The traveling screenings on a Spanish tour will cause a sensation on December 4 when they return to Ventana Sur, in Buenos Aires, the most important commercial event in Latin America.
Proving in the past an important promotional platform for Spanish cinema, the 4th edition of the Spanish Touring Sessions, organized by the Málaga Film Festival, is also a succinct exposition in its panels of many of the determining factors of international trade today: new talents, theatrical successes, sales, co-production and intellectual property.
The morning of December 4 is kicked off by the winners of the Malaga Festival’s Hack Malaga, which showcases next-generation content creators showcasing innovative visions, using the latest audiovisual technologies.
Next comes the presentation of extracts from the 2026 programming of the most important film sales companies in Spain: Latido Films, Filmax, Film Factory, Bendita Film Sales, Sideral, Begin Again Films and Cinema Republic.
Focusing on creating films that not only attract soft funding but also make money, including at the box office, an early afternoon session will see producer María Luisa Gutiérrez of Bowfinger Intl. Pictures, one of Spain’s most successful production companies founded by Gutiérrez and the hugely popular actor-producer-director Santiago Segura, will discuss the “Bowfinger Method” with Variety John Hopewell, international features editor.
Bowfinger has a catalog of over 40 titles, including its blockbuster franchises “Torrente” and “Father There is Only One,” but also other titles not fueled by Segura as talent, like the 2024 ETA infiltration thriller “Undercover,” directed by Arantxa Echevarría, which grossed an extraordinary €9.6 million ($11.2 million), making it the second highest-grossing Spanish release high of 2024. “Undercover” is also hailed as the biggest hit ever by a Spanish woman.
Gutiérrez and Agustín Bossi of Buenos Aires-based Pampa Films, behind “Chinese Takeaway” (2011) and on TV, “Monzón” and “The Boss,” both with Disney, will then delve into case studies of Argentine-Spanish co-production successes, which include the highest-grossing local films from both Argentinas – “Homo sapiens!” – and in Mexico: “Mesa de Regalos”, both involving Pampa. The producers will also discuss what co-production brings.
Two concurrent workshops aim to delve deeper into intellectual property protection issues, one led by director-writer-lawyer Francisco Menéndez (“Stealing Las Vegas”) and the other on strategic intellectual property development, led by producer Sydney Borjas (“Red Queen”). Each workshop will analyze five case studies, with Menéndez focusing on IP protection and Borjas on IP development.
Spanish Screenings on Tour is supported by the Malaga Film Festival and the Spanish Government’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, as well as the European Union’s ICEX Spain Trade and Investment and NextGenerationEU.
The Spanish screenings will culminate with the announcement of the projects during the Málaga Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF) 2026 of the Malaga Festival. Focused on titles from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, MAFF, currently gearing up for its 9th edition, has proven to be one of the industry’s flagship events in Malaga. The presentation is given by Camilo Vázquez, Deputy General Director of International Promotion and International Relations of the Spanish ICAA, Ralph Haiek, Executive Director of Ventana Sur, and Juan Antonio Vigar, Director of the Malaga Festival.
Co-organized by the Cannes Film Market – Cannes Festival, the Argentine film-television agency INCAA and its Uruguayan counterpart, ACAU, Ventana Sur takes place from December 1 to 5. The event was held last year in Montevideo, Uruguay, as part of a plan to alternate venues between the two cities.
