Camila Misas de Amazon
Prime Video continues to produce and invest in local stories in expanding markets such as Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. In Colombia, one of the big bets is the return of Betty, La Fea, produced by Estudios RCN and starring the same actors from the original story, Ana María Orozco and Jorge Enrique Abello, but 20 years later.
“We are releasing Betty, La Fea globally because it is such an iconic, world-renowned property, and we managed to bring together 99% of the original cast. In addition, she has a litter of young boys who give the series a fresh touch,” Camila Misas, leader of Amazon Local Originals for Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, told PRODU.
The idea came from RCN after the success of the revival of the original novel during the pandemic. It was hard to convince the original cast without the performance of Fernando Gaitán. The creative team updated the story with the necessary melodrama in 20 episodes in two seasons.
The programming also includes LOL Colombia, which started very well, and they are preparing two new projects, one linked to the Colombian experience in the 80s and a film to be released in December.
Prime is producing Menem in Argentina, with Ariel Winograd as director and showrunner. The cast includes Leonardo Sbaraglia as the former Argentine president, Juan Minujín, Griselda Siciliani, Jorgelina Aruzzi, and Marco Antonio Caponi, among others.
“I think it is an excellent project coming at the perfect moment of a troubled Argentina. We also focus on a period of Menem’s life, which remembrance will bring lots of emotions to Argentines. It is not a typical biopic because the point of view achieved by Winograd is very particular and has an incredible cast,” she said.
They are also about to premiere the second season of Iosi, el Espía Arrepentido, a Burman Office production (The Mediapro Studio), set in 1994 and addressing the attack on the AMIA building; the second season of El Fin del Amor with Lali Espósito, produced by K&S, and some films now in post-production.
“We continue to trust the market. What we do in Argentina works, and people like it, as was the case with Barrabrava,” said Misas, who avoided mentioning if there will be a new season of the series.
Regarding Chile, they are betting more on films because they work very well. She highlighted the premiere of the second part of the Sayen trilogy, coming with more action, and was one of the Latin American titles that did best on the platform worldwide.
She added that they are preparing more films and a series she could not mention yet.
“We are doing a bit of everything in each country, but always with the philosophy to put the best quality before quantity. We are going to continue investing, believing in our creatives, and looking for stories with a local heart but universal enough to be seen in other markets,” she underlined.
She believes that Amazon’s boldness and its telling of different and controversial stories sets it apart from the rest of the platforms. For example, she mentioned the Colombian film Los Inicios, a thriller close to Sayen, and 1985, two Hollywood suspense films.
Misas considered that what OTTs are experiencing is unreal. Producing quantities of projects with high production values could not be sustained over time. But Prime Video, by prioritizing quality over quantity, has allowed it to continue “to be alive in the market.”
“In general, Amazon believes it is important to continue to provide local and global content, including channels, and to become an entertainment hub where you have absolutely everything.”
STRIKE IN THE US
Regarding the strike, she believes that it is a unique opportunity for the whole world to demonstrate that global content is not only American content and to continue giving opportunity to the rest of the world, which has an unmatched quality as well.
