Tag Archives: Lola Duenas

Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo’s Series “La mesías” Among Winners at Banff World Media Festival

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Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo are celebrating rockie victory…

The Banff World Media Festival has revealed the winners of its 2024 Rockie Awards International Program Competition, with the 39-year-old Spanish actor, director and writer and the 33-year-old Spanish actor, director and writer among the honorees.

Javier Calvo & Javier AmbrossiAmbrossi and Calvo’s Spanish family thriller series La mesías has won the Drama Series: Non-English Language.

Created, written and directed by Ambrossi and  Calvo (‘Los Javis’) that was originally released on Movistar Plus+, the series stars Macarena García, Roger Casamajor, Lola Dueñas, Ana Rujas, Carmen Machi and Albert Pla, among others.

Featuring musical, religious, psychological drama and science fiction elements, the series follows a family torn apart by the matriarch’s religious fanaticism.

The competition saw participation from 30 countries and featured 155 nominees representing 19 countries including USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Taiwan.

HBO’s The Last of Us won the Grand Jury Prize and Best English-language Drama Series. Poker Face won Best English-language Comedy Series, Family Guy won Best Animated Series and The Masked Singer won Best Competition Series & Game Show.

The International Program Competition winners include:

Comedy & Variety
The Graham Norton Show
So Television
UK

Competition Series & Game Shows
The Masked Singer
FOX Alternative Entertainment
USA

Docuseries
Boris
Woestijnvis NV
BELGIUM

Lifestyle
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
Part2 Pictures
USA

Reality Series
Wild Cooks
Avanti-Toast, Vrai, TVA, Zeste
CANADA

Podcast: Fiction
The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley and Friends
Sesame Workshop, Audible
USA

Podcast: Non-Fiction
The Other Side of the Story (L’autre moitié de l’histoire)
Radio-Canada OHdio
CANADA

Animation: Children
The Sound Collector
Eagle Vs Bat, Enanimation, Mackinnon & Saunders, ITV, RAI, Serious Kids
ITALY, UK

Animation: Preschool
Tabby McTat
Magic Light Pictures
UK

Interactive Children and Youth Content
Weirdwood Manor Vol. 2 – Rise of the Therimancer
Relish Studios, Wasabi Entertainment
CANADA

Live Action: Children
Horrible Histories
Lion Television, BBC, BBC Studios
UK

Live Action: Youth
Sofiy and Her War
Hakka TV
TAIWAN

Arts & Culture
Otto Baxter: Not A F**ing Horror Story
Story Films, Archface Films
UK

Crime & Investigative
Scandalous: Phone Hacking on Trial
Hardcash Production, BBC Panorama
UK

Environmental & Wildlife
Planet Earth III
BBC Studios, BBC America, France Televisions, ZDF, The Open
FRANCE, GERMANY, UK, USA

History & Biography
Lockerbie
Mindhouse Productions, Sky Documentaries
UK

Science & Technology
Deep Sky
Crazy Boat Pictures
USA

Short Form Non-Fiction Series
Out of the Shadows: Born from Rape
BBC News, BBC World Service 100 Women
UK

Social Issues & Current Affairs
The Shamima Begum Story
BBC Current Affairs
UK

Sports Documentary
Gods of Tennis
Mindhouse Productions, BBC Studios
UK

Animated Series
Family Guy
20th Television Animation, Fuzzy Door Productions
USA

Comedy Series: English Language
Poker Face
T-Street, MRC, Animal Pictures, Paramount Global Content Distribution
USA

Comedy Series: Non-English Language
Gorgeous (Les Bombes)
Les Productions Sovimage
CANADA

Drama Series: English Language
The Last of Us
HBO, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Playstation, Naughty Dog, Word Games, The Mighty Mint
USA

Drama Series: Non-English Language
La Mesías
Movistar Plus+, Suma Content
SPAIN

Feature Length Film
Men Up
Quay Street Productions, Boom, BBC1, Cineflix Rights
UK

Limited Series
Best Interests
AC Chapter One, BBC One, Fifth Season
UK

Short Film
The Flying Sailor
National Film Board of Canada
CANADA

Short Form Fiction Series
The Fades of Papineau (Ça prend pas la tchas à Papineau)
Trio Orange
CANADA

Best Use of Music in a Series
Yellowjackets
eOne, Showtime
USA

Emerging Talent Prize
Emilie Mannering
The Fades of Papineau (Ça prend pas la tchas à Papineau)
Trio Orange
CANADA

Prix Francophone
Les Bombes (Gorgeous)
Les Productions Sovimage
CANADA

Roger s Prize for Excellence in Canadian Content
Satan Wants You
Nootka Street Film Company, Grand Scheme Productions, 666 Films
CANADA

Grand Jury Prize
The Last of Us
HBO, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Playstation, Naughty Dog, Word Games, The Mighty Mint
USA

Roger Casamajor to Star in Movistar+’s Family Trauma Drama Series “La Mesías”

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Roger Casamajor has landed his next starring role…

The 45-year-old Spanish television, theater and film actor will star in Movistar+’s upcoming family trauma drama series La Mesías.

