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Spain’s The Mediapro Studio brought out the big guns at this year’s Mipcom to promote its first-ever English-language slate, which includes projects featuring John Turturro, Melissa Leo, “24” showrunner Evan Katz and Oscar winner Juan José Campanella, among others.

Though the ambitious pipeline was The Mediapro Studio’s big Mipcom head-turner, the company also closed noteworthy deals for a handful of its highest-profile shows of the last several years.

Disney+ Spain has acquired The Mediapro Studio and 3Cat’s thriller series “Quiet” (“El mal invisible”), which recently screened at Catalonia’s prestigious genre-focused Sitges International Film Festival. The show will debut on Catalan public television channel TV3 and the 3Cat platform soon, although a specific date hasn’t been announced.

Set in lock-down era Barcelona, “Quite” follows a police investigation to track down a serial killer who targets the homeless. David Verdaguer (“Saben Aquell”), Ángela Cervantes (“La Maternal”), and...

Spanish producer Maria Zamora of Elástica Films, who has championed emerging and mostly female filmmakers through most of her 20-year career, received this year’s annual National Cinematography Award at the 72nd San Sebastian Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21.

On hand to introduce her were filmmakers Elías León Siminiani, Paula Ortiz and Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun.

Siminiani, who worked on two documentaries with Zamora in the span of 10 years, said: I’ve seen her career rise like a hot air balloon. After we stopped working together, she promptly snagged a Berlinale Golden Bear for ‘Alcarràs,’ a San Sebastian Golden Shell for ‘O Corno,’ a Goya for ‘Libertad’ and a Cannes Directors’ Fortnight award for ‘Creatura,’” he quipped.

“Indeed, in these uncertain times, we need a stabilizing force like Maria,” said Ortiz, a multi-Goya nominated filmmaker whose film “La Virgen Roja” (previously titled “Hildegart”), Elástica’s co-production with Prime Video, premieres on Sept.

El nuevo filme de Barrena, coescrito junto a Alberto Marini, se ambienta en la Barcelona de los años 60 y 70. © AContracorriente Films

Se ha publicado el primer tráiler de la película “El 47”, dirigida por Marcel Barrena y coescrita junto a Alberto Marini (“El Desconocido”).

Basada en hechos reales, “El 47” se sitúa en los años 60 y 70. La periferia de Barcelona se ha formado y construido en su mayor parte por inmigrantes extremeños y andaluces que han levantado con sus propias manos barrios como Torre Baró. Aun así, no están considerados como parte de la ciudad. Sus chabolas ni siquiera tienen agua corriente o electricidad. Harto de que el Ayuntamiento sostenga que el transporte público no puede llegar a la zona porque las calles son demasiado estrechas e inseguras, el conductor de autobús de la Tmb Manolo Vital intentará demostrar, al volante de “El 47”, que las autoridades se equivocan.

La...

The Mediapro Studio’s “El 47,” the rousing true story of “a man, a bus and a neighborhood’s fate,” bows its official international teaser in Variety.

Helmed by multi-Goya award-winner Marcel Barrena (“Mediterraneo”), it follows bus driver Manolo Vital who is frustrated with the Barcelona City Council’s claim that public transport cannot reach the Torre Baró district due to narrow and unsafe roads. He seizes control of the route 47 bus to prove them wrong.

Many Torre Baró residents participated as extras, having witnessed or been related to those who experienced Vital’s 1978 challenge, showcasing the neighborhood’s unity and pride.

Shot in sepia tones, the drama, co-penned by Barrena and Alberto Marini (“The Stranger”), features a stellar cast led by Eduard Fernández, winner of three Goya awards, a San Sebastian Silver Shell and three Malaga Festival Silver Biznagas, along with Clara Segura, a Goya nominee for “Creatura.”

The rest...

Jonas Trueba’s The Other Way Around has received the Europa Cinemas Label as best European film in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

The comedy-drama – which has the Spanish title Volveréis – was selected by a jury of four exhibitors from the Europa Cinemas network.

