CIIF MARKET
Talks
CIIF Market 2023 has scheduled several days of keynotes and networking, in which seasoned film & entertainment professionals will discuss current trends in the film and audiovisual sector. These sessions are open to professionals and students until full capacity is reached and can be followed via streaming via in the event's Youtube channel.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 14
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Audiovisual Creators in Spain: Evolution and creative trends in Spanish fiction.
Iberostar Heritage Grand Mencey Hotel (Nivaria Room)
Leading experts and executives from the audiovisual sector will discuss how the film industry and the profession of scriptwriting have changed in Spain, in a sector undergoing a continuous transformation. The boundaries between formats are blurring amidst an increasingly global audience.
How has the creative process changed in the development of contents? Which are the good stories? Which are the differences between formats aimed at a national market and those aimed at an international market? How can creators and scriptwriters achieve greater visibility? What are the channels and platforms looking for? What is more important, the product or the creator? Is it essential to achieve recognition and awards? Does it generate more opportunities? What is the future of creative trends? What are the difficulties that new generations have in accessing the job market? ls it important to have an agent?
All these questions will be discussed in this panel, moderated by Natacha Mora, Coordinator of Canary Islands Film, the audiovisual division of the Canary Islands Government, and with the participation of different industry figures.
Moderator
NATACHA MORA
Canary Islands Films Coordinator
Degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of La Laguna, Master in Cultural Management from the Universidad Oberta (Catalonia). Until 2007, she worked as cultural manager in the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and then for the Canary Islands Government, as coordinator of the music, theater, dance and film programs. In 2013, she is appointed head of the audiovisual department of the Canarian Government. In 2015, se continues her work under a new brand ‘Canary Islands Film’ which involves other areas of the government, the film commissions, the Canary Islands Special Zone and the private sector, in charge of the internationalization, development and consolidation of the audiovisual industry of the Canary Islands.
Panelists
SILVIA PÉREZ DE PABLOS
Institutional Director of Audiovisuals, SGAE Foundation
Born in Madrid. PhD in Humanities with postgraduate studies in screenwriting at the University of Southern California with a Fulbright scholarship and a graduate in screenwriting from the ECAM. Institutional Audiovisual Director of Fundación SGAE and member of the board of directors representing the Audiovisual Association. She was a member of the board of directors of the screenwriters’ union ALMA and of the Madrid Territorial Council of SGAE. She has worked as a scriptwriter in film and television, in series such as Periodistas, Al salir de clase, Motivos Personales, La Señora or Hay alguien ahí. She has been a jury member in screenwriting competitions and as script analyst; combines his work as scriptwriter with teaching at several universities.
CONSTANZA ARENA
Executive Director, La Luz Agency
Constanza is a professional with over 25 years of experience in the audiovisual industry. She was executive director of Cinema Chile for 11 years, during this period the institution was responsible for the successful positioning of Chile in the world as an exceptional cinematography. Prior to that, she worked for more than 7 years in public television, in areas of production, programming management and acquisitions. As a teacher and academic, for Constanza “to promote is also to train” emerging professionals in the audiovisual sector to make the most of the opportunities offered by the international marketplace at each stage of the production chain.
ALEJANDRA SÁEZ CIRAC
Development Executive, Atresmedia Cine and Buendia Estudios
Currently works as development executive at Atresmedia Cine and Buendía Estudios, with professional experience in the fields of production and content. Alejandra has a degree in Audiovisual Communication and Journalism, has studied at the ECAM and later at the Carlos III University in the Master’s Degree in Film Industry Management. Passionate about everything related to audiovisual creation, she began her film career with Warner Bros. Entertainment and joined Atresmedia in 2021 working on films such as “Los renglones torcidos de Dios”, “Las leyes de la frontera” and “Mamá o papá”. Independently, she has been involved in the creation of short film or promotional projects as a producer and other positions. Within the audiovisual world, she has also gained experience in radio collaborating as a technician, producer and broadcaster in COPE, Cadena Ibérica or EDM radio.
DAVID COTARELO
Director of Development, Sequoia Studios
David Cotarelo is an executive producer and scriptwriter. He has worked in the development of series at TVE and Mediaset, and as a development director, scriptwriter and executive producer in production companies such as Big Bang, Portocabo or Plano a Plano.
