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In the lively 1980s of Spain, a band emerged that thrilled audiences with their vibrant dance performances and electrifying music. Locomía captivated clubgoers from Ibiza to Latin America with their fusion of colorful costumes and enthusiastic rhythms. Now, director Kike Maíllo invites viewers along on Locomía’s exciting journey from their beginnings in Ibiza’s nightlife scene to the heights of international stardom.

The new biographical film Disco, Ibiza, Locomía tells Locomía’s compelling story, exploring how the group came to be and what successes and struggles they encountered along the way. We learn about founder Xavi Font and his friends who arrived on the island seeking fame, developing a unique style that caught the attention of music producer Jose Luis Gil. Together they crafted Locomía into a sensation that dominated Europe’s dance floors and enchanted crowds across the Americas.

But Maíllo’s film does not simply recount Locomo’s rise to the top.

Un crimen en los yacimientos de Atapuerca. © Julia Carballada

Ha finalizado el rodaje de La huella del mal, la adaptación cinematográfica de la novela de Manuel Ríos San Martín que él mismo dirige.

La huella del mal comienza con una macabra sorpresa durante una visita escolar al Centro de Arqueología Experimental (Carex). Un grupo de estudiantes descubre el cuerpo sin vida de la visita guiada de una joven en el lugar donde debería estar la réplica de un enterramiento neandertal. La joven es Eva Santos, una chica del pueblo cercano de Atapuerca, y está muerta. Su cuerpo está desnudo y colocado en posición fetal. Un espeluznante crimen ritual que recuerda a otro ocurrido hace seis años en la misma zona. ¿Habrá regresado el “asesino del yacimiento”, que consiguió escapar hace seis años?

La película está protagonizada por Blanca Suárez y Daniel Grao. Completan el reparto Aria Bedmar (Hermana muerte), Víctor Palmero...

No one likes going to the doctor, but for some reason, a lot of us can't seem to get enough of watching fake doctors on TV. Medical drama series have been popular on the small screen for what feels like forever, and whether these procedurals are following the high-pressured jobs of doctors, nurses, paramedics, or any essential worker, there's an audience ready and waiting to tune in.

In August 2024, Netflix released its Spanish medical drama series Breathless (also known as Respira) from the creators of the now-ended teen thriller Elite. The series centers on a public hospital in Valencia that experiences changes when a public figure seeks treatment. Breathless stars Blanca Suárez, Manu Rios, Najwa Nimri, Alfonso Bassave, and more talented actors in the ensemble cast.

Like most medical drama series, Breathless doesn't solely focus on the heart-pounding and sometimes downright bone-chilling life-or-death situations that happen in a hospital. There's also romance,...

“Disco, Ibiza, Locomía” is a Netflix movie starring Jaime Lorente, Alberto Ammann, Blanca Suárez among others. Is is directed by Kike Maíllo.

The year is 1987, and Ibiza stands as the global epicenter of disco music, a hotbed of hedonism marked by rampant drug use, alcohol, and uninhibited sexuality. In this wild, pulsating atmosphere, a distinctive disco group emerged, brandishing fans and capturing the zeitgeist of an era. If you are Spanish and have a few decades behind you, the name Locomía will undoubtedly evoke memories—this group epitomized the excess and flamboyance of the late eighties.

With infectious tunes, a unique aesthetic, and the backdrop of an island renowned for its unrestrained revelry, Locomía played a pivotal role in crafting the legendary reputation that Ibiza holds today. Their story is one of international acclaim, as they crossed the Atlantic to perform in America, filling stadiums with their electric performances.

About...

Un crimen en los yacimientos de Atapuerca. © Julia Carballada

Ha comenzado en Burgos el rodaje de La huella del mal, la adaptación cinematográfica de la novela de Manuel Ríos San Martín que él mismo dirige.

