Emiliano De-Pablos Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Emiliano De Pablos French-Argentinian actress Anais Weill (“Emily in Paris,” “Black Box”) and Spain’s Dariam Coco (“Money Heist,” “Welcome to Eden”) are set to star in Spanish-U.K. sci-fi thriller series “Border Station.” Top Spanish indie producer-distributor Vertice 360 is teaming with Madrid’s Anacaona Productions and London-based Born Wild to co-produce the project, which is at development stage. The six-episode, one hour TV drama was created by Born Wild founder Anthony Alleyne (“Sunburn”). Anacaona’s Vianessa Castaños has been tapped to serve as showrunner and lead writer, alongside France-based author Geoff Dupuy-Holder (“Dark Sense”). 

Emiliano De Pablos Story House Pictures co-founder Andreas Gutzeit, head writer-showrunner on Beta/RTL smash hit series “Sisi,” is prepping “Disgrace,” a fast-paced thriller mini-series set during Argentina’s 1978 Soccer World Cup. Gutzeit will serve as “Disgrace’s” showrunner and head writer, re-teaming with Swantje Oppermann and Florian Puchert, part of the German writing team with Gutzeit behind “Dignity,” the critically lauded and pioneering Story House’s Chile-Germany co-production. At a development and scriptwriting stage, with a pilot script available, “Disgrace” features among the 10 projects playing at the Pitch Copro Series sidebar in Conecta Fiction 2023, which takes place June 26-29 in Toledo, the capital of Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha.

Emiliano De Pablos The Larraín brothers’ indie company Fábula, producer of Oscar winning “A Fantastic Woman,” is preparing tragi-comic docudrama “Los guardaespaldas de Superman” (“Superman’s Bodyguards”). The four-episode, half-hour crime-adventure series, directed by Sebastián Radic (“Instrucciones para Mi Funeral”) and scripted by Rodrigo Bastidas and Rodrigo Muñoz, focuses on a trip Christopher Reeve’s made to Chile in 1987, under Pinochet’s dictatorship, to save the lives of 78 people under death threat. “Superman’s Bodyguards” is one of the five projects selected to form part of Pitch Docudrama, a showcase at Conecta Fiction 2023 edition, which takes place June 26-29 in Toledo, the capital of Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha, just south of Madrid.

Emiliano De Pablos U.S. distribution company Dark Star Pictures, Mexico’s Mantícora Distribution and Spain’s La Dalia Films announced at Cannes a strategic deal to launch genre label Antídoto Horror Factory.  The venture, unveiled at the Marché du Film’s new genre-focused Fantastic Pavilion, will develop, produce, distribute and sell a minimum of four genre feature films in the next four years, starting pre-production in 2023. Dark Star will take North American rights; Mantícora, Latin American territory, and La Dalia, Spanish rights. “For the rest of the world, the partners will mutually agree to the most suitable sales representation,” said Antídoto Horror Factory partners in a statement.

Emiliano De Pablos Variety’s Global Locations Panel Conversations kicked off Saturday with a focus on Spain in which Juan-Manuel Guimeráns, Spain Film Commission general secretary, posited a new further reason for shooting in Spain.  Much is made of the country’s OMG locations, highlighted in “Game of Thrones,” its talent and technical prowess, and now extraordinary incentives. Now, as big international companies seek cost control and to promote sustainability, increasing attention will be paid to the Spanish industry’s ability to produce quality, cost-effective film and TV content very largely shot on a limited number of soundstages. Variety’s John Hopewell, in conversation with Guimeráns, pointed to the example of milestone series from Spain, such as “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and the first two parts of “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”). In the final stretches of the conversation, Guimeráns drilled down on some of key projects and recently opened studio facilities in Spain. 

