Naples-Set Documentary ‘Hide and Seek’ Picked Up by Syndicado (EXCLUSIVE)

Emilio Mayorga Spanish director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, who swept the board at March’s Málaga Festival, has wrapped shooting on her sophomore feature, “Eres Tú” (It’s You), a Netflix’ romantic comedy produced by Antonio Asensio and Paloma Molina at Zeta Studios ­­– the Madrid-based company behind phenomenon “Elite.” Miriam Rodríguez executive produces.After distributing Almodovar, and signing up J.A. Bayona, this is another move into director driven fare by Netflix in Spain, Ruiz de Azúa’s attachment to “Eres tú marks another association with a prestige director by Netflix in Spain which already distributes Pedro Almodóvar and has signed up J.A.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentChefclub, a top global cooking brand with 100 million social media subscribers, unveiled Monday a carriage agreement with Paramount’s Pluto TV for the U.S. and Latin America.The deal with Pluto TV, one of the world’s leading free streaming services in markets, which are home to 40 million of Chefclub’s subscribers marks a major milestone for Chefclub as it leverages a huge digital presence – with, it estimates, 2.5 billion global views a month – into what CEO Thomas Lang described as a “cooking studio.” This will produce content for partners across an ever broader portfolio of digital, OTT, telco and more traditional broadcast outlets.Under the terms of the agreement, Chefclub will bring more than 100 episodes of cookery content to Pluto TV in both Spanish and English.

Manori Ravindran International EditorGlobal streaming service MUBI has snapped up Carla Simón’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs” for the U.S., U.K. and a raft of other markets.Spanish director Simón’s “Alcarràs” premiered in Competition at the 2022 Berlinale, where it won the Golden Bear for best film.

Emiliano De Pablos Fathom Events and Spain’s Bosco Films are partnering to bring faith-based documentary “Vivo” (“Alive”) to about 700 North American locations on April 25.Produced by Hakuna Films and directed by Jorge Pareja, “Alive” narrates four real-life stories filmed in Spain of people who tell how Christian’s Eucharist transformed their lives.“Alive,” which previously bowed by Bosco in Spain and 14 Latin American territories, marks the Spanish indie distributor’s leap into the international market, where it’s been closing a bundle of exhibition agreements with local and international operators.The peak in “Alive’s” international theatrical career comes with the U.S. release after the Fathom Events deal.

She's no stranger to the camera, but tonight Jean Johansson will be on our screens with something a bit different to usual.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBanijay has picked up multi-territory format rights to two Korean reality shows which it will begin pitching this week at the MipTV market in Cannes.From Korean broadcaster and producer MBC, Banijay has picked up format rights to competition show “Bloody Game” in France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. From CJ ENM, it has acquired rights in the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Australia to relationship format, “EXchange.”“Bloody Game” launched in Korea in November last year, helping draw subscribers to Wavve, a joint venture streaming platform, in which MBC is a partner. The show is nominated for a C21 Format Award, with the winner revealed during MipTV.

EastEnders actress Clair Norris has announced that she has been working on a new BBC documentary with Panorama, which will explore the topic of obesity. Soap actress Clair, 24, is best for her role as Bernadette Taylor on the BBC show.

94th edition of the Academy Awards were set to be the return to normality, after the coronavirus pandemic inevitably tainted the 2021 ceremony. But the shock and discomfort caused by Will Smith, when he slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, will pass into history. The incident immediately prompted a reaction on social media, and shifted the conversation away from the expected topics of conversation, such as diversity and the unexpected victory of CODA.

EXCLUSIVE: Carolina Gaitán, the Colombian actress and singer who voiced Pepa in Disney’s Encanto and will perform at the Oscars on Sunday, is leading the cast of survival thriller Quicksand.

