This yr, Spain has extra titles on the Berlinale’s two TV showcases, Co-Professional Sequence and Berlinale Market Selects, than some other nation on the planet— a complete of 4 exhibits, beating the U.S. with one, and even Germany, which has three.

On high of that, operating Feb. 19-20 on the fest’s CinemaxX screening hub, the Spanish showcase on the Berlinale

Market Sequence highlights three extra exhibits and contains a panel, in what will be the big- gest nationwide TV showcase at 2024’s Berlin Pageant.

What this bullish presence says concerning the state of the state of Spanish TV manufacturing is an- different matter. Seven key takes:

Second-Section Increase

Spain’s Berlin bonanza is barely pure. Netflix scored its first world TV blockbuster with Spain’s “Cash Heist” in 2018, and now the nation is now using a second wave as a powerful provider of the worldwide streamer. In 2023, Spanish movie and TV titles ranked No. 1 on the Netflix world non-English High 10 charts for 13 weeks, solely bettered by South Korea. In Berlin, the Spanish showcase kicks off on Feb. 19 with a Secuoya Studios presentation, which drills down on the methods and ambitions of the producer of “Montecristo” and “Zorro.”

“Spain is so common within the co-production and originals market. There’s an enormous Spanish-speaking viewers. ‘Zorro’ is doing gangbusters for Amazon in Latin and North America and ‘Montecristo’ was the No. 1 present on ViX in 2023,” notes Roy Ashton, a parter on the Gersh Company.

Co-Manufacturing: The New Title of the Sport

“With the arrival of worldwide platforms, the excessive demand for sequence has ramped up prices and manufacturing ranges have risen. Co-production can provide you a sequence for 60% or 70% of the prices,” says José Pastor, director of fiction and movie at pubcaster RTVE. An excellent instance is “This Is Not Sweden,” showcased in Berlin final yr, that RTVE produced with Catalonia’s 3Cat, Sweden’s SVT, Finland’s YLE and Germany’s NRD, is one other.

Co-producing also can open up European Union Media Program funding, or, within the case of 3Cat, Catalan authorities grants of €1.5 million ($1.6 million) per sequence. “RTVE has to achieve relevance in Europe,” Pastor provides. Given the disaster in Nordic TV financing, and the success of “This Is Not Sweden,” Scandinavian firms might be prepared companions.

A New Inventive Technology

Dealing with a lot increased fiction output, producers usually are not solely tapping younger screenwriters but additionally drawing on creators famed in different fields who’re transferring into or adapting scripted fiction: Reveals screening this yr at Berlin embrace “Crimson Flags,” created by novelist and playwright Nando López; immigrant disaster story “Legislation of the Sea,” from comic Flipy; “Present Your self,” from Alvaro Carmona, a author from comedic late-night present “Buenafuente”; “and Zorras” is an adaptation of a novel by Noemi Casquet. “The great well being of the Spanish fiction trade is permitting creators, producers and administrators to alter style and format with a sure ease. Just some years in the past, that was unthinkable, and is an indication of consolidation,” says Samuel Castro, co-director, Iberseries & Platino Industria.

“We not solely function rising writers but additionally collaborate with profitable creators in different fields. This ensures a dynamic combine of recent and skilled expertise to ship high quality tales that captivate world audiences,” says Atresmedia TV’s head of acquisitions and gross sales, Jose Antonio Salso.

The Vary of Younger Grownup Drama

Three sequence, all Atresplayer Originals — “Crimson Flags,” “Zorras” and “Present Your self” — display screen on the Berlinale Sequence Market. All three chart the pursuit of true id amongst its teen to 20some- factor protagonists, concentrating on YA audiences. However YA shouldn’t be a style, it’s an viewers play. “‘Zorras’ is a comedy centered on friendship, offering a particular perspective and humorous method to sexual fantasies amongst younger girls,” says Salso.

“‘Crimson Flags’ narrates a practical coming-of-age story, capturing the essence of Technology Z’s experiences. In the meantime, ‘Present Your self’ is a surrealistic comedy set in a dystopian universe, exploring themes like id, loneliness and household dynamics.”

Style Bend or Mix

“There are tons of narco and gangster thrillers. In ‘Marbella,’ we attempt to discover a new approach in, utilizing the viewpoint of a protection legal professional who permits organized crime to perform like authorized companies,” says Fran Araujo, govt producer on the brand new Movistar Plus+ Unique. “Executioners,” on the Berlinale’s Co-Professional Sequence, blends a coming-of-age suspense thriller and moral drama, whereas “Demise to Love” is a vampire narrative, a LGBTQ story and romantic dramedy dissecting the dynamics of affection.

Secuoya’s Playbook

“Streamers are searching for massive content material however at a cheaper price,” Secuoya Group president Raúl Berdonés mentioned at a Content material Americas keynote. Tips on how to sq. that circle?

Windowing, he answered. “It permits platforms to [use] the content material the place they suppose it would work finest, and producers to retain IP and promote elsewhere.”

That and different methods look set to be explored Feb. 19 at a panel on Secuoya Studios, which has skillfully leveraged value differentials. For instance, Secouya’s “Zorro,” set in 1837 California, was bought to Prime Video for North and Latin America and shoot within the eco- nomically useful Madrid and the Canary Islands.