South International Series Festival 2024 presents a programme ranging from the avant-garde of artificial intelligence to the most classic genres

Wednesday, 18 September, 2024. The Downtown Space in Madrid has this morning hosted the presentation of the programming of South International Series Fest 2024, the festival of series reference in Southern Europe, which will be held in Cádiz between 25 and 30 October, a second edition that aims to improve the good figures of 2023, announcing in the 2024 poster a total of 25 industry activities with more than 80 speakers, and, so far, 47 screenings involving platforms from Spain, UK, Portugal, Germany, France, Colombia, USA, Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil.

The award ceremony, hosted by Concha Ortiz and attended by Joan Álvarez, director of the festival; Igor Ibeas, director of programming and industry of the festival; and Carles Montiel, director of industry and programming, has also counted on the participation of the Vice-Minister for Tourism and External Relations of the Government of Andalusia, Víctor Manuel González, and the Mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García.

Álvarez, as director of the festival, thanked all the institutional representatives and collaborators for their support and commitment to the South and to the cultural and audiovisual industry, and especially to Cádiz and its province, in the form of the Diputación de Cádiz, one of the organizing entities of the festival, and it should be noted that the audiovisual sector has developed in recent years in a segment in which the province of Cádiz has much to contribute. “Cádiz is a wonderful province for filming. It has inimitable locations where production companies can find almost any conceivable scenario,” says the President of the Diputación de Cádiz, Almudena Martínez. “From the Diputación de Cádiz, we contribute to making this festival a reality, taking steps towards an industry based on culture that favors the economic diversification of our territory. In this sense, the Diputación is working on a strategy to promote the province as a filming destination and to create a provincial industry to provide services to these productions”.

In addition, Joan Álvarez has unveiled the composition of the jury 2024, since in this second edition, South International Series Festival will be a competitive edition. The fiction category will be chaired by audiovisual media expert Rémi Tereszkiewicz, who will be joined by scriptwriter and director Ramón Salazar, producer Juan Parodi and scriptwriter Virginia Yagüe. In the non-fiction category, Ángeles Gonzalez Sinde will chair a panel of experts made up of producer Anna Saura and scriptwriter and director Julio Rojas.

As for the awards of the edition, Joan Álvarez announced at the press conference that there will be a total of 7 categories to which they will be eligible: 2 for the audience (“Audience Award for the Best Fiction Series” and “Audience Award for Best Non-Fiction Series”); 2 for the “Non-Fiction” category (“Award for the Best Non-Fiction Series” and “Special Jury Award for  Non-Fiction Series”); and 3 others for the series participating in “Fiction” (“Award for the Best Fiction Series Screenplay”; “Award for the Best Cast” and “Award for the Best Fiction Series”).

In his turn to speak, the Vice-Minister for Tourism and External Relations of the Government of Andalusia, Victor Manuel González, has highlighted the contribution of this event “to the strengthening of the audiovisual industry in Andalusia and its positioning as a destination to filming”, an activity that, in addition to the direct impact on the community, “drives tourism related to the series and cinema, a deseasonalizing segment, sustainable and contributing to the distribution of travelers in the territory”.

In the same vein, the Mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García, has focused his participation in the press conference on the idea of the impact that this type of event generates in a city like Cádiz, “not only in the economic aspect, which is already huge, but also in the participation of citizens, which is one of the objectives we always seek in events like this”. The Mayor has also stressed that “the South helps us to enhance the image of a cultural city, in which the film and the series also play a role, thanks to our natural backdrop of 3,000 years of history”.

Programming:

Series of this second edition

The Director of Programming and Industry, Igor Ibeas, has announced the nearly half a hundred series that will be starring in this edition of the programme, with others to be announced in the coming days, and that once this is fully known, the organization will communicate the formula in which tickets can be purchased for all the screenings.

Official section – Fiction

The second edition of the South International Series Festival opens on the evening of Friday, October 25 with La vida breve (Spain), starring Leonor Watling and Javier Gutiérrez. Created by Cristóbal Garrido and Adolfo Valor, it is a Movistar Plus+ original series in collaboration with Zeta Studios, with a dash of comedy and the typical touches of legal conspiracy.

