Movistar Plus+ Partners on Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s New Film “Los domingos”

Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s latest project has new support…

Movistar Plus+, Spain’s most-viewed pay television operator, is partnering on Los domingos, a new film from the 46-year-old Spanish filmmaker and Lullaby director and the producers of that critically acclaimed film.

Alauda Ruiz de AzúaA Movistar Plus+ Original, Los domingos is set in and will shoot in Ruiz de Azúa’s native Basque country, said Nahikari Ipiña at Sayaka Producciones.

Now in development, Los domingos is produced by Movistar Plus+ and Sayaka and Marisa Fernández ArmenterosBuenapinta Media, Sandra Hermida at Think Studio and Colosé Producciones and Manu Calvo.

Los domingos is a co-production between Movistar Plus+ and four producers and as independent producers for us that’s important,” Fernández Armenteros said at Cannes.

Los domingos, which shoots in the first half of 2025, is a drama, although plot details are under wraps.

“It is such luck to accompany Alauda in Los domingos after Lullaby success with audiences and critics. We are moved again by her talent in picturing the contradictions of her characters, and her unique visions when depicting life,” Los domingos’ producers said Friday in a joint statement.

Sold by Latido, and bowing in Berlin’s 2022 Panorama section, Lullaby swept Spain’s Malaga Festival, taking eight awards including best picture, a rare achievement.

Endorsed by Pedro Almodóvar as “undoubtedly the best debut in Spanish cinema for years,” Lullaby was distributed in Spain by BTeam Pictures. It over-performed notably in Spain, grossing €823, 933 ($880,847) at theaters, before scooping three Goya Awards, including best new director and gongs for both main actresses, Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez.

“Movistar Plus+ wants to bet on auteurs with a key vision but also the potential to reach a broad public, and ‘Los domingos’ is a case in point,” said Guillermo Farré, Movistar Plus+ head of original films & Spanish cinema.

Los domingos will be a Movistar Plus+ Original “but Movistar Plus+’s strategy when it produces films is to co-produce,” he added.

Elena Trapé to Direct Coming Soon’s Series “Gwendolyne, Diario de Una Fan”

Elena Trapé is fan-girling

The Spanish filmmaker, whose character-driven ensemble pieces Blog and The Distances marked her as a talent to watch, is attached to direct Gwendolyne, Diario de Una Fan, one of two series being brought onto the market at Ventana Sur’s Spanish Screenings by Barcelona-based Coming Soon Films.

Elena Trape, The screenplay for Gwendolyne, Diario de Una Fan is by Marta Buisán, Jordi Casado and Miguel Ibánez Monroy.

Gwendolyne, Diario de Una Fan’s titular protagonist, now 30, had one of the times of her life – one of the only times of her life – when 15, she was chasing the Sexy Gods, her favorite boy band, around Barcelona, just as they dissolved. Now, however, they’re about to get together again; which she sees as a solution to all her life problems: Useless studies, a dead-end job; a d***head boyfriend, a flat share with her distant and conniving boss.

As her life plunges into life crisis, Gwendolyne thinks that everything will be solved if she gets back stage with the back-on-stage Sexy Gods. That, however, is a misconception.

“This is an absolutely necessary coming-of-age tale, with a protagonist whom we haven’t seen before,” commented Trapé.

“I’ve always been a big fan of scripted British TV,” she added, praising how it “moves between documentary and film, achieving a perfect balance  between veracity and cinematic aesthetics. I love how it risks with its cast, shoots on locations, the light, the hand-held camera, the narrative drive, and above all, how it gets us to identify with its characters, their pains, lives and emotions,” she added, citing Pure, I May Destroy You and Fleabag.

“‘Gwendolyne’ is a comedy of clear female leads, with a lot of music and in which sisterhood plays a key role,” added Coming Soon.

Trapé’s Blog won a Special Mention at San Sebastian Film Festival’s La Otra Mirada prize; The Distances swept Malaga’s Golden Biznaga for best picture as well as director and actress (Alexandra Jiménez) in 2018.