La huella del mal Durante comienza con una macabra sorpresa durante una visita escolar al Centro de Arqueología Experimental (Carex). Un grupo de estudiantes descubre el cuerpo sin vida de la visita guiada de una joven en el lugar donde debería estar la réplica de un enterramiento neandertal. La joven es Eva Santos, una chica del pueblo cercano de Atapuerca, y está muerta. Su cuerpo está desnudo y colocado en posición fetal. Un espeluznante crimen ritual que recuerda a otro ocurrido hace seis años en la misma zona. ¿Habrá regresado el “asesino del yacimiento”, que consiguió escapar hace seis años?

La película está protagonizada por Blanca Suárez y Daniel Grao. Completan el reparto Aria Bedmar...

Un hospital al borde del colapso. © Netflix

Netflix ha publicado el tráiler de Respira, el primer drama hospitalario de Netflix en España, creado por Carlos Montero.

El Joaquín Sorolla es mucho más que un hospital público de Valencia donde cada día se salvan vidas. Médicos y residentes se dejan la piel en el frenético ritmo de las urgencias, donde las tensiones, las emociones y hasta el deseo aceleran el corazón de un personal que vive cada vez más al límite. La llegada de una distinguida paciente pone de manifiesto la complicada situación de la sanidad pública, encendiendo la mecha de lo que se convertirá en una huelga drástica y sin precedentes.

Esta nueva serie de ficción de ocho episodios está protagonizada por Najwa Nimri, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, Blanca Suárez, Manu Ríos, Borja Luna y Alfonso Bassave. Completan el reparto Ana Rayo, Macarena de Rueda, Blanca Martínez, Abril Zamora, Xoán Fórneas,...

Un hospital al borde del colapso. © Netflix

Netflix ha publicado el primer teaser tráiler de “Respira”, el primer drama hospitalario de Netflix en España, creado por Carlos Montero.

El Joaquín Sorolla es mucho más que un hospital público de Valencia donde cada día se salvan vidas. Médicos y residentes se dejan la piel en el frenético ritmo de las urgencias, donde las tensiones, las emociones y hasta el deseo aceleran el corazón de un personal que vive cada vez más al límite. La llegada de una distinguida paciente pone de manifiesto la complicada situación de la sanidad pública, encendiendo la mecha de lo que se convertirá en una huelga drástica y sin precedentes.

Esta nueva serie de ficción de ocho episodios está protagonizada por Najwa Nimri, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, Blanca Suárez, Manu Ríos, Borja Luna y Alfonso Bassave. Completan el reparto Ana Rayo, Macarena de Rueda, Blanca Martínez, Abril Zamora,...

La película supera el ecuador de su rodaje. © Vértice 360

Superado el ecuador del rodaje en Valencia de “Parecido a un Asesinato”, un thriller psicológico basado en la novela homónima de Juan Bolea que aborda los misterios de la conducta humana.

“Parecido a un Asesinato” sigue a Eva, que vive un momento feliz, con una nueva pareja, Nazario, un escritor de éxito, y su hija, Alicia, una adolescente con la que espera congeniar; por fin tiene una familia que le permitirá olvidar el pasado. Pero no será tan fácil. El horror que sufrió con José, su ex marido, un policía posesivo y violento, vuelve para amenazar su paraíso; de nada le servirá esconderse en el refugio de su infancia, nada podrá protegerla. Será un viaje hacia el miedo, hasta un lugar de consecuencias terribles que afectarán a todos. Nada es lo que parece… Todos son testigos de verdades paralelas.

Blanca Suárez...

Conoce todos los detalles de la película basada en la novela homónima de Juan Bolea. © Vértice 360

Hoy, lunes 13 de mayo, ha arrancado en Valencia el rodaje de “Parecido a un Asesinato”, un thriller psicológico basado en la novela homónima de Juan Bolea que aborda los misterios de la conducta humana.

“Parecido a un Asesinato” sigue a Eva, que vive un momento feliz, con una nueva pareja, Nazario, un escritor de éxito, y su hija, Alicia, una adolescente con la que espera congeniar; por fin tiene una familia que le permitirá olvidar el pasado. Pero no será tan fácil. El horror que sufrió con José, su ex marido, un policía posesivo y violento, vuelve para amenazar su paraíso; de nada le servirá esconderse en el refugio de su infancia, nada podrá protegerla. Será un viaje hacia el miedo, hasta un lugar de consecuencias terribles que afectarán a todos. Nada es lo que parece…...