THURSDAY JUNE 15
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Presentation: Adaptation of the Illumbe Trilogy by Mikel Santiago
Iberostar Heritage Grand Mencey Hotel (Nivaria Lounge)
Spanish crime novel authors cross borders and make the leap to the big screen, with the adaptation of their bestsellers. Mikel Santiago talks about the success and keys to his works “El mentiroso”, “En plena noche” and “Entre los muertos”, which are part of the Illumbe Trilogy, a masterful thriller, full of mysteries and surprising twists and turns, and which will soon be brought to the big screen.
Session led by Sydney Borjas, CEO of Scenic Rights, the leading audiovisual agency in the Hispanic market in terms of turnover in the management and sale of rights for the adaptation of literary works for television series and films, sales of original projects and development.
Sign up here to attend June 15 presentation
Moderator
SYDNEY BORJAS
CEO of Scenic Rights
CEO of Scenic Rights, leading audiovisual agency in the Hispanic market by volume of business in the management and sale of rights for the adaptation of literary works for TV Series and Films, sale of original projects and developments. Promoter of more than 200 adaptations for Series and Films: Promesas de Arena (TVE), Hernán, el hombre (Dopamine, Amazon, A&E), La Templanza (Amazon, Atresmedia), La Cocinera de Castamar (Atresmedia), Magic for Humans: Mago Pop (Netflix); Invitación a un asesinato (Netflix) Reina Roja (Amazon), Los Farad (Amazon), Zorras (Atresmedia), among others.
Panelists
MIKEL SANTIAGO
Author
Mikel Santiago was born in Portugalete (Vizcaya) in 1975. He began writing short stories and novels, and publishing his own e-books on the internet, with which he managed to reach the online bestseller list in the USA, Spain and Latin America. His acclaimed publishing debut with The Last Night at Tremore Beach (2014), was followed by The Bad Road (2015), The Strange Summer of Tom Harvey (2017), The Island of the Last Voices (2018), and the Illumbe trilogy (2020-2022) all published by Ediciones B. His titles have climbed to the top of the bestseller lists in Spain and have been published in some twenty countries, winning over readers and literary critics alike. He is currently considered one of the best thriller authors on an international level. With El mentiroso he began a series of stories set in Illumbe, an imaginary village in the Basque Country, which is also the setting for En plena noche (2021) and Entre los muertos (2022). Mikel has lived in Dublin and Amsterdam for almost a decade, and currently lives in Bilbao, where he continues to play covers with his band. In March 2023, Netflix announced a series based on “Last Night at Tremore Beach”. Several other titles are in the process of being adapted for the small and big screen.
CURRO ROYO
Showrunner, Screenwriter
Curro Royo is a Spanish film and television scriptwriter. He made his television debut in Telecinco’s VIP Noche, created in 1990 by Daniel Écija and directed by Emilio Aragón. Later he joined the scriptwriting team of Médico de Familia and Periodistas, which set his path in fiction writing. Later on, he became director of fiction content at Boca Boca, and was the executive co-producer of El Comisario. In 2000, he ventured into the world of cinema, writing El arte de morir, Menos es más and Trece campanadas. He is best known for his work on series such as the long-running Cuéntame cómo pasó, Periodistas, Médico de Familia and Las aventuras del capitán Alatriste. In 2019, he premiered, as showrunner, Hernán el Hombre, the series with the biggest budget in the history of television in Latin America. He is currently in charge of the creative directing of several international projects. In addition to his work as a scriptwriter, Curro has worked as a lecturer at the Menéndez y Pelayo, CEU San Pablo and Carlos III universities, where he also coordinates the Carlos III ALMA Master’s Degree in Film and Television Scriptwriting. He also lectures at the Madrid Film Institute and teaches courses at the ALMA writers’ guild.
ÁLVARO BENITEZ PEREA
Partner and Director of Business Development
Born in Spain, he worked for the past 6 years in Goiânia, Brazil, for EuroAmerica Incoporações, where he had the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. With analytical skills, he helped the company to solve problems and manage teams. He is currently Director of Business Development and International Relations at Plano a Plano.
Plano a Plano is an audiovisual production company specialized in fiction and entertainment. Chaired by César Benítez, who is backed by an extensive and renowned career in film and television, Plano a Plano is one of the only independent production companies operating in Spain, as it is privately owned and 100% Spanish and is not owned by any other company, corporation or investment fund. Plano a Plano works with practically all the national TV networks and platforms operating in the country. It is backed by hits such as Valeria, Toy Boy, El Príncipe, Allí Abajo and La Verdad. In addition, until the end of 2022 it produced Servir y proteger, a daily series with seven seasons of uninterrupted broadcasting.