An eighth feature for Spanish filmmaker Trueba, The Other Way Around follows a couple who decide to throw a party to celebrate their separation after 15 years as a couple.

The jury said, “Humorous and cleverly written, the film’s circular structure manifests generosity of spirit in its inspiring look at human relationships. It is a pleasing beacon of positivity,...

Be For Films has acquired international sales rights to “Mothers Don’t” (“Las madres no”) directed by celebrated Spanish filmmaker Mar Coll.

The film marks her third directorial outing following “Three Days with the Family“ and “We All Want What’s Best for Her.” The movie tells the story of María, a young writer who has just become a mother, and becomes obsessed by the highly publicized case of a woman who drowned her 10-month old twins in the bathtub. Through writing, María starts understanding the radical experience of her own motherhood.

“Mothers Don’t” stars Laura Weissmahr (“Cardo”), Oriol Pla (“Creatura”), Giannina Fruttero (“Smiley”) and Belén Cruz (“Cell 211”). The film is produced by Escándalo Films and Elastica Films. The latter will distribute “Mothers Don’t” in Spain.

“María, the protagonist of our story is a repentant mother, an association of words that generates automatic unease,” said Coll, who...

Outside its Market, of the eleven Spanish films elected for this year’s Berlin Film Festival, five have Catalan involvement, a testament to the significant investment and creative nurturing that occurs there. Below are those five and market highlights:

“Cura Sana” (Lucía G. Romero)

Produced by Escac Films, a Generation 14plus short delving into sisters’ lives shaped by ancestral violence, exploring deep familial bonds and the lasting impact of abuse.

“The Human Hibernation” (Anna Cornudella)

A sci-fi exploration of siblings undergoing hibernation, with only the sister awakening, blurring the lines between human and animal. A narrative of survival and awakening by Catalunya’s Joponica Films and Valladolid’s Batiak Films.

“Memories Of A Burning Body,” (Antonella Sudasassi Furniss)

A Berlin Panorama player, unraveling the repressed dimensions of womanhood, produced by Playlab Films and Costa Rica’s Substance Films. Sales: Bendita Film Sales.

“Reinas,” (Klaudia Reynicke)

In 1992 Lima, Lucia, Aurora, and...

Netflix Original “The Society of the Snow” won best picture and director for J.A. Bayona at Saturday night’s 38th Spanish Academy Goya Awards.

Those plaudits were two of a total 12 prizes, the third-highest kudos count for any title in the Goyas’ near 40-year history.

The lineup of best picture nominees was, however, a reminder in itself of the high quality and diversity of Spain’s current film production output. These took in Estibaliz’s Urresola Berlin triple winner “20,000 Species of Bees,” David Trueba’s real-life tender love story “Jokes & Cigarettes,” Isabel Coixet’s probing “Un Amor” and Victor Erice’s “Close Your Eyes,” an “aching ode to film, time and memory,” Variety wrote in its review.

Even after Bayona took best director there was still genuine suspense whether he would also win best picture, after best adapted screenplay went to “Robot Dreams” and “Jokes & Cigarettes” took best actor for David Verdaguer.

“20.000 especies de abejas”, “La sociedad de la nieve”, “Saben Aquell” y “Cerrar los Ojos” encabezan las nominaciones a los premios Goya 2024.

El pasado jueves se anunciaron los nominados de la próxima edición de los prestigiosos Premios Goya, el destacado evento anual que celebra lo mejor del cine español. La gala de los Goya 2024 se celebrará el 10 de febrero en Valladolid, con la actriz y cantante Ana Belén y por Los Javis como presentadores. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:

Mejor PELÍCULA

20.000 especies de abejas

Cerrar los ojos

La sociedad de la nieve

Saben aquell

Un amor

Mejor DIRECCIÓN

Víctor Erice, Cerrar los ojos

Elena Martín, Creatura

J.A. Bayona, La sociedad de la nieve

David Trueba, Saben aquell

Isabel Coixet, Un amor

Mejor PELÍCULA Europea

Aftersun (Reino Unido)

Anatomía de una caída (Francia)

Las ocho montañas (Italia)

Safe Place (Croacia)

Sala de profesores...

