News

This year’s Berlinale Series Market kicks off Monday as Spanish series “The Snow Girl,” a missing girl suspense thriller produced by Spain’s Atípica Films, has attracted huge heat for Netflix, punching 101.7 million hours watched in its first three weeks. Doing so, it ranked as the streamer’s No. 1 non-English show in the world over Jan. 30 – Feb. 5.

In all, Spain has more shows and movies in Netflix’s all time non-English Top 10s than any other country in the world, seven to France’s two, for example.

Spain, it could be argued, has cracked online. But its drama series industry wants to ring more options.

As scripted commissions look to have dropped from second half 2022 in not only the U.S. but also Europe and Latin America, an energetic posse of Spanish producers and stars are rolling into Berlin to present new productions. These look set to explore an...

Bowfinger Int’l Pictures, run by Spanish actor-director Santiago Segura and producing partner María Luisa Gutiérrez, and Beta Fiction Spain (Bfs), the Spanish affiliate of Germany’s Beta Film, have teamed up to produce “Infiltrada” (“Infiltrated”) the true story of a young Spanish policewoman who infiltrated the Basque separatist group, Eta.

To be directed by Bilbao-based helmer Arantxa Echevarría, the feature film based on true events follows the 20-year old policewoman, known only by her alias Aranzazu Berradre Marín, who managed to embed herself with members of the terrorist group, even sharing living quarters with them.

Eventually, she helped lead to the dismantling of the infamous organization that used terrorist tactics in its campaign for an independent Basque state.

Based on extensive research that included the collaboration of journalists and interviews with people who were directly involved in the operation, “Infiltrada” will depict not only the events but will also...

An eerily quaint and picturesque Galician town sets the scene for a chilling high-profile murder in “Rapa,” the highly anticipated follow-up to Spain’s Movistar Plus hit “Hierro.”

After coming to the aid of bloodied Mayor Amparo Seoane (Mabel Rivera), lone witness and stymied professor Tomás becomes obsessed with her murder case and forms an unlikely bond with unyielding Civil Guard Sargent, Maite. As word of the crime shakes the town, a community’s secrets rise to the surface.

Produced by Movistar Plus in conjunction with Portocabo, led by Alfonso Blanco, and expertly directed by Jorge Coira, the six-part series offers up complex and riveting plot twists as questions arise regarding the salient nature between victim and perpetrator.

The drama, distributed by Beta Film, reunites creators Pepe Coira and Fran Araújo. Stunning and vast local landscapes take a front seat and intimate shots are used to elicit high-emotion, the cast delivering exceptional performances,...

Launched in 1998, the Malaga Film Festival first grabbed attention as a Spanish movie showcase and birthplace of a Spanish star system, TV actors walking a red carpet to acclaim from milling throngs.

Under Juan Antonio Vigar, director from 2013, it has consolidated as a platform for a new generation of Spanish filmmakers while adding ever increasing industry heft – co-pro forums, WIPs, a Hack digital forum initiative – and also opening up to TV.

In 2021, however, Malaga Festival and Spanish Screenings have exploded in scale, impact and attendance. The narrative of this year’s event is largely one of that growth. Eight takes on this and other Malaga highlights:

Malaga Lifts Off

Little wonder Malaga forms part of what’s now the Spanish Screenings Xxl. In its first full edition since 2019 with festival and industry onsite and aligned, Malaga has truly taken off. It received almost 2,000 film and TV submissions, says Vigar. Attendance has skyrocketed to over 1,100 delegates,...

The event is a major showcase of Spanish and Latin American content to the international market.

The world premiere of Jorge Coira’s Codigo Emperador, starring Luis Tosar, opens the 25th edition of the Málaga Film Festival (Mff) today (March 18), marking the first time the Spanish and Latin American-focused event has run in-person for two years. The spy thriiller also opens in Spain today.

Roberto Bueso’s Full Of Grace is the closing night film, screening out of competition.

Codigo Emperador is playing in competition along with Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s directorial debut Lullaby, starring Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez,...

Spain has two films in this year’s main competition at the Berlinale, and a record haul of films participating across all sections. Similarly, the country boasts an impressive list of productions looking for buyers at the festival’s EFM. Below, a list of standouts from Spain looking to make moves on the global market.

