Spanish TV Biz Eyes Bigger Global Platform, Via Co-Production, and Drawing on Talents From a New Creative Generation

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Altitude Media Group has boarded a documentary shot entirely inside the Grand Theft Auto video game world.

Sanditon ended earlier in 2023, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reminisce!

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.

Donda Academy is back after a rebrand amid lawsuits and controversy!

Strands, is being added to the New York Times lineup of word games, alongside Wordle and Connections.The objective of the game is to find words that all have something in common, along with a ‘spangram’ that describes what every word has in common and touches two opposite sides of the board. Players are able to connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, along with being able to switch directions in the middle of a word, allowing for a greater variety of potential solutions.“What I saw in looking at the competition is that there aren’t as many word searches with a twist.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The incontrovertible and immediate effect of muscular tax credits, entering in force in 2023, have powered to a new level the shoot scene in Bilbao and Bizkaia – the Basque city and surrounding province in Northern Spain. Introduced on Jan. 1, 2023, the new incentives offer an up-to-60% tax deduction for national and international co-productions of film and TV projects.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Two Spanish female stars who have broken out to huge global audiences in Netflix hits – “Nowhere” and “A Perfect Story” lead Anna Castillo and Ester Expósito, highly prominent in “Elite” in early seasons – are set to star in dramedic vampire thriller “Death to Love,” (“Que muera el amor”), the first series created by “Piggy” director Carlota Pereda, who will also serve as its showrunner. “If there are two actresses you can believe are immortals, with their out-of-this-world allure and talent, it’s Anna and Ester. I can’t wait to explore this world of darkness, joy and Eternal Love with them,” Pereda told Variety.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA — Antonio Chavarrías’ “Holy Mother,” Celia Rico’s “Little Loves” and Diogo Viegas’s “Alice’s Diary” play at this year’s 3rd Spanish Screenings Content, the Malaga Festival’s part of the Spanish Screenings XXL, Spain’s biggest international industry platform in its history, featuring over March 4-7 and – when it comes to Málaga – the monumental number of 222 titles. In production volume, Spain has never had it so good.

untimely death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, 56th in line to the British throneThe financier, 45, was found dead Sunday evening at an estate in the Cotswolds, England, with a gunshot wound to the head. The death is “not being treated as suspicious.”Kingston wed Lady Gabriella — who is the second cousin of King Charles — in 2019 following a six-year courtship.

Outlander is one of the biggest fan faves on TV right now, and we’re bringing you the official ranking of seasons!

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Is this now an age of TV caution? A brace of big swings at this week’s London TV Screenings belie that trend, and few come bigger than the English-language action thriller “Paris Has Fallen,” which Studiocanal launches at this week’s London TV Screenings. Like other major LTVS plays, it takes a mainstream genre – such as, elsewhere, the historical drama (“Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light”), true crime (“A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story”) and the bio (“So Long, Marianne”) – and aims to elevate them to another level.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The Spanish Princess,” as Catherine of Aragon. AMR has moreover closed further deals on fiction drama “Scrublands,” a scripted drama about the real reasons for a country town massacre.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, but he’s also an author and entrepreneur. He was was one of the most recent guests at Nick Kyrgios’ podcast, “Good Trouble,” with the two discussing their careers and how they manage to stay true to themselves while finding success.

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.

Tom Cruise has reportedly landed on his next big movie role, and it sounds like an early Oscars contender.

pleaded guilty to all four charges and was fined £1,345. Following that, he was spotted looking disheveled as he wandered around London. “Peaky Blinders” ran for six seasons from 2013-2022.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Antonia Nava, producer and sales chief on Brad Anderson’s “The Machinist” and “Transsiberian” when she headed up Filmax Intl. for over 10 years, is returning to the sales arena, joining forces with Spain-based sales agent Liliana Bravo to launch Neo Art Intl., a new division of Nava’s Barcelona-based Neo Arte Producciones.

Emily Longeretta SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the Season 2 premiere of “Fire Country.” “Fire Country” is ready to change everything with its sophomore season. For Season 2, which launched with its explosive premiere on Feb. 16, executive producer and co-creator Tony Phelan says that they wanted to “shake up everything” on the CBS procedural, which began with a six-month time jump from the last season’s finale.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent A new film industry superclass is emerging in Spain: movies powered or co-backed by its streaming giants. Perhaps the biggest example, Netflix Spain’s Andes flight disaster “Society of the Snow,” scored two Academy Award nominations last month. Now, in the run-up to Berlin, London-based Film Constellation has acquired most world sales rights to “The Captive,” from Oscar winner Alejandro Amenábar (“The Sea Inside”) and Mod Producciones, a $15 million period adventure epic on the literary makings of “Quixote”author Miguel de Cervantes, held to ransom in a Moorish corsair jail.