Spain's Vertice launches new international sales arm

Vertice Sales, the new international arm of Madrid-based media company Vertice 360 Group, is making its international market debut here at MIPTV in Cannes.

The new international arm, headed by managing director Gonzalo Sagardia, will work with Vertice’s other divisions (TV formats, animation, feature films, documentaries, etc.) to provide international sales for all those businesses, as well as for projects from third-party independent producers.

The company has recently come on board for international sales of two such third-party feature film projects: Carlos Saura’s Amor De Dios and David Serrano’s With or Without Love. Both will be discussed with buyers more officially at Cannes Film Festival’s Marche.

For Amor De Dios (still in pre-production from Saura‘s production company Tresmonstruos) Sagardia told Screen that there is already very early interest from Italy and Japan. The musical feature, which will shoot in early 2011, is about the unlikely love between a boxer and a dancer.

With Or Without You will be a relationship comedy-musical similar in tone to Serrano-penned 2002 hit, The Other Side of the Bed.

Two other projects for international sales are in very early stages and may be ready for discussions during Cannes Market.

The sales division is also representing library feature films for TV sales at MIPTV, such as Fermat’s Room, Insignificant Things and Low Quality People.

Documentaries in the company’s catalog include The Railroad All Stars, A World Apart and Malabo Barrio X and new documentary Los Ojos De La Guerra about war correspondents.

The company has already sold the documentary series Water Life, produced by CIN.TV, to Discovery Japan (Japan) and Cheers Media (Korea).

The new division is currently comprised of five full-time staff, including a head of sales for each of the company’s divisions (Angela Del Valle is head of film sales, Jessica Ortiz head of TV formats and animation, and Maria Arroyo head of documentary sales). Sagardia takes the new post after moving over from Vertice’s documentary division.

“We are a Spanish company, so of course we are interested in Spanish-language product, but we’re very open to third-party productions as well,” Sagardia tells Screen. They are open to a range of genres as well, with international animation projects likely to join the slate in the future.

Projects they are selling will be budgeted in the ballpark of Euros 3.5m, with Sagradia adding: “for Spanish movies that’s a medium budget.”

Sagardia said that Vertice Sales would plan to attend the other major film markets of the circuit: Toronto (unofficial market), AFM, Berlin and Cannes.

“We’re part of a big media company but the group formed three years ago, so it’s a young company with a lot of expertise. We’re excited about doing a great job. The international market is the place where independent producers can maximize their returns and it’s a business we’re excited to work with.”

Madrid-based media conglomerate Vertice 360 has two distribution companies, Manga and Notro, in addition to its production businesses.