Netflix and “Elite” creator Carlos Montero have reteamed on the new medical drama “Breathless,” and Variety has been given exclusive access to new first images from the show.

“Breathless” is produced by Montero’s El Desorden Crea and executive produced by Montero and Diego Betancor. David Pinillos and Marta Font shared directing duties, working from screenplays by Montero, Carlos Ruano, Guillermo Escribano, and Pablo Saiz.

Alongside today’s photos, Netflix released a new synopsis for the show: “The Joaquín Sorolla is much more than a public hospital in Valencia where lives are saved every day. Doctors and residents work their fingers to the bone in the frenetic pace of the emergency room, where tensions, emotions and even desire accelerate the hearts of a staff that lives increasingly on the edge. The arrival of a distinguished patient highlights the complicated situation of the public health system, lighting the fuse for what...

DeAPlaneta ha publicado el primer tráiler del biopic del icónico grupo de electro-pop español de los 80 y 90, protagonizado por Jaime Lorente. © DeAPlaneta

“Disco, Ibiza, Locomía” es la nueva película dirigida por Kike Maíllo (“Toro”), escrita por Marta Libertad (“Oswald. El falsificador”) y el propio Maíllo y producida por Kiko Martínez (“Perfectos Desconocidos”).

La película está protagonizada por Jaime Lorente (“La Casa de Papel”), Alberto Ammann (“Celda 211”), Alejandro Speitzer (“La fortuna”), Ivan Pellicer (“Sagrada Familia”), Pol Granch (“Élite”), Javier Morgade (“Alma”), Albert Baró (“Els “Nens Salvatges”), Gonzalo Ramírez (“Ángel o Demonio”), Eva Llorach (“Quién te Cantará”) y Blanca Suárez (“El Bar”). Una película sobre música, glamour, familia, ambición y traición ambientada en los años 80, donde se abordan los entresijos de la cultura de clubs, la época dorada de las discográficas, la noche de la movida madrileña, el fenómeno fan y la explosión de la música latina en Miami.

Es la...

After more than a two decades relationship, media conglom Atresmedia Group and the Málaga Film Festival have grown what looks like a unique case of symbiosis in the Spanish film-tv industry.

Atresmedia, a driving force in Spain’s film and TV sectors, joined the Málaga Festival as an official sponsor in 2000.

The DeAPlaneta-controlled broadcaster and Málaga, today Spain’s biggest festival dedicated to local and Latin American film and TV, have been faithful witnesses of the evolution of the Spanish film and TV industry.

The relationship has benefited both partners.

The Málaga Festival launched in 1998; one year later, a law began to oblige Spanish broadcasters to invest 5% of their annual revenues in local and European films. Broadcasters’ relevance in Spanish film financing rapidly multiplied.

Atresmedia -until 10 years ago Antena 3- started by tabling an economic contribution to the festival budget. At the same time, part of its annual...

No one can accuse Spanish filmmaker and all around maverick Álex de la Iglesia of being lazy. Not even during a pandemic. Somehow, he's getting shit done.    We are all enjoying his series 30 coins and the director recently wrapped up photography of the first instalment of his new brand of horror films he calls The Fear Collection. That first film is a fable about the fear of tourism called Vececiafrenia. All of this was of course written with his writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría.    The pair are at it again with production of a black humored road movie combined with a romantic comedy called El cuarto pasajero (The Fourth Passenger). It will star Ernesto Alterio and Blanca Suárez who have worked with de la...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The Spanish director has kicked off the shoot for his new film, a madcap road movie starring Ernesto Alterio, Alberto San Juan, Blanca Suárez and Rubén Cortada. With the HBO series 30 Coins (read the review) having been released just a few weeks ago and principal photography for Veneciafrenia having recently wrapped (see the news), the tireless Álex de la Iglesia is already engrossed in the shoot for another film, which bears the title El cuarto pasajero (lit. “The Fourth Passenger”). As has become customary in his filmography, this new outing swings between humour and tension – in this case in the guise of a road movie combined with a romantic comedy. The lead actors are two thesps who have already worked with the Basque filmmaker previously: Ernesto Alterio and Blanca Suárez (The Bar)....

