Malaga’s Spanish Screenings Host 222 Titles, Underscore Industry Drivers: NextGen Talent, Animation, the Rise of Spain’s Regions

Sony Pictures Television‘s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, has said the scripted TV landscape in the post-peak TV era is like “going back to the future” — especially with his Netflix hits The Crown and Sex Education coming to an end.

Emiliano De Pablos Five upcoming Spanish TV fiction projects, involving top local production and distribution companies, feature in Coming Next from Spain, a showcase of series unspooling March 19 at Series Mania. Atresmedia TV’s “Sanctuary,” Movistar+ Plus’ “Fine Arts,” Filmax‘s “Dating in Barcelona” Season 2, The Good Mood-Mediawan’s “The Other Life” and Onza Distribution‘s “Heartless” will be presented at the event, proving once more that Spanish fiction production is in good health.

Veteran producer and sales agent Rosa Bosch has joined the Madrid-based distributor and international sales agency Begin Again Films. Bosch will serve as part of the company’s international department. 

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Dune: Part Two held strongly in its sophomore session at the international box office, adding $81M to handily cross the $200M overseas milestone, and reaching $367.5M globally.

Saturn Return” (“Second Prize”), always a frontrunner, topped this week’s Malaga Festival winning its best picture, director (with co-director Pol Rodríguez) and editing (Javi Frutos) awards. The triple plaudit delivers further recognition for a feature which pulls off the double achievement of being formally radical and great fun at one and the same time.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 44th edition of genre film festival Fantasporto, which runs in Portugal’s second city Porto from March 1-10, has bestowed its best film award on Japanese sci-fi fantasy pic “From the End of the World,” directed by Kaz I Kiriya. The movie follows 10-year-old Hana, whose dreams transport her across various eras in Japanese history, and have the ability to save humanity. The jury’s special award went to “The Complex Forms,” Italian director Fabio D’Orta’s debut feature.

Malaga Film Festival‘s MAFIZ-Spanish Screenings Content industry section, in its third edition once again put the spotlight on Spain’s impressive cinematic output, presenting a total of 222 Spanish productions. They included four market premieres, four titles in the fest’s official selection, 21 that have sold internationally as remakes, 38 in market screenings and 11 works in progress, of which five were presented in the Animation Hub. In addition, 65 shorts screened as part of the Malaga Short Center — an eclectic selection of works from established and up-and-coming filmmakers that are set to make their mark on Spain’s already muscular film sector.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “Los caminantes de la calle,” directed by Argentina’s Juan Martín Hsu, Chilean Ignacio Pávez’s docu-fiction drama “An Amputee” and Uruguayan Lorenzo Tocco’s “For God’s Sake” proved the biggest winners at the Malaga Festival’s MAFIZ industry area awards, announced at a ceremony on Friday night. Covering Malaga’s Work in Progress showcase, its Málaga Festival Fund Co-Production forum (MAFF) and the Spanish Screenings Content – Málaga Short Corner, prizes were divvied up among a slew of titles, with ‘Sometimes,’ by Sara Fantova and Enrique Buleo’s ‘Still Life With Ghosts,’ both scoring multiple awards. From his first feature, 2015’s “La Salada,” a patchwork narrative tale of immigrants’ lives, dreams and suffering in Argentina, to 2021’s “La Luna Reprenta Mi Corazon,” a docu feature record of the rencounter with his mother in Taiwan, Hsu has carved out a niche depicting the immigrant experience in Argentina.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres. Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.

Emiliano De Pablos Madrid-based Begin Again Films has picked up Spanish distribution and international sales rights to Juan Gautier’s psychological thriller “El aspirante” (“The Aspirant”), about initiation into a masculine universe revolving around hazing of a university residence. “El aspirante” plays at this year’s Málaga Work in Progress’ WIP España sidebar, an industry centerpiece at the Málaga Film Festival, now in its 27th edition. The film toplines Jorge Motos, star of 2021’s “Lucas,” a film which earned him a Málaga Silver Biznaga for best actor and a Goya best new actor nomination; Lucas Nabor (“All the Names of God”), Eduardo Rosa (“La casa de las flores”) and Catalina Sopelana (“Sky Rojo”) complete the main cast.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA — Dark Star Pictures, the L..A.-based distribution company, has secured North America distribution rights to “On the Go,” which showcases the acting talents of “Elite’s” Omar Ayuso, here playing a Grindr addict with vengeance in his heart. Celebrating its world premiere at last August’s Locarno Film Festival, “On the Go” was acquired for world sales in the run-up to the Swiss festival by Paris-based MPM Premium.

Emiliano De Pablos Brand new sales agency Neo Art International has picked up worldwide sales rights outside Italy to Claudio Amendola’s black comedy film trilogy “Cassamortari” (“Funeral Family”). The film trilogy narrates the story of The Pasti Family, a Roman family who work in the funeral business. The three titles of the saga are set up at Rome-based company Paco Cinematografica, and co-produced with Antonia Nava’s Neo Art Producciones in Barcelona.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA — Opening last Friday with “Dragonkeeper,” also in competition, Spain’s Malaga Festival, its biggest dedicated event for movies from Spain and Latin America, is studded by latest films by Isaki Lacuesta – “Saturn Return,” reportedly fun, broad audience and radical – David Trueba – “The Good Man,” small scale but almost certainly ingratiating – and Antonio Chavarrías’ “Holy Mother,” about an extraordinary real life female figure in Spain’s 9th century Reconquista. Also in the running is “Rest in Peace,” from notable Argentine writer-director Sebastián Borensztein (“Chinese Takeaway”).

Ed Meza @edmezavar Filmax has acquired international rights to Spanish thriller “Nina,” the new feature written and directed by Andrea Jaurrieta (“Ana by Day”) that bows at this week’s Málaga Film Festival as one of its higher profile titles in main competition. Loosely based on the play of the same name by José Ramón Fernández, which borrows elements of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” “Nina” tells the story of a woman, an actress, who returns to her home town on Spain’s rugged northern coast seeking to take revenge on a celebrated writer.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Spain’s Movistar Plus+, the pay TV/SVOD service of telco giant Telefónica, has picked up the Sky and Peacock original series “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” starring Harvey Keitel and based on the bestselling novel by Heather Morris. The six-part limited series is one of the key draws on the sales slate of All3Media International, which hosts a showcase at the London TV Screenings on Feb.

Thania Garcia Los Angeles-based duo the Driver Era is hitting the road for a 17-city tour across North America. With over three albums to date, brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch will again begin touring on April 2 in Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre and hit venues in New York, New Jersey, Quebec and more before wrapping in Toronto on May 8.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has revealed multiple distribution deals for two Berlinale competition titles: German director Matthias Glasner‘s “Dying,” which won the festival’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, and Russian director Victor Kossakovsky‘s documentary “Architecton.” “Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.” The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), CIS (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema).

Alex Ritman “La Cocina,” the Rooney Mara-starring drama that recently bowed in competition at the Berlinale, has been acquired for most international territories. HanWay Films has closed sales for France (Originals Factory), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Spain (Avalon), Italy (Teodora Film), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Scandinavia (Mis.

Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings list, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from nearly 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out profiles for the companies headed over from the States and other nations around the globe. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content throughout the week here.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In a milestone move, Sony Pictures Television has unveiled “La Academia,” its first Spanish-language scripted series filmed in Spain for Prime Video and 3Cat. “La Academia” is produced for Sony by Brutal Media, commissioned out of Sony Pictures Television’s international production group.