In perhaps one of her meatiest roles since Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” Oscar-nominated thesp Yalitza Aparicio stars in Prime Video’s upcoming series “Cometierra,” created by its showrunner Daniel Burman, The Mediapro Studio’s head of content for the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

Principal photography is underway, predominantly in Mexico, with some scenes shot in Uruguay.

Inspired by the bestselling debut novel of Argentine writer-activist Dolores Reyes, “Cometierra,” meaning Eartheater in English, is a supernatural drama steeped in magical realism that follows Aylín, a young girl from the rough outskirts of Mexico City.

She unexpectedly gains the extraordinary ability to commune with the earth beneath her feet, a gift that propels her into a world of crime-solving and clashes with malevolent forces lurking in her past. With the help of her fellow misfits, Aylín finds her true identity while navigating a community plagued by violence and grappling with...

“Yo no moriré de amor,” the feature debut of theatre actress Marta Matute, among the five titles selected by the Madrid Film School’s Ecam incubator program, has been boarded by Elastica Films,

whose credits include Berlinale Golden Bear prize winner “Alcarràs” and “Creatura,” Elena Martin’s best European film winner at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

The family drama is lead produced by José Esteban Alenda and César Esteban Alenda’s Solita Films, which saw their first international co-production, “El despertar de las hormigas,” by Costa Rican Antonella Sudasassi, world premiere at Berlinale’s Forum and become the first Central American film to be nominated for a Spanish Goya.

Executive producer Cecilia Rivas of Solita Films told Variety she is hoping to close a European co-production deal for “Yo no moriré de amor” in San Sebastian.

“Elastica Films makes an ideal partner as we share the same vision,” she noted, adding...

Spanish cinema has undoubtedly been making a strong imprint on the international film festival circuit throughout the last few years and, crucially, there’s a new wave of female filmmakers that are driving this charge.

Carla Simon’s Alcarràs took the Golden Bear in Berlin last year, while Elena Lopez Riera and Clara Roquet debuted their respective films The Water and Libertad in Cannes as well as Elena Martin’s feature debut Creatura, which played in the festival’s Directors Fortnight section this year.

So at this year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival, it’s unsurprising that the trend is continuing as three Spanish films in official competition this year are directed and produced by women: Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor, based on a bestselling novel by Sara Mesa, which is produced by Marisa Fernández Armenteros and Sandra Hermida; Sultana’s Dream, the debut feature from Isabel Herguera which...

Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet).COMPETITIONPalme d’Or: Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet) (Read our review)Grand Prix: The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer) (Read our review)Best Director: Tran Anh Hùng (Pot-au-Feu) Jury Prize: Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki)Best Screenplay: Yuji Sakamoto (Monster)Best Actress: Merve Dizdar (About Dry Grasses)Best Actor: Kôji Yakusho (Perfect Days) Short Film Award: 27 (Flóra Anna Buda)Short Film Special Mention: Intrusion (Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlūter)How to Have Sex (Molly Manning Walker).Un Certain REGARDGrand Prize: How to Have Sex (Molly Manning Walker)New Voice Prize: Omen (Baloji)Ensemble Prize: The Buriti Flower (João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora) (Read our review)Freedom Prize: Goodbye Julia (Mohamed Kordofani)Jury Prize: Hounds (Kamal Lazraq)Directing Prize: Asmae El Moudir (The Mother of All Lies) Directors' FORTNIGHTEuropa Cinemas Cannes Label for Best European Film: Creatura (Elena Martín)Sacd Prize: A Prince (Pierre Creton) (Read...

