Audiovisual from Spain, ICEX Spain Trade & Investment’s umbrella brand, will bring some 50 companies and institutions to Mipcom this year, showcasing the breadth of the country’s film, TV, animation and production industries.
Taken together, the companies heading to Cannes highlight where much of the Spanish business is moving: toward multiplatform IP, remake-ready formats, producers retaining more control over distribution rights and a growing international production-services business.
Running Oct. 12-15, the Spanish presence combines its Riviera 7 stand, R7.J11, with a dedicated area in the MIP Creative Hub focused on financing, co-production and international partnerships.
Proven IP, New Markets
Filmax’s “Superthings: The Movie” takes a hit kids property spanning toys, collectibles and TV animation to the big screen. Directed by Víctor Monigote and produced with Tándem Films and Turanga Films, it bows theatrically in Spain on Oct. 23.
Filmax is also looking to extend the international life of its scripted catalogue. Head of international Iván Díaz highlights “ongoing negotiations regarding our catalogue of scripted formats with high potential for remakes.”
Its remake catalogue includes “The Red Band Society,” one of the most adapted Spanish dramas to date, “I Know Who You Are” and “Welcome to the Family,” recently remade by Netflix in Mexico. Cesc Gay’s “Sentimental,” sold by Filmax, has also spawned several adaptations, including Olivia Wilde’s U.S. remake “The Invite.”
The demand for remake-ready properties is not limited to scripted content. Onza Distribution head of sales Erika Gómez cites “strong interest in entertainment formats that have already proven successful in their original market and offer significant adaptation potential.”
Among them is 7yAcción-produced “El Hormiguero” (“The Anthill”), Spain’s most-watched entertainment show, now heading into a second Romanian season after adaptations in Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Portugal. Onza also represents “El Desafío” (“The Celeb Challenge”), another 7yAcción hit being pitched for international adaptation.
Control of Distribution Rights
Secuoya Studios is bringing a trio of high-profile series to Cannes: thriller-romance “El laberinto de las mariposas” (“The Butterfly Labyrinth”), starring Turkish actor Can Yaman; psychological thriller “El homenaje” (“The Tribute”), with Elsa Pataky; and “Terra Alta,” toplined by “La Bola Negra” actor Miguel Bernardeau.
The sales push also reflects a wider concern for producers: retaining distribution rights when they strike deals with broadcasters and platforms. For Secuoya, those rights can be key to both financing and international exploitation.
Andrés Zamora, Secuoya Studios’ director of global sales and distribution, said such deals underline the role distribution can play in financing projects, while also forcing producers to defend their position. “What is clear is that when negotiating a new series with a broadcaster, we cannot take it for granted that the distribution rights will remain with them.”
For kids producers, retaining value from IP increasingly means designing properties for multiple outlets from the outset. Krakatoa is bringing preschool property “Bumpy, the Bear,” a Spiritum Entertainment co-production with RTVE participation, conceived across digital, TV and music, with plans extending into licensing, publishing, toys and experiences.
Krakatoa CEO Víctor M. López said buyers are increasingly looking beyond the quality of the story or animation itself. “It’s no longer enough just to have a good story or good animation: they’re looking for properties that can connect with the audience across different platforms.”
That multiplatform thinking also shapes how kids brands reach their audiences. Brands & Rights 360 founder and president Iñaki Orive sees YouTube as “a key strategic piece of the puzzle” alongside streaming, social media and linear TV.
Ylka Tapia, head of growth partnerships and producer at Madrid-based Puro Studio, the company behind kids network El Reino Infantil, puts the emphasis on how those outlets work together. “The key is no longer to choose between TV, streaming or digital platforms, but to build complementary strategies that enable each brand to realise its full potential in every market.”
More Ways to Sell
The growing number of windows is particularly relevant to factual distributors such as Ártico Distribution, whose Mipcom slate is led by “Leo XIV: The Man Behind the Pope,” which the company says hit No. 1 on Prime Video Spain’s film ranking during the Pope’s visit to Spain in June.
Its lineup also includes wildlife series “African Chronicles,” travel and discovery title “Descubrir,” historical documentary “The Manila Galleon” and archaeology-focused “The Last Traces of the Neanderthal.”
For factual distributors, that multiplatform push has particular value for evergreen programming. Ártico CEO Carlos Sevillano highlights “the search for content that can work across different platforms and territories,” with FAST and AVOD opening further opportunities for factual titles.
Deep Com Roots, the international sales arm of Spain’s ISII Group, is seeing that demand translate into sales beyond Spain. Action-adventure western “Trinidad” has secured deals in French-speaking territories, while “Días de agosto” (“Summer Days”) has sold across Latin America, India, Japan, South Korea, Poland, German-speaking territories and the CIS, according to head of international sales Emir Duzel.
“We are seeing growing demand for content with a clear premise, a recognisable visual identity and an easily identifiable potential target,” Duzel said.
Spain as a Production Base
Spain’s Mipcom offer extends into the production chain itself. Echo Post House provides multilingual localization and audio post-production, RCAudio specializes in sound post, while Canary Islands-based Imaco89 offers production services, logistics and communications support for shoots.
The Canary Islands broaden that services pitch to international shoots. Foreign productions can access a tax deduction of up to 54% on the first €1 million of the qualifying base and 45% thereafter.
Recent international productions shot in the Canary Islands include “Pluribus,” “Day Drinker,” starring Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz, Samuel L. Jackson vehicle “Just Play Dead” and John Travolta starrer “Black Tides.” Spanish filmmakers are shooting there too, including Pedro Almodóvar with “Bitter Christmas” and Rodrigo Sorogoyen with “The Beloved,” starring Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo, both high-profile Cannes Film Festival main competition titles.
But attracting more shoots is no longer the only measure of success. Canary Islands Film director Natacha Mora argues that the challenge is to balance international production growth with the capacity of the local industry and infrastructure.
Mora said growth cannot be measured simply by the number of international shoots. “We need to consider balance: a region cannot grow indefinitely in terms of the number of productions it hosts; it is necessary to strike a balance across its entire ecosystem.”
A Canada-Spain Co-Production Push
On Oct. 13, consultancy GECA will present “Spanish Fiction 2026: Between New Stories and New Seasons” at the MIP Creative Hub. Gloria Saló, GECA’s director of production and content consulting, will examine genre crossover and thematic hybridization in new Spanish fiction, as well as the value of established IP returning to screens.
The following day, the focus shifts to co-production, with a Canada-Spain matchmaking session bringing together producers from both countries across genres and formats.
The meetings follow the signing at the Toronto International Film Festival of a new Spain-Canada audiovisual co-production treaty replacing the bilateral framework in force since 1985. The agreement broadens co-production to film, TV and video works regardless of length or genre and allows producers from third countries to participate.
The treaty follows a year of closer industry ties. Spain was Country of Honor at June’s Banff World Media Festival, where Atresplayer original “Mariliendre,” produced by Suma Content, won the Rockie Award for Best Non-English Language Comedy Series.
The broader Spanish presence also includes independent stands from Atresmedia Sales, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Movistar Plus International, RTVE Commercial and The Mediapro Studio, alongside regional umbrellas Basque Audiovisual and Catalan Films. Other exhibitors range from rights-management body EGEDA to casting-tech company MODFIE.
Audiovisual from Spain will wrap its Cannes agenda with a networking event at Riviera 7 on Oct. 14, bringing together partners and clients of Spanish companies while showcasing new Spanish content.