Catalan talent will shine at Series Mania 2025 (March 21-28), with a showcase of the region’s dynamic TV production sector, thanks to support from the local government to create a robust infrastructure that is encouraging creativity to thrive.
Several Catalan series are being showcased as part of the Series Mania Forum. Actress, director and producer Leticia Dolera brings the six-part family drama Pubertat (Puberty), which deals with the topic of abuse among teenagers against the backdrop of Catalonia’s ‘casteller’ tradition (the acrobatic human tower building).
Created and directed by Dolera, Pubertat is produced by Barcelona-based Distinto Films and Corte, Confección de Películas, Uri Films and 3Cat with Belgium’s AT-Productions. Filmed in Catalan, Pubertat is set to premiere in 2025 on Max and 3Cat, and sales are handled by Beta Film. The series was filmed over 13 weeks in Catalan locations.
Dolera won the best series award at Cannesseries for Movistar Plus+ and HBO Max series Perfect Life in 2019.
Also being showcased in the market is El Mal Invisible (Quiet), an eight-part thriller created by Lluís Arcarazo and inspired by real events in Barcelona during the Covid lockdown. The series follows the investigation carried out by homicide detectives of serial killer targeting homeless people.
El Mal Invisible is a co-production between The Mediapro Studio and 3Cat, and stars David Verdaguer and Ángela Cervantes.
Both series received financial support from the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies (ICEC), a cornerstone of Catalonia’s thriving series production environment. ICEC’s series production fund, set up in 2022, provides up to €1.5m ($1.6m) per project with a minimum budget of €4m ($4.3m).
The grant is also available for continuing productions, such This Is Not Sweden, introduced to partners at Series Mania 2024. It went on to win the best performance award for actress Aina Clotet at Cannesseries 2024 and is a true Catalan success story.
This Is Not Sweden tells the ups and downs of a young family who move to a chic-back-to-the-woods village in the hills overlooking Barcelona. Clotet is also one of the directors of the all-women directing team that is produced by Nanouk Films and Funicular Films in Catalonia and Anagram in Sweden as a co-production with public Catalan broadcaster TV3, RTVE and SVT (Suecia), with NDR (Germany) and YLE (Finland). It was the first series in Spain to receive the Green Film label for a sustainability production.
The Catalan government’s decision to back TV series is designed to emulate the success the local film industry has enjoyed as a result of similar funding.
“Our strong public funding model is key to making series globally competitive,” says Edgar Garcia, director of ICEC. “Strategic investment drives high-quality productions and secures their place in the international market. This Is Not Sweden, a Nordic–Southern European co-production, and Pubertat, in co-production with Belgium, show how public financing transforms local content into global contenders.
“We are not just stimulating quality productions; we are making them competitive and attractive in the global market.”
Catalan Films together with the Catalunya Film Commission and in collaboration with the Spanish Serielizados series festival, is organising a networking event at Series Mania. The 13 Catalan companies attending Series Mania - 3Cat, Amor y Lujo, Angeli Pictures, Coming Soon Films, Contraria Media, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Filmax, Funicular Films, Ginga Stories, Marineda Films, Serielizados Fest, The Mediapro Studio, Diagonal TV – are all looking for international partners.
Digital platform 3Cat is one of the partners of the series Ravalejar, directed by Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez, now filming in Barcelona. Produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures and Supernova in co-production with 3Cat and Belgium’s UMEDIA, the series also has the participation of Max, with support from ICEC and Creative Europe Media. It is set to premiere exclusively on Max in 2026, followed by a later release on 3Cat.
Contact: Joan Ruiz, International Promotion, Catalan Films
Find out more: catalanfilms.cat/en
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