Roger CasamajorCasamajor joins a roster of cast newcomers that includes Macarena García and Lola Dueñas.

Other cast members include Carmen Machi, Ana Rujas, Albert Pla, Amaia, Biel Rossell and Cecilia Roth.

Debutantes are Irene Balmes, Bruno Núñez, Carla Moral, Iona Roig, Lluc Jornet, Sara Martínez, Arlet Zafra, Joana Buch and Ninoska Linares, who will play the teenage cast in the show, which is a Movistar+ production from creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo in collaboration with Suma Content.

“The casting process was spectacular,” said Ambrossi, who along with Calvo is behind shows such as La Llamada and Paquita Salas. “

We have always mixed big names with new talent and in La Mesías we are taking this to the max.”

The series, which follows Enric, a man tormented by a childhood shaped by religious fanaticism and the yoke of a mother with messianic delusions, began shooting on August 16 and will run for 22 weeks in different locations across Catalonia, Spain.

Mario Casas to Star in Netflix’s Spanish-Language “Bird Box” Spin-Off

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Mario Casas is being Box-ed in…

The 35-year-old Spanish actor will star in Netflix’s Spanish-language spin-off of its hit film Bird Box, which goes into production in November.

Mario CasasCasas will star opposite Georgina Campbell, Diego Calva, Alejandra Howard, Naila Schuberth, Patrick Criado and Celia Freijeiro in the Barcelona-set film, with Lola Dueñas, Gonzalo de Castro, Michelle Jenner and Leonardo Sbaraglia also appearing in the project.

Alex and David Pastor are writing and will direct the film, which will be an expansion of the Bird Box universe.

After a mysterious force decimates the world’s population by causing all who see it to take their lives, Sebastian and his young daughter Anna must navigate their own journey of survival through the desolate streets of Barcelona. But as they form an uneasy alliance with other survivors and make their way toward a safe haven, a threat more sinister than the unseen creatures grows.

The original film, directed by Susanne Bier and starring Sandra Bullock, attracted 89 million households over its first four weeks of release, which at the time made it the second biggest Netflix original movie.

Bird Box producers Dylan Clark and Chris Morgan are returning for the Spanish movie, alongside Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls for Nostromo Pictures.

“The original 2018 Bird Box continues to be one of the most popular films on Netflix and our new Spanish-language project presents an innovative way to expand the Bird Box universe. Alex and David Pastor presented an idea that will tell a broader story that we think that fans of the first film will enjoy,” said David Kosse, Netflix’s VP of Film for Netflix in EMEA.

“Our world has never been more interconnected. To explore the phenomenon that is Bird Box with David and Alex Pastor following people surviving in Barcelona is a timely opportunity to not only entertain but also show how dependent we all are to each other,” commented Dylan Clark.

“Bird Box became a worldwide phenomenon for being an intensely emotional story of a mother and her children fighting to survive a terrifying apocalypse. In our new chapter, our incredible filmmakers Alex and David Pastor are boldly expanding Bird Box in a globally-connected way that only Netflix can deliver,” said Chris Morgan.

“The result is an intense, unexpected survival story with familial emotion and heart. I can’t wait for audiences around the world to see the surprising mysteries that unfold on the streets of Barcelona.”

Casas’ credits include Las brujas de Zugarramurdi, El Practicante and El Inocente.

Almodóvar’s “I’m So Excited” to Open in New York & LA on June 28

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It looks like Pedro Almodóvar’s next film will be taking flight in the country’s two major markets this summer…

Pedro Almodovar

Sony Pictures Classics will debut the 63-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s “light, very light comedy” I’m So Excited in New York and Los Angeles on June 28, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Starring Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas and Raúl Arévalo, I’m So Excited – originally called Los amantes pasajeros – takes place entirely on an airplane.

I'm So Excited Poster

Almodóvar shared a trailer for the film during  retrospective of his work in London last December.

The film includes cameo appearances by Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz and Paz Vega.