Emiliano De Pablos Santiago-based Clara Films and Colombian sound post house-producer Centauro-Productora LAP are joining forces to co-produce Chilean Ricardo Valenzuela Pinilla’s debut “What Was Left Unsaid,” a social drama with hints of dark comedy.   Produced by Camila Bascuñán at Chilean company Delavida Films, “What Was Left Unsaid” is currently at post-production stage.  The deal completes funding for the film and marks a significant milestone in the journey of bringing Valenzuela Pinilla’s first feature to audiences worldwide.     The story of “What Was Left Unsaid” is set in rural Chile, in the early 2000s, when communications’ modernization started. Margarita, a 43 year-old field sales executive, stands out for her undeniable connection with people in contrast with her 40 year-old sales colleague Cucho.

Emiliano De Pablos In a highly anticipated animation event at this year’s Cannes Festival, Emmy-winning Spanish director Rodrigo Blaas attends on Sunday the screening of his short film “Sith,” part of Disney+’s “Star Wars: Visions” Season 2 anthology. The first big-screen exhibition of “Sith” — released worldwide May 4 on Disney+ — followed by a meet and greet with Blaas marks one highlight of the Animation Day Revelations New Animated Shorts From Spain, organized by ICEX Spain’s Trade & Investment. The Spanish animation event at Cannes will also showcase Alberto Mielgo’s celebrated 2022 Oscar-winning short film “The Windshield Wiper.”

Emiliano De Pablos Anonymous Content has partnered with Spain’s Morena Films, one of the country’s top production companies, to launch a joint venture aimed at developing and producing Spanish-language content for the global market. The alliance marks the fifth international joint venture for Anonymous Content as they continue to build partnerships with local producers and companies in key territories around the world. Anonymous Content’s president of international, David Davoli, and Morena Films CEO Pilar Benito will oversee the joint venture, whose managing director will be named in the coming weeks, the companies announced Friday in a statement.

Emiliano De Pablos Top Chilean fiction house Parox, producer of “Invisible Heroes,” has kick-started principal photography on international co-production “Los mil días de Allende” (“Allende, the Thousand Days”), a historical drama mini-series about the last three years in the life of Chilean President Salvador Allende. Alfredo Castro – one of Latin America’s most respected actors and a Pablo Larraín regular, star of films such as “Karnawal” and “El Club” – leads the mini-series cast as Allende; Benjamín Vicuña (“Besieged,” “Locked Up”) plays Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The four-episode, 55-minute fiction drama shoot is taking place entirely in Chile, lensing from May 15 for two months, under “Besieged” and “Inés of My Soul” director Nicolás Acuña.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s The Mediapro Studio is teaming with writer-director Marcel Barrena (“Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea,” “100 Meters”) and Spanish star Eduard Fernández on real-life inspired social film “The 47.”  Scheduled to shoot in Catalan and Spanish June-July in Barcelona, “The 47” is based on the true story of Manolo Vital, a bus driver who, during the city’s expansion in the 1970s, help shape the Barcelona of today.  Produced by Jaume Roures and executive produced by Laura Fernández Espeso, Javier Méndez and Eva Garrido, the film is one of the projects The Mediapro Studio Distribution is presenting for international sales at the current Cannes’ Marché du Film.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s animation services and VFX industry is booming as never before, positioning itself as a leading hub in the global landscape. With tax rebates firing up Spain’s audiovisual industry, the animation sector has produced 16 feature films, 72 seasons of TV series and 156 short films from 2020-2022, according to toon and VFX federation Diboos. The 2019 Sergio Pablos-directed Netflix feature “Klaus” snagged seven Annie awards, while Alberto Mielgo’s “The Windshield Wiper” won the 2022 Oscar for animated short film. Spanish animated features have also connected with international audiences: This year, Juan Jesús García Galocha’s “Mummies,” from 4Cats and Atresmedia Cine, grossed $52 million worldwide, handled by Warner Bros.