“Prison 77” (Alberto Rodríguez)

A potential jewel in Spanish cinema’s 2022 crown, “Modelo 77” is produced by Spanish pay TV-vod giant Movistar Plus and Madrid-based Atípica Films, Rodríguez’s career-long producer. S.A. Film Factory

“Alcarràs” (Carla Simón)

In Berlin’s main competition, the much anticipated follow up to Simón’s “Summer 1993,” “Alcarrás” tracks the final harvest at a multi-generational family farm. Co-produced with Italy. S.A. MK2 Films

“The Beast” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

A Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”) and his regular co-scribe Esther Peña.

“Beyond the Summit” (Ibon Cormenzana)

Javier Rey and Patricia Lopez...

Spain’s Movistar Plus, the Spanish TV and streaming label of telco giant Telefonica, has announced “Rapa,” a new Latin Noir thriller original series starring one of the country’s most decorated film and TV actors, Javier Cámara.

La Rapa is supposed to be a day of celebration and festival in the Galician town of A Capelada. However, when the village’s mayor is murdered the local community goes into panic mode. In a careful-what-you-wish-for moment, frustrated professor Tomás (Cámara) becomes the center of attention and the resulting investigation as the only witness to the crime. He will join forces with local Civil Guard inspector Maite, a woman most in her element when on a manhunt, to uncover what happened on that day.

“Rapa” sees Movistar team once again with leading Galician production company Portocabo, producers of one of the broadcaster’s biggest hit original hits “Hierro” – it’s Movistar...

The Galician actor tops the bill of the new film by Jorge Coira, who releases the second season of his series Hierro on Friday 19 February. Proyecto Emperador will be the fourth fiction feature by Jorge Coira, following Eroski Paraíso (which he directed in tandem with Xesús Ron), 18 Meals and his feature debut, 2004’s The Year of the Tick. The Lugo-born filmmaker has also directed successful TV series of the likes of Hierro (the second season of which is released on Friday 19 February on Movistar+ – see the review and the interview) and I Know Who You Are, as well as working as an editor on the features Gun City and Retribution, for which he was given the Goya Award for Best Editor. Starring three-time Spanish Film Academy Award winner Luis Tosar, this new film – slated to be shot in April – will reflect the very recognisable...

Appropriately blessed by sunshine in Spain, though the whole event went online, the Malaga Film Festival’s Spanish Screenings wrapped Friday, though films will continue to screen another week given the demand for screenings. The equivalent of France’s UniFrance Rendez-vous with French cinema in Paris, the Screenings proved a bellwether for far larger trends coursing the American Film Market and the international market at large. Following, five takeaways:

The French Connection

The Malaga Spanish Screenings rounded their final bend on Friday with news that France’s Playtime Group, one of Europe’s premier film sales-production groups with companies across Europe, has boarded Vaca Films’ “Project Emperor.” The Playtime-Vaca relation stretches back a decade to one of Spain’s biggest modern break-outs, “Cell 211.” It now forms part of a fast multiplying web of Gallic connections with Spain, as French companies buy into the global reach of Spanish-language fiction.

Jorge Coira, the Spanish director of “18 Meals” and hit Spanish-French series “Hierro,” is set to helm “Project Emperor” (“Proyecto Emperador”), a timely spy thriller penned by “Cell 211” screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarria, also Alex de la Iglesia’s career-long co-scribe.

Vaca Films (“Extinction”) is producing with Sábado Películas (“A Perfect Enemy”), La Ley del Plomo Aie (“Gun City”) and Paris-based pan-European sales-production company the Playtime Group whose current slate includes Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District.”

“Project Emperor” is expected to start filming in April. Adolfo Blanco’s leading Spanish company, A Contracorriente Films, has acquired Spain’s distribution rights.

“Project Emperor” unfolds in the Spanish state espionage underworld and revolves around Juan, an agent working for the intelligence services, who also reports to a parallel unit involved in illegal activities. While his official mission is to prevent terrorist attacks, Juan is pushed to cross the red line to cover up...

Berlinale 2020: Eufcn and Cineuropa announced the winner of the third edition of the Eufcn Location Award at Berlinale's European Film Market. The island of El Hierro is the winner of the third edition of the Eufcn Location Award, the award for best European location in the film and TV industries organized by Eufcn (European Film Commissions Network), in collaboration with Cineuropa. The smallest of the Canary Islands, and the most westerly point of Spain, has been chosen from among 10 European locations for playing the perfect setting for Spanish thriller TV series Hierro, created by Pepe Coira and directed by Jorge Coira. During the first phase of the competition, each Eufcn member had the opportunity to submit one location from a film, a TV series or a documentary shot in their country and released between January 2018 and July 2019. Ten wonderful locations were shortlisted, and the general public...

