Spanish Companies Gear Up for DISCOP

BUDAPEST: Twelve Spanish firms are in place for DISCOP, seven of which will be located at the Audiovisual from Spain pavilion.

In the way of animation, Cromosoma is presenting the 52×30-minute Lila. Trini Cuevas, the head of distribution at Cromosoma, said: “We are very pleased to have long-term clients in this region that have acquired our classic series and continue to renew the licenses remaining loyal to our characters. At the same time this is a very challenging market where every year there are new players and new opportunities. Our last production Asha was very well received in the last DISCOP. This year we are launching our new series Lila and we are very excited to bring it to this market.”

Neptuno Films is highlighting Megaminimals, a 104×7-minute series, and Chuck Chicken, a 52×11-minute property. Neus Viciana, sales executive at Neptuno Films, said, “DISCOP is a very good market, we used to make good deals and we always know new companies in the area. Our global evaluation of this market is very positive.”

Edebe is presenting the 26×26-minute Four and a Half Friends, the 76×11-minute 4 Angies and the 52×15-minute Robot Chipa. Ivan Agenjo, Edebe’s sales director, commented, “Eastern Europe is a growing market for us. This year we promote at DISCOP our junior detective series Four and a Half Friends, based on books by German author Joachim Friedrich. The books have become a bestseller in many Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Serbia or Slovenia, so we hope the animation series will have a similar good response from the market.”

Motion Pictures’ top titles include Glumpers (104×2 min.), Van Dogh (104×4 min.) and the eight-part documentary Canary Islands: Biodiversity Redoubts. Xavi Mas, Motion Pictures’ head of sales, remarked, “Eastern Europe has always been a key potential market for us as it allows us to grant exposure to our content both by punctual sales but also and most important through interesting output deals.”

Mediaset España, a result of the merger between Tele 5 and Cuatro, highlights the dramas Angel or Demon and Wolves Land, and the factual-entertainment show Extreme Challenge. Silvia Cotino, the head of international sales at Mediaset España, said: “The purpose of this year attending DISCOP is to present the catalogue of the new productions of Mediaset España. Is the first time we attend to a market with our new brand. Mediaset España is a national television network that produces broadcasts and distributes audiovisual contents. The group has six channels: Telecinco, Cuatro, La 7, FDF, Boing and Divinity. Own production, TV series and factual entertainment are the pillars of the channels. The two majors channels are Telecinco with a broad experience in fiction. The new titles are: Angel or Demon, Pirates and Wolves Land. In the other side is Cuatro a young channel committed to innovation. All of this succeeds in creating a dynamic and young content focus on factual entertainment. Some of the titles of Cuatro are Extreme Challenge, 21 Days and Streetwalkers: Travellers.”

Expressive Media Project is coming with the documentary Spanish Wine Cathedrals and the animated The Treasure of King Midas. “Being the commercial branch of the Basque Public TV, we have a very large catalogue of concluded programs mainly dealing with animation, fiction and documentaries. We believe that our programs might be quite suitable and appealing for many of the TV channels of Eastern European countries,” said Aiala Fernández, the international sales manager of Expressive Media Project.

Vertice Sales’ highlights include the travel and adventure series A World Apart, the wildlife show Wild Connection as well as the thriller Karabudjan, the drama The Princess of Eboli and the comedic film Lovestorming. Managing director of Vértice Sales, Gonzalo Sagardía, commented: “The number of TV stations in Easter Europe and an increasing number of alternative platforms for content distribution are important reasons for participating in this market. Vértice Sales wants to satisfy the need for international content across the region, Vértice Sales is betting hard on the DISCOP Budapest 2011 market with a strong slate of documentaries, films and TV formats. Titles like A World Apart, Wild Connection, Mennonites, Alone in Paradise, The Dare of Garamba, Karabudjan, The Princess of Eboli, The Anthill, Lovestorming, Retornos and May Blood, are part of its varied and comprehensive catalogue. Vértice Sales also handles international rights for the upcoming films Solo and Automata—Antonio Banderas’s next projects—Game of Werewolves, Amor de Dios, Children’s Corner, Dead Perros, Baztan and After Party.”

Imagina is headed to Budapest with the adventure series The Boat, as well as the historical drama mini-series Ermessenda, The Queen of Kings. “The goal for this market is to establish new contacts, strengthen existing relationships and promote our catalogue in each one of the territories. During DISCOP we hope to close new deals especially for The Boat, Ermessenda and Countdown,” said Barbora Susterova, sales executive at Imagina International Sales.

Latido’s DISCOP slate includes the animated movie Free Birds and the doc musical Morente. Juan Torres, the international sales manager, noted: “This is our first time at DISCOP. We already deal with several partners from Eastern Europe but we are convinced that attending this key market will be a perfect way to start to approach better the region. We know that our catalogue with more than 130 feature films and documentaries has a strong potential there.”

Cromosoma, Edebe, Latido, Motion Pictures, RTVE, Telecinco y Cuatro and Vertice are all located at the Audiovisual from Spain pavilion. Expressive, Imagina, Neptuno, Televisio de Catalunya and Filmax will be presented independently.