Mediapro Studio Distribution heads to Mipcom with a strong slate co-led by way of scripted series from “Raza Brava,” the captivating four-part series from international Emmy winner Hernán Caffiero produced by DeCulto, Atómica and Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content.
The first fictional portrait of a real Latin American soccer fan club, it follows a young boy from a working-class neighborhood who rises alongside his best friend to lead the Garra Blanca – rabid supporters of the wildly popular Colo Colo soccer team.
At a panel at the recent Iberseries & Platino Industria conference in Madrid, Mediapro studio international head Javier Esteban joined Caffiero (“Suspended Mourning”) and colleagues Magdalena Tocornal., head of development at CNTV Chile, and Eric Barmack to discuss the upcoming series.
“This is a series that explores universal themes: passion, family, loyalty, identity, betrayal, all linked to football, one of the most universal sports there is,” said Esteban, who added: “One of the main commercial strengths of Raza Brava is that it is a timeless series, with a kind of real-world relevance that could easily make the headlines of today.”
Caffiero said he was inspired by Brazil’s “City of God,” Fernando Meirelles’ raw portrait of a young boy growing up amid a brutal world of gang violence, drugs and poverty in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
Indeed, to prepare his actors for the series, not only did he put them through rigorous physical training in a gym a year before, but he also filmed in a particularly dangerous neighborhood in Santiago, Chile, where even the police do not want to go. “It allowed us to make a connection with the physical space where we were filming,” he said. “When the community saw the actors involved and immersed in this process, it allowed us to start building a direct connection with them. And it wasn’t about social or cultural extractivism – where someone comes in, takes an idea and profits from it. That was never our intention. What ended up happening was we talked with everyone in the community and brought them into the filming process.”
“We ended up creating a sort of small town in 20 days of filming – and I think that became the place where the crew felt most comfortable. So from that point of view – and with all the prior knowledge that we brought from immersing ourselves in that world – we managed to stay very respectful, which was one of our core principles,” he recounted.
“It hasn’t been easy. It’s been an odyssey – with the pandemic in the middle of it all – and it’s hit us all, one way or another,” acknowledged Tocornal, who said she had the chance to visit the set which she described as “amazing to see the team’s ability to transform, convey and deliver this realistic vision of what Colo Colo is.”
“We are not only talking about Colo Colo as a football team, but also as a social phenomenon – and how it opens the door to discussions on very relevant topics today: the social phenomenon of football, violence, the former military dictatorship of Chile and it manages to bring all of this together in one series, while giving it a universal resonance,” she emphasized.
For Barmack, boarding the ‘Raza Brava’ is rooted in a very personal experience dating back to the age of five, when he watched the final between Liverpool and Roma with his father. “Roma lost that night on penalties and people were crying around me. And when I think about that moment, I think it’s the first time I’ve cried in my life,” he said, reflecting on how football can arouse such deep passions.
Barmack pointed out that Colo-Colo is one of the top five or six clubs in Latin America and that Caffiero has crafted a narrative in which soccer opens the door, but the drama within resonates universally, especially in Latin America, where sports are closely linked to identity, pride and struggle.
The panel concluded by touting the benefits of co-productions: “International producers should take a closer look at Chile. The country has rich storytelling and directorial talent and its stories are unique and compelling. But because Chile is often outside of major production circuits, its producers struggle to gain visibility in global markets,” said CNTV’s Tocornal.
“Chile’s national fund, now approaching its 33rd year, offers co-production options across eight competitive lines, but this model still needs further development. As co-production becomes the industry standard, early-stage support is more important than ever. In Chile, development funding is limited, but this stage is crucial: it defines the structure, vision and international viability of the project,” she stressed, adding : “Chilean producers have the talent, but they need more early investment to bring their projects to the global stage. The content must remain local in its voice, but strong archetypes can travel if formulated well from the start. International co-producers can play a key role, not only when a project is fully prepared, but from its earliest stages.
Highlighting that co-productions have become an increasingly standard model for Studio Mediapro – a model that it has indeed pioneered with Latin America and Europe in the field of television. It now regularly uses co-production to get ambitious projects off the ground, Esteban said: “The industry has evolved quickly and when it comes to structure, the best is simply the one that gets the projects done. In this case, that meant a co-production model – a partnership between companies with diverse profiles to bring complementary strengths.”
He added: “For The Mediapro Studio, flexibility is key. It’s part of our DNA. When Erik Barmack brought the parties to the table, each brought something essential and The Mediapro Studio added an essential piece to complete the puzzle. It was the collaboration – the sum of all the parts – that made the project possible.”
Notable Mediapro studio credits include “The Head,” “Iosi, the Late Spy,” “Las Bravas,” “Consuelo,” and “Intercambiadas.”
This year, its Mipcom program includes the badminton-themed series “Yakarta” and the comedy-thriller series “Celeste,” both by Diego San José, “So Far So Good” (“El resto bien”) by Daniel Burman and “Quiet,” a thriller by Lluís Arcarazo.
