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From its opening shot of a saffron‑tinged altar to the staccato percussion of Palm Sunday drums, When No One Sees Us announces itself as a six‑part Spanish–American crime drama on Max. It marries the blunt mechanics of a police procedural with a meditative spiritual mystery and a countryside noir mood (cue the buzzing cicadas). The series centers on Lt Magaly Castillo, a cyber‑investigator transplanted from Chicago’s digital warrens, and Sgt Lucía Gutiérrez, a Civil Guard veteran whose public duty collides with private loyalties.

The catalyst arrives in brutal fashion: a respected professor performs seppuku in the dead of Holy Week, his torso a grotesque canvas of ritual devotion. Soon after, a new street drug provokes near‑hallucinogenic zeal among Nazarenes in procession, while the vanishing of U.S. Airman Miles Johnson and a local teen weaves modern geopolitics into a small‑town enigma.

There is...

La ciudad hispalense acogió el preestreno del nuevo thriller de Enrique Urbizu. © mundoCine

Hoy se estrena en Max el primero de los ocho episodios de su serie original Cuando nadie nos ve, pero los afortunados que asistieron ayer a la première en Sevilla ya pudieron disfrutar de un adelanto con sus dos primeros capítulos. La serie, rodada principalmente en Morón de la Frontera, eligió el Multicines Odeón Plaza de Armas para este evento.

Maribel Verdú, Mariela Garriga y Austin Amelio, protagonistas de la ficción, han pasado por el photocall para la prensa junto al director Enrique Urbizu, acompañados de gran parte del reparto.

Nosotros no nos lo hemos perdido y hemos estado en el photocall para traeros imágenes exclusivas de la noche:

Maribel Verdú en el photocall de la première de Cuando nadie nos ve en Sevilla, el 6 de marzo de 2025, en los cines Odeón Plaza de Armas | Marta Medina...

Max’s highly anticipated Spanish original series “When No One Sees Us” (“Cuando Nadie Nos Ve”) will premiere internationally on March 7 in all territories where the platform is currently available.

Directed by celebrated filmmaker and screenwriter Enrique Urbizu and starring Spanish icon Maribel Verdú, Mariela Garriga and Austin Amelio (“The Walking Dead”), the Max Original promises to be a standout in the realm of Spanish crime dramas.

The series, which previewed at the 2024 San Sebastián Film Festival, has garnered local critics’ praise. Based on the book of the same name by Sergio Sarria, its story unfolds during Holy Week 2024, where the American way of life at the U.S. Army airbase coexists almost entirely separate from the deep-rooted traditions of Andalusia.

There, Civil Guard sergeant Lucía Gutiérrez (Verdú) investigates the unusual and hyper-violent suicide of a leading local figure and other strange events during the first Holy Week procession. Meanwhile, Magaly...

Set during Holy Week in southern Spain, the series blends mystery with political intrigue.

Spanish crime dramas always bring a certain edge - moody, atmospheric, and packed with slow-burning tension that pulls you in before you even realize it. And “When No One Sees Us” looks like it’s taking that to another level. The first Max Original scripted series from Spain drops us into the heart of “deep Spain,” where a Civil Guard sergeant and a U.S. Army special agent find themselves unraveling two cases that might be more connected than they ever expected. Set against the backdrop of Holy Week in Morón de la Frontera, the show dives into small-town secrets, military intrigue, and crimes that blur the line between the personal and the political. Here’s everything you need to know about “When No One Sees Us” before it premieres on Friday, March 7 on Max.

Everything you...

Un thriller a pleno sol. © Max

Max ha compartido el primer tráiler de su serie original española Cuando nadie nos ve, dirigida por Enrique Urbizu (No habrá paz para los malvados).

Basada en la novela homónima de Sergio Sarria, Cuando nadie nos ve se sitúa durante la Semana Santa de 2024 en Morón de la Frontera, un pueblo sevillano situado junto a una base estadounidense, donde conviven con naturalidad la forma de vida americana con las tradiciones de la Andalucía profunda. Lucía Gutiérrez (Maribel Verdú) es una sargento de la Guardia Civil que investiga el insólito suicidio de un vecino y unos extraños sucesos ocurridos durante la primera procesión de Semana Santa. Magaly Castillo (Mariela Garriga) es una agente especial del ejército de Estados Unidos enviada a la base de Morón para averiguar el paradero de un soldado americano desaparecido que parece estar relacionado con los negocios ocultos del Coronel Seamus...

The Max Original Spanish-language series When No One Sees Us, the first Max Original scripted series from Spain, debuts on Friday, March 7. The series was directed by Enrique Urbizu and stars Maribel Verdú and Mariela Garriga.

When No One Sees Us explores a series of crimes in the political and cultural frontier of so-called “deep Spain,” and one of the largest U.S. military bases abroad, during the celebration of Holy Week in Morón de la Frontera (Seville).

The eight-episode series will premiere weekly on Max. When No One Sees Us debuted at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2024.

Produced by Zeta Studios for Warner Bros. Discovery in Spain and based on the novel of the same name by Sergio Sarria, the series stars Maribel Verdú (The Flash) and Mariela Garriga (Mission Impossible 7 and 8) alongside Austin Amelio, Ben Temple (Upon Entry) and Dani Rovira (Spanish Affair).