Emiliano De Pablos Arguably, no other established Spanish film and TV industry has grown faster over the last decade than its service sector for international shoots. Some of the world’s most favorable tax incentives have helped propel business to historic heights. Kicking off in 2015, tax regs rose muscularly during mid-pandemic in 2020. But in December, the Spanish government took it up another notch, establishing tax advantages for international productions of up to €20 million ($22.2 million) per movie and $11.1 million for a TV series episode. That increase went into effect Jan. 1. With a special tax regime, the Canary Islands’ ceiling is $40.0 million for a film and a $20 mil- lion per series episode, some of the highest in Europe.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s fast-growing production house Mediacrest Entertainment is launching high-concept eco-reality contest format “El pueblo” (“The Village”), which will have its international market premiere at this week’s MipTV trade fair. Designed as a primetime reality show, “El pueblo” has been structured as a social experiment, charting five families’ attempt to settle in an abandoned village, guided by the principles of sustainability and globally connected self-sufficiency.  The families’ will create their own rules, events and traditions, will initiate agriculture and livestock initiatives and start trading with nearby towns, sand later with the world. The twist: Only one winning family finally gets to stay in the village.

Emiliano De Pablos A post-lockdown trend, unscripted commissioning has shot up from 32% of global commissions in fourth quarter 2019 to match scripted with 52% in 2022 Q4, according to Ampere Analysis. The spike in Spain is even stronger: 2022 Q3 saw 166 unscripted titles announced, compared to 40 scripted, 1Q 2023 96 vs. 23. As elsewhere, with fiction production costs soaring, unscripted has found a bigger demand among Spanish streamers and broadcasters, looking for less budget-heavy fare. “Probably the pandemic oversized fiction. Now audiences are looking for a good time, opting for entertainment formats with less dense narratives,” argues Daniel Domenjó at Mediacrest, producer of TVE’s hit daily game show “El cazador” and new reality format “El pueblo.”

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish super-indie production-sales companies are stepping back in time with vigor, building on opportunities opened up by streamers’ growing market flexibility to retain IP and sell territory-by-territory. Prioritizing bottom lines over market share, global platforms are ever more splitting rights and investing less in single titles. As budgets reduce, projects’ producers are forced to court ever more partners. That often means partnering on productions. “We accustomed customers to enjoying high-quality series with large budgets. In the new context, it is increasingly difficult to continue in this vein if you don’t partner,” says Onza’s Carlos Garde.

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has struck a VOD deal with Walter Presents to bring noir thriller series “Sequía” (“The Drought”) to the U.S, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. The suspense series is co-produced by Spanish and Portuguese public broadcasters RTVE and RTP, in collaboration with Atlantia Media and Coral Europa.  “The Drought” is set in a small submerged village on the Spanish-Portuguese border that re-emerges from a huge dam built in the 1990s after a severe drought. Two skeletons are also unearthed, revealing evidence of a bloody crime. 

Emiliano De Pablos Uruguay-based Agustina Chiarino, one of the drivers of the new Latin American cinema industry and at the forefront of pan-regional co-production, is kicking-off early projects at her recently launched production-distribution company Bocacha Films.  Chiarino attended last week’s Malaga Film Festival edition to present Pablo Solarz’s official section contender comedy “Desperté con un sueño” (“I Woke Up With a Dream”), which she produced at Mutante Cine, the Montevideo-based outfit Chiarino and editor-producer Fernando Epstein co-founded in 2011. After “I Woke Up With a Dream,” two feature debuts are finishing production stage under the Mutante Cine brand: Vanina Spataro’s “Naufragios,” teaming with Kino Films in Argentina, and Sebastián Peña Escobar’s documentary “The Last” in partnership with Paraguay’s La Babosa Cine. 

Emiliano De Pablos It’s been a short time since the Spanish government launched a new increase in its international film and TV productions incentives. This bold move has rapidly put Spain at the level of the most attractive international shoot locales.  In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, Spain already saw a muscular rise in tax breaks, but the really killer hike came last December, with new record tax advantages, which raised relief for international productions to up to €20 million ($21.2 million) per movie and – even more transcendent – $10.6 million for any single series episode. Early positive effects were confirmed March 15 at a presentation held at the Malaga Film Festival, as part of the fast expanding and ambitious Mafiz-Spanish Screenings industry zone.