Being brave and daring — both things this movie has been praised as — is usually associated with seizing something long kept out of reach, or disregarding moral customs. However, Elena Martín Gimeno's sophomore tour de force of the pure id, shows us that owning up to our sensitivities and being affectionate can be the bravest and the most uncomfortable thing you can do. Creatura (2023) premiered at the Cannes 2023 Directors’ Fortnight selection, walking away with the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film.

The film begins with Mila (played by the director herself) and Marcel (Oriol Pla), a couple in their thirties, moving into Mila's family home in the coastal area of Catalonia, which had been abandoned for some time. Although things seem to be going well for them, an underlying sense of uneasiness is palpable. Mila experiences unsatisfied sexual urges, while Marcel remains uncomfortably distant,...

There’s an unnerving veil hanging over the windswept beaches and quaint rural milieus that make up “Creatura,” a brave and remarkably self-assured personal excavation film. Hailing from Catalan filmmaker and actress Elena Martín Gimeno, whose performance as the central figure Mila is both reassuring and vulnerable, “Creatura” follows one woman’s relationship to her body, desire, and sexuality, beginning with adulthood and eventually leading to her earliest childhood memories. The film observes an erratic adult Mila as she drifts through a series of adolescent memories. As various chapters from youthful summers unfurl like dreams, she attempts to heal her relationship with her body. Elegantly crafted and brazen in perspective, the film was awarded Best European Film at the 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

It’s provocative, yes, but not overly titillating. Gimeno’s film is honest about the way girls are alienated from their own desires at every stage of development.

There are only two days left until Cannes 2023 comes to a close, and much like yesterday, things have seemed a bit quiet. The movie on most everyone’s lips, at least if social media is any indicator, was Trần Anh Hùng’s period drama “The Pot au Feu,” a feature that, according to TheWrap’s Ben Croll in his review, “might very well be the most handsomely shot and soothingly felt serving of art house food porn ever brought to screen. It’s about to become your mother’s favorite film, and it’s an absolute delight.”

But before the screening started, as Variety reported, a demonstration in support of Indigenous land rights took place on the film’s red carpet. It was led by the directors and actors of “The Buriti Flower,” a film showing in Un Certain Regard directed by Portugal’s João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora.

Creton also features in the cast, with Mathieu Amalric providing the inner voice for one of the characters.

Pierre Creton’s A Prince has won the Sacd prize for best French-language feature, which is awarded to a title selected for Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.

The film is inspired by Creton’s own time spent as an apprentice when he was a teenager, and follows a 16-year-old gardening trainee exploring his sexuality. Creton also features in the cast, with Mathieu Amalric providing the inner voice for one of the characters.

The prize was awarded by the film commission of French writers guild Sacd.

Varda’s seminal documentary can now be used a pioneering educational tool by film students around the world.

More than 60 hours of rushes of Agnes Varda’s 2000 documentary feature The Gleaners and I will now be available for the next generation of international filmmakers thanks to a new educational initiative from France’s National Audiovisual Institute (Ina) and Ciné-Tamaris.

The project was unveiled in Cannes at the beachside hub of the Cnc by Rosalie Varda, the filmmaker’s daughter and CEO of Ciné-Tamaris and Ina’s deputy general director Agnès Chauveau, complete with a surprise visit from Martin Scorsese, who...

Creatura, the debut feature from Spanish director Elena Martín Gimeno, has won the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section. The drama, about a seemingly perfect couple who can’t manage to have sex anymore, explores themes of repression and female sexual desire.

Gimeno co-wrote the screenplay for Creatura with Clara Roquet and stars in the film alongside Clàudia Dalmau, Clàudia Borràs, Oriol Pla, Alex Brendemühl, Clara Segura, Marc Cartanyà and Carla Linares.