In this week’s International TV Newswire, “Hierro” breaks records in Spain, Sky readies fora diabolic Mipcom, Nent realigns, reflecting new market realities, Buena Vista drills down on gender crime, Drg, All3Media and EndemolShine strike production or sales deals.

Renewed, “Hierro” Triumphs in Spain

Movistar+, the pay TV unit of Telefonica, Europe’s third biggest telecom, has a hit on its hands. It says much, moreover, about Europe’s still building drama series scene.

This week, “Hierro,” a crime drama first seen at Seriesmania, was renewed for Season 2, and confirmed by Spain’s Movistar as its most-viewed of its first Original Series releases to date, judged over its first 80 days.

The result is a triumph for the series’ creators, Portocabo producer Alfonso Blanco and screenwriter Pepe Coira, plus director Jorge Coira. It also vindicates Movistar+ entry into international co-production, here with upscale French network Arte, Galicia-based Portocabo and the Lagardère Group’s Atlantique Productions,...

Until recently, when a Spanish TV operator put up 100% finance, it retained nearly 100% of rights. Now, no one size fits all. Variety analyzes two projects that break the mold in Spain.

“La Sala”

Police TV thriller “La Sala” (The Room) shows three production companies greenlighting a TV project without TV network support — unthinkable until recently. Madrid-based Isla Audiovisual, creator of the CW’s “Star Crossed,” and Canary Islands’ CanCan and Funwood Media teamed to develop the series with their own creative and executive resources.

Producers pitched the script to TF1’s Newen, who put up financing against the series’ future international distribution. They pre-sold Spanish Svod to HBO España, and free-to-air TV rights to the regional pubcasters association Forta.

Directed by César Arriero and Manuel Sanabria, “La Sala” shot entirely in Gran Canaria, tapping into Canary Islands’ 45% tax credits for private investment in Spanish productions.

That helped cut the episodes...

Lille, France — Banijay Rights-sold “Hierro” begins with sea, land, air and fire: Shots of the stunning volcanic isle of El Hierro, the most westerly point of Spain’s Canary Islands, with its black basalt rock, brown iron-rich gravel, white waves pummeling the coast, trees trunks twisted by wind and lava, a juniper bent double by wind.

But as much as it features extraordinary nature, and starts with a murder victim in a kind of southern isle Noir, “Hierro” turns, above all, on human nature, how it clings to and is forged by custom, and the complex, contradictory, comparable and contrasting characters of Candela, an intolerably upright Spanish judge, exiled for her rectitude to El Hierro, and Diaz, a arrogant narco kingpin who’s done time for homicide. The main suspect in the murder case of the man who was about to marry his daughter, Díaz is released by Candela,...

Banijay Rights has taken international distribution rights to Movistar+ original Spanish crime drama “Hierro,” the company announced Thursday. The eight-part series marks the first Spanish-language drama acquired by Banijay Rights, the distribution arm of Banijay Group.

Currently in production in the Canary Islands, “Hierro” is a Spanish-French-German co-production, produced by Portocabo, Atlantique Productions and Arte France for Movistar+, which will air the show in the first half of 2019. Created by Pepe Coira and directed by Jorge Coira it stars Spanish actress Candela Peña and Argentine actor Darío Grandinetti (pictured).

“Hierro” was named the best co-production TV series project presented at the European Film Market’s Berlinale Co-Production Market in February 2015. Set on the remote island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands it sees the discovery of the corpse of a young islander, found floating in the sea following an earthquake, mark the starting point for a tense political drama...

Spanish drama is going through a renaissance in recent years, helped by a multi-million dollar drive by pay-tv operator Movistar+. Banijay Rights is now getting in on the action, picking up the rights to crime thriller Hierro.

The distributor will sell the eight-part drama internationally, marking the company’s first Spanish-language drama acquisition. It takes all rights outside of Spain, France and Latin America.

The series is produced by Portocabo and Atlantique Productions for Movistar+ and Arte France. Created by Pepe Coira and directed by Jorge Coira, it takes place on a secluded island in the Canary Islands archipelago and stars Spanish actress Candela Peña (Princesas) and Argentinean actor Darío Grandinetti (Wild Tales). Hierro will launch in the first half of 2019.

