News

Comedies about a guy pretending to have Tourette Syndrome and a disabled man from a rough neighborhood who becomes a nanny for rich kids, a dramedy about a trans boy and an unexpected pregnancy, as well as Dancing Till the Stars, a format where celebrities will have to dance while floating in mid-air, are among the 2025 prize winners of the pitching sessions of Conecta Fiction & Entertainment in Cuenca, Spain.

Noise, a coming-of-age dramedy about young people facing various issues and struggles, and a child abuse docu-drama were also among the prize winners.

The TV industry event hands out a broad range of awards, with several projects winning more than one. Among those was Password, which tells six stories of passwords posing dilemmas for their protagonists.

The winners found out about their prizes as Spanish TV producer José Manuel Lorenzo (The Gardener, The Hunt), a former top executive at Spanish TV companies Rtve,...

M Content, the production company founded by Amaya Muruzábal, the creative force behind Amazon MGM Studios’ “Red Queen,” is partnering with leading Irish prodco Vico Films to produce historical epic series project “The Patricios.”

Created and written by Muruzábal, the real-facts based series is set in 1846 and follows the Saint Patrick’s Battalion during the U.S.–Mexico War, when a group of Irish immigrants enlisted in the Texas Rangers deserted the U.S. army to join the Mexican side. They fought until their final stand at San Ángel, when they were captured and sentenced to death.

Director Julián de Tavira is attached to direct.

“The Patricios” narrates the story of a forgotten war that changed the course of history — and whose consequences still shape the world today.

“It is not just a story from the past, but a deeply relevant exploration of identity, justice, migration and the blending of cultures...

Historical drama “The Patricios,” created by Amaya Muruzábal of M Content – known for Prime Video’s “Hernán” and “Red Queen” – joins the social dystopia “La vida artificial” from Mónica Lozano’s Alebrije, and “Rosa,” a biographical romance by Studio TF1’s Kubik, headed by the Sánchez-Cabezudo brothers (“La Zona”), as standout entries at this year’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment forum.

Now in its ninth edition, the Europe-Latin America television and networking event takes place June 16–19 in Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, just an hour east of Madrid by train.

These titles are among 30 international projects selected by Cf&e editorial committees to participate in five pitch sessions, held at the Teatro Auditorio José Luis Perales and the Hospedería del Seminario. The committees reviewed 438 submissions, up 38% from the previous year, fueled in part by the enthusiastic response to the newly launched Pitch Direct to Streaming Movies category, which alone attracted 188 proposals, surpassing the...

A new movie will tell the incredible life of Anita Carmona Ruiz, a pioneering female football player from 1920s Spain. Carmona Ruiz, often known as “Veleta,” defied conventional standards by dressing as a male and playing soccer at a time when women were usually prohibited from the sport.

Laliga Studios, Blend Studios, and M Content collaborated on the film, which is now in development. Jesús Hurtado, an investigative journalist, unearthed Carmona Ruiz’s story in 2020, 80 years after her death. The directors of Paco Torres and Amaya Muruzábal want to convey her amazing story to the movie, highlighting what Muruzábal calls “the world’s first women’s footballer.”

“Our goal is to create a film that not only moves audiences but also shares this practically unknown story with the world,” Torres told reporters. Muruzábal stated that Carmona Ruiz’s life is “a unique example of determination and resilience rarely seen in cinema.

A new biopic will tell the story of Anita Carmona Ruiz, the Spanish soccer player who disguised herself as a man to play the beautiful game on men’s sides. Carmona Ruiz – who was also known as Nita or Veleta – played the game in the 1920s when female participation was frowned upon. The film of the Andalusian sports star’s life is in development.

It hails from Laliga Studios, which is a joint-venture between Spain’s top soccer league and the Iberian division of production and distribution giant Banijay. It is partnering with Spanish labels Blend Studios and M Content.

The project is based on the work of author and journalist Jesús Hurtado, who uncovered the full story of Veleta in 2020, 80 years on from her death. The sporting icon played for Málaga. She died in 1940, aged 32.

“Our goal is to make a film that moves, mobilizes, and tells the whole...

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

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

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

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

Lille — Creating a major and ambitious new player on the Spanish-language film-tv scene, Amaya Muruzábal – showrunner, screenwriter, and executive producer on Amazon MGM Studios’ just-out big hit “Red Queen” and creator and executive producer on milestone production “Hernán” – is launching her own film-tv production house, M Content.

M Content is founded with Argentinean Mariano Chihade – the independent producer behind Juan Pablo Kolojdziej’s Netflix Fito Paez bioseries “Love After Music,” working out of Buenos Aires’ Mandarina Contenidos.

The new venture will produce series and films, some large-scale – “for better or for worse, I’ve specialized in big productions,” Muruzábal tells Variety – as well as what she describes as smaller “event” auteur titles.

A first slate will be unveiled in upcoming months. One “priority area” are several feature films: “I need to breathe and handle slightly briefer time periods,” Muruzábal said. Kolojdziej and Muruzábal are collaborating on a series and on a feature.

Amazon's Red Queen is a top Spanish TV show with stellar performances and a captivating storyline. Vicky Luengo shines as Antonia Scott, a genius investigator with haunting visions. The ensemble cast, including Hovik Keuchkerian and Celia Freijeiro, elevates Red Queen's success.

Amazon’s Red Queen (Reina Roja) includes a large ensemble that provides compelling performances to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Created by Amaya Muruzabal, the thriller follows a woman named Antonia Scott, who gets wrapped up in an investigation of a string of vicious kidnappings and murders. This is one of the best Spanish-language TV shows to stream due to its compelling storyline, twists and turns, and incredible performances.

The main actors in Red Queen anchor the series, pushing the series forward at a rapid pace. Additionally, the rest of the ensemble provides some of the most moving performances. The overall success of the series is unsurprising,...

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

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

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

The news slate...

Jesús Zavala (“Club de Cuervos”) and Sofía Espinosa (“Gloria”) have been tapped to lead the Spanish-language adaptation of NBCU’s hit series “Superstore.”

Titled “Supertitlán,” it will be co-directed by showrunner César Rodríguez (“Compañeros”) and Joserra Zúñiga (“Chumel”).

The English-language original, which reached 33.7 million viewers in its final season 6, was created by Justin Spitzer (“The Office”) and produced by Universal Television, in association with Spitzer Holding Company, Miller Green Broadcasting and The District.

“Supertitlán” is Universal Studio Group’s first co-production partnership in Mexico and its first Spanish-language title.

Joining Zavala and Espinosa in the Spanish-language version are Luz Aldán (“La Casadelas Flores”), Ricardo Peralta (“Sobreviví”), Carlos Orozco (“Plan Sexenalen”), Aldo Escalante (“El Señor de los Cielos”), Erika Franco (“Margarita”), Azalia Ortíz (“Dodo”), Martín Barba (“Cuatro Lunas”), Roberta Burns (“Dibujando el Cielo”), Francisco de la Reguera (“Sr. Ávila”), Viviana Serna (“Señor de los Cielos”), Amanda Farah (“La Casa de las Flores...