La Ley del Mar, starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, will open the Festival on October 6, which will screen up to 45 series from 10 different countries.
The Sala Berlanga in Madrid has hosted this morning the presentation of the contents of the first edition of the South International Series Festival, the meeting that was born with the aim of bringing together the audience and the audiovisual industry in Cadiz between October 6 and 12. There will be a total of one hundred activities for audiovisual industry professionals and 62 screenings of series in different formats.
The event, which has been conducted by the director of the event, Joan Alvarez, has had the interventions of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, Arturo Bernal, and the mayor of Cadiz, Bruno Garcia. The Berlanga Hall was also attended by institutional representatives of the collaborators in this edition, whom Álvarez thanked for their commitment and support to the audiovisual cultural industry. The presentation was attended by Emilia Garrido, Director of Cultural Activities of the Unicaja Foundation; Carlos Rosado, President of Spain Film Commission and Elizabeth Lopez, Audiovisual Director of SGAE.
Contents of the first edition
After a selection from among half a thousand titles from different countries, the Internal Selection Committee of the South has selected a total of 45 series that will be the protagonists of the official programming for the public of this first edition, and are distributed in five sections of content. In addition to these, there are presentations in different formats such as previews and screenings that, in total, add up to more than sixty titles, both fiction and non-fiction.
Official fiction section
La Ley del Mar (Spain, produced by Studio60, RTVE and A punt). Based on real events, it delves into the history of the fishing boat ‘Francisco y Catalina’ from Santa Pola, which in 2006 became the first European boat to rescue 51 sub-Saharan immigrants adrift in international waters of the Mediterranean, one hundred miles from Malta. Starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, it is directed by Alberto Ruiz Rojo, with Tatiana Rodríguez heading the script team along with Víctor Pedreira.
Nolly (UK, produced by Quay Street Productions, PBS Masterpiece in association with ITV Studios). Created by Russel T. Davies, Nolly explores the rise and fall of Noele Gordon, an actress and presenter who became one of the UK’s most famous women, played by Helena Bonham-Carter. It is directed by Peter Hoar, Emmy-nominated for his direction of The last of us.
Entrevías (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and Alea Media) Cádiz will premiere the third season of Entrevías which, after its run on South Series, will return to Telecinco’s prime time with this new installment.
Carthago (Israel, produced by 24 Draft Studios) is an Israeli historical drama and war thriller set in 1942 that chronicles the rebellion of Jews in Palestine against the British. Written by Reshef Levi, Tome Shani and Yannets Levi, the series stars Uri Gov, Philip Glenister and Carolina Jurczak, among others. His acting work was recognized at the Cannes Series with a special acting award.
Galgos (Spain, Movistar + Original produced by Buendia Studios), fiction directed by Félix Viscarret and Nelly Reguera, is a series that narrates the business and family drama of the Somarriba family and Grupo Galgo, a food giant that has seen three of its generations grow. The series has an ensemble cast headed by Adriana Ozores, Oscar Martínez, Marcel Borràs, Patricia López Arnaiz and María Pedraza, among others.
Of Money and Blood (France, produced by Curiosa Films for Canal + France) arrives in Cádiz after passing through the Venice Biennale. It is based on the book of the same name ‘D’argent et de sang’ by Fabrice Arfi about one of the biggest scandals in recent French history: the millionaire carbon tax fraud.
Serrines, madera de actor (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and Producciones Mandarina), a comedy starring Antonio Resines that tells the story of a veteran actor who decides to break away from the fiction that has made him popular in order to seek what he has not yet achieved throughout his career: the role that will consecrate him in the eyes of critics.
Power Play (Norway, produced by Motlys, Novemberfilm – a Fremantle Label), awarded at Cannes Series for Best Series and Best Music Composition, will premiere its first episode in Spain. It is a comedy set in the 1970s that plays with the conventions of period television, docudrama and political satire.
Beguinas (Spain produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Studios), a new series inspired by the Beguinatos, communities of women who, since the 13th century, defended an alternative way of life independent of marriage and the Church. Starring Jon González and Amaia Aberasturi, with screenplay by Irene Rodríguez, Esther Morales, Silvia Arribas and Virginia Llera; it is directed by Rómulo Aguillaume and Claudia Pinto.
Anima Gemella (Italy, produced by Endemol Shine Italy and RTI), a gripping story of love, loss and mystery starring Daniele Liotti and Chiara Mastalli and directed by Francesco Miccichè.
Monstrous (South Korea, produced by Studio Dragon, Climax Studio and TV ING), a story inspired by a traditional Korean legend with original screenplay by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Peninsula) and Yong-Jae Ryoo and direction by Jang Kun-jae. It will be presented for the first time in Spain due to the growing interest of the public in the consumption of Korean fiction.
Non-fiction official section
Malaya. Operación secreta (Spain, produced by RTVE in collaboration with Atlantia Media), presented at the Malaga Festival, reveals unpublished details of the Malaya Case, the largest operation against political and urban corruption ever carried out in Spain and one of the most mediatic in recent years.
Bretón, La mirada del diablo (Spain, produced by Cibeles productions in co-production with RTVA) deals with the terrible case of the murder of two children in Córdoba that shocked public opinion.
Macarena (Spain, produced by Movistar Plus+ and Producciones del Barrio), which aims to vindicate the importance of this international hit of the song of the same name by Los del Río on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary.
