New Spanish drama copro forum opens for entries

Conecta Fiction is calling for coproduction pitches that will take place at its inaugural edition in Galicia this summer.

The event has backing from ICEX and Fundacion Autor, and is designed to foster coproductions with a Spanish partner or partners.

To qualify for the copro pitching session projects must be in either English or Spanish, have an international focus, and at least 10% of funding already secured.

The applications will be whittled down to a final ten, which will be judged by a high-level panel of global drama experts on the first day of Conecta Fiction.

The six judges include Alexander Keil from Germany’s Producers at Work, Carolina Gonzalez from Argentina’s Underground Productions and Albert Sagalés from Endemol Shine Iberia prodco Diagonal Television.

Charline de Lepine from France’s Macondo will also be on the panel, alongside Francisco Cordero, a producer at Spanish-language prodco BTF Media, and Anaïs Schaaff, one of the producers of hit Spanish series The Ministry of Time.

Conecta Fiction, which claims to be the first international event completely dedicated to coproduction, takes place in Santiago de Compostela from June 20-23.

The Spanish office of the EU’s Media programme will also host a session during Conecta, featuring among others, pitching specialist Franz Mangelberger.

Peter Andermatt, director of the Spanish Media Office, said: “Conecta Fiction is the place and the perfect time to inform about the support that Media offers to the creatives, the producers, and the distributors of television.

“Nowadays, with the business models of the television industry clearly changing, internationalisation and networking are keys to the time of co-producing and the conquering of international markets.”