Caroline Torrance, Head of Scripted, Banijay Rights, said, “From the first time we saw Hierro, we immediately knew we wanted to be a part of it. With electric storytelling and premium production values,...

It's a well-known fact that Iberoamerican cinema, which includes Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese productions, has had a prominent presence at the most important international film festivals for several years now and several films have been recognized at some of the most important film awards around the world. Colombia's "Embrace of the Serpent" earning the country's first-ever Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category and Argentina's "Wild Tales" taking home the 2016 BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in English Language are juts two examples of recent victories.

Acknowledging the need for a unified industry in the region and a platform for the Iberoamerican industry to honor and support its own productions, the Premios Platino of Iberoamerican Cinema were born three years ago. Each year the organizing committee selects a diverse group of nominees and invites members of the industry across the American continent and the Iberian peninsula to vote in order to select the winners. The ceremony takes place in a different country every year as a way to include all of the varied industries in the process and execution of the event.

This morning, after considering more than 150 films from a pool of over 800 theatrically releases productions, the final nominees were announced by a group of talented actors, including legendary Mexican-American thespian Edward James Olmos, and filmmakers led by CNN en Español's journalist Juan Carlos Arciniegas. Guatemala's Berlin-winning gem "Ixcanul" received 8 nominations, just as Colombia's Oscar-nominated "Embrace of the Serpent" did. These two gorgeously executed works center on indigenous stories and highlight the rich cultural heritage of Latin America. It's a pleasant surprise to see these two fantastic films get the most love.

Chile's "The Club" and Argentina's "The Clan," films by the two most prolific Pablos working in South America, Pablo Larrain and Pablo Trapero, received 6 nominations each. Larrain's dark tale about Catholic priests with questionable pasts was also nominated this year for a Golden Globe in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Perhaps one of the most surprising, yet well-deserved nominations, was the inclusion of Alonso Ruizpalacios among the Best Director nominees for his brilliant debut "Güeros."

Two films distributed by Pantelion received nomations: "600 Miles" and "Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos." Oscilloscope earned 10 mentions with properties "Ma Ma" and "Embrace of the Serpent." Kino Lorber's "Ixcanul, ""Güeros," and "The Pearl Button" also earned the art house distributor 10 nominations.

Regarding the quality of the films being produced in Iberoamerica Egeda's Elvi Cano said, “This has been an exceptional year for Iberoamerican Cinema, with 826 qualifying releases. Iberoamerican Cinema is alive, growing and stronger then ever.” Renowned journalist and host Juan Carlos Arciniegas added," These awards are starting a revolution and it's my dream, as an ambassador for Premios Platino, that these magnificent films that got nominated today to be seen by all our Iberoamerican audiences. I can't be more proud of what our filmmakers are doing today and if the public don't get to enjoy them, we won't be doing our job"

The 3rd Annual Premios Platino of Iberoamerican Cinema will take place on July 24th in Punta del Este, Uruguay

Here is the full list of nominees:

Premio Platino for Best Iberoamerican Picture

-"Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente), by Ciro Guerra (Ciudad Lunar Producciones, Caracol Cine, Dago García Producciones, Nortesur Producciones S.A., Mc Producciones, Buffalo Films) (Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina).

-"The Clan" (El clan), by Pablo Trapero (Kramer & Sigman Films, Matanza Cine S.R.L., El Deseo, P.C., S.A.) (Argentina, Spain).

-"The Club" (El club), by Pablo Larraín (Fabula Producciones) (Chile).

-"Ixcanul," by Jayro Bustamante (La Casa de Producción, Tu vas voir Productions) (Guatemala).

-"Truman," by Cesc Gay (Imposible Films S.L., Truman Film A.I.E., Bd Cine S.R.L) (Spain, Argentina).

Premio Platino for Best Director

-Alonso Ruizpalacios, for "Güeros."

-Cesc Gay, for "Truman."

-Ciro Guerra, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

Pablo Larraín, for "The Club" (El club).

Pablo Trapero, for "The Clan" (El clan).

Premio Platino for Best Actor

-Alfredo Castro, for "The Club" (El club).

-Damián Alcázar, for "Magallanes."

-Guillermo Francella, for "The Clan" (El clan).

-Javier Cámara, for "Truman."

-Ricardo Darín, for "Truman."

Premio Platino for Best Actress

-Antonia Zegers, for "The Club" (El club).

-Dolores Fonzi, for "Paulina."

-Elena Anaya, for "The Memory of Water" (La memoria del agua).