In today’s Global Bulletin, Alex de la Iglesia is back on set with “El cuarto pasajero,” Laurine Garaude departs Reed Midem, Chinese video app Kuaishou stuns investors in Hong Kong, Tencent finalizes its Universal Music Group share increase, Mopar Studios hire Jessica Pope as creative director and Pluto TV launches six new networks in Latin America.

Shooting

Spanish genre master Álex de la Iglesia, hot off the heels of his hit HBO horror series “30 Coins,” is back on set to shoot road movie rom-com “El cuarto pasajero” (The Fourth Passenger), a Pokeepsie Films and Telecinco Cinema co-production. The companies will be looking to repeat the joint success they found with the filmmaker’s 2017 Spanish-language remake of “Perfect Strangers,” a top 10 all-time domestic box office hit that pulled a worldwide gross of $33 million in 2017-18.

“El cuarto pasajero” also sees de la Iglesia joined once again by regular co-writer...

Director Álex de la Iglesia is re-teaming with producers Telecinco Cinema and Pokeepsie Films after their smash hit 2017 pic Perfect Strangers (remade from the Italian film of the same name) on El Cuarto Pasajero (The Fourth Passenger), a road movie in the rom-com vein.

Cast will be led by Blanca Suárez (The Skin I Live In), Alberto San Juan (Under The Stars), Ernesto Alterio (The Other Side Of The Road), and Ruben Cortada (Olmos y Robles). Co-written by Álex de la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the screenplay follows a 50-year-old divorcee with financial problems who begins sharing his car with strangers via an app. After falling romantically for one of his passengers, he decides to tell her on one trip, but the other passengers prove a problem.

Producers are Telecinco Cinema, Pokeepsie Films Sl and Te Has Venido Arriba A.I.E, with the participation of Mediaset España, Movistar + and Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group.

It’s game over. Spain’s “Cable Girls,” Netflix’s longest-running non-u.S. original series, will soon be history, its final five episodes of a two-part season five released on Friday.

No other Netflix original series made outside the U.S. has yet made it to five seasons, and only a few have been so popular. Aired on Netflix from Feb. 14, “Cable Girls’” season five, part one, proved the third most-binged SVOD series in the world over its first week of release, according to TV Time.

Announced in March 2016, and produced with Bambu Producciones, Spain’s first Netflix original series, which bowed in April 2017, is set in early 1929 as Alba (Blanca Suárez), a petty thief, timid country lass Marga (Nadia de Santiago) and upper-class flapper Carlota (Ana Fernandez) are hired as switchboard operators at Spain’s sole telephony company, in central Madrid.

That set-up promised the same romantic melodrama infusing...

In this week’s International TV Newswire, Variety shares the trailer for “Cable Girls’” final season, the Platino Awards adds a market, Vis and Diagonal team on a “Gypsy Bride” series adaptation, and CTV announces new comedy series “Children Ruin Everything.”

“Cable Girls” Final Season Gets Trailer

“Cable Girls” (“Chicas del Cable”) Netflix’s first Spanish Original series, will premiere its fifth and final season on Feb. 14. At a press event on Thursday, the platform shared the trailer for the upcoming season while previewing the coming year.

When “Cable Girls,” premiered on April 28, 2017, it fit snugly into a industrial model – think “Velvet” – which had allowed producer Bambu Producciones to conquer Latin America with its original series rather than reversions or titles dubbed into a neutral Spanish: A female-led period drama exploring social and political themes still relevant today starring a cast of familiar Spanish actors. Following a group of young...

A musical competition format, a documentary about Money Heist and a number of new dramas lead Netflix’s latest slate of Spanish originals.