The Murdochs: empire of influence (United States, produced by CNN Original Series), explores the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Los Galindos (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and Fénix Media) will shed light on five of the most cruel and inexplicable crimes in Spain’s black chronicle, those that took place in the 1970s at the Los Galindos farmhouse.
En guardia: mujeres contra el crimen (Spain, produced by Mediaset España, En Cero Coma, a Fremantle Label and La Colectiva), a thriller about some of the most mediatic, complex and fascinating cases investigated and solved by elite female investigators of the Guardia Civil.
El enigma Nadiuska (Spain, produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Lavinia Audiovisual) dives into the mysterious story of the biggest star of the 70’s, Nadiuska, who had it all and ended up falling into oblivion.
The Chevaline Killings: Finding the Missing Piece (France, Upside Television production), which successfully takes on a difficult challenge: to take a retrospective look at a terrible massacre that happened in France in 2012, still unsolved today.
The Man Who Stole the Scream (UK, produced by Curve Story), a British docuseries produced by Asif Kapadia, tells the story of the theft of one of the most iconic paintings in history, Edvard Munch’s The Scream, in 1994 and how, after an investigation that involved extensive international deployment, only one person was convicted: former professional footballer Pål Enger.
The end of the South Series will be linked to the next big event to be held in Cadiz: the Sail GP. The festival establishes synergies with the sailing competition, which takes over the following week and receives the premiere of a new episode of its Sail GP series. The Roosters Take Off (UK, produced by SailGP and P1 Entertainment). The series follows the Spanish team in the fourth season of the championship and shows the ins and outs of the competition and its protagonists in and out of the water.
Jewelry
South Series will give a second chance to series unknown to the general public, which have already been released and deserve to be seen. Thinking of the TV series audience, an episode of Halt and Catch Fire (United States), a technological drama that narrates the birth of the computer and Internet era in the 1980s, a time full of cultural, social and economic changes, will be shown at the Palacio de Congresos in Cádiz. Also on view will be Lola (Spain), the “definitive portrait of the life of an unforgettable artist. The Spanish docuseries reviews the career and life of Lola Flores through 44 interviews with family members, friends, journalists, researchers and current artists.
The fourth episode of Peace peace now now (Chile), a docuseries that tells stories about brave and determined women who confronted armed conflicts in Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and Mexico, will be screened and is directed by Isabel Coixet. Premiere notte (Italy), a biopic about the politician Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democrats, his kidnapping and assassination in Italy in the late 1970s.
Sul (Portugal) delves into various police investigations led by a nihilistic judicial police inspector that are complicated by the serious economic and social crisis in which the Portuguese country is immersed. And to close this section, The Bear (United States), a dramatic comedy that in its first season earned 13 Emmy Award nominations and has just released its second season.
Andalusia, protagonist in South Series
Beyond being a heterogeneous natural and patrimonial set that increasingly attracts large international superproductions, the audiovisual sector in Andalusia has experienced exponential growth in recent years, both for its professionals and its industrial fabric. That is why the community will play a special role in this first edition, both in its programming and in its industry spaces. There will be more than twenty activities featuring the talent and industry of the Andalusian audiovisual sector, with special attention to the series of the future, which are in project, and the jewels of the audiovisual, grouped in the section ‘In the South’.
Among the series selected and to be shown in Cádiz in this section are the docuseries 548 días. Captada por una secta, produced by Olmo Figueredo and José Ortuño; the animated series Pobre diablo with art direction by Manuel Sicilia; or the fiction production Grasa by David Saiz; while Canal Sur will present 13 días, directed and scripted by Hernán Zin. It will also be possible to see in Cadiz the episode of the acclaimed international series Black Mirror, ‘Mazey Day’, filmed in Andalusia with service of Fresco Films or the webseries Desde el fondo by Joaquín Perles.
Panorama
Cadiz will be the location chosen by the distributors of Atlantica, a U.S.-U.K. co-production that accompanies seven years of research and meticulous scientific work, more than forty dives and a series of exhaustive underwater scans to locate the city Plato spoke of in his stories. It is produced by Ingenio Films and Merlin Burrows.
South Series is paying special attention to Africa this year, and among the special screenings programmed in the Panorama section is Ololade (Nigeria), a drama filmed in Yoruba, which tells the story of two friends, an aging high school teacher and a car mechanic, who get money in a mysterious way. The Cadiz public will be able to discover a new window to the African continent while, for the industry, a business opportunity opens up with a thriving audiovisual industry with which it will be possible to interact during the industry days.
Two Spanish series complete this section: La red púrpura, the new Atresmedia original series directed by Paco Cabezas, which adapts the second novel of the same name in the Carmen Mola saga. It is produced by Paramount Television International Studios, with the participation of Atresmedia Televisión, and in collaboration with Diagonal (Banijay Iberia). And of the second season of Ser o no ser, which continues to bet on a luminous and naturalistic treatment when it comes to portraying the diverse realities of young teenagers in this new installment. In its first season, the series was awarded at the Prix Italia 2022, was awarded the ODA for the best Spanish fiction of the year and was nominated for the GLAAD. It is a Playz Original in collaboration with BING BANG MEDIA (The Mediapro Studios) starring Ander Puig .
In addition to all these premieres and previews of the series that can be enjoyed in the 2023-24 season on the main networks and platforms, the South Series will host previews of series that are in the process of filming, such as the second season of El inmortal, En busca de Cortés and El Marqués, a new fiction from Mediaset España. Screenings of projects that are in the early stages of production will also be shown.