Produced by Coming Soon, Trapé’s next feature, Els encantats, with Laia Costa (Lullaby), shot this summer.

A BCN Showrunners alum, Buisán formed part of the production team on two series from Catalan public broadcaster TV3, El Gran Dictat and La Riera. A dramatist-actor-screenwriter, Casado wrote and directed theater plays Vivo and en-Cadena, and took part in collective creation a-Gig-a-Byte, staged at London’s Rose Theatre.

A graduate of Barcelona’s famed ESCAC film school, the alma mater of J.A. Bayona, Ibañez Monroy co-wrote TV3 series Cites (2016), and Trapé’s The Distances and Els Encantats, as well as Carlos Martín’s El año de la plaga and Laura Alvea’s La mujer dormida, now shooting for Coming Soon.

HBO Europe Releases First Trailer for Isabel Coixet’s “Foodie Love”

Isabel Coixet is spreading the (foodie) love

HBO Europe has released the first trailer for the 59-year-old Spanish film and television director’s drama Foodie Love and set a premiere date.

Isabel Coixet

The WarnerMediabroadcaster is to launch the series, which features Laia Costa, star of German crime feature Victoria, and Cromo and Supermax star Guillermo Pfeningin December across Europe. 

Foodie Loveis an eight-part, half-hour series about the relationship between two food lovers who meet through a mobile app.

Costa plays one half of the couple whose relationship is forged between courses. She plays a thirty-three-year-old book editor, smart, and somewhat suspicious of relationships. Argentinian actor Pfening plays the other half, a successful mathematician, cultivated, and at times a little naïve.

The two thirtysomethings embark on getting to know each other with the doubts of those who retain the scars of previous relationships. Over several dates they’ll have to discover if their common devotion to Japanese yuzu or shared distaste for foodie pretension are enough to build the foundations of a lasting love story.

In Spain, where the series marks HBO Europe’s first original out of the country, it will launch on December 4 and will roll out across the rest of the continent on December 25.

HBO Europe operates a slew of linear and digital services including SVOD services in Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal as well as linear networks across Central Europe. In the Baltics,HBO content is available via partner Telia in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The series is Coixet’s first television series; she previously directed Emily Mortimer-fronted feature The Bookshop. It is produced by Miss Wasabi Filmsand filmed in Spain, France, Rome and Tokyo. Real restaurants, cafes and bars will provide the backdrop for the couple’s dates. 

Orion Classics Acquires Rights to Laia Costa’s Self-Discovery Drama “Maine”

Laia Costa is ready to share her Maineevent with audiences…

Orion Classics has acquired North American and Latin American rights to the self-discovery drama Maine, starring the 33-year-old Spanish actress and Thomas Mann.

Laia Costa in Maine

The Matthew Brown-helmed film, which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival,  will now hit theaters on December 13 ahead of a digital launch the next day.

Costa plays a married Spanish woman named Bluebird who attempts to hike the entire Appalachian Trailsolo to find clarity. Her solitude is interrupted by a young American hiker (Mann), and they develop an emotional and romantic connection while traveling together. But Bluebird ultimately must face the trail and her feelings alone.

Brown wrote and directed the film.

Costa Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Laia Costa has new representation…

The 31-year-old Spanish actress  has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME).

Laia Costa

Costa recently starred as the title character in Sebastian Schipper’s critically-acclaimed Victoria, a film almost entirely improvised by the actors and shot in one single take.

She also plays the lead in Drake Doremus’ The Newness, opposite Nicholas Hoult, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

Previously, Costa had the lead role in the Russian film Fort Ross, directed by Yuriy Moroz and has also starred in Palm Trees in the Snow. She has worked extensively in her native country on local television shows like Cities, the Spanish remake of Brit TV series Dates, CarlosRey Emperador and Polseres Vermelles. She also stars in Matthew Brown’s upcoming title Maine and Martin Hodara’s Neive Negra.

Her performance in Victoria has earned her a Lola Award (Germany’s equivalent of an Oscar) as well as a Gaudi Award for Best Actress. She’s also been nominated for a European Film Award for Best European Actress.