-Inma Cuesta, for "The Bride" (La novia).

-Penélope Cruz, for "Ma Ma."

Premio Platino for Best Original Score

-Alberto Iglesias, for "Ma Ma."

-Federico Jusid, for "Magallanes."

-Lucas Vidal, for "Nobody Wants the Night" (Nadie quiere la noche).

-Nascuy Linares, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-Pascual Reyes, for "Ixcanul."

Premio Platino for Best Animated Feature Film

-"Capture the Flag" (Atrapa la bandera), by Enrique Gato (Telecinco Cinema S.A., Los Rockets La Película A.I.E., Telefónica Studios S.L.U., 4 Cats Pictures S.L., Ikiru Films S.L., Lightbox Animation Studios S.L.) (Spain).

-"Top Cat Begins" (Don Gato 2: El inicio de la pandilla), by Andrés Couturier (Anima Estudios) (Mexico).

-"El Americano", by Ricardo Arnaiz, Mike Kunkel (Olmos Productions, Phil Roman Entertainment, Animex) (Mexico).

-"Amila's Secret" (El secreto de Amila), by Gorka Vázquez (Baleuko, S.L., Talape Animazioa, Draftoon Animation) (Spain, Argentina).

-"Huevos: Little Rooster's Egg-Cellent Adventure" (Un gallo con muchos huevos), by Gabriel Riva Palacio Alatriste, Rodolfo Riva Palacio Alatriste (Huevocartoon Producciones) (Mexico).

Premio Platino for Best Documentary Feature Film

-"Beyond My Grandfather Allende" (Allende mi abuelo Allende), by Marcia Tambutti Allende (Errante Producciones Ltda, Martfilms) (Chile, Mexico).

-"New Girls 24 Hours" (Chicas nuevas 24 horas), by Mabel Lozano (Mafalda Entertainment, S.L., Aleph Media S.A., Puatarará Films, Hangar Films, Arte Vital) (Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru).

-"The Pearl Button" (El botón de nácar), by Patricio Guzmán (Atacama Productions, Valdivia Film, France 3 Cinema, Mediaproduccion, S.L.) (Chile, Spain).

-"Tea Time" (La once), by Maite Alberdi (Micromundo Producciones) (Chile).

-"The Propaganda Game," by Álvaro Longoria (Morena Films S. L.) (Spain).

Premio Platino for Best Screenplay

-Cesc Gay, Tomás Aragay, for "Truman."

-Ciro Guerra, Jacques Toulemonde, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-Jayro Bustamante, for "Ixcanul."

-Pablo Larraín, Guillermo Calderón, Daniel Villalobos; for "The Club" (El club).

-Salvador del Solar, for "Magallanes."

Premio Platino for Best Iberoamerican Debut Feature Film

-"600 Miles" (600 Millas), by Gabriel Ripstein (Lucia Films) (Mexico).

- "Retribution" (El desconocido), by Dani de la Torre (Atresmedia Cine S. L., Vaca Films Studio, S.L.) (Spain).

-"The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime" (El patrón: radiografía de un crimen), by Sebastián Schindel (Magoya Films S.A., Estrella Films) (Argentina, Venezuela).

-"Ixcanul," by Jayro Bustamante (La Casa de Producción, Tu vas voir Productions) (Guatemala).

-"Magallanes," by Salvador del Solar (Péndulo Films, Tondero Producciones, Cepa Audiovisual S.R.L., Proyectil, Cinemara, Nephilim Producciones, S.L.) (Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Spain).

Premio Platino for Best Film Editing

-César Díaz, for "Ixcanul."

-Eric Williams, for "Magallanes."

-Etienne Boussac, Cristina Gallego, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-Jorge Coira, for "Retribution" (El desconocido).

-Pablo Trapero, Alejandro Carrillo Penovi, for "The Clan" (El clan).

Premio Platino for Best Art Direction

-Angélica Perea, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-Bruno Duarte, Artur Pinheiro, for "Arabian Nights: Vol.2 - The Desolate One" (As mil e uma noites: Volume 2, O desolado).

-Jesús Bosqued Maté, Pilar Quintana, for "The Bride" (La novia).

-Pilar Peredo, for "Ixcanul."

-Sebastián Orgambide, for "The Clan" (El clan).

Premio Platino for Best Cinematography

-Arnaldo Rodríguez, for "The Memory of Water" (La memoria del agua).

-David Gallego, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-Luis Armando Arteaga, for "Ixcanul."

