Directors of Iberseries Platino Industria: A milestone that we will honor is bringing together financial funds from America, Europe and Asia

‟One of the milestones that we set out to do at the beginning of the programming design, was bringing onboard the main financial funds from America, Europe and Asia in an international event, and we honored it,” said Juan Alía and Samuel Castro in #PRODUprimetime with Ríchard Izarra, both directors of Iberseries Platino Industria, IPI, which kicks off face-to-face in Madrid this Monday the 27th after more than two years of preparations, after being interrupted by the pandemic.

PRODUCTS A SAFE BET
‟The key to the participation of these funds also lies in the changes in the financing model of audiovisual projects, both cinematographic and series, whether from Spain or Latin America. Large investors and funds have started to consider audiovisual products as safe to bet on. They have become key to financing many audiovisual projects. That great model or that transformation of the financing of content is what we want to highlight at IPI, and that is why this is one of the most outstanding and noteworthy sessions,” added Samuel Castro.

SEQUOYA AND EGEDA
Ri: I must say that Samuel Castro Hansson, artistic co-director and executive of Iberseries Platino Industria, IPI, has long been linked to the Madrid Film Commission, and to the organizations that promote the audiovisual industry in Spain, such as Film Madrid, AMA, Asociación Madrileña Audiovisual, and ALIA, Alliance of the Audiovisual Industry. Now he is part of the Secuoya Group (50% owner of the event) and is firmly in this position, appointed by Secuoya, to promote and coordinate it. And Juan Alía, with the same position of artistic and executive co-director, has directed since 2008 the Marketing department of the Entity for the Management of Rights of Audiovisual Producers, Egeda (the other 50% of IPI), and general coordinator of the Platino Awards Ibero-American cinema, and the José María Forqué Awards. He is in charge of managing VEO digital platforms, movie promotion and viewing sites for professional and commercial use.

BUILDING BRIDGES
‟There is a decided commitment that emerged two years ago from the Secuoya Foundation to promote and carry out the first international film festival in Spanish and of series, which unfortunately in 2020 was going to be held in Granada, but was suspended due to the pandemic. We had to program some of the activities virtual, but not with all the ambition that we would have liked to carry them out. But this year we resumed thanks to the alliance with Egeda, and Premios Platino, and that part of Platino Industria, which last year was also truncated, and we decided to join efforts and common objectives, since both entities Secuoya Foundation and the Secuoya Group, as well as Egeda, have an intrinsic relationship, a will in their DNA to build bridges and ties between all countries and industries linked to the Ibero-American sphere, and that is our objective,” added Samuel Castro.

MEETING POINT
‟The truth is that we are very happy. We already have more than 200 panelists, more than 1,500 accredited attendees. More than 800 projects from 22 countries have been presented to the pitching, we have more than 50 stands on the market, plus another 30 that are virtual. We are really excited about what is going to be the first edition of Iberseries Platino Industria, and with the intent to become the main meeting point for all Ibero-American audiovisual industry. And in that line we have been working: to have the main distributors, buyers, all the producers, who will meet in person here in Madrid, and for those who have not been able to come because of the covid they will be able to do so digitally through the IPI ON application, where they will be able to interact with different personalities of the industry,” Juan said.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
RI: I will be present during the event, where on Thursday the 30th I will be moderating a face-to-face talk with two senior executives from WarnerMedia. I understand that it will be held in Mataderos, north of Madrid …
SC: ‟It is in one of the city’s iconic places: Mataderos Madrid has been most closely linked to the field of audiovisual culture in the city and in the Madrid area. Public entities such as the Madrid City Council and the Community of Madrid have made IPI possible. In a difficult year and with an ambitious bet, without government support it would not have been possible. Our intention from minute 1, especially in the field of serial audiovisual content, was to display it in a space that would be at the level of a class A film festival, to which cinema and film companies have always had access in their own right, while series have not. The exhibition, on the other hand, will not take place in Mataderos, but in cinemas in Gran Vía. That is one of the great news or great advances that we are offering in this edition of IPI. The Capitolio and Callao cinemas theaters on Madrid’s emblematic Gran Vía street, always so closely linked to the field of cinematography, will host the premieres of chapters one and the exhibitions linked to the Platino Films section.”

STAR SYSTEM
‟We must highlight the role that our Ibero-American series have reached. If we look at the large platforms, which are the most consumed content lately, we see that there are great Ibero-American titles that compete head-to-head with American blockbusters and we are increasingly used to seeing La Casa de Papel, Who Killed Sarah? to name a few examples. But there are many, and luckily, I think a great goal is being achieved thanks to the success of our series: creating an Ibero-American star system. Today great personalities of our industry are widely known thanks to our series: Álvaro Morte, Alba Flores, they are not only a great reference here in Spain, but on the other side of the Atlantic and this has been thanks to the weight that series have gained. In that sense, Capitulo Uno (which is called the premiere of the first episodes of the series during the event) generates great interest and is going to have an impact. Madrid is going to have the luck and the privilege of being able to see the first seasons and episodes of great Ibero-American series; and not only see the episodes, but also their stars in movie theaters such as Capitolio and Callao which, after a very complicated year, will be the focus for a week and Gran Vía will be the axis of Madrid when these great chapters are exhibited”, added Juan.

IBEROAMERICA LEADING ROLE
He continued: ‟We look forward to a very promising future. More and more highly successful Ibero-American series are being produced; our actors, directors and scriptwriters are becoming known and more relevant, which is the thermometer to measure how well we are doing. And if we take into account how our cinema is doing, despite the parenthesis due to the pandemic, and see how many productions have taken place each year: in 2014 we were around 600 productions and it was going up until 2019 that we reached 1,000 with the series. We see an evolution in terms of the number of productions, not only in Spain. Colombia is a country that has greatly promoted all audiovisuals. In the Dominican Republic, Peru is greatly increasing the number of productions and that is the best sample. And looking at big festivals, and the films that have won international awards, we are more and more used to seeing these films awarded. If we look at the winners of the last editions of international festivals, we see that Ibero-America has been the great protagonist.”

ANSWERS TO THE FUTURE
‟We promote an event where many of the answers about the future could be found here thanks to the leading players and top-level professionals who participate. They are at the forefront of the industry. That has been our goal with IPI, and I hope it will continue to be throughout the years. Our intention is to put a value on everything that is happening at this moment. That is why we have tried from the beginning to facilitate, in the best possible way, the presence in situ of the members of the industry, but also online. We hope that all thinkers linked to this sector come together in an event to try to find answers to the questions that arise now, but also those that may arise in the future. It was for those professionals that we design and for whom we strive and work every day, Juan and I, and the entire team behind us that have made this meeting possible, which we hope will be one of the most relevant audiovisual, cinematographic and content events of Ibero-America, and the world. This is possible thanks to the great moment that the Ibero-American audiovisual industry is experiencing now”, they stated.

Watch interview here