Update cortes008_7605

Source: Womack Studios

‘Cortes’

From its headquarters in Seville, Spain’s Womack Studios — the audio-visual arm of Spanish media conglomerate the Womack Group — is moving full steam ahead with its expansion plans. These include a growing slate of film and TV productions, business acquisitions, an ambitious set-building strategy and additions to its managment team.

Encompassing fiction, non-fiction and unscripted production divisions as well as advertising, marketing and public relations, Womack Studios, founded in 2016 by José Carlos Conde, has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Gran Canaria and, soon, Tenerife. It is also considering opening an office in the Basque Country, to take advantage of the area’s recently increased tax rebate. Internationally, it has bases in the Dominican Republic and the US. Womack Latam, established in 2022 and led by Enrique Rubio, is headquartered in Miami.

Conde, Womack Studios’ CEO, says the planned move towards service production and investment in film sets will play a substantial role in the company’s growth. “We believe Spain has a lot to offer international shoots, but there is scope for improvement in infrastructure to add to the magnificent and diverse locations we have in the country.”

With this in mind, Womack is establishing a servicing division focusing on infrastructure in Andalusia. In Seville, the studio is remodeling an existing building to create a 30,000 square metre space which should be operational in 2025. In Malaga, it is building a new 50,000 square metre facility, while in Cadiz Harbour it is developing a 25,000 square metre audiovisual facility. Construction is planned to begin in February 2026.

Womack is also in talks with the Canary Islands government about the construction of a film studio in a 40,000 square metre lot, planned for 2027-28.

”This investment in infrastructure will be supported by funds specialised in entertainment,” says Conde. ”We believe there is a lot of scope to fuel the Spanish industry with private investment, and there is growing interest from investors in Spain and abroad.”

He said Womack aims to achieve significant growth in turnover by 2026, with a notable rise expected from 2024.

Production line

The studio is also developing several fiction and non-fiction projects, including Oscar-winning filmmaker Fernando Trueba’s non-fiction Bajañí, The Story Of A Guitar, planned as both a feature and series. The latest from Trueba, whose most recent works include They Shot The Piano Player and Haunted Heart, will tell the story of the flamenco guitar of Niño Josele.Shooting begins in October in New York.

Another famed guitarist is the subject of recently-completed documentary series Paco De Lucía, Flamenco Legacy, which is premiering at South International Series Festival.  The second edition of the festival, organised by Womack and supported by the regional government of Andalusia through Spain’s Ministry Of Culture And Sport, is taking place in Cadiz from October 25-31. 

Womack’s production slate also includes Marc Romero’s horror feature One Hour Twenty, starring Macarena Gomez, Emma Suárez and Roberto Álamo, now in post, and Jorge Torregosa’s true crime-inspired drama series Arropiero, about a Spanish serial killer who committed 48 murders in the 1960s and 1970s, that is now in post. 

With an eye on the Latin American market, Womack is also producing the documentary feature Seeking Cortés, a project originally conceived as a film by cinematographer Teo Escamilla. The project has now evolved into a feature-length documentary and tells the story of the journey to bring the original session to life, contrasting past production methods with those of the present. The film is directed by Jacobo Escamilla and Itzan Escamilla, and will feature Teo’s grandson, well-known Spanish actor Itzan Escamilla, best known for Elite.

Additionally, Living Madrid, a reality series about a group of estate agents specialising in luxury properties for Latin American clients coming to live in Madrid, is being developed under the Womack Latam banner.The pilot episode is now ready.

A growing family

Recent appointments at the studios include Yusan Acha as head of non-fiction and entertainment, and producer Isaac Torras as head of fiction.

Additionally, the studio has acquired a majority stake in the Barcelona-based animation company Seed Of Memory, which specialises in scientific content, 3D and animation, and has fully acquired the Andalusia-based company Happy Ending TV, now rebranded as Happy Contents, devoted to entertainment and non-fiction contents.

Alongside South International Series Festival, Womack will soon announce the TV Goyas, says Conde, the small-screen equivalent to the Spanish language film awards to be held next May in the Canary Islands.

Finally, Womack is launching Noficcion.com, a non-fiction OTT media service for Spain and Latin America at the end of November, in collaboration with a major media partner. A SVoD with a pay-per-view option, it will showcase Spanish-language productions.

Contact: info@womackgroup.es

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