-Miguel Ángel Amoedo, for "The Bride" (La novia).

-Sergio Armstrong, for "The Club" (El club).

Premio Platino for Best Sound Direction

-Carlos García, Marco Salavarría, for "Embrace of the Serpent" (El abrazo de la serpiente).

-David Machado, Jaime Fernández, Nacho Arenas, for "Retribution" (El desconocido).

-Eduardo Cáceres, Julien Cloquet, for "Ixcanul."

-Federico Esquerro, Santiago Fumagalli, Edson Secco, for "Paulina."

-Vicente D’Elía, Leandro de Loredo, for "The Clan" (El clan).

This is a very cursory look at where I spent two weeks in February. It is by no means complete, but it gives you some idea about how I spend so much of my time.

The Berlinale is an A-festival, founded in 1951 at the height of the Cold War. It accredits about 20,000 industry visitors and about 4,000 journalists each year with a total of 130 countries. It is one of the largest public festivals, selling about 300,000 tickets. The actual figure is 303,077 up 1.2% from last year’s 299,362). Aside from the Competition, it has 10 other sections and series, from children’s films to retrospectives. This year The Weimar Touch and also an homage to Claude Lanzmann were especially appealing to me. See more on the Efm website.

The Berlinale, which ran Feb. 7 to 17 includes the Festival, the European Film Market, the second largest market after Cannes, Talent Campus, Meet the Docs, The Co-Production Market and possibly other sections I am missing here. Efm registered a greater number of exhibitors than last year and they saw brisk sales for competition films including Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, Chilean Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria (which won a Silver Bear for actress Paulina Garcia), as well as films from other sections and from the market itself. I am offering a report called Winter Rights Roundup which lists all the buying activity, not only for the Berlinale but also for Sundance. It includes links to the companies.

While around 400 films screened in thefestival (out of about 7,000 applications), 890 films screened in the market (600 were market premieres) to more than 8,000 participants from 95 countries. 1,690 of those were distributors in Berlin to buy rights from 172 international sales agents.

The Efm offered a new introduction to the market, “Shortcuts for First-Timers” on the first day of the Market, It was held in the Mirror Restaurant and 300 or 400 people attended. Thursday February 7 from 3.00 - 4.30 pm. I attended since I participate in the Cannes First-Timers event. The panelists were quite clear but I wished their names were in front of them. And I wondered who was in the audience. There is also possibly a replay of the panel but I don’t know where to find it for reference. There was a back screen which might have been used by showing a map of the market, or the names of those speaking or other graphics to help illustrate their points. They pointed out that red lights served to point out all the paths and venues used by the festival and market. That was very clever and once I knew to look for them, they helped me find new places.

They announced a new Berlinale Residency Program for writers/ directors who will have a four month stay in Berlin to work on their fiction, doc or cross-media project with the help of script consultants and industry experts from September to December. In February the residents return to present their projects at the Berlinale Co-Production Market to find further co-producers and financiers. This year 6 filmmakers were invited.

They didn’t mention the free WiFi for every registrant and the password written on the badges themselves.

I myself gave tours around the Martin Gropius Bau where most of the market takes place to participants at the Talent Campus and Deutsche Welle Akademie where I also taught about the international film business to Asian, African, Latin American and Caribbean film festival organizers. The tours are a great way to understand how the market works, who the people are, what company cultures are and how to understand them in order to operate optimally. I do the same thing for first timers in Cannes.

My partner Peter and I also had two clients there; one had his film in the market already and the other was following up with meetings with interested international sales agents. As it was their first time in Berlin, we were very pleased to see them take to it so easily.

It was only in the last two days I could actually see movies. But I caught up on lots of gossip along the way. For instance, I had not realized that Turner Broadcasting had bought a Norwegian sales agent and distributor for Scandinavia until Michael Werner who headed sales for NonStop told me that two years after their buyout they were now letting go of 400 people and Michael Werner and the international sales division were included.

I also heard about a new educational program called Making Waves. Five film schools including including the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman brought students to Berlin and the students were making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves is a new week long distribution and marketing workshop devised by the London Film School in partnership with La fémis, the dffb, l'escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University and New York's Columbia University of the Arts Film Department. Held in parallel to the Berlinale, 30 participants from the 6 film training institutions are immersed in all areas of the Berlinale: the European Film Market, the Festival and the Talent Campus where they work collaboratively in teams to develop creative campaigns, edit trailers, design posters and plan roll-out packages for actual independent films in the European Film Market. They are joined by experienced industry professionals working in the independent distribution sector who offer in-depth case studies. This hands-on workshop is for graduating students to gain understanding in emerging strategies in independent film distribution.

