Onza Distribution Snaps Up Sales Rights to Galician CTV’s Thriller Series Co-Production ‘Motel Valkirias’ (EXCLUSIVE)

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn first phase sales, Alief has closed multiple major territories across Europe and Asia on “Cop Secret,” one of the key titles marking as move towards the mainstream in the lineup at August’s Locarno Festival, where it had its world premiere.Made on the near eve of this year’s American Film Market, the sales announcement comes after the comedy action romp bowed in its native Iceland on Oct.

Netflix today unveiled a slate of new Spanish content, including two fiction series and a pair of feature films.

Naman Ramachandran “The Forgotten History,” by celebrated Afghanistan filmmaker Roya Sadat (“A Letter to the President”), is one of 20 projects from 11 countries chosen for India’s Film Bazaar virtual co-production market.Being produced by Sadat’s women-centric collective Roya Film House and Spain’s Alba Sotorra Cinema Productions, the project previously participated at the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum and the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market.The market line-up of stories will

Emilio Mayorga San Sebastian-based production-distribution outfit Atera Films has taken Spanish distribution rights to Inés María Barrionuevo’s “Camila Comes out Tonight” –sold by Latido Films – and Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola,” whose international sales are handled by Luxbox.With the two new titles, Atera underscores its aim of discovering and making available to Spanish audiences young Ibero-American directors including those who explore LGTBI+ issues.

JD Linville Filmax has acquired international rights to animated Basque feature “Save the Tree,” a new film from director duo Iker Alvarez and Haizea Pastor following the adventures of forest pixies and their quest to reconnect children with nature.A market premiere at this week’s Spanish Screenings-Málaga de Cine, the film has a central theme of environmental protection and subtly warns of the dangers of our technologically obsessed culture.“Save the Tree” is set amongst the forests of the

Liza Foreman Spanish director and screenplay writer Mireia Noguera is one of seven female directors teaming up for Barcelona-based production house Corte A Films on the anthology “7 of Hearts.”Corte A Films is in the financing phase of the film, which is the second project by Esteve Rovira and Gerard Quinto, who directed “7 Reasons to Run Away (From Society),” with David Torras.

Emiliano Granada After having won the Silver Biznaga for best documentary director at this June’s Malaga Festival with “El Father Plays Himself,” which screens now at the Spanish Screenings, director-cinematographer Mo Scarpelli is leaping into fiction with her new project, “A Song That Slays.” Following a number of eye-catching doc titles that have always generated festival buzz  whether “El Father Plays Himself” at last year’s Visions du Réel, “Anbessa” at the 2019 Berlinale and Frame by

Emiliano De Pablos LaCima Producciones, the company behind Luis López Carrasco multi-prize winner doc “The Year of the Discovery,” is joining forces with Colombia’s Sandelion on archive film project “Elena Gave Birth to a Beautiful Child.”Madrid-based Begin Again Films handles international sales and has also taken Spanish distribution rights.Co-directed by Chiara Marañón, head of content at streaming service Mubi, and Colombia’s Juan Soto Taborda, “Elena Gave Birth” taps the domestic archive

Jamie Lang Spanish showrunners Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, popularly known as Los Javis, are launching Suma Content, a new, Madrid-based but internationally operating independent production company which will replace their current, smaller label, Suma Latina.The pair are already superstars in Spain and their star is rising abroad.

Emiliano De Pablos HBO Max has picked up first window U.S. pay TV rights and Outsider Pictures the remainder of U.S.

Emiliano De Pablos Malaga-based sales house Agencia Freak has picked up worldwide festival distribution rights to two new Spanish documentaries, “An Elephant on a Spider Web” by Cuban director Rolando Díaz, and Marcos Cabotá’s “Sonic Fantasy,” on legendary music engineer Bruce Swedien.Both acquisitions were unveiled at the eve of the 2021 edition of the Spanish Screenings-Málaga de Cine, which runs October 20-22, and where Agencia Freak-handled Emma Tusell doc “Video Blues” is being shown to

Jamie Lang The South of Spain is getting its own dedicate post-production studio, Antípodas Film Lab, the first of its kind in the region. Based out of Seville, the state-of-the-art facilities are co-founded by a group of post-production experts made up of José M.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a bid to up their game in the Spanish and international arena, Barcelona-based companies Mediacrest and A Contracorriente Films have forged a strategic alliance that will have the latter distribute Mediacrest films and series as well as co-produce a selection of titles with the fast-growing producer.Said Adolfo Blanco, CEO of A Contracorriente Films: “For A Contracorriente, the deal is an opportunity to collaborate with a first-rate team and to be able to offer its

Emiliano De Pablos Atresplayer Premium, the pay TV platform of Spanish media conglom Atresmedia Group, is dipping its toe into true-crime docuseries production with “Besos Marvin.”Produced in-house by Atresplayer, the five-episode docuseries tells the story of Patrick Nogueira, a young murderer who shared his crime through WhatsApp with his 17-year-old best friend Marvin Enriques.The events took place in the summer of 2016 in Pioz, a small town in the province of Guadalajara, in Spain’s

Paramount said Monday that it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to The Infernal Machine, a psychological drama/ thriller written and directed by Andrew Hunt and starring Guy Pearce. The pic just wrapped filming at Moviebox Studios’ facilities in the Algarve region of Portugal, which doubled for the U.S. Southwest border, and is now in postproduction.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a series of key pacts for Argentine political horror pic, “History of the Occult,” Netflix has snapped up streaming rights to the film for Spain and Latin America, which it plans to drop on Oct.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorTelepool’s Global Screen has sold the miniseries “Dark Woods” to further international territories, including Japan (NHK Enterprises), CIS (Mauris Film), Poland (Canal Plus), Czech Republic (Ceska Televize), Slovenia (RTV Slovenija), Latvia (Latvian Television), Lithuania (LRT), India and sub-continents (BookMyShow), and French-speaking Switzerland (RTS).

Jamie Lang Spanish broadcaster and streaming platform Movistar Plus has made major headway in the world of high-end original production by teaming with big-name creative talent to produce some of the most polished series to ever come from the Iberian Peninsula. One such example can be seen in the upcoming drama thriller “They All Lie,” produced by Filmax.