On the second day, it is the turn of the co-production This Town (USA/UK) and Asuntos Internos (Spain). This Town, which will be broadcast on Movistar Plus+, is the new work by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”, “The SAS Men”…) and is directed by Paul Whittington, and tells the story of four young men who want to form a successful musical band in order to redeem themselves and escape their depressed neighborhoods of Birmingham and Coventry.  On the other hand, a co-production of RTVE and Mediacrest to be seen is Asuntos Internos (Spain). A 6-episode thriller set in a police station in Madrid in the late 1970s, starring Laia Manzanares, Silvia Abascal, Nacho Fresneda, Luis Callejo, Carla Campra, Marta Poveda, Nico Romero, César Vicente, Javier Collado and the special collaboration of Manuela Vellés and Miki Esparbé.

Based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nautilus (UK) will be on view Sunday, October 27. Nautilus, which is out of competition, is written and produced by James Dormer with Michael Matthews as director and tells the origin story of Captain Nemo. This Moonriver production, is made for Disney. The main cast consists of Shazad Latif, Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont, Pacharo Mzembe, Arlo Green, Tyrone Ngatai, Ling Cooper Tang, Andrew Shaw and Ashan Kumar. It will be followed on this third day by the French production Rivages(France), a fiction directed by David Hourrègue that tells the story of Abigail, an oceanologist sent to Fécamp, her hometown, to analyze the reasons behind a mysterious shipwreck. Season 2 of the black comedy Muertos S.L. (Spain), created by Alberto Caballero, Daniel Deorador, Julián Sastre, Nando Abad and Araceli Álvarez for Movistar Plus+, will close Sunday’s fiction day. This fiction tells, through Carlos Areces, Salva Reina or Amaia Salamanca, the daily life of the Torregrosa funeral home: a family business on the brink of disaster that always manages to stay afloat.

The Festival will reach its halfway point in terms of programming with the German fiction Oderbruch (Germany), which arrives in Cádiz on Monday, October 28 after premiering at the Munich Film Festival. Directed by Christian Alvart and Adolfo J. Kolmerer, it combines a dark criminal investigation with touches of fantastic genre in an oppressive atmosphere.  Next, it will be the turn of the Portuguese series Matilha (Portugal), by João Maia, starring Afonso Pimentel and Margarida Vila-Nova, which tells the story of a good-hearted Lisbon thug who tries to rebuild an honest life with his girlfriend Mafalda. But the world of crime will tempt him again and the way out will be far from easy. Atresmedia’s El gran salto (Spain) will arrive in Cádiz to close the day on Tuesday, October 29. The new atresplayer original series, which will be out of competition, tells one of the most exciting stories of Spanish sport: the life of Olympic champion Gervasio Deferr; his road to Olympic success and his fall to hell. Actor Óscar Casas is the protagonist, José Rodríguez its creator and Roger Gual its director.

The Spanish fiction to be screened on Wednesday, October 30 has united Mediaset España and Bambú Producciones for the first time. La favorita 1922 (Spain) is a period series, which includes in its cast Luis Fernández, Verónica Sánchez or Raquel Querol. Its story links the struggle for love and love for cooking and in turn, the role of women and their strength in complicated times. Also to be presented will be Joan (UK), a drama directed by Richard Laxton and starring Sophie Turner, based on the true story of Joan Hannington, a jewel thief in 1980s Britain, who is torn between her prosperous and daring career in the stimulating world of crime and the struggle to recover her daughter from social services. The fiction will end with an out-of-competition series, Escupiré sobre sus tumbas (Colombia), a Caracol TV production, where an international cast, headed by Spanish actor Cristian Gamero and Puerto Rican Essined Aponte give life to this story of love and revenge, framed in the world of the port elite of the Colombian Caribbean.