Venice seems to be working on student initiatives as well with a call for entries to the Biennale College. Unlike festivals that call for finished films, the Biennale College asked for up-and-comers to submit their ideas. The best proposals get 150,000 euros in seed money and the filmmakers are matched with some of the industry's finest practitioners who would help turn their treatments into reality, with a guaranteed screening at Venice in the summer. After narrowing it down to 15 semifinalists out of hundreds of submissions from around the globe, organizers this month announced three winners, each from a different continent. From the United States, director Tim Sutton and producer John Baker have won a spot with their yet-to-be-made film called Memphis, which follows the transformation of Ezra Jack, 'from beloved soul singer to ecstatic contemplator,' said judges in their review. From Thailand, director Nawapol Thanrongratanarit and producer Aditya Assarat won with their submission The Year of June, which follows a year in the life of an anonymous female student in Bangkok through her Twitter status. And from Italy, director Alessio Fava and producer Max Chicco won the last spot with Yuri Esposito, about a documentary film crew who follows a man who lives in a state of perennial sluggishness, whose wife all of a sudden gets pregnant. Buzz around the competition, which has the potential to launch unknowns into stardom, has been mounting for months. “To me the promise of a Venice debut is even a bigger deal than the money, because it's one thing to make a movie and quite another to have a chance for the entire international press to see it,” said San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick Lasalle. “In fact, it's quite a big deal to make a movie, as an unknown, knowing that international exposure is guaranteed. The whole question mark - even if this turns out great, will anybody ever see it? - is eliminated”. Ensuring a fresh batch of talent, competition rules stipulated that the submission must be the applicant's first or second film endeavor. Earlier this month, semifinalists took part in a 10-day workshop with veteran filmmakers and cinema experts in Venice. “The key is that masters in cinema were present here during the workshop to help participants along,” says Paolo Baratta, president of the Biennale, the festival body that oversees the annual film fest. Organizers then narrowed it down to the three winners, who will receive funding thanks in part to Italian luxury fashion designer Gucci. In just 15 days the filmmakers will get a jumpstart on making micro-budget feature films before screening them at Venice August 28 through September 7. The winners will also get online distribution, adding to their much-needed visibility at the dawn of their careers. Organizers of the Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world, say mixing veteran mentors with young blood is key to sustaining cinema as an art as well as keeping the festival relevant. “It is an initiative whose constant development will be continued for years to come,” Baratta says. See Variety Feb 11 – 17, 2013. You know this is in response and attests to the success of the the Berlinale Talent Campus which just completed its 11th year.

And in France, Cinefondation has brought U.S. director Barney Elliott to its six month residence program in Paris where he wrote the first draft of Oliver's Deal and later developed it at Amsterdam’s Binger Filmlab. It is now set to star Edward Burns and Spain’s Alberto Ammann. Marina Fuentes of Dreamcatches will bring the film to the market. Christine Vachon is exec producing. It will start shooting in May in New York and will travel to Lima, Peru and Huarez in the Anders.

Other notes gathered during this intense 10 day experience were Russian filmmaker Andrey Khvostov made a summer love story called Saint Petersburg which is being sold by Aktis Film International. Of course I want to see this especially because Rosskino hosted a trip last year to St. Petersburg for distributors after holding screenings of current films on offer. St. Peterburg of one of the most beautiful cities in the world; and the film has an original score by Sergei Yetushenko (The Last Station, Russian Ark).

Also Alberto Antonio Dandolo whom I met in Havana, was in his new home town Berlin continuing to sell The Cuban Wives about the wives of the Cuban 5 who are imprisoned in the United States.

Other news of interest includes The Match Factory’s Distribution 2.0 VOD initiative which will release its first film, Postcards from the Zoo. Partnering with Euro VoD platforms in France, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Peccadillo Pictures in U.K. and Eye Film Institute in the Netherlands, The Match Factory will coordinate marketing activities. This exploration of new marketing and distribution avenues for international arthouse features has the support of the EU’s Media Mundus.