The series...

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service is looking to serve audiences in Spain with a mix of original drama series, documentaries and entertainment shows, a top executive of the entertainment giant told a spotlight session at the Iberseries & Platino Industria conference and market in Madrid on Tuesday.

Alberto Carullo, Max vp local original production Iberia & Italy at Warner Bros. Discovery, appeared at a Tuesday session of the Spanish- and Portuguese-language TV conference and market in the Spanish capital.

When asked to highlight some of the 12 Spanish originals that the company has said are in various stages of production or development, he started off with Enrique Urbizu’s crime thriller When Nobody Sees Us, Max’s first Spanish original, which received a sneak peak at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The show is driven by the two female protagonists — Magaly Castillo, a U.S. military police lieutenant, arriving at the Army Air Force base,...

“It’s not TV,” HBO used to claim of itself. Watching the first 12 minutes made public of Enrique Urbizu’s crime thriller “When No One Sees Us,” Max’s first Spanish original sneak-peaked at San Sebastián Festival Monday morning, the legendary HBO slogan came to mind.

Rather than TV, the scenes are pure cinema of the highest order.

In them, a man, Antonio Jiménez, 38, dressed in a white ceremonial robe, kneels, draws a sword, carefully places it to his abdomen, and commits hari-kari.

Then a float of the local virgin edges down a street of whitewashed houses on the first day of Holy Week, in the village of Morón de la Frontera, Andalusia, southern Spain. When it stops, a young man emerges from the packed rows of penitents carrying it and, now out in the street, hallucinates that fellow black-hooded penitents and then the float itself levitate high in the sky.

Seasoned international sales agent Oscar Alonso, one of Spain’s best-known – and well-regarded – executives in overseas markets, has joined Madrid-based Lazona as head of distribution at its domestic distribution arm Lazona Pictures.

A prominent player on Spain’s film scene, as a producer Lazona was behind “Spanish Affair,” the highest-grossing national movie in Spanish history grossing €55.2 million ($59.7 million) at cinema theaters in 2014.

Lazona also produced Enrique Urbizu’s “No Rest for the Wicked,” which swept six Spanish Academy awards in 2012, including best picture, as well as auteurist hits such as Manuel Martin Cuenca’s 2017 Toronto winner “El autor” and banner Spanish TV series, led by Movistar Plus+ “Gigantes” (2017-18), also from Urbizu.

A former senior executive at Madrid-based Latido Films, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s top film sales agents, Alonso joined Latido in 2005, serving as its festivals manager – and a sales executive during colleagues’ during colleagues’ absences – before being...

Max’s first Spanish Original series “When Nobody Sees Us” has assembled an all-star cast including “The Flash” actor Maribel Verdú, “Mission Impossible’s” Mariela Garriga and Austin Amelio from “Fear The Walking Dead.”

Ben Temple (“Upon Entry”) and Dani Rovira (“El campeón”) are also set to star in the show, which is based on Sergio Sarria’s novel of the same name.

Set during Holy Week in southern Spain’s Morón de la Frontera, Verdú plays Lucía Gutiérrez, a seargant in the Civil Guard who’s investigating the unexpected death of a neighbor, ostensibly by suicide. She also suspects a series of strange occurences taking place during the first Easter procession might be linked. Meanwhile Garriga stars as Magaly Castillo, a special agent sent to a nearby U.S. Army base to investigate the disappearance of an American soldier. Amelio co-stars as Sergeant Andrew Taylor, a military policeman who accompanies...

Toledo, Spain — Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the greenlight and start of production of its first new Spanish series for Max, crime thriller “When Nobody Sees Us,” whose eight episodes will be directed by Spain’s Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest for the Wicked”). The produced by “Elite” producer Zeta Studios.

Based on the same title novel by Sergio Sarria, “When Nobody Sees Us” has been written by lead writer Daniel Corpas heading a writing team with the collaboration of Arturo Ruiz and Isa Sánchez.

Set against Spain’s 2023 Holy Week celebrations, “When Nobody Sees Us,” is set in Morón de la Frontera, south east of Seville in Andalusia’s deep Spain, next to a U.S. Army Air Force base. There, Lucía Gutiérrez, a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, investigates the bizarre suicide of a neighbour and strange events at the first Holy Week float processions.

Meanwhile, Magaly Castillo, a U.S. army...

Max has made its first series order in Spain.

Last year, Max owner Warner Bros Discovery decided to pull out of production for Max predecessor HBO Max in much of Europe and underwent a period of painful cuts, but Spain was one of the few countries in Europe to avoid the cull.

Max has now greenlit the start of production on When Nobody Sees Us, an eight-part thriller from Zeta Studios and based on the Sergio Sarria novel of the same name. This also marks the first Spanish production since HBO Max was combined with Discovery+ to create Max.

Daniel Corpas leads the writing team, with the collaboration of Arturo Ruiz and Isa Sanchez. Enrique Urbizu will direct.

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Spanish Holy Week celebrations, the series is a thriller led by two policewomen trying to solve a series...

