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10 exciting Spanish directors to track in 2022:

Gabriel AZORÍN

“I’m interested in films that move from intimacy to mystery exploring language without being solemn,” says shorts director Azorín (“Greyhounds”). Backed by Spain’s Dvein Films and Filmika Galaika, “Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes,” his long-awaited first feature and a friendship tale straddling Roman and modern times, proved a buzz title at Locarno’s 2021 Match Me forum.

VERÓNICA Echegui

Launched as an actor by Bigas Luna in “My Name is La Juani,” the “Trust” and “Fortitude” thesp’s surprising first short “She Wolf Totem” earned her a director Goya. Now she’s writing her feature debut. “I love movies that focus on life aspects that may go unnoticed,” she says citing “Drive my Car,” Michel Gondry and Isabel Coixet.

Anna FERNÁNDEZ De Paco

A poetic depiction of a couple’s changing flats in Sarajevo, De Paco’s short,...

“El agua,” (Elena López Riera)

A Directors’ Fortnight title, the feature debut of Locarno winning López Riera (“Los Que Desean”), a fantasy-laced village-set critique of gender violence. S.A. Elle Driver

“Alcarràs,” (Carla Simón)

The 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner, Simón’s follow-up to “Summer 1993” and the flagship title for Catalonia and Spain’s newest filmmaking generation. S.A. MK2 Films

“Amazing Elisa,” (Sádrac González-Perellón)

The next from 2017 BiFan Grand Jury Prize winner González-Perellón (“Black Hollow Cage”), once more mixing fantasy and family dynamics as Elisa, 12, plans revenge after her mother’s tragic death. S.A. Filmax

“The Beasts,” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

One of 2022’s most awaited Spanish titles, playing Cannes Premiere, a Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”), produced by Arcadia, Caballo Films and Le Pacte. S.A. Latido Films

“The Communion Girl,” (Víctor García)

A revenge thriller involving an urban legend about a girl in a communion dress. S.

Miguel Bernardeau, Guzmán in Netflix smash hit “Elite,” and Mexico’s Renata Notni will head the cast of “Zorro,” a reboot series from Los Angeles-based Secuoya Studios and John Gertz that will stream in exclusivity on Amazon’s Prime Video in the U.S., Latin America and Spain.

The flagship series at Secuoya Studios, “Zorro,” a modern take on the hero, is directed by Javier Quintas, whose credits include episodes of “Money Heist” and “Sky Rojo,” and Miguel Angel Vivas, a director on “Locked Up” and “Unauthorized Living.” Written by Carlos Portela, the 10 episode series is executive produced for Secuoya Studios by David Martínez, David Cotarelo and Angela Agudo.

John Gertz, founder of Zorro Productions and a producer on “The Mask of Zorro” and “The Legend of Zorro” movies titles, also executive produces along with former Sony exec Andy Kaplan at Kc Global Media, Sergio Pizzolante for C&t Mobs, and...

Many, if not most, of Spain’s Malaga Festival’s main section lineup, from Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarrás” to Panorama player “Lullaby,” will screen for buyers during the Spanish Screenings. Festival titles are detailed in a separate article. Following, a breakdown of further titles swelling the Screenings to a record 63-title cut.

“Ainarak,”

Directed by Juan San Martín and starring singer-songwriter Anne Etchegoyen, the documentary follows the annual diaspora from 1870 to 1940 of hundreds of women from Navarre and Aragon to Mauléon in the French Pyrenees, where they worked from fall to spring making canvas shoes. First presented at Conecta Fiction in 2021.

“Beach House,”

Hector H. Vicens, co-director of the genre-twisting “The Corpse of Anna Fritz,” which caught some heat at 2016’s SXSW, is back with a reportedly acerbic beach-set young adult comedy which lifts off as a thriller. Carles Torras, director of Malaga winner “Callback,” produces.

“The Buried World,...

Spain has two films in this year’s main competition at the Berlinale, and a record haul of films participating across all sections. Similarly, the country boasts an impressive list of productions looking for buyers at the festival’s EFM. Below, a list of standouts from Spain looking to make moves on the global market.

“Prison 77” (Alberto Rodríguez)

A potential jewel in Spanish cinema’s 2022 crown, “Modelo 77” is produced by Spanish pay TV-vod giant Movistar Plus and Madrid-based Atípica Films, Rodríguez’s career-long producer. S.A. Film Factory

“Alcarràs” (Carla Simón)

In Berlin’s main competition, the much anticipated follow up to Simón’s “Summer 1993,” “Alcarrás” tracks the final harvest at a multi-generational family farm. Co-produced with Italy. S.A. MK2 Films

“The Beast” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

A Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”) and his regular co-scribe Esther Peña.

“Beyond the Summit” (Ibon Cormenzana)

Javier Rey and Patricia Lopez...