Spanish Cinema’s Diversity Boost Exports, Streamer Success
variety.comEmiliano De Pablos Spanish cinema is expanding, opening up attractive film avenues to reach the worldwide market, driven by upscale commercial projects, blending of genres and a new generation of emerging female directors.
The country’s filmmakers landed three Oscar nominations: Juan A. Bayona with “Society of the Snow” (inter- national feature and makeup and hair styling); and Pablo Berger with “Robot Dreams” (animated feature).
Also, four of Netflix’s top five most-popular non-English films ever are from Spain. “The boom in talent is making for a unique and very diverse cinema,” says Guillermo Farré, Movistar Plus+ head of original films and Spanish cinema. “The great foreign perception of Spanish cinema is driven by the productions’ quality and their international diffusion,” says Elástica Films’ María Zamora, producer of Carla Simón’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner “Alcarrás.” “Spanish cinema is evolving with the appearance of new voices especially female and new ways of narrating, breaking more and more borders,” says Javier Méndez, head of scripted at the Mediapro Studio.
March’s Málaga Film Festival underscored the strength of a newly emerging Spanish auteur cinema. Three of the most popular titles at the festival were first or second features from women: Celia Rico’s Latido-sold “Little Loves,” Andrea Jaurrieta’s “Nina,” handled by Filmax, and Sonia Méndez’s suspense drama “As Neves,” sold by Rosa Bosch.
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