‘Black Sands’ Producer Glassriver Teams with ‘Prisoners’ Ragnar Bragason on ‘Magaluf’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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.

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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.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentStudiocanal has acquired a majority stake in Dutch FilmWorks, a leading film production and distribution company operating in Benelux.Launched in 1998, Dutch FilmWorks produces and distributes 25 films each year, and has built up a library of over 900 Dutch and international films, including the popular family franchise “The Claus Family.” The acquisition of Dutch FilmWorks is part of Studiocanal’s aim to consolidate its pipeline of premium European content with international potential.Owned by Vivendi-backed Canal+ Group, Studiocanal already operates in all four major European markets — France, U.K., Germany and Spain — as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The banner also produces more than 200 hours of TV series each year at an international level, either in-house with Studiocanal Original, or through its network of European production labels, including Germany’s Tandem Productions, the U.K.’s RED Production Company, the U.K.’s Urban Myth Films and SunnyMarch TV, Spain’s Bambu Producciones or Scandinavia’s SAM Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to the Blumhouse-produced feature documentary, The Youth Governor, slating it for release on August 26.

Emilio Mayorga Autour de Minuit, a co-producer of Annecy contender “Unicorn Wars,” has acquired international rights to another Annecy entry, the dialogue-free “Two Little Birds” (“Dos pajaritos”), a 20-episode series by Argentine animators Alfredo Soderguit and Alejo Schettini (2013 Bafici Audience Award winner “Anina”). The deal excludes co-production territories Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay.Produced by Luciana Roude at Argentina’s Can Can Club (“Teclópolis”), Soderguit at Uruguay’s Palermo Estudio (“Anina”) and pubcaster Señal Colombia, the ornithological slapstick comedy follows the hilarious situations lived by two little birds sharing the same tree.

EXCLUSIVE: Big Beach has announced that it will produce the upcoming feature Tropical Gothic from Lingua Franca‘s Isabel Sandoval.

Guns N’ Roses performed AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ for the first time ever at a concert in Spain.The band were performing at Estadio Benito Villamarin when they debuted their cover of the classic track earlier this week. You can view the performance below.It was the second concert of their current European/UK tour which kicked off in Portugal last weekend.During that show at at the Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Oeiras they also covered AC/DC’s ‘Walk All Over You’.During their concert in Spain the band also performed a cover of Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ alongside a host of GN’R classic tracks including ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘You Could Be Mine’, ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’.Their continued nod to AC/DC’s back catalogue comes as no surprise.

Georgina Rodriguez showed off her chic fashion sense over the weekend as she stepped out in Ibiza on Saturday, June 4.The Spanish model looked stunning in a Dolce & Gabbana lemon print midi dress from the Italian designers exclusive collection, which comes with a £1,850 pricetage, according to Daily Mail.The 28-year-old made a statement as she arrived at the venue, pairing her exclusive dress with a pair of Hermes Izmir sandals while she carried one of the fashion house’s sought-after handbags.Georgina looked beautiful in the ruched style, which perfectly showed off her curvy silhouette. She finished off the look with a pair of gold hoop earrings, going on to add a matching watch and a collection of bracelets.The model had her brunette hair slicked back into a sophisticated bun with a few front strands left out to frame her face, giving her glam that old Hollywood vibe.

Emiliano De Pablos Celebrated Uruguayan producer Fernando Epstein, co-founder of Mutante Cine, one of Latin America’s key arthouse outfits, is entering into TV fiction creation with thriller drama series “La tinta invisible” (“The Invisible Link”).The show is a two-season series based on two novels by Uruguayan author Eduardo Mariani that go through part of the recent history of South America, linked to Europe through the exile of some of its characters.The project, at an early development stage, will be pitched at the Co-Pro Series session during the 6th edition of Conecta Fiction & Entertainment forum, which runs June 21-25 in Toledo, Spanish region Castilla-La Mancha’s capital city.Toledo will be “The Invisible Link’s” first participation in the international market. Epstein has been a film producer and editor since 2000, with more than 50 credits and several awards at A-class festivals, having produced and edited significant Latin American titles such as “Whisky” and “Gigante.”“After 20 years as a producer and editor of auteur films, I found in the series format the possibility of adapting the work of Eduardo Mariani, a Uruguayan author whose narrative force combines thriller with drama in a story that takes place over 40 years,” Epstein told Variety.Epstein has teamed with “Manny’s Garage Sale: A Hitchcock Knot” co-scribe Janine Zaruski to write “The Invisible Link.”Set up at Mutante Cine, the project tells the story of two opposite and complementary characters.

Emiliano De Pablos Top Spanish indie producer-distributor Vértice 360 is joining forces with U.K.-based Born Wild to co-produce YA drama series project “Motorway.”European sales company Eccho Rights is handling international distribution rights.“Motorway” has been created by Spanish writer-cartoonist Víctor Santos, the creator of graphic novel “Polar” whose film adaptation, starring “Hannibal” Mads Mikkelsen, was produced by comicbook-based media company Dark Horse Entertainment and Germany’s Constantin Film and released by Netflix.The new project is set up at Vértice 360, the ambitiously relaunched content division of Madrid-based conglom Squirrel Media, headed by Spanish entrepreneur Pablo Pereiro Lage. “Motorway” will be pitched during the upcoming 6th Conecta Fiction & Entertainment forum, as part of the High-End Series sidebar, a new section focused on higher-budget series and miniseries projects in search for co-production partners.Written by Santos and Born Wild founder Anthony Alleyne, the six-seg, one-hour TV drama tells a dark fairy tale set beside an apocalyptic highway in a world of endless pursuit.“Motorway” takes place in a near future, where young teenager Alice has spent her short life sketching and drawing the motorway and the towns at its side.

Emiliano De Pablos Two of Portugal’s most international production houses – SPi, producer of the country’s first Netflix Original series “Gloria,” and Caracol Protagonista – are teaming to co-produce police drama series project “O Último Lobo” (“The Last Wolf”).The show tells the true story of Franklim Lobo, one of the greatest European drug lords, exploring his rise, and the corruption in the Portuguese police in the late 1990s. Portuguese filmmaker Bruno Gascon, whose credits include “Carga” and “Shadow,” is the writer-director.The eight-episode series focuses on Castilho, an honest police investigator with a dark past, who sees it as his personal mission to capture Lobo.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentShaping up as one of the most anticipated movies from Spain this year, “Prison 77” (“Modelo 77”) has an international teaser trailer, which Movistar Plus has shared in exclusivity with Variety.“Modelo 77” marks the third Movistar Plus original film, re-teaming Telefonica’s pay TV/SVOD service with director Alberto Rodríguez, co-writer Rafael Cobos and co-producer Atípica Films, the driving forces behind “The Plague,” Movistar Plus’ big banner 2017 series.Sold internationally by Film Factory, “Prison 77” will be released in Spanish theaters by Buena Vista International on Sept. 23, the second Friday of Spain’s San Sebastian Festival, which begs the question as to whether it will feature at the event.