim the treasure. claimed to be the biggest shipwreck booty in history, as its own.
An adventure...
Created by comic book artist Paco Roca and Spanish diplomat Guillermo Corral, the six part series will turn on the the Black Swan Project: the Odyssey Marine Exploration’s discovery and recovery and transport to Florida of 17.1 tons of coins from the wreckage of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a 30-gun Spanish frigate sunk by the British Navy off the Portuguese coast in 1804. Beginning in 1807, the Spanish government fought a legal battle through U.S. courts to claim the treasure. claimed to be the biggest shipwreck booty in history, as its own.
An adventure...
- 7/26/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid – Alejandro Amenábar, Ricardo Darín and Paco Cabezas, director of episodes from “Peaky Blinders” and “American Gods,” look set to join Penelope Cruz, already confirmed as a Donostia Award winner, at this year’s 67th San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival.
The biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world, this year’s San Sebastian runs Sept.20-28.
Amenábar’s awaited “While at War” will compete in main competition, where it will face off, among Spanish titles announced Friday by the San Sebastian Festival, with banner Basque title “The Endless Trench” and“The Thief’s Daughter,” the already buzzy feature debut of Catalan Belén Funes.
Darín stars in and co-produces “Heroic Losers” which receives a Special Screening. Daniel Sánchez-Arevalo’s “Seventeen” will play out of competition – the first time a Netflix Original Film makes San Sebastian’s Official Selection cut.
New Directors, San Sebastian’s main sidebar, frames among Spanish world premieres...
The biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world, this year’s San Sebastian runs Sept.20-28.
Amenábar’s awaited “While at War” will compete in main competition, where it will face off, among Spanish titles announced Friday by the San Sebastian Festival, with banner Basque title “The Endless Trench” and“The Thief’s Daughter,” the already buzzy feature debut of Catalan Belén Funes.
Darín stars in and co-produces “Heroic Losers” which receives a Special Screening. Daniel Sánchez-Arevalo’s “Seventeen” will play out of competition – the first time a Netflix Original Film makes San Sebastian’s Official Selection cut.
New Directors, San Sebastian’s main sidebar, frames among Spanish world premieres...
- 7/19/2019
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
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