The streamer has found success with its Spanish-language titles including Money Heist and Elite and is doubling down on local originals.

Sing On! is a new musical contest where six contestants will test their abilities singing popular songs. The prize is up to €30,000 that will build up as they prove who is more in tune and beat different phases. A doc about the La Casa de Papel phenomenon, the drama created by Alex Pina, will launch on April 3 to coincide with the release of the fourth season.

On the drama side, Blanca Suárez, who has starred in Netflix’s Cable Girls as well as Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In, is to star in Jaguar. The period drama, produced by Bambu Producciones, is set in 1960s Spain,...

Madrid — Netflix announced Thursday in Madrid seven new Spanish Originals: Two series, three features, one documentary and an unscripted title.

The titles confirm a rapid ramp-up in production volume for Netflix in Spain, whose output to date takes in two of the U.S. giant’s standout breakouts in international, not only in Spain but overseas “La Casa de Papel” (Money Heist), “High Seas” and “Elite.”

Netflix’s Spanish production output, which boasts the first Netflix European Production hub soundstage complex at Madrid’s Tres Cantosis already one of the most voluminous in the world with 32 current or upcoming productions, according to a September 2019 report by Ampere Analysis. Only the U.K., Japan, Cnada, Mexico and Brazil bettered that figure.

Among the novelties:

* A currently-untitled show, the first series created by renown Spanish film director Daniel Sanchez Arévalo,, described as “an exciting story of friendship and perseverance” in a netflix statement after the presentation.

Madrid — It’s official. Spain’s Atresmedia Studios and The Mediapro Studio are teaming to produce: “El Internado: Las Cumbres,” a reboot of the milestone Spanish series “El Internado” (“The Boarding School”), but made this time round not for free-to-air audiences but Amazon Prime Video.

While firing up its own line-up of originals, beginning with Emmy winner “Six Dreams” and including the upcoming “El Cid,” Amazon Prime Video has moved smartly to make select territory acquisitions on top series, such as “Hernán.”

In the case of “El Internado: las Cumbres,” however, Amazon Prime Video has acquired worldwide rights to the series which will be released as an Amazon Prime Video Original.

Revealing a title for the new version, Amazon Prime Video also announced that the series will go into production first quarter 2020, have eight episodes and shoot on location in Northern Spain.

Dropping seven seasons over 2007-10 on the flagship...

Madrid — Bambú Producciones, a key driving force behind the international boom in Spanish TV fiction, is entering into a phase of business expansion, tapping showrunners Josep Cister and Diego Sotelo and boosting film production brand Mr. Fields & Friends Cinema.

Founded in 2007 by Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, and minority owned by Studiocanal, Bambú has produced a large list of high-profile TV dramas led by “Gran Hotel” and “Velvet,” whose success, especially in Latin America, proved that, for the first time ever, there was a mass audience abroad for original Spanish series.

“We are at a time when, given the market demand for Bambú content, we have decided to grow, incorporating names as important as Cister and Sotelo,” Campos told Variety.

A former TV fiction director at Lagardère’s Boomerang TV in Spain, Cister has been responsible for series such as “Old Bridge’s Secret,” “The Time In Between,” “Acacias 38” and “Presumed Guilty.

San Sebastian — Warner Bros. Pictures Intl. has grabbed near-worldwide distribution rights to “El verano que vivimos,” a romantic melodrama directed by “Fariña” Carlos Sedes and co-produced with Atresmedia Cine, Bambú Producciones and La Claqueta.

One of the most awaited local releases of next year, “El verano que vivimos” rolls from August for nine weeks in Jerez de la Frontera and one week in Galicia. It is scheduled for a fall 2020 theatrical release.

In Spain, Warner will handle theatrical rights, while Amazon Prime nabbed rights to a first pay TV window. Private broadcaster Atresmedia, Atresmedia Cine’s sister company, will exploit a first window in free-to-air.

“Warner has the rest of worldwide rights,” Warner Bros. Pictures Intl. Spain managing director Pablo Nogueroles told Variety.