Costa is one of five actors competing for the coveted 2017 BAFTA EE Rising Star Award next month, alongside actors Ruth Negga, Lucas Hedges, Tom Holland and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Costa Earns European Film Awards Nomination for “Victoria”

Laia Costa has earned her first-ever European Film Awards nod…

The 30-year-old Spanish actress has earned the nomination for her starring role in Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria.

Laia Costa in Victoria

Costa is nominated in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of the title character in the film, which was shot in a single take.

Victoria centers on a runaway party girl, who is asked by four friendly men to join them as they hit the town. Their wild night of partying turns into a bank robbery.

Costa is up against Margherita Buy, Charlotte Rampling, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz.

Costa’s other film credits include Tengo ganas de ti. Her television credits include Carlos, Rey Emperador, Bandolera and The Red Band Society.

The EFAs will be announced in Berlin on December 12.

Here’s a look at all the nominees:

EUROPEAN FILM 2015
A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Sweden, France, Germany, Norway
Written & Directed by Roy Andersson
Produced by Pernilla Sandström

MUSTANG
France, Germany, Turkey
Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Written by Deniz Gamze Ergüven & Alice Winocour
Produced by Charles Gillibert

RAMS
Iceland, Denmark
Written & Directed by Grímur Hákonarson
Produced by Grímar Jónsson 

THE LOBSTER
UK, Ireland, Greece, France, Netherlands
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou
Produced by Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Ceci Dempsey & Yorgos Lanthimos 

VICTORIA
Germany
Written & Directed by Sebastian Schipper
Produced by Jan Dressler 

YOUTH
Italy, France, UK, Switzerland
Written & Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Produced by Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima & Carlotta Calori 

EUROPEAN COMEDY 2015
A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Sweden, France, Germany, Norway
Written & Directed by Roy Andersson
Produced by Pernilla Sandström 

THE BÉLIER FAMILY
France
Directed by Eric Lartigau
Written by Eric Lartigau, Victoria Bedos, Stanislas Carre de Malberg & Thomas Bidegain
Produced by Eric Jehelmann, Philippe Rousselet & Stéphane Celerier 

THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT
Belgium, France, Luxembourg
Directed by Jaco Van Dormael
Written by Jaco Van Dormael & Thomas Gunzig
Produced by Jaco Van Dormael, Olivier Rausin & Daniel Marquet 

EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY 2015
A SYRIAN LOVE STORY
UK
Directed by Sean McAllister
Produced by Elhum Shakerifar 

AMY
UK
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Produced by James Gay-Rees 

DANCING WITH MARIA
Italy, Argentina, Slovenia
Written & Directed by Ivan Gergolet
Produced by Igor Princic, David Rubio & Miha Cernec 

THE LOOK OF SILENCE
Denmark, Norway, Indonesia
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Produced by Signe Byrge Sørensen 

TOTO AND HIS SISTERS
Romania, Hungary
Written & Directed by Alexander Nanau
Produced by Valeriu Nicolae, Hanka Kastelicova, Alexander Nanau, Catalin Mitulescu & Marcian Lazar 

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2015
Roy Andersson for A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Yorgos Lanthimos for THE LOBSTER
Nanni Moretti for MY MOTHER
Sebastian Schipper for VICTORIA
Paolo Sorrentino for YOUTH
Małgorzata Szumowska for BODY

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2015
Margherita Buy in MY MOTHER
Laia Costa in VICTORIA
Charlotte Rampling in 45 YEARS
Alicia Vikander in EX MACHINA
Rachel Weisz in YOUTH

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2015
Michael Caine in YOUTH
Tom Courtenay in 45 YEARS
Colin Farrell in THE LOBSTER
Christian Friedel in 13 MINUTES
Vincent Lindon in THE MEASURE OF A MAN

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2015
Roy Andersson for A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
Alex Garland for EX MACHINA
Andrew Haigh for 45 YEARS
Radu Jude & Florin Lazarescu for AFERIM!
Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou for THE LOBSTER
Paolo Sorrentino for YOUTH