Marta Ezpeleta
The Mediapro Studio is attending MIP Cancun with all the contents of its distribution catalog that are part of great franchises, such as The Head, Express and The Paradise, productions of the Studio in Latin America, such as Las Pelotaris 1926, Primate, Las Bravas and Cromosoma 21, films such as El 47, Utama, Hunting Ava Bravo or Give Me Your Eyes and non-scripted content that include formats that are long-term franchises like El Conquistador and Atrapame Si Puedes.
Regarding the projects that are currently in production in Latin America, Marta Ezpeleta, Head of Distribution, International Offices, and co-Productions at The Mediapro Studio, mentioned Cometierra, based on the novel of the same name by Dolores Reyes, created and directed by Daniel Burman for Prime Video, a supernatural fiction, and magical realism drama about a girl from the suburbs of Mexico City who acquires the superpower to communicate with the Earth and solve crimes, and Consuelo, a co-production with ViX, created by Juan Carlos Aparicio Schlesinger and Mateo Stivelberg Botero, which revolves around a Mexican high society woman in 1955 who, much against her will, is forced to get involved in female sexuality in order to support her family.
Among the content distribution agreements that have recently been finalized in the region, Ezpeleta mentioned the action thriller Give Me Your Eyes, by the producer Gary Auerbach and made by the same team responsible for Hunting Ava Bravo, whose rights have been acquired by Prime Video in Latin America; the black comedy Nasdrovia, starring Leonor Watling and Hugo Silva, that will be released in the US after its acquisition by FlixLatino from SOMOS Group and the documentary Messi, directed by Alex de la Iglesia, that has been acquired by Flow to be aired in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Ezpeleta commented that this has been a year of important fiction releases for the Studio, such as Las Pelotaris 1926, the first fiction partnership with ViX; the supernatural thriller Romancero, which just had its debut on Prime Video worldwide and El Otro Lado, new fiction by Berto Romero that offered a combination of terror with touches of comedy, as well as the second season of Iosi, el Espia Arrepentido, which has just been released on Prime Video. “Additionally, we have started shooting Consuelo and Cometierra, and we have a new film, El 47 in postproduction” she mentioned.
In non-fiction, the Studio has also had new developments, such as the arrival of El Conquistador to RTVE’s primetime, “a successful format that has had 20 seasons on the Baque TV ETB and that has now leaped to a national level”. Also, the release of El Musical de Tu Vida, a format that arises from the partnership with the Belgian distributor Be-Entertainment, “that has succeeded in the primetime of Mediaset Spain”. They recently launched in Spain and Portugal another format of that distribution company, Finger$ Keeper$.
As for their position on the debate of keeping the IP or leaving it, Ezpeleta expressed that it depends on each production and that there is no fixed model. “We are very flexible and that allows us to work both with our own IPs and in large co-production agreements. Truly, literary IPs are very important for our strategy, acquiring the adaptation rights of pieces as we have done with El Día que se Perdió la Cordura, the novel by Javier Castillo, which has been a best-seller worldwide” she added.
When consulted on what is coming for 2024 regarding trends, Ezpeleta feels that “in fiction, thriller contents and those that have a strong female presence will continue attracting huge interest. Also, content aimed at young adults with new proposals and there is huge interest in non-fiction content, with new formats and the updating of classic titles, both for generalist channels and streaming platforms”.
As for her position on sustainability in the content industry, she mentioned that The Mediapro Studio has “rigorous sustainability protocols in all its shootings. It is an essential topic, both in the Studio and in the Mediapro Group, that has a specific area on Sustainability. In our case, we have examples like the series Primate, awarded in Colombia for its sustainability practices” she mentioned.
To end, she explained that all the technological advances artificial intelligence and ChatGPT- generate unrest and it is necessary to have regulations. However, she admits that “we cannot close the door to technological evolution because it is a reality now. Our obligation is to protect creative talent. That is why we conceive AI as a helpful tool, not one for creation. For example, it can be very useful in technological post-production processes, such as visual effects VFX, in localizations, in art direction, or in marketing”.
