The ever-expanding Madrid-based confab, Iberseries & Platino Industria, is pivoting towards even more B2B activities, said its co-director Samuel Castro of the event, which is expected to surpass last year’s 2,500 accreditations. Iberseries & Platino Industria is also programming meetings with screenwriters, this time in collaboration with the SGAE Foundation, the Spanish collecting society for writers, and with DAMA, its counterpart for audiovisual creators, he said. 14 screenwriters from Recreas, DAMA’s project incubator, will be presenting their projects to the industry. These were selected from nearly 300 submissions of unreleased fiction, documentary and animation projects.
I’d like to say that now that we’re in our sixth edition, the event has truly evolved.” The confab is welcoming new prominent players for the first time, including the BBC, Arte, AppleTV+, Telefe Argentina and Colombia’s Caracol TV. It’s also expectings some 220 buyers and 50 film commissioners. The top tier buyers include Amazon MGM Studios/Prime Video, Netflix, AMC Networks, Atresmedia, Banijay Entertainment, Canal+, Disney, Globo, Mediaset, Movistar Plus+ and ZDF Studios.
AI should be used as a tool, not as an end in itself,” Castro pointed out. The program also includes panels on new AI-driven production models and the regulatory challenges and new narratives emerging from AI,” said Juan Alia, co-director of Iberseries & Platino Industria who focuses on cinema while Castro handles series. In fact, this year, “Pelagius,” Spain’s first feature made with generative AI, world premieres at Iberseries & Platino Industria.
Produced by Tiki Group, Elefantec Global and Recrea Films, the 97-minute historical epic also features animation while all voices were performed by Asturian actors. Directed and produced by Miguel Asensio Llamas, “Pelagius” follows Asturian clans, led by the titular Pelagius, as they rise against the advancing Umayyad Caliphate. Generative AI is introducing tools that could transform development, production and post-production and we’re still very much in an experimental phase,” Alia noted.
Designed for fast, mobile-first consumption, they’re gaining particular traction in certain markets,” he added. For Alia, one thing is clear: the audiovisual business is changing fast, but storytelling remains at its core. Mexican cinema, this year’s country of focus, is a good example, he said, as it combines creative diversity and production knowhow, backed by deep production expertise, strong technical talent and increasingly well-established international links.
The aim is not only to celebrate its cinema, but to showcase the ecosystem behind it and create opportunities for business, co-production and international reach. Mexico has long been a cultural reference in Latin America; the next step is to make its industrial capacity more visible and better connected to the global market.” Adriana Castillo, general coordinator, Platino Industria, concurred: “Mexico has highly experienced professionals, strong infrastructure, studios, production services, post-production and VFX and a proven ability to work on both national and international productions” “We want Mexico to be seen not only through its films or its best-known names, but as a place where projects can be developed, partners found and long-term alliances built.” “The value of the focus is precisely that: bringing the industry together with producers, studios, platforms, funds and institutions from other countries, and creating space for those conversations. Mexico already has a strong international presence; the goal is to turn that into more projects, more co-productions and lasting relationships.” Reflecting on the state of the industry, Alia said: “Getting films and series to their audiences is increasingly difficult in a crowded market, while financing has become more complex.
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