Malaga Festival’s Spanish Screenings XXL Embrace Sector’s OTT Revolution

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish media giant Atresmedia is joining forces with Portocabo, the production outfit behind Movistar Plus hit series “Hierro,” for a remake of Showtime drama “Your Honor,” starring Bryan Cranston.The Spanish redo is currently at the script stage and initiating casting.With an undisclosed number of episodes, the project production is scheduled to kick off this year.The TV series release date is still unknown. But it would be logical for it to launch on platform Atresplayer Premium before airing on Atresmedia’s free-to-air channel Antena 3 primetime, a windowing strategy usually followed by the group with its new fiction releases since Atresplayer Premium bowed in 2019.

Premio Lo Nuestro debut.The iconic rock star will premiere his new Spanish song, «Por Su Amor,» during the 34th edition of the awards show taking place in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 24.

Sasha Urban editorIsabel Torres, the Spanish actor known for portraying the transgender icon Cristina “La Veneno” Ortiz on HBO’s “Veneno,” died Friday, according to a post originally written in Spanish on her official Instagram. She was 52.“Although her family and friends feel her loss deeply, we know that wherever she goes, she will have fun as only she knows how,” the post reads in English. “Thank you for all the messages of affection and concern.

HBO Max has commissioned a second season of Álex de Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría’s mystery horror 30 Coins.

Emiliano De Pablos Post-COVID, Spanish sales companies look poised for a comeback to the global scene. Although, as Berlin’s EFM has gone virtual once again, their long-awaited physical reunion with the international industry will have to wait until Cannes… hopefully.An argument for optimism: Spanish-language films continue gaining ground on the global market, especially as platforms boom.

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.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorThe Spanish Film Academy announced on Friday that its first-ever International Goya Award will be received by Cate Blanchett.Currently presided by Mariano Barroso, the Spanish Film Academy created the award to “honor artists that have contributed to cinema as a medium that brings together different cultures and people.” In Friday’s announcement, Blanchett was recognized for her impactful work both on and off the screen worldwide — as an award-winning actor, producer, artistic director and humanitarian. She will receive the award at a gala ceremony on Feb.

K.J. Yossman Jessie Buckley, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps have signed on to star in “Hot Milk,” the debut directorial feature from “Colette” screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz.The film is based on Deborah Levy’s best-selling novel about a mother and daughter, Rose and Sofia, who travel to a Spanish clinic in the hoping of finding a cure for Rose’s paralysis.Shaw (“Killing Eve”) will play Rose, while Buckley, who recently appeared in “The Lost Daughter,” will play her daughter Sofia.

Cast has been set for Hot Milk, the feature directing debut of Rebecca Lenkiewicz, whose credits as a screenwriter include Ida, Disobedience, and Colette.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla Televisa and Univision have closed their landmark transaction, a long-awaited merger deal that will now create a Spanish-language media and content powerhouse that will reach 100 million Spanish speakers across the U.S. and Mexico.

Mexico-based Grupo Televisa and Univision have closed their $4.8 billion merger, uniting their vast Spanish-language media and production holdings in the U.S. and Mexico.

This is the hair-raising moment a skilled pilot aborts a landing at Manchester Airport in severe Storm Malik winds.

Brits planning holidays to popular Spanish islands have been issued a warning by airline easyJet.

Travellers from the UK heading to Spain this winter will need to double check their proof of vaccination before takeoff.

ACEHUCHE, Spain -- It's hours before dawn in Acehuche, a small town in Spain's western Extremadura region, and a group of youngsters is ending a parade by setting off fireworks and beating drums.The noise awakes residents for some of the biggest dates in the local calendar: the three-day celebration of the fur-covered characters known as “Carantoñas" that resemble wild beasts.With roots in pagan traditions of fertility that were incorporated into religious symbolism, the ancient festival currently marks Acehuche's patron, St. Sebastian, whom the Catholic tradition considers a martyr of the early anti-Christian Romans.After the 2021 edition was canceled amid a strong surge in coronavirus cases, the festival went ahead in late January this year.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a bid to tap into the intense demand for premium Spanish-language content, veteran Spanish entertainment executive Pepe Huertas has launched TV production company, Tres Vacas. He’s joined by seasoned showrunners Pilar Nadal and Felipe Mellizo, creators of such top selling dramatic series as “Águila Roja” (“Red Eagle”) and “Un Paso Adelante” (“One Step Forward”).The company will focus on creating scripted content for the global audience, drawing on their combined talents, expertise and decades of experience.“Our aim is to conceive relatable stories capable of engaging with the audience from the first minute, based on in-depth character development that allows us to construct long and strong narrative arcs,” said Huertas, founding partner and managing director of Tres Vacas.