Almodóvar Shares “I’m So Excited” Trailer at London Tribute

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Pedro Almodóvar is being heralded for his “heart as big as the Grand Canyon”…

The 63-year-old Spanish filmmaker was honored at an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences retrospective of Almodóvar’s work in London, which was attended by celebrities like Grace Jones, Kristen Scott Thomas and Miranda Richardson.

Pedro Almodovar

During the high-profile event, Almodóvar brother Agustin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Stephen Frears and Sally Potter were among the people offering their tributes to the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Quentin Tarantino even participated in special pre-recorded video to thank  Almodóvar  for having a “a filmography to beat.” Meanwhile, Frears enthused about Almodóvar’s ability to make everything seem natural.

“He creates a coherent world in which all of the elements fit,” he said. “It comes out of his imagination complete. I met him in New York when I was with My Beautiful Laundrette. I felt like an impostor; here was the transgressive real thing. Mine was a charade.”

A humbled Almodóvar admitted to being embarrassed by all the kind words.

“Tonight I know more about myself than ever,” he joked. “I’ve always strived to try and make life more livable with my films. It’s the homework of any kind of artistic expression. That was the lesson I learned from my mother.”

He even revealed that he’d tried and failed to nab the rights to books like The Hours, Silence of the Lambs, The Human Stain and The Reader, any of which would have been his first foray into English-language film. It’s a bridge he says he’ll likely not attempt to cross again.

“But you have to respect destiny. Perhaps I was not the one to make the movies that I now admire so much.”

And as a delight to the audience, Almodóvar shared a clip from his new film I’m So Excited, which Sony Pictures Classics will release next year. The film, which was originally titled Los Amantes Pasajeros, is the famed director’s return to comedy after a number of dramas like The Skin I Live In and Habla con ella.

The film’s all-star cast includes Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raul Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Willy Toledo, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, José Luis Torrijo, José María Yazpik and Laya Martí, with special collaborations from Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Paz Vega.

Sony Pictures Classics Acquires the Rights to Almodóvar’s Next Film

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The anticipation is definitely building for Pedro Almodóvar’s next film, even though production hasn’t even started on the project…

Sony Pictures Classics announced Tuesday that they have acquired all North American rights to Almodóvar’s new comedy currently titled I’m So Excited from El Deseo.

Pedro Almodovar

The film, an ensemble comedy written and directed by Almodóvar, is set to begin production in July and will be released next summer.

The all-star cast includes Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raul Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Willy Toledo, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, José Luis Torrijo, José María Yazpik and Laya Martí.

In addition, the film—which was previously known as Los Amantes Pasajeros—will include special collaborations from Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Paz Vega.

The Sony Pictures Classics team has a long history with Almodóvar that began with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at Orion Classics and has continued with seven films at Sony Pictures Classics , including Goya-winning film The Skin I Live In, Broken Embraces, Volver, Bad Education, All About My Mother and Talk to Her.

Vega to Star in Almodovar’s “Los Amantes Pasajeros”

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Paz Vega is reuniting with noted Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar this summer…

The 36-year-old Spanish actress has joined the cast of Almodovar’s latest film Los Amantes Pasajeros.

Paz Vega

Vega, who was born in Seville and began her acting career in Spain, starred in Almodovar’s Spanish-language film Talk to Her, which won the Oscar for best original screenplay and the a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film.

Los Amantes Pasajeros, which Almodovar also wrote, follows a group of travelers who are placed in life-threatening situation aboard a plane flying to Mexico City. The passengers are defenseless in the face of danger, which provokes colorful confessionals that are their way to put out of mind the possibility they might be about to die.

Vega, who made her U.S. debut in director James L. Brooks’ Spanglish, has starred in several Hollywood  films including The Spirit and the indie 10 Items or Less. She’ll next voice the character of Carmen in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, which opens June 8.

Along with Vega, the movie stars Javier Camara (Talk to Her), Cecilia Roth (All About My Mother) and Lola Duenas (Volver). Spanish comedians Carlos Areces, Raul Arevalo and Jose Maria Yazpik are also in the cast.

Agustin Almodovar, the director’s brother, is producing the film. It is expected to shoot in Madrid this summer and will be released in spring 2013.

Vega joined a theater school at age 16 and made her acting debut on Spanish television. Her first big-screen role was in 1999’s Zapping.

The Goya Award-winning actress, who recently replaced Almodovar’s muse Penelope Cruz as the face of L’Oreal in Spain last year, is married to Orson Salazar, with whom she has three children.