John Hopewell

Spanish actors Joana and Mireia Vilapuig, who rose to fame with Spanish television phenomenon “The Red Band Society,” star in the drama series “Selftape,” which they co-wrote with Ivan Mercadé, Carlos Robisco and Clara Esparrach. The show plays at Series Mania this week ahead of its bow on the Spanish VOD platform Filmin on April […]

U.K. producer Nicola Shindler received on Tuesday the third Women in Series Award at Series Mania, Europe biggest TV festival.  Few awards seem such just reward. From serving as a script editor on “Cracker” (1993), Jimmy McGovern’s breakout, to producing his “Hillsborough” (1995) and executive producing “Queer as Folk” (1999) which heralded Russell T. Davies […]

Uruguay-based Agustina Chiarino, one of the drivers of the new Latin American cinema industry and at the forefront of pan-regional co-production, is kicking-off early projects at her recently launched production-distribution company Bocacha Films.  Chiarino attended last week’s Malaga Film Festival edition to present Pablo Solarz’s official section contender comedy “Desperté con un sueño” (“I Woke […]

Brazilian media titan Globo bowed its ambitious doc series “Extremists.br” to market audiences in Berlin last month alongside a slate of equally promising emerging concepts. With sights now set on France, the telenovela and docu-centered powerhouse readies for buyers at Series Mania. Directed by journalist and documentary filmmaker Caio Cavechini (“Marielle – The Crime That […]

Everyone says: “I love you,” at least in Lille, where Japanese star Tomohisa Yamashita – in town to promote “Drops of God” – brought fans to tears. With one admitting that thanks to his 2005 series “Nobuta Wo Produce,” where he played the character of Akira, she decided not to commit suicide 14 years ago.  […]

French TV festival Series Mania started out playfully with a slew of humorous digs directed at its starry guests during the opening ceremony, including Brian Cox, back in town to hold a masterclass and introduce the latest episode of his smash hit “Succession.” “I didn’t have time to watch Season 3. I have to see […]

High-flying Access Entertainment, a division of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and equity investor in A24 and “His Dark Materials” producer Bad Wolf, is investing in “Red Skies,” one of the biggest titles set to world premiere at this year’s Series Mania, in main International Competition.   Blavatnik and Danny Cohen, Access Entertainment president, will serve […]

Confirming the increasingly strong interest by international buyers in Spanish animated features, Pink Parrot Media has scored a bevy of key European pre-sales on upcoming Spanish family adventure toon film “4 Days Before Christmas,” led by deals with Splendid in Germany and Kaleidoscope in the U.K. Produced by Spain’s 3Doubles Producciones and Capitán Araña with […]

MALAGA, Spain —  “My Parents’ Great Bazar,” from “Ane is Missing” co-scribe Marina Parés, bio “Costus,” on the iconic Madrid Movida artists, and “Villa Futuro,” a queer old age drama from “Locked Up” star Alberto Velasco, all feature among eight winners of Tell Us the Stories That Nobody Tells, a diversity drive contest for movies and […]

The Mediapro Studio is teaming with Spanish director Jorge Dorado and author Cuca Canals on detective thriller “The Young Poe” in a bid to build a second English-language international franchise on the heels and of the scale of “The Head,” sold to 90-plus territories and TMS’ biggest breakout hit to date. Enrolling one of the […]