Emiliano De Pablos Confirming the increasingly strong interest by international buyers in Spanish animated features, Pink Parrot Media has scored a bevy of key European pre-sales on upcoming Spanish family adventure toon film “4 Days Before Christmas,” led by deals with Splendid in Germany and Kaleidoscope in the U.K. Produced by Spain’s 3Doubles Producciones and Capitán Araña with Canada’s PVP Media, directed by Steve Majaury and Andrea Sebastián, “4 Days Before Christmas” was one of the five noteworthy animated works in progress presented at this week’s Malaga Film Festival–Spanish Screenings to the international industry.  The film has also been acquired by Voxell por CIS territories, GPI (Baltics), FMA (Former Yugoslavia), Kinoswiat (Poland), Front Row (Middle East), Just Ent. (Benelux), Romania (SC Idea Films), Nos Lusomundo (Portugal) and Scandinavia (Angel Films).

Emiliano De Pablos In an early market deal at this week’s Málaga Film Festival, Guido Rud’s sales house FilmSharks has nabbed worldwide sales rights to Spanish period thriller “Olvido” (“The Forgotten Killings”). Directed by Inés París (“A mi madre le gustan las mujeres,” “La noche que mi madre mató a mi padre”) and written by Fermín P. Pina, “The Forgotten Killings” is produced by José Luis Rancaño at Madrid-based La Dalia Films.   Inés París’ “La noche que mi madre mató a mi padre,” also produced by Rancaño at La Dalia and starring Spain’s Belén Rueda and Argentina’s Diego Peretti, snagged the audience prize at the 2016 Málaga Film Festival.

Emiliano De Pablos Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired international sales rights to “Matar cangrejos” (”Killing Crabs”), Canarian filmmaker Omar Al Abdul Razzak’s feature fiction debut which world premieres in the Zonazine section of the Malaga Film Festival.  Produced by Manuel Arango and Abdul Razzak at Tourmalet Films, in co-production with Netherlands’ Ijswater Films, ”Killing Crabs” is an autobiographical coming-of-age story set in Tenerife in the early 1990s. Rayco, an eight-year-old boy, and his 14-year-old sister Paula kill the time in any way they can, excitedly waiting for Michael Jackson’s visit to the island. 

Emiliano De Pablos Boston-based sales agent 34T has picked up international sales rights to Spanish writer-director Ana Ortiz’s feature debut, psychological thriller “El claro de las luciérnagas” (“Firefly Glades”). Produced by Sergy Moreno at Madrid’s White Leaf Producciones, the film is structured as a Spanish regional co-production, teaming with Magnética Cine’s María Barroso in Andalusia and Joaquín Calderón at Navarra-based Melitón Films. “Firefly Glades” figures among the 22 projects selected at Málaga’s 2023 Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF), which runs March 13-16 as part of Málaga Festival’s growing Mafiz industry area.

Emiliano De Pablos Buenos Aires-based production outfit Mil Monos is teaming with writer-director Pablo Agüero (“Primera nieve,” “Akelarre”) and writer-creator Nicolás Britos (“Limbo,” “Pibas en orsai”) to develop dystopian coming-of-age thriller series project “Decibel.” Produced by Mil Monos’ Maximiliano Monzón, “Decibel” is currently at pilot script stage, and a shoot start is planned by January 2024, tentatively in Argentina. Written by Britos, the eight-episode, half-hour thriller follows five deaf teenagers born in a mountainous region. When The Hum, a sound that transforms every person who can hear it into a frenzied killer, is unleashed, their deafness makes them immune.