Zdf Studios has signed a deal to distribute the second season of the remake of the iconic Spanish horror series “Stories to Stay Awake” (“Historias Para No Dormir”).

The series is a reboot of the classic series created by Spain’s Chicho Ibáñez Serrador in the 1960s which proved a milestone in Spanish horror, introducing Spain to classic tales from Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe,

The deal sees Zdf Studios taking distribution rights to “Stories” in all territories outside Spain, Portugal, Italy and Latin America, which will be handled by Paramount Global Content Distribution. Zdf operated in the same capacity for the first season.

The second season is produced by Paramount in association with Zdf Studios, along with Prointel and Isla Audiovisual. The first season of the series premiered on Prime Video and public broadcaster Rtve in Spain.

In Season 2, directors Salvador Calvo (“Adu), Nacho Vigalondo (“Colossal”), Alice Waddington (“Scarlet...

In a flat, Ángeles keeps solemn company with her despair. Neurodivergent and seeking refuge, she eventually escapes into a Western-themed video game, embarking on an emotional adventure between reality and the virtual world that entices her.

“Ripli” marks the debut feature effort for Madrid-based director Elena Tara, whose delicate first short “Ella Muerta De Frio. Yo Calada Hasta Los Huesos” snagged her the best director award at the New York International Film Festival’s Revolution Me for new directors in 2020.

An Ecam alum, she participated in this year’s Incubator, Madrid’s prestigious development program that catapults emergent Spanish talent. Spain’s Goya Award-Winning director Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest For The Wicked”) acted as mentor, and with that helpful nudge, Tara finalized a version of the script she’s happy to advance.

The final narrative includes a genre filmmaking bent, with the videogame element central to the plot, yet, Tara insisted,...

Moving waves on Spain’s film-tv scene when it launched in early May, Beta Fiction Spain has unveiled its first project as a producer, “Dolores,” a portrait of Spain’s Dolores Ibarruri, a worldwide icon of the workers’ movement and struggle against fascism.

The feature film is inspired by “Pasionaria. La vida inesperada de Dolores Ibárruri,” a question-posing non-fiction book by Spanish historian Diego Díaz Alonso published in 2020.

Underscoring Beta Fiction Spain’s ability to attach best-of-class Spanish talent, the screenplay for “Pasionaria” is being penned by two of Spain’s foremost film-tv scribes, Alejandro Hernández, co-writer of Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War” and Mariano Barroso’s “What the Future Holds,” and Michel Gaztambide, a writer on Julio Medem’s milestone 1992 debut “Cows,” Enrique Urbizu’s best picture Goya winner “No Rest for the Wicked” and Freddy Highmore heist thriller “The Vault,” the second highest-grossing Spanish movie of 2021.

Díaz Alonso...

Rapidly emerging as one of Spain’s foremost hothouses for new producer and creative talent, the Ecam Madrid Film School’s Incubator program has chosen five titles for its 2022 program:

“Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” “Disposable,” “Macrame,” “Festina Lente” and “Ripli.”

Launched to connect early career talent in Spain with Europe’s film industry, the 5th Incubator runs from Feb. 23 through July.

The program will be overseen by writer-director Rafa Alberola, who serves as the new manager of The Screen, Ecam’s industry initiative umbrella.

This year’s lineup announcements comes as one Incubator project, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby,” is set to world premiere in Berlin’s Panorama section later this week.

Chema García Ibarra’s “Sacred Spirit” proved a standout at August’s Locarno Festival, another Incubator debut, Javier Marco’s Javier Marco’s “Josefina” was for many the most notable Spanish feature debut...

Zdf Enterprises (Zdfe) has acquired the international distribution rights to Spanish horror anthology “Stories to Stay Awake,” in Spanish “Historias para no dormir,” for all territories outside of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Latin America, which will be handled by series producer ViacomCBS International Studios.

50 years ago, Chicho Ibáñez Serrador became a household name in Spain thanks to his creation “Historias Para No Dormir,” a Spanish series which aired from 1966 to 1968 and again in 1982. In 2005, the IP was reformatted for the big screen as a group of shorts in “Peliculas Para No Dormir” (Movies to Stay Awake), with Ibáñez’s contribution “La Culpa” being the filmmaker’s final directorial work. He was joined then by several other Spanish genre masters on the project in Álex de la Iglesia (“30 Coins”), Jaume Balagueró (“[Rec]”), Mateo Gil (“Open Your Eyes”), Enrique Urbizu (“The Ninth Gate”) and, back for this new series reboot, Paco Plaza.

As the Covid-19 crisis still roils around the world, Movistar Plus’ new banner series, Enrique Urbizu’s “Libertad,” opened day and date on March 26 in both Spanish theaters as 135-minute movie and on Movistar Plus’ pay/SVOD platform as a five-part series.

Handled by A Contracorriente Films, the film’s broad release is less of marketing ploy, more of a drive to boost Spain’s theatrical business over Holy Week and a response to a potential film version detected as Urbizu and fellow creatives were editing.

