Genre titles have impressed attendees at the Co-Production and Financing Forum of Iberseries & Platino Industria, taking place this week in Madrid.
“This year’s Forum selection seemed stronger than those of previous editions,” said Chilean producer Sergio Gándara of Santiago-based Parox, whose credits include Alicia Scherson’s Chilean Oscar submission Play and Santiago Mitre’s The Summit.
“The projects were more mature. I liked many of them, but if I had to single one out, it would be The Bend.”
The Bend is a six-part survival thriller series produced by Spain’s The Thinklab Media and created by Julio Soto Gurpide, director of the animated feature Deep.
Among the features generating interest were David Casademunt’s 1999, a Spanish-language horror thriller produced by Anonymous Content España, an alliance between the US’ Anonymous Content and Spain’s Morena Films, and Coming Soon Films, also from Spain, Why Did You Come Back Every Summer, a a dark drama based on the bestselling novel by Argentinian author Belén López, produced by Argentina’s Mostra Cine and Spain’s Atrece Creaciones, and folk horror Vuelve Siempre, Sebastiana, adapted from a story by Natalia Chávez, and produced by Mexico’s GatoDrácula Cine and The Maestros Cine, and Spain’s Argia Films.
Jennifer Fasciani, sales and acquisitions manager at Spain’s FeelSales and a 2025 Screen Future Leader, was seeking films at an advanced stage for release in 2027. She was active at the MAI market, which showcases titles from first cuts to catalogue titles. Fasciani noted the abundance of comedies and thrillers.
“Our main focus here was finding feature films,” she said, pointing out most sales companies were selling both series and features. “Several projects interest me, but I needed to see the first cuts, most of which are becoming available now, before taking the next steps.”
Fasciani suggested many of the titles she looked at had very commercial ambitions. “Perhaps that is because companies are working simultaneously in film and television,” she said. “At other markets, particularly those connected to film festivals, we tend to find a more auteur-driven selection. Here, I think projects are seeking to move closer to television and reach broader audiences.”
Two of the most popular series titles in the event’s inaugural Euro Atlantic Series Co-Pro Pitch were King Of Hearts and the second season of In Memoriam
King of Hearts is a Canadian historical drama about the young King Baudouin, his relationship with Leopold III, the independence of the Congo and his marriage to a Spanish aristocrat.
While the first season of the dramatic thriller In Memoriam was about four estranged siblings who have to take part in a series of challenges to receive a family inheritance, the second season will follow six engineers who travel to Spain. Canadian producers PassezGo and C3 Media, are looking for Spanish production partners for the season, which is so far structured as a co-production with Belgium’s Kwassa Films. Interest is understood to be high asthe first series won the main award at the Berlin TV Series Festival in 2024.
Endurance race
Workshops, keynotes and panels occupied a substantial part of the Madrid event. During Only Producers In The Building, Argentinian producer Axel Kuschevatzky, the CEO of US-Argentina-UK outfit Infinity Hill, reflected on the period of adjustment following the post-pandemic boom fuelled by the streaming platform.
“There has been a collapse in the number of buyers, both at studios and among independents,” he said. “There are signs of movement, including the recovery of theatrical admissions in the US over the past 18 months. Another issue is that the current fragmentation of the market is very difficult to navigate. Coproductions between countries used to happen more organically and were easier to put together. But anyway… this is a profession for survivors — an endurance race, not a sprint.”
During a panel called Spotlight Mediawan: Creative Independence, Global Expansion, And European Identity, Elisabeth d’Arvieu, group chief content officer and CEO of Mediawan Pictures, said: “The [acquisitions] market in the US was almost closed for the past two or three years,” she said. “It’s reopening a little. That’s good news, particularly for UK companies. We just sold 1536 to HBO in the US, and that’s what allowed us to get the show done.”
The sixth edition of Iberseries & Platino Industria brought together 1,504 participating companies, up 15% on 2025. It also welcomed 211 international buyers from Europe, the Americas and Asia, representing an 11% year-on-year increase.
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