Which international indie films are engaging with Spanish audiences - and why?

“I wish I knew for certain what works best in the Spanish market,” says Stefan Schmitz, founder and CEO of Madrid-based producer-distributor Avalon. His release slate includes Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Armand, and Miguel Gomes’ Grand Tour.

“They are all very different films. My intuition is Grand Tour, an extremely beautiful movie that won best director at Cannes for a reason, will have a more niche audience. But we love it and that’s why we bought it. La Cocina has the potential to draw younger audiences. Armand’s strength is that it’s a new voice with exciting narrative and aesthetic choices. With Bird, we are counting on the audience passionate about Andrea Arnold, the power of the cast, the score and the fact that you come out of the film with a renewed energy.” 

Avalon has been showcasing Bird and La Cocina at the MERCI, Independent Cinema Market (October 23-25), an event organised jointly by the Valladolid International Film Week and ADICINE (the Association of Independent Spanish Distributors, this week. La Cocina, Armand and Grand Tour have also all screened in the competitive official selection of Valladolid.

How to boost theatrical attendance for independent cinema in Spain is at the core of the conversations during Valladolid where the festival prizes are awarded to a film’s local distributor. In the MERCI, some 140 Spanish distributors, exhibitors and buyers from platforms and broadcasters, including Movistar Plus+, Paramount, Max and RTVE have been in town to see Spanish distributors introduce 22 titles to them, two per company. 

“Meetings like the MERCI are ideal to get to know each other. As distributors we can explain our choices and [with our exhibition partners] adapt the marketing to  because, in general, exhibitors are more familiar with more mainstream options,” says Schmitz.

As in many other territories, the films struggling at the Spanish box office are the one sin the middle. “It’s hit or fail,” as Schmitz puts it. “There is scope for growth but the market is quite saturated and a film either comes out very strongly backed by a festival run and has a special hype or it goes unnoticed.”

He is very happy with the result of Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves which grossed some $800,000 in Spain. But UK indie How To Have Sex by “great new talent” Molly Manning Walker, underperformed in the market.

Schmitz’s concerns are shared by Eduardo Escudero, business manager at A Contracorriente Films: “There are a significant number of releases every week and a limited number of theatres so you have to convince exhibitors our films are a good choice because of the films themselves but also because of our commitment to proote them,” he explains. “Our job is also to make sure there is a good festival strategy and choose the best release date. At this time of the year, the calendar is a minefield.”

International festival films that maintain momentum into awards season do well. But independent films released without festival buzz struggle. “There are a lot of international and Spanish films that end up in no-man’s land and hardly make it to the second week,” says Escudero.

A Contracorriente Films showcased Arnaud Lemort’s French comedy Family Therapy and Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s Berlin hit My Favourite Cake at the MERCI this week.The latter is also in competition in Valladolid alongside further A Contracorriente Films titles: Tracie Laymon’s Bob Trevino Likes It and the Spanish production The Party’s Over by Elena Manrique.

“We have had the chance to test how well these films have performed with the audience in Valladolid,” says Escudero. “Bob Trevino Likes It and My Favourite Cake are tender, moving films. Audiences react well to these kinds of stories.”

“The story underneath The Party’s Over is dramatic because it deals with the situation of illegal immigrants but it has a fascinating, dark sense of humour,” he explains. “The reaction of exhibitors in Valladolid has been very positive.”

Enrique Costa, head of distribution and co-founder of producing and distributing outlet Elastica Films, is riding high on the successful release of fThe Substance which has grossed approximately $1.5m for the company.  “The majority of our films come from A-list festivals,” Costa explains. ” Festivals in Spain [then] allow us to launch the films in our market and make them more visible. If the filmmakers or the cast are known, it helps in selling the film.”

“But there is nothing I enjoy more than discovering new talents,” he adds.

Elastica’s films at the MERCI were Luca Guadagnino’s Venice title Queer and the Spanish production They Will Be Dust by Carlos Marques-Marcet. The latter opened the festival and screened in competition along with three other Elastica titles: Ariane Labed’s September Says, Marta Nieto’s Becoming Ana and Mar Coll’s Salve Maria.

Elastica is now partnering with Wanda Vision to release Jacques Audiard’s hot awards contender – and Spanish-language- Emilia Pérez on December 5. It also screened at the MERCI to exhibitors. “We are highlighting the path of the film in the international awards season and building a campaign of premieres in Spanish big cities to trigger word-of-mouth in several big cities in Spain prior to the release date.”

“For Queer we have to design the strategy carefully, looking at what is happening in other territories and focusing on the fact that it’s a new film by Luca Guadagnino, this time starring Daniel Craig,” explains Costa.

“The good news is that diversity in genres, in types of films is allowing us to diversify audiences. Our goal is that a film works well in Spain but also in the rest of Europe, it’s a way to show sales agents and producers that Elastica is a good option.”

The distributors all call for closer collaboration with exhibitors. “I would love for exhibitors to confirm as soon as possible their commitment with a film because that way they can publicise them well, from the trailers to their website,” says A Contracorriente’s Escudero. “If they confirm a week before the release date there isn’t much wriggle room.”

• “I think a lot about death”: Carlos Marques-Marcet on end-of-life musical ‘There Will Be Dust’