“Libertad” continues Movistar Plus’ large bet on its talent. The title could apply to both its characters as its creators. Renowned for the impact on his movies of classic cinema, Urbizu has finally been given the tools to make a title which enrolls Western tropes in a violent adventure set in the Spanish wilds that bears witness to the twilight years of Spain’s...

Barcelona-based film-tv studio Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Cesc Gay’s new comedy “Stories Not to Be Told,” which is currently shooting.

Filmax will also handle Spanish distribution to the latest outing from Gay, whose 2021 Goya Awards contender “The People Upstairs,” has sold to major territories in Europe and North America.

Written by Gay and regular co-scribe Tomás Aragay “(“In The City,” “Truman”), Gay’s ninth feature is produced by Marta Esteban at Imposible Films and backed by Spanish pubcaster Tve, Movistar Plus and Catalan pubcaster Tvc.

The film takes in five comedic tales that criss-cross at random and focus on the emotions of the main characters, Gay said, adding that the stories are “told with a lot of rhythm and action and characterized by acerbic, yet tongue-in-cheek tone, as the title suggests.”

The short stories are sparked by a chance meeting, the suffering of public humiliation or an absurd decision.

In a novel experiment for Spain, Telefonica unit Movistar Plus will release its big new banner series, Enrique Urbizu’s historical adventure “Libertad,” day-and-date on March 26 on both its pay-svod platform and in Spanish theaters.

Theatrical distribution in Spain on “Libertad,” which is set in early 19th century Spain, in the wake of the French Revolution, will be handled by Adolfo Blanco’s A Contracorriente Films.

Beta Film has international distribution rights on the series, produced by Movistar Plus with Gonzalo Sálazar-Simpson’s Lazona, which also made Urbizu’s prior Movistar original series, “Gigantes.”

The theatrical release will not be nominal but “broad,” said Movistar Plus president Sergio Oslé. It will take advantage of Holy Week, which begins on March 26, and often sees a surge in box office in Spain, Blanco added.

The movie will run 135 minutes, the series bows as a five-part original of 50-minute episodes, which can be...

ViacomCBS International Studios (Vis) has boarded Amazon Prime Video and Rtve’s resurrection of Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s legendary Spanish horror series “Historias Para No Dormir,” (“Stories to Stay Awake”), which started filming this week in Madrid.

Set as a four-part anthology miniseries, “Historias Para No Dormir” boasts a superstar cast and crew on either side of the camera, with episodes to be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Mother”), Spanish Academy Goya-winner Rodrigo Cortés (“Buried”), “[Rec]” writer-director Paco Plaza, and Paula Ortiz, director of “The Bride.” Local outfit Prointel e Isla Audiovisual has been tasked with producing the reboot.

Episode 1, “La Broma” (The Joke) is currently filming in the Spanish capital, written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés. An interpretation of the 1966 original, the episode is the story of a love triangle including three Goya-winning actors in “While at War” co-stars Eduard Fernandez (“30 Coins”) and Nathalie Poza (“Julieta”), and Raúl Arévalo (“Marshland”).

50 years ago,...

Madrid — Beta Film has acquired international distribution rights to “Libertad,” the newly-titled banner Movistar Plus series, which encapsulates many of the original series production ambitions of Telefonica’s pay TV/Svod service.

According to Fran Araujo, head of content for Movistar Plus, “Beta is there for all our series from the beginning, nowadays, we’ve got a really extensive deal with them.”

Producers Lazona Productions, Spanish director Enrique Urbizu and Movistar have finalized production on “Libertad” and will begin post-production. Urbizu has previously directed “Gigantes,” another original series for Movistar Plus produced by Lazona.

In high-profile series like “Hierro,” “La Unidad” and “Antidisturbios,” women hold center stage in Movistar Plus series, and “Libertad” is no different.

Set in the 19th century, the series tracks a mother and her son following their release after spending the first seventeen years of the boy’s life in prison together. Having been granted their freedom,...

Madrid is booming as never before in its 125-year film history; arguably, no other European site is currently transforming so quickly into a global production hub.

A 20-minute drive north of the Spanish capital, a large white-concrete hanger has been built beside the Madrid-Burgos motorway, at the entrance to Tres Cantos, a well-heeled satellite village and industrial estate. Welcome to Netflix’s Madrid Production Hub, its first in Europe, which opened April 4.

Five minutes away from that are the offices of Movistar +, the pay TV unit of Telefonica, Europe’s second largest telecom, which has produced and released 20 original series since September 2017.

A quarter of an hour towards the city, in the Fuencarral district, the Mediapro Studio opened its doors last month, announcing it had 34 drama series in phases of production this year.

A hundred yards down the road are the offices of Mediterráneo, the new content production-distribution center of Mediaset España,...

As it celebrates its fifth anniversary, the rising Paris-based TV production and distribution company About Premium Content is rebranding as Apc Studios to reflect the expanded scope of its activities.

Apc Studios, which launched as a sales company in 2014, is now a producer, financier and distributor of upscale projects ranging from scripted to factual and children’s programming. The new brand will regroup Apc, Apc Kids, animation production company Zephyr and any future fiction production labels.

“We are rebranding as a mini studio to further solidify our commitment to developing and financing projects with both local and global appeal. We will apply the same selectivity and tailor-made approach to the production that has made our success in international sales,” stated Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel, Apc’s joint CEOs and co-founders.

