TV Latina Screenings Festival: Leonardo Padrón & José Ignacio Valenzuela

The first day of the TV Latina Screenings Festival included Leonardo Padrón, creator of Netflix’s Pálpito, and José Ignacio Valenzuela, creator of the streaming giant’s ¿Quién mató a Sara?, who talked about how they’ve evolved through their productions’ many themes.

In conversation with Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari, editor at TV Latina, which you can see here, Padrón talked about his experience working with Netflix: “When I got the call, the news was like a happy, personal earthquake. Being a voracious consumer of series on streaming, it was clear that there was a completely different narrative code from telenovelas, which was something I had been doing for decades. [Working with a streamer] is an exercise in condensation, and you need to have the ability to hook the audience from the very first scene and tell them, ‘You can’t let me go.’”

Speaking on his experience with Netflix, Valenzuela, who got his start writing novelas in Chile, said: “It’s been a great challenge. I had almost 28 years of experience with novelas and as a writer when I got invited by Netflix. I felt like an amateur when I saw the new way they were telling stories. I felt like I had to learn to write all over again. I adopted the view that I didn’t have the right tools, so I enrolled in university to study writing for series. It was something very specific that helped me refresh concepts, solidify what I already knew and learn new things.”

Padrón also speaks on the recent launch of Pálpito, while Valenzuela talks about the third season of ¿Quién mató a Sara?, among other topics.

Click here to see the full interview.