10 Emerging Spanish Producers to Watch

Spanish cinema boasts an incredible depth of filmmaking and production talent that is growing outside the traditional hubs of Madrid and Barcelona. Below, we highlight ten of the most promising Spanish producers from across the Iberian Peninsula who are worth keeping a close eye on.

Eva Bodas, Between Las Piedras (Madrid)

Bodas graduated from ECAM in Madrid, where she still works with the espirituescalera film group, and founded her own production company, Entre las piedras, in 2022. Projects at the label include the short film “La insurrección que viene” by Antonio Yamas and “Los olvidados” by Jorge Cantos. Several of the label’s titles have participated in markets at the Berlinale, Cannes and Busan, among other major international forums. The company’s first feature film, “A Suburban Mythology” by directors Antonio Yamas, Alejandro Pérez Castellanos and Jorge Rojas, will be released in Spanish cinemas later this year. Bodas says diverse She made Entre las piedras because she “felt the urge to make bold films, believing in the new generations who have a great talent to show.” She says she is particularly interested in creating political cinema with a magical element committed to expanding the boundaries between fiction and reality.

Charlie Bogosa Cortes, Mansalva Films (Madrid)

By their account, the only non-binary producer in Spain is Mallorca-born Charly Bojosa. After studying law in Berlin, Bojosa returned to Madrid and changed career paths to study cinema instead. They earned degrees in editing and documentary film, and in 2019, they released “Bobota,” their first film as director and producer. In 2021, Bojosa co-founded the live-action/stop-motion-focused Mansalva Films with David Castro. Last year, Mansalva’s first feature, “A Landscape That Is Very Quiet for Me,” won awards at DocsLisboa and DocumentaMadid, and the company’s latest animated short, “Toda Está Perdido,” was nominated for Spain’s Goya Academy Award. “I believe in films that I like to call ‘non-binary’; films that can be bigger or smaller, shorter or longer, but are a gesture that extends a hand to whoever wants to grab it. Films that are more interested in being themselves than in the genre they are meant to be.”

Jesus Chuya Zatarin, Sencio de Bellis (Cantabria, Madrid)

Jesús Chuya Zatarrain graduated from ECAM in Madrid in 2020 and has worked at Marisa Fernández Armenteros’s Buenapinta Media since 2021. During that time, he also founded Sincio de Pelis in Cantabria, and has earned credits in notable Spanish films including Aluda Ruiz de Azua’s “Lullaby,” Isabel Coixet’s “Un Amor,” and Guillermo García López’s upcoming “Ciudad sin sueño.” At the 2022 Málaga Film Festival, two short films produced by Chuya were screened, and he was recognized as a talent in Málaga. At 25, Chuya is particularly interested in telling stories that younger audiences can relate to and that “look at the blind spots of our daily lives, even when they are uncomfortable. As a young producer from a region with little production, I want to give young voices a chance to tell their stories.”

Carlota Darnell, Cornelius Films (Barcelona)

Born in Barcelona, ​​Darnell is a junior executive producer at Cornelius Films. Her first work as a producer was on the short film The Things That Divide Us by Elena Palvi Martín and Alex Gantzer, which premiered at the Málaga Film Festival in 2021. In 2023, her first feature film, Nijo Horbilac, won the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, where she returns this year as part of the Match Me! sidebar for new and emerging producers. She talks about her experience in production. diverse She is particularly interested in making films that leave the viewer with more questions than answers. Darnell does not believe in form or genre, and is particularly interested in telling stories that “affirm the sensibility of their creators and have the potential to appeal to an international audience.”

Laura Ejidos Playa, Contraria (Barcelona)

A former employee of leading Catalan production and sales company Film Factory, Ejidos has worked on major Spanish titles such as JA Bayona’s Oscar-nominated “Society of the Snow.” She is also a co-founder of Contraria, where she is financing two debut feature films: “The Day After” by Jordí López Navarro and “March 14” by Alberto Gross Molo. Ejidos recently took part in Rotterdam Lab and will be at Match Me! in Locarno this year. “I produce independent films by auteurs with commercial potential to reach audiences,” she says. diverse“I don’t look for a specific genre or topic, but rather I look for the message of the stories that affect the audience and make them think about a topic that I consider important or that concerns me. I like content that provokes thought,” she added.