Apc Studios is currently developing several projects across scripted and animation in-house, as well as third-party partners. Apc Studios will participate in development funding,...

Barcelona – Spanish production company Good Mood has initiated a co-operation agreement with Madrid’s Ecam Film School aimed at creating professional internships for university alumni.

Madrid-based Good Mood was founded by Daniel Écija, a veteran producer and showrunner behind more than 30 TV series including, when Ecija was a senior executive at Globomedia, recent titles such as the groundbreaking “Locked Up,” one of Spain’s biggest primetime hits “Red Eagle,” and supernatural cop thriller popular “I Am Alive.” He currently has upcoming series “The Fence” in production.

Produced by Good Mood and Atresmedia, “The Fence” is a dystopian fantasy set in 2045 Spain starring Ángela Molina (“Broken Embraces”) and her daughter Olivia Molina.

Two Ecam screenwriter alumni, Roberto Martín Maiztegui and Clara Botas –pictured, are working on the series as part of the Good Mood-Ecam agreement. Spanish director Inés París (“Miguel and William”) executive produces alongside Écija, David Molina and Sonia Martínez.

The Miami Film Festival has set “This Changes Everything,” the documentary about gender inequity in the film and TV industry, to open its 36th edition on March 1.

The documentary features women including Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Taraji P. Henson and many others advocating for change.

“The cultural reckoning of our current times has irrevocably and positively changed sensibilities surrounding inclusiveness and diversity,” said festival director Jaie Laplante of the film’s selection.

Patricia Clarkson will receive the fest’s Estrella Damm Precious Gem Award on March 4. Clarkson won the 2019 Golden Globe for her role in “Sharp Objects.” Barry Jenkins, Boots Riley and Aaron Stewart-Ahn will also appear at the festival for the first edition of the Knight Heroes program targeted at the new generation of creators.

The festival from Miami Dade College, which runs March 1-10, will screen more than 160 features, documentaries and shorts from more than 40 countries.

The North...

“Ah, my hungry dogs, after my bones,” grizzled family patriarch Abraham Guerrero, who controls Spain’s cocaine trade, greets his second son, Tomás, in the first episode of “Gigantes.” But this dog has news: Daniel, his older brother, has set up his own drug business. Abraham and Tomás shop Daniel to the police as Daniel organizes an attempt on Tomas’ pregnant wife’s life, which causes her to lose the baby. By the beginning of episode two, when Daniel comes out of jail 10 years’ vengeance is served.

A brutal six-part crime clan saga, “Gigantes” is produced by Movistar + and Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson’s Lazona Producciones (“Spanish Affair”) and sold at Mipcom by Paris-based About Premium Content.

World premiering at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, “Gigantes” marks one of Movistar’s biggest and most compulsive-viewing fall plays. It has already been renewed for a second season, which is being shot like a film,...

The Accident

(Mediaset-Globomedia)

Starring Inma Cuesta (“Julieta”), a thriller about a wife discovering the truth about her husband.

Sales Agent: Eccho Rights

Arde Madrid

(Movistar Plus, Andy Joke)

Warmly received at San Sebastian, a B&W comedy-thriller half-hour set in 1961 Madrid’s Dolce Vita, featuring Ava Gardner.

A Different View

(Boomerang, Rtve)

A suspense dramedy portrait of the Spanish society in the ’20s, via a traditionalist Lycee in the provinces.

El Continental

(Gossip Events & Productions, Rtve)

One of Rtve’s big plays, a 10-hour, 1920’s set gang war thriller, with Alex Garcia and Michelle Jenner (“Isabel”).

Hierro

(Movistar Plus, Arte, Portocabo, Atlantique)

Movistar Plus’ first international co-production and Portocabo’s calling card, a murder investigation set against spectacular landscapes of the mid-Atlantic Hierro.

Sales Agent: Banijay Rights

Gigantes

(Movistar Plus, Lazona Producciones)

Building buzz before its San Sebastian Fest world premiere, Enrique Urbizu’s brutal Madrid crime family parable on the legacy of violence,...

There has been an exponential hike in international sales for non-English-language drama series as the TV business has become increasingly global.

Spain’s no exception. Traditionally, international buyers were looking for local primetime TV fiction such as Diagonal’s period skein “Isabel,” which has been acquired by Rai in Italy, the 82nd territory nabbing the series.

The global explosion of OTTs has propelled a new culture of Spanish TV fiction consumption.

“Spanish drama works excellently on premium platforms and is definitely not only for the Hispanic world,” says Christian Gockel, Evp acquisitions & sales at Beta Film.

Handled by Beta, Telefonica-Movistar Plus’ “La Zona,” a thriller set in a nuclear plant meltdown, has been taken by Starz in the U.S., France’s Canal Plus and Germany’s Zdf.

“We are at a key moment where non-traditional territories are betting on Spanish drama,” Gockel adds.

“Money Heist” came close to being a global Netflix phenomenon.

