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Anonymous Content broke down its production moves in Spain and Latin America here at Iberseries & Platino Industria in Madrid, Tuesday.
Barbara Teixeira, CEO of Anonymous Content Brasil and Beatriz Campo, the company’s MD for Spain, talked new projects and plans to cooperate across the Spain and Lat-Am parts of the business.
Teixeira said her priorities are at both the big and small ends of the market – and swerving the stuff in the middle. “My focus right now is things that are smaller, simple and contained in the type of story and the type of production model, or the big ambitious swings,” she said. “I think there’s very little room in the market right now for the medium ground. Things that are small and sort of simple and easy to produce and that people connect to on a simple emotional level are amazing, and then there are the big ambitious things that are going to be significant.”
She flagged an upcoming doc, Socrates, from Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles about the iconic soccer star, and an adaptation of ‘Perfect Days’, the Raphel Montes thriller about a medical student who kidnaps the girl of his dreams. They are for Globoplay in Brazil. “Both for local buyers, so they’re great opportunities for us to also take out to the international market for licensing opportunities,” Teixeira said.
Looking ahead she added: “For next year, we have three different film projects and we’re also looking more heavily into the unscripted market and also documentary stories.”
Campos joined Anonymous from Studiocanal earlier this year and said she is in full development mode. “It’s amazing to have the studio and its resources behind me to be able to differentiate myself and create things that resonate locally. But we can also transport internationally,” she told us in a separate interview following this morning’s panel. “Obviously, we are an extension of the Anonymous brand. So whatever we are creating we make sure to keep that editorial line.”
There are two films and four series out of Spain in development, each is Spanish-language except a Spanish civil war project that has international elements and is being put together with partners in the U.S. The project is English-language.
“It’s a tricky time for period projects because they’re expensive and difficult to finance. But I’ve lived in London for 16 years, so I know how well these period pieces travel,” Campos said. “If you manage to finance them, they sell internationally, so I decided to co-produce. This project has all the ingredients to perform very well internationally.”
Campo said she is on the lookout for local Spanish stories that have breakout potential. “We all believe, there’s a way to make those stories more global while responding to what the audience wants to see here,” she said.
The company’s current slate, Campo told us, holds a “very healthy mix of genres” but she wouldn’t be drawn on specifics. However, she did say if there was anything she would like to add to the slate it was “romance films and lighthearted dramas.”
She added that she is not interested in sophisticated, high-concept projects like sci-fi films.
“Those already come to us here in Spain from the international market. What we want to build here are more character-driven, grounded stories,” she said.
Asked about projects centered on social change, Teixeira said: “I think that the way that we are making things is as important as what we’re making, that’s the thing that’s super important to us, and it’s something that I think we’re starting to be recognized for locally. right now we’re developing a true crime story, and if we’re going to do true crime, it’s because there’s a bigger theme about society that we want to tell through the story.”
Iberseries & Platino Industria runs until Friday.