The European Cinemas jury called Creatura a “well-written and impressive portrayal of a woman as she tries to come to terms with her sexuality and intimacy while reflecting on her childhood and teenage experiences. This is a subject that has been covered before, but each character is so multi-layered and believable that the film is easy to relate to — both the female and the male characters. There are challenging moments but there is humor,...

Spanish drama follows a woman who goes on a journey of self-exploration to unveil her loss of desire.

Elena Martín Gimeno’s Creatura has won the Europa Cinemas’ award for best European film in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Europa Cinemas Network will now support the film with promotion and incentivise exhibitors to extend the film’s run in theatres.

Martín Gimeno also stars in the Spanish drama as a woman who goes on a journey of self-exploration to unravel her loss of desire.

It is produced by Spain’s Vilaüt Films, Avalon, Elastica Films and Lastor Media.

“Creatura,” the feature debut of Elena Martín, exploring female sexual desire and repression, has won this year’s 20th Europa Cinemas Cannes Label for best European Film at the 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Announced Thursday by Europa Cinemas, ahead of the closing ceremony this afternoon, the prize is one of two at Directors’ Fortnight, and awarded by one of the sidebar’s partners, given the section is non-competitive.

A second partner plaudit, the Sacd Prize, handed out by France’s Writers’ Guild, will be announced simultaneously to the Europa Cinemas Label.

“Creature” hit Cannes will multiple tailwinds. Like last year’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” it’s made by an emerging woman director associated by the so-called Catalan New Wave of helmers and producers making films twinning a strong sense of place and universal issues.

The second feature from 2021 Málaga best director Martín (“Júlia ist”) and a “Veneno” writer and “Perfect Life” director,...

Updated with Sacd prize details: Spanish director Elena Martín Gimeno’s Creatura won the Europa Cinemas prize as Best European Film, while Pierre Caton’s Le Prince scooped the Sacd for best French film at Directors’ Fortnight on Thursday.

The prizes were announced ahead of the evening closing ceremony for the non-competitive parallel Directors Fortnight section.

The Europa Cinema label and Sacd prizes are the key collateral prizes awarded to films world premiering in the section.

Under the Europa Cinema prize, the release of Creatura will receive the support of cinemas belonging to the independent exhibitor network representing 3,060 screens in 38 countries. The jury consists of four exhibitor members of the network.

Creatura revolves around a seemingly perfect couple who no longer manage to have sex, prompting one partner to probe her past and her sexual sexual awakening, from adolescence back to early childhood.

French writers guild Sacd’s prize is...

Natacha Kaganski has joined Luxbox as festivals and acquisitions manager and Solène Colomer has been named sales & marketing coordinator.

Previously, Kaganski spent four years as acquisitions manager at Wild Bunch, where she handled deals for the French and international market as well as coordination for multi-territories deals with the Wild Bunch group, such as Germany, Spain and Italy.

She was involved in films likeVenice winner “Happening” by Audrey Diwan, Gaspar Noé’s “Vortex” or “Leila’s Brothers,” also taking part in first Wild Bunch productions.

Solène Colomer has one year of experience assisting the sales and production teams at Urban Group under her belt. She was involved in “Plan 75” by Chie Hayakawa and “If Only I Could Hibernate” by Zoljargal Purevdash which, as reported by Variety, has already made history in Cannes.

They complete the already existing team with president Fiorella Moretti and Jennyfer Gautier, head of international sales.

“Personally,...

Film is directed by and stars Spain’s Elena Martin Gimeno.

Screen can reveal the first trailer for Elena Martin Gimeno’s Creatura, which plays in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

Spanish actress Martin Gimeno launched her feature directing debut Júlia Ist in 2017, playing festivals including that year’s San Sebastian.

Her follow-up sees Martin Gimeno once again starring in her own film, playing a woman who goes on a journey of self-exploration to unravel her loss of desire.

Creatura is produced by Spain’s Vilaüt Films, Avalon, Elastica Films and Lastor Media.

Paris–based Luxbox handles international sales.