San Sebastian — San Sebastian, the highest-profile festival and biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world, wraps Saturday after nine days of sun, some festival hits, deals and intense business discussions about gender parity and the future for Spanish-film-making in a future ever more dominated by digital platforms or vast and fast consolidating conglom-studio combos.

Ten takeaways from this year’s 67th edition.

1.Festivals: More Crucial Than Ever

The festival’s banner deal saw Film Factory Ent. seal world sales on San Sebastian Co-Production Forum winner “La Llorona,” from “Ixcanul” director Jayro Bustamente, about a mother ready to wreak vengeance on the never-punished soldier-now politician who killed her children.

Multiple sales agents deals went down – or were announced – on still available festival titles in the run-up to Toronto and San Sebastian or at the festivals. Luxbox (“Rojo”), Indie Sales (“Core of the World”), Latido (“Happiness”), Loco Films (“Journey to a Mother...

San Sebastian — In 2014, launching in France and Germany, Netflix hesitated about entering Spain, reportedly because of prevalent piracy. Four years later, the U.S. streaming giant has chosen Madrid for its first European production hub.

Spain is on a roll, impelled by the launch of original series production at Movistar +, Netflix, Amazon and HBO España, the creation of Atresmedia Studios, and the build of drama series production at companies once only known for films, such as Mediapro, Mod Producciones and Filmax.

Where it’s rolling to is another matter. At San Sebastian on Saturday, at a mini conference on Serial Narration: An Episode on Creation and Industry, illustrious Spanish series creatives, producers and executives debated the new TV landscape’s creative and industry opportunities and challenges.

Providing an international perspective were Bruno Dumont, in Sebastian to present jocular sci-fi comedy series “CoinCoin and the Extra-Humans,” a standout at Locarno,...

“Stay in the van. I’ll handle this,” grizzled family patriarch Abraham Guerrero instructs his two young sons at the beginning of “Gigantes,” Movistar Plus’ latest original series.

His eldest son, Daniel, hands him a wooden club. Across the street, under torrential rain, a man gets out of the car. Abraham hits him on the shins and back, and passes the club to Daniel, who lays into the man, now sprawled on the tarmac, as Tomás and Clemente watch on.

“Gigantes,” directed and co-written by Enrique Urbizu, was produced by Movistar + and Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson’s Lazona Producciones (“Spanish Affair”) and one of the banner titles that sales agent About Premium Content will launch at October’s Mipcom. It is a brutal crime-clan saga about the Guerreros, who control Spain’s cocaine trade.

But “Gigantes” is no straight mob melodrama; it focuses, as Abraham’s brutal lesson in punishment suggests,...

Icíar Bollaín, Isaki Lacuesta and Carlos Vermut to return.

The Spanish films that will be showcased at the 2018 San Sebastian Festival (21-29 September) have been revealed.

The competition titles includeYuli, directed by Icíar Bollaín, who has twice previously competed for the Golden Shellwith Take My Eyes (2003) and Mataharis (2007).

Isaki Lacuesta is also in competition with Between Two Waters. Lacuester’s The Double Steps won the Golden Shell in 2011. The new film stars the two Roma brothers who appeared as teenages in one of the his first films, La Leyenda Del Tiempo.

A further Golden Shell winner (for Magical Girl in...

Madrid — New movies from recent San Sebastian Golden Shell winners – Carlos Vermut’s “Quién te cantará” and Isaki Lacuesta’s “Entre dos aguas” – will screen in main competition this year along with Iciar Bollaín’s “Yuli” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Realm.”

Announcing the complete line-up of Spanish films at San Sebastian in Madrid on Friday, San Sebastian director José Luis Rebordinos also confirmed that Enrique Urbizu’s “Giants,” one of the most-awaited of upcoming Movistar + original series, will world premiere out of competition at the Spanish festival, the highest-profile in the Spanish-speaking world.

An explosive mix of downbeat social realism, notable style, darker psychological portraits and edgy and varying genre beats has turned Carlos Vermut (“Magical Girl”) into one of Spain’s most courted young filmmakers. A female-centric melodrama, produced by Enrique Lopez-Lavigne’s Apache Films and sold by Film Factory Entertainment, “Quién te cantará” stars Najwa Nimri (“Sex and Lucia...

The James Cameron-produced “Terminator” reboot, Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows” and Netflix phenomenon “La Casa de Papel” share a common shoot locale: Madrid.

Spain’s main film and TV hub, Madrid is rolling off two key drivers of the country’s content economy: a rising number of big U.S. shoots that take advantage of locations, talent and rebates in the area, and Spain’s booming drama series scene.

With a long litany of international shoots through the decades, both Madrid’s city and region boast an ultra-modern communications infrastructure and usually stable weather.

The launch three years ago of Spanish tax rebates for film and TV projects — tabbed at 20% of spend in Spain’s mainland — is boosting Madrid, as with Spain at large, as an increasingly attractive destiny for foreign shoots.

The Tim Miller-directed “Terminator” reboot — yet to be titled — will partly film for two...

Spanish drama production has evolved quickly in the past few years, while the proliferation of Svod platforms is revolutionizing the sector. Ott distribution has helped push some Spanish series onto not only continental screens, but also global TVs.

