Every so often a new festival launches with a specific targeted focus that sets it apart from other festivals. That is the case with the South International Series Festival, which will open on October 6th in Cadiz, Spain for 6 days as the first festival in Southern Europe to focus on TV series (both scripted and unscripted).
On Sept 20th in Madrid’s Sala Berlanga, the October 6th-12th program of around 100 activities for industry professionals and 62 screenings was announced. Hosting the presentation was the Festival Director (Joan Álvarez), while Andalusian Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Arturo Bernal), the mayor of Cadiz (Bruno García), the Director of Cultural Activities of the Unicaja Foundation (Emilia Garrido), the President of the Spanish Film Commission (Carlos Rosado), and the Audiovisual Director of the SGAE (Elizabeth López) all took part in the event.
There are two official selections, one for fiction and one for non-fiction. The official selection is a mix of new shows having their first screening in Spain and returning series premiering new seasons.
The highlights of the official selection – fiction includes:
La Ley del Mar (Spain, produced by Studio60, RTVE and A punt). Based on a true story, this series portrays the story of a boat from Santa Pola called ‘Francisco y Catalina’: the first European fishing boat that in 2006 rescued 51 sub-Saharan immigrants adrift in international waters in the Mediterranean, a hundred miles from Malta. Starring Luis Tosar and Blanca Portillo, the series is directed by Alberto Ruiz Rojo and written by Tatiana Rodríguez and Víctor Pedreira. La Ley del Mar is also opening the festival.
Nolly (UK, produced by Quay Street Productions, PBS Masterpiece in association with ITV Studios). Created by Russell T. Davies, Nolly explores the rise and fall of Noele Gordon, an actress and presenter who became one of Britain’s most famous women, played by Helena Bonham-Carter. It is directed by Peter Hoar, who was nominated for an Emmy for directing The Last of Us.
Carthago (Israel, produced by 24 Draft Studios) is an Israeli historical drama and war thriller set in 1942, chronicling the uprising 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. Their performances were honoured with a special acting award at Cannes.
The rest of the Official Selection – fiction titles are, Entrevías (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and Alea Media), Galgos (Spain, Movistar Plus+ original series produced by Buendia Studios), Of Money and Blood (France, produced by Curiosa Films for Canal + France), Serrines, madera de actor (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and Producciones Mandarina), Power Play (Norway, produced by Motlys, Novemberfilm – a Fremantle Label), Beguinas (Spain, produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Buendía Studios), Anima Gemella (Italy, produced by Endemol Shine Italy and RTI), and Monstrous (South Korea, produced by Studio Dragon, Climax Studio and TV ING).
The highlight of the official selection – non-fiction includes:
Malaya. Operación secreta (Spain, produced by RTVE in collaboration with Atlantia Media), presented at Malaga Film Festival, reveals unpublished details of the Malaya Case, the largest operation against political and town-planning corruption ever carried out in Spain and one of the most media-savvy court cases 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, which shocked public opinion.
The Murdochs: Empire of Influence (United States, produced by CNN Original Series), which explores the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Filling out the official selection – non-fiction are, Macarena (Spain, produced by Movistar Plus+ and Producciones del Barrio), En guardia: mujeres contra el crimen (Spain, produced by Mediaset España and En Cero Coma, A Freemantle Label), El enigma Nadiuska (Spain, produced by Atresmedia TV in collaboration with Lavinia Audiovisual), The Chevaline Killings: Finding the Missing Piece (France, produced by Upside Television), and The Man Who Stole the Scream (UK, produced by Curve Story).
Cadiz is in Andalucía so outside of the official selection, there is a spotlight on the region, an “In the South” section, with at least twenty activities to showcase the talent and industry of the entertainment industry of Andalucía with varied content from the docu-series 548 días. Captada Por Una Secta to an episode of Black Mirror, “Mazey Day” which was filmed in Andalucía.
But Andalucía isn’t the only region the festival is paying special attention to, Africa is also getting a focus, with series like Ololade (Nigeria), a drama filmed in Yoruba language being programmed in the Panorama section.
Additionally, the festival also is screening “encore” or “revisits” of episodes from series that have already been released. Some from series that have completed their runs, like Halt and Catch Fire (United States), or the docu-series Lola (Spain), while others from more contemporary series like The Bear, which was nominated for 13 Emmys for its first season and just premiered its second season this summer.
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