Official section – Non-fiction

The first day dedicated to documentaries will be Friday, with the premiere of Xuxa, o documentário (Brazil), a five-episode documentary series on the life and career of the famous Brazilian TV presenter Xuxa. The following day another biopic, the documentary series about Paco de Lucía, flamenco legacy (Spain) that recognizes his talent and artistic legacy, and his work to spread Andalusian music and culture internationally through 6 chapters produced by Canal Sur Televisión and Womack Studios. Saturday will close the true crime day with the non-fiction Luz en la oscuridad T2 (Spain) from Movistar +, in which journalist and writer Carles Porta narrates crimes that have happened in recent years in Spain. The series approaches fiction for its engaging storytelling, a very careful shooting and a very refined editing.

During the afternoon of Sunday, October 27, true crime and social cinema returns with SAC. EN LA MENTE CRIMINAL (Spain) by RTVE Play, and (In)visibles (Mexico) by Ecocinema and Acnur. The former is a seven-episode documentary series that immerses the viewer in a fascinating yet disturbing world: the criminal mind and psychological and behavioral profiling. Members of the Behavioral Analysis Section of the National Police Force composed of expert psychologists put themselves in the hands of Eduardo Lopez-Jamar to bring their expertise in forensic behavioral analysis and criminology to act as guides on this journey, breaking down the complexity behind each crime.  And the second (In)visibles takes us on a journey through the lives of those who have been forced to leave their homes in search of a better future. Already on Monday, October 28, Movistar +’s La historia del Reguetón, a non-fiction produced by Mercury Studios with executive production by Daddy Yankee, will be screened, which delves into the trajectory of reguetón, a popular music of unleashing that has become the dominant sound in the music industry.

On Tuesday 29 will be screened Alive: the Andes plane disaster (United Kingdom) a series produced by ITN Productions, which counts with the French giant Banijay in its distribution, and which narrates, through the vivid and shocking testimony of the survivors, the definitive story of the heroism in the “Miracle of the Andes”, while on Wednesday non-fiction will arrive in Cádiz with Dead in the water (United Kingdom) and On this ice: Putin vs greenpeace (Russia/UK). The first, a Raw production for Amazon Prime Video in association with All3Media International, recalls the moment when a British couple was murdered during a trip through Central America in the 1970s. The case goes cold and 40 years later, their family investigates and discovers something surprising. The second is a Russian-British co-production that chronicles a daring protest on a Russian oil rig that goes horribly wrong. As a result, the activists become unwitting pawns in Putin’s war against the West and at the center of a global crisis.

Panorama

South International Series Festival puts in this 2024 special attention in Spain, and among the special passes that has scheduled are the presentations of unpublished chapters of outstanding series. La que se avecina of Mediaset España which will premiere its fifteenth season; Detective Tourè of RTVE, starring Malcolm Treviño-Sitté who gives life to a Guinean immigrant settled in Bilbao who makes a living as an improvised detective solving cases that affect the neighbors of the neighborhood; and A qué estás esperando, from Atresmedia ,is the adaptation of the successful novels “tampoco te pido tanto” and “¿A qué estás esperando?” (editorial Esencia), written by Megan Maxwell, author consolidated as an international phenomenon with more than five million copies sold in 25 countries.

Jewels

South International Series Festival created the Jewels section to give a second chance to series that, although they have already been released, deserve to be seen on the big screen.Thinking of the series-loving public, the Palacio de Congresos in Cádiz will screen an episode of Acoustic Home (Spain). This date will be Friday 25, while Saturday 26 will be the turn of Las noches de Tefía, Sunday 27 of Dieciocho, and Thursday 31 of Querer (Spain).

With Acoustic Home, a series that can be enjoyed on Max, we will know in depth 10 artists from the world of music through an acoustic concert and the narration of their own experiences. Sony Music Iberia (Premium Content), in co-production with Señor Mono, brings together Melendi, Rozalén, Vanessa Martín, Estopa… to take music off the stage for a moment and go through realities that go beyond the strictly musical. Las noches de Tefía, produced by Atresplayer, arrives in Cádiz with the American GLAAD for best Spanish-language series and the MIPCOM Diversity TV Award and tells the story of a Francoist concentration camp that existed in Fuerteventura between 1954 and 1966 and was known by the euphemistic name of Colonia Agrícola Penitenciaria de Tefía. Dieciocho is an intimate series that deals with the dreams, prejudices and loneliness of the young protagonists as they discover first love. RTVE produces this series starring Maël Roui-Berrandou and Alicia Falcó. The series Querer (Movistar +) by renowned director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa will close the series after its screening at the San Sebastian Festival. It brings us a family conflict that involves an emotional journey that will generate uncomfortable questions.