BackUp, the Paris based financier is launching a new rights management software Movie Chainer on April 30, two weeks ahead of the Cannes Film Festival. This cloud based app enables Av rights holders to track contracts, generate exploitation and availability reports and calculate revenue splits and repayment schedules in a clear and visual style. The Cannes March’s database and networking platform Cinando will host and support the launch. The first live version of Movie Chainer will be available free to all industry professionals for a maximum of three projects and a demo version and presentation of the software is available here.

Former Arte Cinema chief Michel Reilhac has reactivated his production company Melange with a $6.7 million multi-platform project exploring the world of high endurance sport ultra-trailing. The work will revolve around six blocks or storylines, unfolding on several platforms – the web, the real world, tv. over six months in the second half of 2014.

New international sales agent out of Poland, New Europe, which picked up two Us in Progress films, Now Forager and I Used to be Darker, has also picked up Papusza, the story of the first published Romany Gypsy woman poet, whose work enraged her patriarchal community. Poland is also coming out with films by up and coming female directors two of which are in the official selection: 39 year old Malgorzata Szumowska has In the Name Of about homosexuality within the Polish Catholic Church (picked up for U.S by Film Movement) in the Main Competition, and Baby Blues, a story about teenage parents by Katarzyna Roslaniec in Generation. Izabela Kiszka, head of international relations at the Polish Film Institute, the country’s major public film funder, says both films are “daring, important, modern and up-to-date Eruopean cinema”. Both films are produced by Agnieszka Kurzydlo of Mental Disorder 4 and Szumowska is co-producer of both. Zentropa Poland is also a co-producer.

International sales agent We Pictures of China is producing a $9 million film called American Dreams in China, to be directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan and photographed by Christopher Doyle. One of the protagonists teaches English in a Kentucky Fried Chicken store in China and invites his two other friends to partake in his “New Vision” where thousands of students wanting to go to the U.S. to follow their “American Dream” flock to the class.

David Castellanos formerly of Latido, has found success in his own international sales company, Cinema Republic. Their film The Clown was the Brazilian entry for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and has wracked up 1.5 million admissions in Brazil. At Efm he is premiering Camina o Revienta which features first time director Paco Leon and stars a top Spanish TV actor and his real-life mother. It was the first day & date release in Spain and worked quite well. The Dumbass (Muro Mula) is also by a first time director and was filmed on a low $30K budget. It comes from Guaemala and features great music and is an example of the new wave of Latin American comedy. 18 Meals is the actor Luis Tozar’s first production and is directed by first timer Jorge Coira. It sold to Argentina and Japan, won for Best Director in Taorima Iff, the Audience Award and Jury Special Mention at Ourense Iff, and won Best Film and Audience Award at La Laguna Gastronomic Iff. Yummy: six seemingly unconnected stories in which food is the common demominator make up a romantic comedy set in Santiago de Compostela. It is available for viewing at Cinando as is The Clown and Carmina or Blow Up.

Rome -- "Dalla Vita in Poi" (From the Waste On), a debut film from Italian Gianfrancesco Lazotti, won best film in the Taormina Film Festival's main competition limited to films from the Mediterranean region Friday, while its stars won the film's two main actor prizes.

Also on Friday, "Friendship!," a comedy from German director Markus Goller, won the prize as the best film from beyond the Mediterranean, while Emir Kusturica, the Serbian director, was honored for the Mediterranean prize for Dialogue Between Cultures co-sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter. Late Thursday, actor Colin Firth received the fifth and final Taormina Arte honor.

The main jury, headed by Berlin International Film Festival artistic director Dieter Kosslick, gave most of its honors to "Dalla Vita in Poi," the only Italian film in the prestigious Mediterranean competition, an intellectual love story centered on the letters of Katia, a woman with muscular dystrophy.

Cristiana Capotondi,...

Taormina, Italy -- The 56th edition of the Taormina Film Festival got under way Saturday in three dimensions, with Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3" becoming the first major 3D film to premiere in an outdoor venue, the festival's famous Teatro Antico.

 

The high-tech 3D production directed by Lee Unkrich created a natural contrast when set against the 2,300-year-old Teatro Antico, which reportedly sold the last of the 3,000 available tickets shortly before the start of the screening.

 

The event was low key compared to previous blockbuster premieres in Taormina -- none of the film's talent made the trip to Sicily for the premiere, for example, and the producers were represented only by new Disney Europe President Diego Lerner -- but the film was well received by the enthusiastic sellout crowd.

 

Also on tap Saturday was the Pixar 3D short "Day & Night." The innovative six-minute film will precede "Toy Story 3" when...