Emiliano De Pablos Banijay’s Endemol Shine Israel and Munich-based producer Neuesuper (“8 Days”) have inked German adaptation rights to Israeli hit comedy series “Nevsu,” to air on public broadcaster ZDF.  Israel’s “Nevsu” won the International Emmy Award for best comedy series in 2018. Its German adaptation, “I Don’t Work Here,” sees three generations from two worlds come together to form one family. Revolving around Laura and Dawit, a young multi-racial couple, and their daughter, the pair are battling living with her parents and facing huge scrutiny from her mother-in-law. 

Emiliano De Pablos Madrid-based Aquí y Allí Films, one of Spain’s most successful auteur movie production houses, is joining forces with popular Spanish actor turned writer-director Daniel Guzmán (“Nothing in Return,” “Canallas”) to produce drama thriller “La deuda.” Backed by Spain’s pay TV giant Movistar+ and public broadcaster RTVE, “La deuda” will be produced by Aquí y Allí’s Pedro Hernández and Guzmán at El Niño Producciones. The film is scheduled to roll in Madrid by the fall. Written by Guzmán, “La deuda” tells the story of Lucas, a 37-year-old man and the 86 year-old woman Antonia, who live together in a city too big to be alone. Lucas is looking for a job but the job seems not to be looking for him.

Emiliano De Pablos Spanish TV production house Mediacrest is joining forces with Helsinki-based outfit ReelMedia and Finnish public broadcaster YLE to develop climate change thriller series project “17kHz.” The co-production model resulting from the “17kHz” development deal will be one focus at the showcase “Spanish Fiction Contents: New Releases & Financial Opportunities,” which takes place Feb. 20 at Berlin’s European Film Market. Organized by ICEX Spain Trade & Investment, the meeting’s panelists will include Mediacrest‘s executives Gustavo Ferrada and Winnie Baert.

Emiliano De Pablos Top Spanish producer Nostromo Pictures, which is behind Netflix hit “Through My Window,” is partnering with Beta Fiction Spain to launch “Hermano Caballo,” a documentary by Marcel Barrera, director of  “Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea” and “100 Meters.” “Hermano Caballo” marks the first documentary produced by Nostromo Pictures and also the first handled by Beta Fiction Spain, the Spanish arm of Jan Mojto’s European studio Beta Film, which launched last year. The documentary focuses on reknowned Catalan wrangler Santi Serra, developer of a natural training technique based on creating bonds with horses and learning through play. 

Emiliano De Pablos Spain has found a place on the global film industry’s radar as an attractive market for co-producing projects, boosted by its bigger-than-ever-public-sector funding. The trend comes in a moment of maturity for its audiovisual industry, with competitive tax incentives and the emergence of fresh talent, often female, whether directors or producers. Unlike U.S. indie producers, hard hit by streamers pulling back, European counterparts still have public sector financing. But to make movies of any artistic ambition, which might justify that funding and break out to foreign sales and a theatrical release, producers are looking overseas more and to other parts of Spain for production partners.

Emiliano De Pablos Spain has proved ever more successful in luring some of the biggest movies and series, and although 2020 saw a large rise in tax breaks, the big hike came in December. New record tax advantages raised relief for international productions to up to €20 million ($21.4 million) per movie and $10.7 million for any single series episode. In the Canary Islands — operating a special tax regime — the film tax break ceiling is now an extraordinary $38.6 million, one of the highest in Europe. Effective Jan. 1, deduction rates for foreign productions are set at 30% for the first $1.1 million of deductible expenses and 25% for the rest in the Peninsula, and 50%- 45% in the Canaries.

Emiliano De Pablos Athens-based company Stefi Productions is developing mini-series project “Letters to Leonard,” a real life inspired drama that explores events in the personal relationship between legendary conductors Leonard Bernstein and Greece’s Dimitris Mitropoulos. Described as a story about friendship, love, betrayal and the passion for music, the series has been co-created by Pierros Andrakakos, whose credits take in directing Antenna Studios’ series “Save Me,” plus servng as an assistant director on Universal Pictures’ “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” and Paramount Pictures’ “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.”  Also co-creator and the series’ producer, Giorgos Linardakis is known for his work as line producer on Greek TV series such as “Agapi Paranomi” and “Voices in Deep.” 