Take, for example, Alex Pina’s “La Casa de Papel,” produced by Vancouver Media for Atresmedia, and acquired worldwide by Netflix. Its Dalí-inspired aesthetic has been celebrated at Brazil’s Carnival and Saudi soccer matches.

Netflix has now commissioned Spanish drama series (such as Bambú’s “The Cable Girls”) and made early investments in others (such as Rtve’s “The Department of Time,” Atresmedia’s “The Cathedral of the Sea”).

Spanish fiction has “always been a quality product,” says Mediapro head of content Javier Méndez. Now, “the world is discovering Spanish fiction through its presence on new global platforms.”

Beyond Spain, the main target is Latin America.

In February, Movistar Plus — Telefonica...

Sky Germany’s “Pagan Peak,” Movistar +’s “Giants” and ITV’s “Cleaning Up” will be sneak-peaked at the inaugural MipDrama Buyers’ Summit, a series-in-production showcase which also highlights Russia’s “Trigger.”

The country with the biggest presence at the Summit is, however, Finland, sporting “Arctic Circle” and “Bullets,” both co-financed by Elisa Vilhde.

This is a sign of how Scandinavia still punches way above its geographic weight in drama series production. It also flags the building drive into high-end drama investment by European telecoms which account, between Telefonica’s Movistar + and Elisa, for half the titles at the MipDrama Buyers’ Summit.

That’s one trend at the Summit which, running on the Sunday April 8, the day before the official launch of MipTV, reworks MipTV’s successful MipDrama Screenings, offering longer excerpts – 15 minutes – of less series – six rather than 12. It also adds one conference session, Fast Forward: Drama, the Viewer’s Story,...

Gather your fright-loving family members, fill your cup to the brim with egg nog, and find a comfy spot around the TV (or computer) screen, because enough horror movies to fill Santa's sleigh are coming to the streaming service Shudder this December, including Rob Zombie's 31, Bob Clark's Black Christmas, and many more.

Press Release: This December, there’s oh so much under Shudder’s tree. But before you get unwrapping, let’s shake the boxes a bit… We have something special for everyone, inside.

Love clowns? Coming exclusively to Shudder is Rob Zombie’s latest, 31, a vicious and characteristically Zombie film. Which is to say it’s dirty, mean and, from the get, right up in your face.

Looking to stay in? We’ve got a very special Shudder exclusive in Shrew's Nest. Directed by Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel (and produced by Alex de la Iglesia), this elegant,...

In recent years they have been trying to attempt to bring Pablo Escobar to the big screen, Antoine Fuqua, Joe Carnahan have all tried to tell the story of the wealthy Colombian drug lord and elusive cocaine trafficker but they fell through. Sure there have been documentaries on Escobar but never a biopic.

The notorious drug kingpin has been played by Cliff Curtis (Non-Latino, he’s from New Zealand) in “Blow,” which starred Johnny Depp but the film centered on Depp’s character George Jung, the man who established the American cocaine market in the 1970s.

The same thing will be seen soon in Andrea Di Stefano’s debut feature “Paradise Lost.” The film is not exactly an Escobar biopic, its more a romantic thriller, which centers on a young couple (Josh Hutcherson and Claudia Traisac) who fall madly in love with each other until he meets her uncle, one...

Relativity Media has taken rights to a script about the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, called "Silver or Lead." The original draft is from Michael Kane, while Piers Ashworth's screenplay will serve as the basis for Spanish director Enrique Urbizu, yet another overseas helmer making his English-language debut. "Silver of Lead" will center on the conflict between Escobar and General Hugo Martinez, as chronicled in Simon Strong's book "Whitewash: Pablo Escobar and the Cocaine Wars." Relativity has the rights to the book, as well as life rights to Escobar, Martinez and former Bogota DEA chief Joe Toft. Ryan Kavanaugh will produce with Mark Canton, Donald Kushner and Leigh Ann Burton. Canton says hopefully that the project is "reminiscent of 'The Untouchables.'" As for that title: Escobar had a phrase, "Plata o Plomo," meaning you could take his silver or his lead. Johnny Depp already played American cocaine king George Jung in "Blow,...

Relativity Media has acquired Piers Ashworth's script for "Silver or Lead" which deals with the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar.

Enrique Urbizu ("No Rest for the Wicked") will helm the project in which the focus is on the personal war between the Colombian drug lord and Brigadier-General Hugo Martinez.

Martinez was the commander of the Colombian police task force 'Search Bloc' which was setup to bring Escobar down, and ultimately succeeded.

Ashworth penned the script based on an original draft by Michael Kane, and Simon Strong's book "Whitewash: Pablo Escobar and the Cocaine Wars".

Mark Canton, Donald Kushner and Leigh Ann Burton will produce. This is not to be confused with other Escobar films in the works, such as the Benicio del Toro-led "Paradise Lost".

Source: THR...

Relativity Media now has the rights to the script “Silver or Lead,” which tells the story about the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Relativity Media will produce the film about the legendary criminal along with Atmosphere Entertainment Mm. British writer Piers Ashworth (“Nostradamus,” “St. Trinian’s”), wrote the screenplay, which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane. Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest for the Wicked”) will direct. Relativity also acquired the life rights for Joe Toft, the former chief of the Bogota office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who was involved in the Escobar case, including the pursuit, capture and death of the Escobar. The films’s source material [ Read More ]

The post Relativity Media Nabs Rights To Silver Or Lead appeared first on Shockya.com.