Andalusia, protagonist in

South International Series Festival

Beyond being a heterogeneous natural and heritage set that increasingly attracts large international blockbusters, the audiovisual sector in Andalusia has experienced exponential growth in recent years, both for its professionals and its industrial fabric.That is why South bets again in this second edition for the “South” section. There will be more than twenty activities starring the talent and industry of the Andalusian audiovisual sector, with special attention to the series of tomorrow, which are in the pipeline. Among the series selected and to be shown in Cadiz, are Blanca Bocanegra; El Marqués; En fin; Los Oficios del cine; El hijo zurdo; Tartessos, un reino entre dos mares or Andalucía Salvaje. The land of the Iberian lynx.

El hijo zurdo (Movistar +) is written by Rafael Cobos and based on the novel of the same name by Rosario Izquierdo. It has just triumphed in the official section of Canneseries and stars the Andalusian actresses María León and Tamara Casellas. En fin created by David Sainz is one of the most important Andalusian-produced series of the season. It is a black comedy set at the end of the world starring Malena Alterio, José Manuel Poga, Raúl Cimas and Numa Paredes. The Mediaset España production El Marqués is a series inspired by a crime that took place in Seville in 1977: its investigation leads the protagonist to different environments and characters, among them the Marqués de Bahía, until revealing how the crime was conceived. It stars Víctor Clavijo.

Tartessos, a kingdom between two seas has a large cast of leading experts in the field of research on Protohistory and their voices support this definition of historical reality, silencing or leaving in the realm of speculation how many other legends continue to make Tartessos, Tarsis or the Tarshish of the Bible, in the great landmark of our Past. In addition, the promising new director Julio Blez will present the pilot of Blanca Bocanegra, a black humor series about a technician in the audiovisual industry in the midst of the crisis of the 40s. Andalucía Salvaje, the land of the Iberian lynxproduced by Into the Wild Productions with the participation of Canal Sur Televisión, will also be shown in South. It is a documentary series that unveils the amazing world of one of our most iconic species: the Iberian lynx. It is probably the most ambitious documentary production to date about this elusive feline.

Previews

In addition to all these series premieres, which will be broadcast on the main networks and platforms in the 2024-2025 season, the South International Series Festival will also present previews of series that are currently being filmed, such as Mediaset España’s La Agencia, an adaptation of the acclaimed French series ‘Call my agent’ about life in a prestigious artistic representation agency, made in collaboration with Good Mood and with Daniel Écija at the helm of executive production;  Ella, maldita alma, from Mediaset España, in collaboration with Plano a Plano, created by Aurora Guerra, starring Maxi Iglesias, Martiño Rivas and Karina Kolokolchykova, based on a story by Manuel Rivas; Weiss & Morales is the duo of inspectors played by Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Katia Fellin, who contrast culturally, professionally and in character. It is a 4-episode procedural series co-produced by RTVE, ZDF, Portocabo, Nadcon and ZDF Studios; FOQ, the new generation of Atresmedia, a new version of the mythical series Física o Química, in which eight very different teenagers end up sharing a space where they will clash completely, but where they will also end up knowing themselves and sharing their desire to live and fall in love; and As brothers, a dramatic comedy about growing up that will lead its protagonists to all kinds of frustrations, which they will overcome thanks to their friends, the chosen family. In addition, Canal Sur Televisión will present its own previews in this second edition of South: Crimen y Ley, De Alba, 10 años sin el mito and Los Oficios del cine, the latter of which will also be presented in the SUR section.