Emiliano De Pablos Top Spanish indie producer-distributor Vértice 360 has teamed with Madrid-based outfit Dexiderius Producciones to produce coming-of-age thriller series “Verdugos” (“Executioners”). Structured as a six episode mini-series in Spanish and Basque, “Executioners” has been picked as one of the 15 finalist projects selected at next month’s Series Mania Forum Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. The mini-series is created and written by Dexiderius co-founder Pedro Ríos (“Mis adorables vecinos,” “Fuera de control”) and Rodrigo Martín (“Manos de Seda,” “Lex”). Dexiderius co-founder César Martínez and Alberto Rull, EVP production and content at Vértice 360, will produce. 

Emiliano De Pablos Powerhouse Banijay Iberia is joining forces with Spain’s top soccer federation LaLiga to launch new sports-related content production, LaLiga Studios. The strategic deal sees Banijay tapping into its production expertise and LaLiga, its soccer knowledge and reputation, in a drive to establish LaLiga Studios as a global benchmark in the creation of content related to sport and its universal values.   Through this partnership, LaLiga Studios will produce audiovisual content for LaLiga, clubs, sponsors, and broadcasters. It will also work with international platforms and brands in the development, production, and distribution of entertainment, documentary, fiction, and animation content.  

Emiliano De Pablos Boosting its profile as a Spanish reference point, not only for TV drama but also for documentary production, Atresplayer Premium, the pay TV platform of media conglom Atresmedia Group, is preparing docuseries “Érase una vez en Marbella” (Once Upon a Time in Marbella). Produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Seville-based Happy Ending (“Pongamos que hablo de…”), the four episode 50 minutes series will dive into real-life stories of deep impact that had the city of Marbella, in Spain’s southern Andalusia coast, as a common element.  The documentary will explain how Marbella went in a few years, since the 1950s, from being a fishing village in Málaga province to becoming one of the most ostentatious leisure centers for the worldwide jet set.

Emiliano De Pablos Madrid-based Zeta Studios, the producer behind worldwide hit series “Élite,” HBO Max’s “García!,” Movistar Plus’ “Reyes de la noche” and Prime Video’s “Días Mejores,” has teamed with double San Sebastián Golden Shell winner director Isaki Lacuesta for TV drama project “El hijo del chófer” (“The Chauffeur’s Son”). Lacuesta will direct and write the series alongside writer-director Isa Campo, and “Días mejores” creator and “Fariña” scribe Cristóbal Garrido. The project is currently in a development and looking for financing.

Emiliano De Pablos In a further step towards its consolidation as a global player of not only fiction but non-scripted entertainment content, international production powerhouse The Mediapro Studio has reached an exclusive deal with Belgium’s Be-Entertainment to produce its formats for Spain and Latin America. The pact also sees The Mediapro Studio developing non-fiction formats for VTM, a Flanders’ leading TV channel with more than 30 years of broadcasting. Like Be-Entertainment, VTM is owned by Belgian giant DPG Media.  TMS will become “the only production company that can exclusively adapt the distributor’s formats for Spain and Latin America,” the European super indie company noted in a press release Monday morning.

Emiliano De Pablos Globoplay, the streaming platform of Latin American TV giant Globo, has picked up Brazilian rights to police noir thriller series “Motel Valkirias,” a Spain-Portugal co-production handled by Onza Distribution.  Created by Ghaleb Jaber Martínez, writer-producer of Netflix’s Galician TV drama hit “O Sabor das Margaridas,” the series is directed by Álex Sampaio (Schibare”) and Jorge Quiroga (“Atras das Nuvens”). In post-production, the eight episode 50-minute “Motel Valkirias” is set in a cross-border motel between Galicia and Portugal, following three women with financial and personal problems who get in serious danger after joining forces to get their hands on some valuable merchandise from a guest in the motel.