Relativity Media announced on Tuesday that it has picked up the rights to "Silver or Lead," a screenplay by Piers Ashworth, which tracks the manhunt for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Enrique Urbizu is attached to direct the story of how General Hugo Martinez risked his life as the head of  the elite task force responsible for bringing the godfather of the Medellín cartel to justice for his crimes. The film's title is derived from the antagonist's famous phrase, "Plata o Plomo," meaning take his silver or take his lead. Also read: Relativity Media...

Relativity Media announced today that it has acquired rights to the script Silver or Lead, the epic story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, one of the world’s greatest outlaws. Relativity will produce the film with Atmosphere Entertainment Mm. Enrique Urbizu, whose gritty crime thriller No Rest for the Wicked swept the Spanish Goya’s last year with a record 14 wins, will direct from a screenplay by British writer Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus, St. Trinian’s), which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane.

The film focuses on the personal war between Escobar and General Hugo Martinez, whose life rights were also acquired by Relativity. Relativity also acquired the life rights for Joe Toft, the former chief of the Bogota office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who was involved in the pursuit, capture and death of Escobar. Source material for the film is provided by...

Relativity Media announced today that it has acquired rights to the script Silver Or Lead, the epic story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, one of the world’s greatest outlaws. Relativity will produce the film with Atmosphere Entertainment Mm. Enrique Urbizu, whose gritty crime thriller No Rest for the Wicked swept the Spanish Goya’s last year with a record 14 wins, will direct from a screenplay by British writer Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus, St. Trinian’s), which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane.

The film focuses on the personal war between Escobar and General Hugo Martinez, whose life rights were also acquired by Relativity. Relativity also acquired the life rights for Joe Toft, the former chief of the Bogota office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who was involved in the pursuit, capture and death of Escobar. Source material for the film is provided by...

The story of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar may finally make it to the big screen. After many failed attempts in previous years, Relativity Media is taking over a script from writer Piers Ashworth (St. Trinian’s). Titled Silver or Lead, the film will be directed by Enrique Urbizu, whose success with his crime thriller No Rest for the Wicked could lend very well to this take on Escobar’s life. The central focus of Silver or Lead is on Escobar’s struggle with General Hugo Martinez, and the film will be produced by 300's Mark Canton. Hit the jump for the press release and film synopsis. Here's the full press release: (Beverly Hills, CA) March 5, 2013 – Relativity Media announced today that it has acquired rights to the script Silver or Lead, the epic story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, one of the world's greatest outlaws. Relativity will...

Relativity Media announced today that it has acquired rights to the script Silver or Lead, the epic story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, one of the world's greatest outlaws. Relativity will produce the film with Atmosphere Entertainment Mm. Enrique Urbizu, whose gritty crime thriller No Rest for the Wicked swept the Spanish Goya's last year with a record 14 wins, will direct from a screenplay by British writer Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus, Piers Ashworth), which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane.

The film focuses on the personal war between Escobar and General Hugo Martinez, whose life rights were also acquired by Relativity. Relativity also acquired the life rights for Joe Toft, the former chief of the Bogota office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who was involved in the pursuit, capture and death of Escobar. Source material for the film is provided by author Simon Strong's...

Spanish filmmaker Enrique Urbizu (man responsible for No Rest for the Wicked) is all of the sudden attached to direct a project titled Silver Or Lead for Relativity Media! The good thing is that we’re actually talking about the true story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, and that some seriously good team stands behind the whole thing. But, more about that in the rest of this report… So, at this moment we know that Urbizu will direct the movie from a script written by Piers Ashworth which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane. Source material for the film is...

Relativity Media has acquired the script rights to Silver or Lead, a story about the manhunt for infamous Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. The film will be directed by Enrique Urbizu from a screenplay by Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus, St. Trinian’s), which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane. Urbizu’s previous film, No Rest for the Wicked (2011), won 14 trophies at Spain's Goya Awards last year. “Piers Ashworth has penned an extraordinary script that captures all the thrilling aspects of Pablo Escobar's life while championing a classic tale of the battle between two larger-than-life men who

read more...

Breaking: Relativity Media acquired Silver Or Lead, a script that tells the story behind the manhunt for cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Relativity will produce the film with Atmosphere Entertainment Mm. Enrique Urbizu, whose gritty crime thriller No Rest For The Wicked swept the Spanish Goya’s last year with a record 14 wins, will direct from a screenplay by British writer Piers Ashworth (Nostradamus, St. Trinian’s), which he developed from an original draft by Michael Kane. I feel like this is the umpteenth attempt to tell the story of Escobar’s rise and downfall, but maybe Relativity will finally get it done. The film focuses on the personal war between Escobar and General Hugo Martinez, whose life rights are part of the deal as are rights to Joe Toft, the former chief of the Bogota office of the Drug Enforcement Agency who was involved in the pursuit, capture and death of Escobar.