Alvaro Garcia, Hampa Studio (Valencia)

A Valencian producer and creative, Garcia began his career in the UK at Enlightenment Productions and later returned to Spain as a production and marketing assistant at Telecinco Cinema. There, he worked on some of the biggest Spanish feature films of the time, including JA Bayona’s “A Monster Calls,” Álex de la Iglesia’s “Perfect Strangers,” and “Tad, the Lost Explorer,” Spain’s highest-grossing original animation franchise. In 2020, he joined Valencia-based animation company Hampa Studio, where he is responsible for development and executive producing the company. Garcia says he wants to make films that “connect with a large audience, have a strong identity as an intellectual property, create a strong world and tell a great story.” Garcia’s current animated project, “Girl and Wolf,” directed by graphic novelist and director Roc Espinet, certainly fits that description.

Sara Gomez, La Calaqueta (Seville)

A graduate of the University of Navarra’s Department of Communication, Gomez works for the Andalusian production company La Claqueta, where she served as executive producer on Rocía Mesa’s “Tabacco Barns,” which won the SXSW Audience Award, and Patricia Oretega’s “Mamacruz,” which was in competition at Sundance. Her first film as producer, Belén Funes’ “Los Tortuga,” will premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Gomez seeks to make family and comedic films and wants to work on stories about women of all ages. “Now that I’m a mother, I’m even more interested in education and I want to tell stories that teach our daughters how valuable they are in the world.”

Naty Juncal Portas, Cósmica Productions (Santiago de Compostela)

Juncal began working in the industry as a personal assistant in 2004 and has held nearly every position on the crew since, working on films such as Álvaro Gago’s “Matria,” César Soto’s “Foreign Story,” and Luis Patiño’s “Lua Vermelha.” She is currently a producer on Locarno First Look’s “Privero Condinarme.” In 2018, Juncal co-founded Cosmica Productions with Sonia Mendes, whose first film, “As Nieves,” premiered to a rave reception at this year’s Málaga Film Festival. “I can’t help but see my work as a way to contribute to society and culture,” says Juncal, who comes from a strong activist background. diverse She is drawn to auteur films, especially those directed by women directors, and even better if they are from her native Galicia.

Montse Pujol Sola, Boogaloo Films (Barcelona)

Pujol began her career at Boogaloo Films in 2018, where her credits include Miguel Ángel Blanca’s Seriesmania-winning miniseries “Autodefensa,” Elena Molina’s Malaga-winning documentary “Remember My Name,” and the short films “The Painter’s Room” and “Todos los días domingos.” Pujol’s production of “Downriver, A Tiger” is part of this year’s Locarno First Look lineup. According to the producer, “The films we produce are committed to reflecting current issues, with an invitation to internationalize young talents, without forgetting to take risks and creative and artistic perspectives.” A master of combining elements of fiction and documentary, Pujol says her goal is to produce films that inspire conversations among their viewers.

Katixa Silva, CSC Films (Vitoria)

A graduate of the University of Navarra, Silva works at CSC Films as an executive producer and independent production designer. Her previous work includes David Pérez Sanudo’s “Ane is Missing” – which won three Spanish Goya Awards in 2020; Victor Iriarte’s “Sobre todo de noche,” Marina Cereski’s “Sin instrucciones,” and Pablo Hernando’s “Una ballena,” which will premiere in Sitges in October. She is currently working on several films, including Maeder Oliga’s “Harakune” and Nerea Castro’s “Canción animal.” Silva focuses on producing stories told by female filmmakers and is particularly passionate about supporting first-time female filmmakers. “I’m interested in producing human stories that deal with the most complex emotions, regardless of genre,” she says.