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Secuoya Studios introduced its first blockbuster Montecristo and a curated catalog

January 25, 2023

Maribel Ramos-Weiner

William Levy Pierluigi Gazzolo Raul Berdones

Secuoya Studios presented Montecristo at Content Americas, its first super production, along with its star and executive producer, William Levy. Teasers and trailers of some of their unscripted documentary series and films – in collaboration with Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales – were also screened before 250 guests.

The presentation also included Zorro, the youth adventure series Campamento Newton and the comedy Supernormal, a Movistar Plus+ original in collaboration with the factory. In terms of series, the launch of original stories stands out: the Crudo miniseries, the first of the two projects that emerged from the alliance with Caracol TV, the second will be announced soon; Hello_Mundo, an eight-episode co-production with Weekend Studio, and the romantic drama Efímero.

Also, projects that had already been announced, such as La Isla, an eight-episode thriller set on Easter Island; Los 39, a historical series about the Spaniards that Christopher Columbus left behind on the island of Hispaniola; the adaptation of the literary success Terra Alta, a police novel written by Javier Cercas, winner of the Planeta Award, and La Mala Leche, a television version of the comic by Henar Álvarez. The fiction series pipeline is completed with the studio’s second youth series, Alex Quiere Morir, among other productions.

Raúl Berdonés, president of Grupo Secuoya, stated that in two years they have managed to become a benchmark in the Spanish-speaking market and that they have succeeded in their goal of internationalization, being present in five markets such as the US, Latin America, Europe, Middle East. They launched Madrid Content City, the largest audiovisual hub in Europe. In addition, he mentioned that earlier Guadalajara Content City was announced, the first integrated audiovisual production center in Mexico, which will be available in the second half of 2024. “Integrating great professionals from the industry is what makes us different.”

“Secuoya Studios, the leading in-Spanish content factory in the Spanish-speaking market, presents to the most prominent agents in the international industry a wide catalog of quality content capable of conquering a global audience. Likewise, the studio lands in the US market with a vast portfolio of future projects, fiction series, docuseries, long documentaries, and Spanish-speaking entertainment formats, as well as differential, innovative, daring, and groundbreaking film projects, unequivocal adjectives of talent that this company has treasured since its birth in 2021,” said Berdonés.

In addition to its firm commitment to fiction, the unscripted area has been strengthened in the development of documentary projects, both in its feature-length version and in series format. Voces de Una Ciudad, a tour of the city of Madrid through its illustrious and anonymous inhabitants, and the La Moncloa series, a co-production with The Pool, both directed by the Goya winner Curro Sánchez Varela, and PornoXplotación, a daring and courageous documentary proposal directed by Mabel Lozano about the high price paid in porn on both sides of the screen. These are a sample of the diversity of topics addressed by the studio since 2021.

New docuseries proposals have recently been added to the portfolio. Race In, an exclusive and unprecedented story in collaboration with La Familia Creativa and narrated by Carlos Sainz (twice World Rally Champion), about the great contemporary challenges of the motor-engine world (sustainability, gender equality, and social responsibility); Proximity: Volando a Centímetros de la Muerte, the incredible story of Alex Villar, a fan of BASE jumping, the most dangerous sport in the world, who was on the verge of death; Flight JK5022: the tragedy of Spanair, a 3-episode arduous and exhaustive investigation on the last major air disaster in Spain and its connection with other accidents; and Isaac et Nora: a journey to the heart of Latin music, a collaboration with Madame Vaudeville where they follow Isaac and Nora Restoin, two French brothers aged 14 and 10, respectively, on their first tour of Latin America, and who have become a global phenomenon.

In addition, cinema with Cuánto Me Queda and Invasión, film adaptations of two plays by Marta Buchaca and Guillem Clua, respectively, under the production of Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales, an independent film production company led by Eduardo Campoy. Also the films The Director, the sixth joint film by Dani de la Orden and Eduardo Campoy; La Bandera, the third film by Hugo Martín Cuervo with Álamo Producciones Audiovisuales, based on the dramatic comedy of the same title by Guillem Clua; and Solos, a film version of the homonymous novel by Paloma Bravo.

Secuoya has alliances with partners such as Telemundo Global Studios, Caracol TV, RCN, and recently with Sony Pictures and Ay Yapim, strategic agreements that will materialize in the coming months. They also have partners for co-production content, such as Dopamine, William Levy Entertainment, Tiki Group, Avi Films, The Pool, and Grupo Proyecciones, among others.

Raúl Berdonés, Executive President of Grupo Secuoya; Pablo Jimeno, General Director of the audiovisual company, as well as David Martínez, Director of Fiction at Secuoya Studios; Pablo Barrera, Executive Producer of Fiction Originals, and Roberto Serrano, deputy Director of Development, attended the event, along with Sergio Pizzolante, President of Commercial & Distribution, and José Luis Gascue, Executive VP and Head of Worldwide Distribution.