Spain Brings Co-Production Market to Toronto’s Industry Program

With a co-production forum and sold-out Spotlight on Incentives seminar complementing its pavilion and robust industry delegation, Spain is giving Toronto industry attendees a taste of what will unfold on a much larger scale in September 2026 when the festival launches its official content market. 

On Sept. 6, the third iteration of the Do It the Spanish Way! International Co-production Forum saw five Spanish producers with features at various stages of development — and with partners and partial funding in place — network with a mix of Canadian and international producers and distributors. 

The full morning event, which welcomed more than 75 attendees, opened with an introduction and presentation of the seven features then broke out into lively one-on-one sessions. Each participating Spanish producer met with at least eight companies, Variety was told. 

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for Spain to join forces with other countries, and more specifically with Canada because we both have great talent and the capacity to finance,” said La Vida’s Araceli Pérez Rastrilla, who is specifically interested in finding a co-production partner from French-speaking Canada for her company’s female-led genre project “Strangers.” 

With Spain the main or co-producer on nine Toronto festival titles — Nacho Vigalondo’s Platform opener “Daniela Forever” and Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths” among them — and a leading provider of global streaming content, it seems prudent that the festival is working with Spain more closely than ever. 

Diana Cadavid — the Toronto Film Festival’s international programmer for Latin America, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora cinema — moderated the 2023 Forum event and this year played a more active role. “Spain has had a big space at TIFF for a long time and over the past three years has been evolving its program that presents works-in-progress,” she told Variety on Friday. 

“In the past we shared feedback, but this year has been more exciting for us. The Spanish government organizer had an open call for submissions, then narrowed it down to a short list of qualifying productions, or pre-selections, then we were asked to select projects we thought would be the best fit for our attendees. 

“Now that our content market event is becoming a reality, we’re expecting more countries will be putting together programming like this,” Cadavid added. “So, we’re curious to get concrete takes on how fast things will happen after the Spain co-production event.” 

Here are the producer, company and feature project participants in Toronto’s 2024 Do It the Spanish Way International Co-Production Forum. 

Ana Eiras Domínguez, Sábado Películas

At Toronto with “With You” (Contigo), a romantic comedy from Dani de la Orden, a director on “Elite,” about a one-night stand in Ibiza that is prolonged when the lovers are forced to run from a secret organization. 

Araceli Pérez Rastrilla, La Vida

Pérez Rastrilla presented “Strangers” (“La Cura”), Gigi Romero’s horror drama about a woman whose boyfriend claims to have found a spiritual cure for his strange terminal illness. 

A second project, “The Great Power” (“El Gran Poder”), is Joaquin León’s dark comedy about a woman who asks Jesús to help her buy a coveted brooch and becomes unexpectedly possessed. 

Carles Torras Pérez, Zabriskie Films

“The Bind” (“Le Lein”), Zarbriskie’s lead title, is Alejandro Rojas’ drama about a fleeing journalist who crosses paths with a pregnant immigration officer at a moment that impacts both their lives. 

José Esteban Alenda, Solita Films

Solita Films, a co-producer on Sundance-selected “The Fishbowl,” introduced “Three Ages” (“Tres Edades”), Jiajie Yu Yan’s drama in which a 7-year-old boy reunites with his parents in Barcelona and the difficulties that arise in creating an emotional bond. 

Also from Solita, “I Won’t Die for Love” (Yo no moriré de amor”), Marta Matute’s drama about a young woman reluctance’s to become a caregiver when her mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. 

Patricia Uclés Iranzo, Estrela Audiovisual

Shingle presented “Centelles’ Suitcase” (“La maleta de Centelles”), Pilar Pérez Solano’s historical-biographical doc feature exploring stories behind a long-hidden trove of graphic images of mid-twentieth-century photojournalist Agusti Centelles.