Industry 2024

The dates for this second edition

South International Series Festival will be for the second year a meeting point for professionals of the international audiovisual industry, bringing together in Cádiz, between October 28 and 30, a hundred experts of the sector who will participate in different meetings and round tables, with the aim of turning the capital of Cádiz into an attractive and effective industry forum different from the institutionalism of other markets and festivals.

The industry, professionals and talents of the series in Spain will coincide in South 2024 with an extraordinary international cast. Turkish actor Can Yaman will be one of the international stars visiting Cádiz where he will be recognized by the festival with one of the “International Honorary SISF Member Award” that will be given in this edition. Also receiving the same award will be David Shore, executive producer and showrunner of the hit ABC series “The Good Doctor”, which has just completed its seventh and final season. Previously, he created and directed the groundbreaking medical drama “House”, which aired on Fox for eight seasons. Shore’s work on “House” earned him several Emmy nominations as a producer and won the Emmy Award for best screenplay for a drama series, as well as the Humanitas Award, the Peabody Award and the Writers Guild of America. Shore will unveil in his masterclass the secret to creating compelling and engaging stories.

Its presence in South is part of the collaboration that the festival has established with THE WRITERS GUILD FOUNDATION, an organization that preserves and promotes the profession of screenwriting in Hollywood. And in this line of new collaborators, highlights include DAMA, a management entity specializing in the collection, management and distribution of royalties for audiovisual and cinematographic works in Spain and SPAIN FILM COMMISSION, the network of film commissions and film offices in Spain that leads the country’s positioning in the filming industry.

Professionals such as Al de Azpiazu, Freemantle’s Vice President of Sales and Distribution for Western Europe, Xavier Marchand, CEO of Moon River Content, Travis Donnelly of SWG West, the president of the European Screenwriters Federation (FSE) or the producer of MD Magical Society, JJ Lousberg are part of a large delegation of international professionals of this second edition. Artificial Intelligence, the limits of “True Crime”, the women’s roles in audiovisual fiction or international co-productions with France will also be topics addressed by national and international creators in this second edition.

Referents of the audiovisual world, series and television as Aberto Caballero, Diego San José, Mariola Cubells, Julio Rojas, Arantxa Écija, Curro Royo, Néstor Hernández or Alicia Luna will analyze from different points of view the current state of the series in Spanish in the current audiovisual industry. In addition, the South will also be very present in the industry programming by the hand of SOUTH BOOST, which will promote the most ambitious Andalusian series in development phase because South is committed to the emerging Andalusian talent and the diversity of Andalusian professionals in major international productions and also own. In addition, the directors of the Malaga, Seville and Almeria Festivals will analyze the incorporation of series to their programming, in the framework of the meetings of LANDMEET, the audiovisual and digital content cluster of Andalusia.

South 2024 also puts focus on France in this edition and specifically on the international co-productions with our neighboring country. And for that reason, a large representation of professionals from the sector will arrive in Cádiz to share their business vision.

In its firm commitment to gender diversity, South will once again count on the collaboration of AAMMA, the Andalusian Association of Women in Audiovisual Media, for the organization of the meeting South Women: What do we talk about when we talk about Andalusian series? The activity will analyze the production made for platforms from the perspective of gender and Andalusian identity. Producers Pilar Crespo (Operación Barrio Inglés. RTVE) and Teresa Segura (En fin. Prime Video) will participate. The moderator will be journalist Cristina Consuegra.

The organization of South International Series Festival reminds that access to all these activities is exclusively for accredited persons, with the registration period for industry, students and press still open until October 18.

South International Series Festival is a private initiative co-financed by the Feder Andalucia 2021-2027 Program and the Junta de Andalucia, with the participation of the Cadiz City Council and the Cádiz Provincial Council as official entities. It also has media sponsorship from Mediaset España, sponsorship from Movistar Plus+, the Cadiz Bay Port Authority, and the Spain Film Commission, Fundación Unicaja, Andalucía Film Commission, Rims Mobility, with the collaboration of Canal Sur Radio and Television, Iberia and Cultura Inquieta, and the financing of CREA SGR.