“El verano que vivimos” was presented Sunday at the San Sebastian Film Festival in a press conference that also served to unveil the ambitious plans for feature...

Guido Rud’s Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks Intl., one of the most influential sales agents for Spanish-language cinema worldwide, has released the international trailer for Spaniard producer-director José Luis Cuerda’s upcoming sci-fi dystopian comedy “Some Time Later.” (“Tiempo Después”)

“This is Cuerda at his best,” Rud told Variety, “The one that can fly, the one who was behind Spain’s best films of all time like ‘The Others,’ ‘Open Your Eyes,’ ‘Butterflies,’ and ‘The Blind Sunflowers,’ and all the reviews from San Sebastian support this.”

With nine Spanish Academy Goya Award nominations and four wins for directing or production, Cuerda has seen success both critically and at the box office. He directed Spanish Goya standouts like 1999’s “Butterfly” and 2008’s “The Blind Sunflowers” – each scored a Goya for best adapted screenplay – and he produced fellow Spaniard Alejandro Almenábar’s 1996 debut “Thesis,” and took a producer credit on 1997’s “Open Your Eyes,...

Looking past the regular popular streaming playlists, audiences can find quality television shows to binge made in countries both across the pond and south of the border. Read on to find the best international television shows to watch this summer.

Breathe

“Breathe,” starring R. Madhavan and Amit Sadh, is an Indian thriller that features a cat-and-mouse story as a police detective tries to solve a string of murders of organ donors. His prime suspect is a father desperately seeking a donor to save his dying son.

How to Watch: Amazon Prime

Cable Girls

This Spanish period drama follows four women working in Madrid’s first and only telephone company in 1929 right before the global financial crash. The show showcases the hardships working women faced during the time period and how they overcame them. The series stars Blanca Suárez, Maggie Civantos, Ángela Cremonte, and Nadia de Santiago.

How to Watch: Netflix...

Riviera Maya, Mexico — As widely predicted, Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” swept the 5th Platino Ibero-American Film Awards Sunday, held at the Xcaret Riviera Maya resort in Mexico.

This is the second time Lelio has snagged the best picture Platino Award. His poignant drama about a divorcee, “Gloria,” won at the inaugural edition of the four-year old annual event.

The Platino Awards sweep is another feather in the cap for Lelio who took home the foreign language Oscar for Chile this year for “A Fantastic Woman.”

“Those of us who make movies play with perception and reality; those who watch our films are responsible for making sense of it,” said Lelio upon receiving his best director prize.

In industry terms, Spain was a producer or very often co-producer of virtually all the winning projects, both TV and film.

The glittering event featured a bevy of actors from across Ibero-America...

The Berlin International Film Festival announced 13 additions to its 2017 line-up, including the international premiere of Danny Boyle’s hotly anticipated “Trainspotting” follow-up, “Trainspotting: T2,” and the world premiere of James Mangold’s “Logan,” the third in the growing “Wolverine” franchise, starring Hugh Jackman. Both films will play out of competition.

Read More: ‘Logan’ Trailer: Hugh Jackman’s Final Wolverine Movie Mixes The Superhero Genre With The Western

Hong Sangsoo’s “On the Beach Alone at Night” will make its world premiere at the festival, the latest from the idiosyncratic Korean director whose last film, “Right Now, Wrong Then,” garnered attention at festivals in 2016.

Other promising titles include the world premiere of “The Tin Drum” director Volker Schlöndorff’s “Return To Montauk,” starring Stellan Skarsgård, and “Viceroy’s House,” a period drama from the woman behind “Bend it Like Beckham,” Gurinder Chadha. The Austrian actor Josef Hader also will make...

X-Men spinoff and Trainspotting sequel to play Out of Competition.

A further 13 films have been invited to screen in the Competition and Berlinale Special section at the 67th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The festival has added commercial clout to its Out Of Competition lineup in the shape of Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting and X-Men spinoff Logan.

