Spain’s Second Wave Of Original Content Takes The International Stage At MipTV

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights from sales company Films Boutique to tender coming-of-age drama “Young Hearts” by Belgian newcomer Anthony Schatteman, which recently launched from the Berlin Film Festival. Schatteman’s standout debut follows a 13-year-old boy named Elias, who feels attracted to his new neighbor, Alexander, and must overcome his conflicted feelings about being attracted to another boy.

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals on Eternal You, a documentary about AI startups set to screen at this month’s Hot Docs Fest following a debut bow at Sundance.

Thania Garcia The Latin Grammys will happen in Miami this year, marking the Spanish-language awards show’s return to the United States just one year after it made a controversial move to Spain. The 25th annual show will air live from the Kaseya Center on Nov. 14.

Simon Murray, a popular and respected figure in the international TV business, has died aged 64.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Rights to “I, The Executioner,” which will premiere as a Midnight Screening at the Cannes Film Festival this year, have been picked up by South Korea’s CJ ENM. The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.” Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but CJ describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.” Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad. “I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned by Ryu and his wife Kang Hae-jung, with CJ ENM as financier and local and international distributor. CJ ENM expects to give the film a theatrical release in South Korea at an unspecified date in the second half of the year. The original “Veteran” had its international premiere in a sidebar of the 2015 Toronto festival, was named best film at the Sitges genre festival in Spain.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based REinvent International Sales has closed Spain and Portugal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe, on the Finnish suspense disaster drama “Seconds”, Variety has learned exclusively. One of REinvent’s MipTV highlights, “Seconds,” made a strong debut on Finnish pubcaster Yle this week, according to head of drama, Jarmo Lampela. “It will easily go over the average viewing target,” he said.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prime Video has announced the full cast for action comedy show “Costiera” set on Italy’s iconic Amalfi Coast being directed by Emmy-winner Adam Bernstein (“30 Rock,” “Breaking Bad”) and featuring Jesse Williams (“Take Me Out”) as the lead. The ensemble cast for the English-language series being co-produced by Amazon Studios and Luca Bernabei for Lux Vide comprises British actor Jordan Alexandra (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “The Winter King”) (pictured, center); Spain’s Alejandra Onieva (“Alta Mar”) (pictured, left); Italy’s Maria Chiara Giannetta (“Blanca”) (pictured, right); Antonio Gerardi; Tommaso Ragno (“Nostalgia”); Amanda Campana; Pierpaolo Spollon; Britain’s Sam Haygarth (“Jojo Rabbit”); and France’s Jean-Hugues Anglade (“Sink or Swim”).

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Leading European distributor Global Screen, part of Telepool, has secured further international sales of high-end drama “Davos 1917” at MipTV. New acquisitions of the six-part thriller include SBS Australia, TVP in Poland and Big Tree Entertainment in India and the subcontinent. “Davos 1917,” which launched at the end of last year on SRF in Switzerland and ARD in Germany, has already been bought by a strong lineup of premium international broadcasters and streamers across North America, Europe and Asia.

AMC Networks International has installed Antonio Ruiz, Warner Bros. Discovery’s former UK and Ireland General Manager, as its boss in Spain and Portugal.

Emiliano De Pablos In a move that could suggest the start of a promising future for Portuguese telenovelas in Spain, sales house Onza Distribution has sold primetime hit soap “Cacau” (“Cacao”) to Mediaset España, one of the country’s two big commercial free-to-air broadcasters. Premiering Jan. 15 in Portugal via broadcaster TVI, the telenovela scored a standout 19.5% ( 861,944 viewers) audience share on its debut.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Germany’s Beta Film is bringing the love story between a Dutch prince and a beautiful Argentinian financier to the Croisette. The world premiere of “Máxima” screens out-of-competition at Canneseries on April 9 after being teased at the London TV Screenings in late February.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Qatar-based powerhouse BeIN Media Group, a co-owner of U.S. indie studio Miramax, has taken distribution rights across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to live-action pre-school series “Saïd & Anna,” which has been nominated for this year’s Banff World Media Festival‘s Rockie Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Embankment Films is making Garbo: Leave Me Alone, a feature documentary about the enigmatic movie star who died in 1990. The doc will have previously unseen archive material including personal photographs of Garbo and letters written by the iconic actress, who is regarded as one of the all-time greats.

Emiliano De Pablos After 12 seasons on linear TV, flagship Spanish talent show “Operación Triunfo,” produced by Banijay Iberia’s Gestmusic, has jumped successfully to the online environment via Prime Video. “Operación Triunfo’s” first gala was the most viewed premiere in the history of Prime Video in Spain. Its app for voting accumulated 53 million votes and, on social networks, generated 718.9 million views in TikTok and YouTube, according to VOD analytics Sigmados30.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor PBS Intl. will give a market debut to Season 2 of “Baby Animals: The Top 10” at MipTV. The show “celebrates the irresistible charm and wonder of baby animals from around the globe,” the distributor said.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor U.S.-based global distributor PBS Intl. is bringing a squad of sports-themed documentaries to MipTV to tie in with the Olympic Games that’ll run this summer in Paris. “Olympic Dreams” travels to Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations, as it struggles to recover from its 11-year civil war.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In an acquisition which underscores the often shared sensibility between Canal+, France’s biggest pay TV operator, and Movistar Plus+, the largest Spanish pay TV player, Canal+ has acquired Canneseries winner “The Left-Handed Son” (“El hijo zurdo”), a Movistar Plus+ original series. The series will bow on Canal+ on April 5 in a deal brokered by Movistar Plus+ International. A psychological thriller with a lyrical undertow which surfaces to moving effect in key scenes, “The Left-Handed Son” marks the auspicious directorial debut of Rafael Cobos, the career-long co-scribe of Alberto Rodríguez, from 2005’s “7 Virgins” through international hit “Marshland” to 2017’s “The Plague,” still one of the biggest series which Movistar Plus+ has ever made.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon has struck a deal that will see premium Lionsgate and Starz programming made available to to MGM+ customers in the U.K. Lionsgate+ subscribers who joined via Prime Video Channels in the U.K.

Amazon and Lionsgate have struck a content deal in the UK.