Beta Fiction Spain Unveils ‘Dolores,’ Plans, Priorities

It looks like lemon juice is part of Conor McGregor‘s skin care routine!

EXCLUSIVE: Joel M. Gonzales, the current board president and executive director of Latino arts advocacy group Nosotros, has joined with philanthropist and entrepreneur Amber Butaud to launch Untold Content Group. The production company will develop, finance and produce film, TV, documentary and podcast projects that the company says will be “diverse, authentic and culturally reflective of today’s global audience.”

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBeta Film has partnered with Morena Films and Disney + Spain, picking up international distribution rights to the young-adult mystery drama “The Invisible Girl,” based on the best-selling book trilogy of the same name by Blue Jeans, a leading figure in YA literature. The eight-hour series is being shot in Carmona, Southern Spain, and in various locations across the province of Seville, among them El Viso del Alcor and Gerena.The thriller series, produced by Morena Films, stars Daniel Grao (“Hit,” “Julieta,” “Gigantes”) and Zoe Stein (“Mantícora,” “Merlí.Sapere Aude”), playing father and daughter involved in the investigation of a murder of a teenage girl in the picturesque fictional town of Cárdena, set in Andalusia.

Disney+ has teamed with Beta Film and Morena Films on an adaptation of young adult mystery novel franchise The Invisible Girl from leading YA author Blue Jeans.

EXCLUSIVE: The creators of Movistar+’s La Unidad (The Unit) are considering a spin-off of the Spanish counter-terrorism drama series, and are working on a female-led thriller for Atresmedia Cine.

Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, its first major TV event, returned to much of the winning formula of its early pre-pandemic editions: A spectacular setting in Spain, here the august historical city of Toledo; TV project pitches; an intense conference strand; marvellous networking opportunities, most especially the possibility of spending quality time with mover and shaker industry figures from Spain and Latin America.“I love to be here and it’s healthy, mainly for networking. I’m learning a lot, it’s like going to school,” Fremantle’s Manuel Marti enthused at Toledo. Most attendees would agree with him.But, compared to 2019, the industry has moved on and is now buffeted by larger turbulence.

Anna Marie de la Fuente After 13 years on the road with Spain’s iconic singer-songwriter-poet Joaquin Sabina, “The Good Boss” director Fernando León de Aranoa has finally wrapped his documentary, “Sintiendolo Mucho” (roughly translated to “Deeply Felt”).“This film is a rare privilege that, as a filmmaker, I would like to share with the public: to spend some time alone with Joaquín when he is not Sabina,” said León de Aranoa. “13 years ago, I began to shoot with him, to accompany him on his day-to-day activities, on rehearsals, tours, immersed in his own environment… to portray the artist, his best and worst moments, and his personality, so linked to his work, his creativity,” he remarked, adding: “Most importantly, it has been a lot of fun.” León de Aranoa, who also produced the doc, established a deep rapport with Sabina through the years.The Reposado, BTF Media and Sony Music Spain co-production is the first of its kind on Sabina, who is known to be a very private person.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentPortugal’s “The Last Wolf,” Lebanon’s “Status Quo” and Uruguay’s “The Invisible Ink” proved big winners at the 6th Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, which will wrap Friday in Toledo, Spain.A potential part of a burgeoning production axis between Spain and Portugal, “The Last Wolf” won the largest prize of the night, a development deal at Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, worth an estimated €50,000 ($52,500) and a virtual invitation to set the project up as a co-production with Spain.The prize is a sign of the times. Battling financial straights, RTVE is turning to co-production or license deals – with its peers in Europe (Germany’s ZDF Studios on Simon West Magellan epic “Boundless”) or go-ahead and more flexible U.S.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Underscoring a push into more ambitious productions in Latin America, Star Plus, The Walt Disney Company’s year-old general entertainment and sports streaming service in the region, presented an early banner production, “Santa Evita,” at Conecta Fiction & Entertainment in a gala screening on June 22.Attendees of the Toledo, Spain-based forum got an exclusive preview of the pilot episode to the seven-part limited series, which is set to bow July 26 on Star Plus Latin America, Hulu in the U.S. and Disney’s Star label in the rest of the world.“Santa Evita” anticipates more “true life fiction” shows that Star Plus is developing, based on larger-than-life figures in Latin America’s culture and history.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Ask Jose Velasco, 60, what he thinks about the Conecta Fiction Honorary award he’s receiving on Thursday June 23 and his first response is, “Why?”The self-effacing founder and president of powerhouse content producer iZen Group says he is grateful to those who decided to give it to him, “rightly or not.” “I guess it’s because I’ve been in this business for 35 years and have done everything from fiction to reality to game shows,” he muses, adding: “But if they think this will make me retire, they’re mistaken.”“I guess I am of the generation of people in Spain who were trying the shape the country’s television landscape,” he notes. Indeed, Velasco founded and ran one of the pioneering entertainment giants of Spain, Globomedia.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBTF Media, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s fastest-growing production houses, has unveiled a BTF Acceleration prize initiative worth up to a collective $500,000 for five projects at this week’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, the Europe-America TV co-production forum. BTF Acceleration seeks to promote emerging talent, opening up opportunities within the audiovisual industry, incubating creators and accelerating projects, BTF Media announced via the organisation of Conecta Fiction on Wednesday. The initiative forms part of BTF Corporate Venture Capital, a private capital investment fund promoted by the company. BTF Media will become a strategic ally accompanying the projects’ realization, it added, saying that the maximum endowment provided for this fund is $500,000.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentChile’s entertainment industry, despite its reduced size, has grown from strength to strength as the growing number of deep-pocketed streaming platforms and content studios have sought international productions that reflect the diversity of their global audiences.“We are developing projects for different countries, in alliances with large partners and with multicultural teams, where we empower ourselves and grow our stories, so that they are more attractive when seeking financing, and analyzing different business models in each country,” said producer Macarena Cardone of Invercine.She added: “In Latin America, we have a lot of talent that tells good stories which travel universally on platforms and on television networks around the world.” Some Chilean actors, led by the ubiquitous Alfredo Castro, have mastered neutral Spanish to expand their repertoire across the region.The country’s wealth of talent, stories, locations and skilled crew has contributed, in no small part, to the explosion of content, which everyone agrees has been tremendous.Across the region, more strategic alliances are being formed to carry out projects and integrate talent from everywhere. Among the country’s top producers are Fabula, run by the Larrain brothers Juan de Dios and Pablo (“Spencer”), who are taking fiction thriller series “Santa Maria” to Conecta.

Nicole Scherzinger and boyfriend Tom Evans are enjoying a getaway with friends!