There are also competition berths for new films by Hong Sangsoo, Thomas Arslan, Volker Schlöndorff, Sabu, Álex de la Iglesia and Josef Hader.

Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha’s latest, Viceroy’s House, will have its world premiere out of competition at the festival. Starring Hugh Bonneville alongside Gillian Anderson, the period drama set in 1947 India depicts Lord Mountbatten, the man charged with handing India back to its people.

Also having its world premiered out of competition will be Álex de la Iglesia’s The Bar, a comedy-thriller about a group of strangers who get...

After an initial line-up that included Aki Kaurismäki‘s The Other Side of Hope, Oren Moverman‘s Richard Gere-led The Dinner, Sally Potter‘s The Party, and Agnieszka Holland‘s Spoor, the Berlin International Film Festival have added more anticipated premieres. Highlights include one of two (maybe three) new Hong Sang-soo films this year, On the Beach at Night Alone, along with Volker Schlöndorff‘s Return to Montauk with Stellan Skarsgård and Nina Hoss, as well as the high-profile world premiere of James Mangold‘s Logan and the international premiere of Danny Boyle‘s T2: Trainspotting.

With Paul Verhoeven serving as jury president for the 67th edition of the festival, check out the new additions below.

Competition

Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)

South Korea

By Hong Sangsoo (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, Right Now, Wrong Then)

With Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Jung Jaeyoung, Moon Sungkeun,...

Exclusive: Company is launching sales on Álex de la Iglesia’s thriller at Cannes.

Film Factory has picked up worldwide sales rights to Álex de la Iglesia’s prestige thriller The Bar (El Bar) and is touting to buyers on the Croisette.

Pokeepsie Films, Nadie Es Perfecto and Atresmedia Cine produce the film from the Spanish genre specialist, whom Film Factory managing director Vicente Canales hailed as “one of the most ground-breaking and talented directors in contemporary cinema.”

The action takes place at a watering hole one morning where a regular leaves the establishment and is promptly shot dead.

When a customer who attempts to help the dead man is also killed, the clientele hole up inside, wondering not just why the killings are occurring, but where the killer is located. De la Iglesia wrote the screenplay with Jorge Guerricaechevarri.

Blanca Suárez, who starred in De la Iglesia’s 2015 comedy My Big Night and Pedro Almodovar’s I’m...

My Big Night tells you what it is right up front: big with a capital “B,” a maximalist extravaganza satirizing the day-to-day life on a show business set that has a dark bite lurking in the colorful madness’s shadows. Directed by the always gonzo Álex de la Iglesia (Witching and Bitching, The Last Circus), My Big Night brings the Spaniard’s wicked edge behind the scenes, letting a flashy, Edgar Wright-esque cartoonishness dominate this pastiche.

Poking fun at fame, jealousy, ego, and superstitions, My Big Night takes place during the filming of a New Year’s Eve TV special while a union strike rages just outside the set. Jose — played by Pepón Nieto as a mix between Nick Frost and Jean Reno, with the deadpan weariness of Ricky Gervais’ best performances — is an unemployed actor, called in at the last minute to replace an extra whose absence relates...

Compared to their American equivalents, Spanish imports rock a vibe that can’t be duplicated. Just check any of Telemundo’s saucy daytime dramas versus our straight-faced network soap operas, and you’ll be treated to silliness abound. But that’s on a nationally televised level – graduate to big-budget theatrics, and we’re talking productions that are nuttier than a Payday bar (or whatever your favorite peanut-laced treat is).

My Big Night is, without a doubt, one of the more ludicrous ensemble pieces I’ve seen in recent memory, guided by the zany ambition of Álex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus and Witching & Bitching). Are you ready for over-dramatized comedics and a cornucopia of chaos driven by goofy, slapstick maturity? Or, would it be immaturity? Not quite sure. How would you define a subplot where some Fabio-lookin’ pop star has his semen stolen by a Bj-specialist who doesn’t swallow?...