Emilio Mayorga Jose Zelada and Richard Claus’ “Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon” (Peru, Netherlands), Cesar Cabral’s “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People” (Brazil) and Hugo Covarrubias’ Oscar-nommed “Beast” (Chile) are some of the animated works in the running for the 5th Quirino Awards, the biggest prize event on Spain, Portugal and Latin America’s burgeoning animation scene.In addition to a ceremony, the Quirino Awards includes an industry co-production and business forum for animation titles from the region.The Quirino event will also host meetings including one of the Ibero-American CAACI state film-TV agencies, and another of Ibermedia, the region’s key international co-pro and distribution fund. Brazilian feature “Bob Spit” and Chilean short “Beast” nabbed the highest number of nominations, each securing four.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentVery few The Mediapro Studio shows, indeed very few Spanish series in general, have lit a fire on the open market like “The Head,” an Antarctic-set thriller which lifts off as a murder mystery to constantly evolve into other realms. Starring Álvaro Morte, “Money Heist’s” Professor and Japanese pop idol Tomohisa Yamashita, written by Alex and David Pastor (“Hogar,” “Carriers”) and directed by Jorge Dorado (“The Department of Time,” “The Pier”), “The Head” broke viewership records on co-financiers Hulu Japan and HBO Asia and sold to over 90 countries including HBO in the U.S. The Mediapro Studio retained IP. “Sales opened doors to new markets and clients with whom we hadn’t worked before,” said Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of The Mediapro Studio.

Ed Meza @edmezavarFilmax has acquired international rights to Malaga Festival screener “Can’t Live Without You,” an erotic thriller from director Chus Gutierrez (“Return to Hansala”).A Spanish-Mexican co-production, the pic features huge Mexican stars Maite Perroni and Mauricio Ochmann as well as Spanish actors Alfonso Bassave (“I Love You, Stupid”) and Pedro Casablanc.The pic follows David, a successful businessman who who lives a peaceful life with his boyfriend, Alex, an attractive gym instructor. Their world turns upside down, however, when David’s sister Blanca comes back into his life.

This week has seen warm weather across the UK, with today expected to be recorded as the warmest day of the year so far.Temperatures are predicted to hit 21C today, making the UK hotter than Barcelona in Spain. Barcelona reached just 16C in comparison, with a clear and dry day but cooler than here in Britain. 21C is a whole 10C above the UK average for this time of year and what is usually expected in March.

Joe Leydon Film CriticIt may sound counterintuitive at best, tone-deaf at worse, to label a documentary focused on food providers aiding people in the wake of disasters as a feel-good movie. But that’s an honest, accurate and, yes, appreciative label for “We Feed People,” Ron Howard’s technically polished and emotionally stirring close-up view of celebrity chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen.The movie effectively begins in media res, with the robustly gregarious Andrés and his dedicated crew  years into their vocation, providing hot meals to isolated residents of Wilmington, N.C., in the wake of 2018’s Hurricane Florence — and coming perilously close to tasting their own disaster when floodwaters almost topple their delivery truck — before backing up to explain just who Andrés is and what started him on his mission.A native of Spain, Andrés moved to the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBarcelona-born singer Rosalia seemed to progress ahead of her own albums: While her debut was essentially the straight traditional flamenco she spent years learning, and the second saw her fusing that style with more contemporary sounds, her guest appearances (with artists ranging from J Balvin, Ozuna and Bad Bunny to the Weeknd, Billie Eilish and Travis Scott) and her recent singles have seen her fully embracing innovative, envelope-pushing sounds ranging from reggaetón to hip-hop to pop.It was all prelude for the wildly diverse “Motomami,” which brings her roaring into now — it’s as musically innovative an album as we’ve heard in the past year. It finds her delivering on all the promise and innovation that those releases suggested and plenty more as well, while still keeping the sound rooted in her stunning voice (and singing entirely in Spanish).

Women in Film and Google have set Kameishia Wooten and Robin J. Hayes (Choices), Patricia Seely and Alexandra Clayton (Please In Spanish), and Katarina Zhu (Silverlake Cleaners) as the fellows for the inaugural WIF Shorts Lab supported by Google.