Plus: Sony offers free Concussion screening to NFL players; and more…

Breaking Glass has acquired North American rights to Álex de la Iglesia’s ensemble black comedy My Big Night, about the backstage preparations for a New Year’s Eve TV spectacular.

Spain’s Raphael, Mario Casas, Blanca Suarez and Hugo Silva star in the film that premiered in Toronto. Breaking Glass plans an April theatrical release after brokering the deal with Film Factory at Ventana Sur in Buenos Aires earlier this month.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has offered NFL players and their families free admission to Concussion when they present their Nflpa membership card at any Cinemark theatre in the Us. The offer extends for the duration of the film’s run starting on December 25 opening day. Will Smith plays forensic neuropathologist Bennet Omalu, who discovered Cte, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player.Mpi Media Group has wrapped production on Catfight by Onur Tukel. [link...

Álex de la Iglesia’s comedy will head a strand of Spanish films set to play at the 33rd Miami International Film Festival that runs from March 4-13, 2016.

My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) follow the backstage shenanigans before a TV special celebrating a legendary pop singer. Star and Spanish pop icon Raphael is scheduled to attend the festival.

The film also stars Mario Casas, Santiago Segura, Carlos Areces, Blanca Suarez, Hugo Silva, Carmen Machi and Carolina Bang.

“Álex de la Iglesia has made a perfect pop movie with My Big Night,” said the festival’s executive director and director of programming Jaie Laplante. “This riotously funny film is much more than one of the very best films by de la Iglesia, it is a party!”

The Spanish line-up includes Cinedwntwn Galas Truman from Cesc Gay starring Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara; Emilio Martínez Lázaro’s Spanish Affair 2 (Ocho Apellidos Catalanes) – now the biggest Spanish film of...

British actress to receive career award; festival guest list includes Tom Hiddleston, Ellen Page, Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro.

Emily Watson, star of Breaking The Waves, The Book Thief and Everest, is receive the Donostia Award at the 63rd San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 18-26) in recognition of her 30 years in film.

The British actress will collect the award at a gala on Sept 25 in San Sebastian’s Kursaal Auditorium.

The festival also unveiled some high-profile names and juries for its upcoming edition.

Actors attending include stars of Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise, Sienna Miller, Tom Hiddleston and Luke Evans; Freeheld actress Ellen Page; Sicario stars Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro; Tim Roth, at the festival with 600 Miles and Chronic; Louise Bourgoin, star of The White Knights; and Karin Viard and Isabelle Carré from 21 nuits avec Pattie.

Filmmakers in attendance include Pablo Agüero (Eva Doesn’t Sleep), Laurie Anderson (Heart of a Dog), Scott Cooper ([link...

Spain's manic cinematic master, Alex de la Iglesia, returns with what promises to be an anarchic, madcap comedy in My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) and with the film freshly announced to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival the first Spanish trailer has arrived.The backstage preparations for a New Year's Eve TV spectacular become a flashpoint for comic mayhem, in the audaciously inventive ensemble comedy from Spain's madcap maestro Álex de la Iglesia (Witching & Bitching).Iglesia recruits a host of favored performers in this one, including (deep breath here) Raphael , Mario Casas, Pepón Nieto, Blanca Suárez, Santiago Segura, Carlos Areces, Jaime Ordoñez, Terele Pavez, Carolina Bang, Enrique Villen, Lus Callejo, Ana Polvorosa, Tomas Pozzi, Luis Fernandez, Antonio Velazquez, Carmen Ruiz, Marta Castellote, Marta...

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Rejoice, fans of Alex de la Iglesia, for the Spanish madman shows no signs of slowing down. The Accion Mutante director kicks off his latest production next week with a cast sure to keep fans old and new very happy.Single named Spanish singer Raphael takes the lead role in My Big Night, playing a media hungry diva taping a New Years Eve special well in advance on a sweltering August evening. Regular collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarria co-writes with the director while the cast includes stars Santiago Segura, Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, and Blanca Suarez.Segura and de la Iglesia partnered often in the director's early days but have worked together far less frequently in recent years, so his presence alone is enough to grab attention. Throw in...

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