Netflix Takes Two Spanish Genre Films for Rest of the World

The streamer has acquired world rights outside of Spain on Denis Rovira’s ‘La Influencia’ and David Galan Galindo’s ‘Origenes Secretos,’ starring ‘Pain & Glory’ actor Leonardo Sbaraglia.

Netflix has acquired world rights, outside of Spain, on two Spanish genre films, La Influencia from award-winning short film director Denis Rovira, based on a Ramsey Campbell book, and thriller Origines Secretos, by director David Galan Galindo based on his own novel.

Both are productions by Kiko Martinez at Nadie es Perfecto.

Both will premiere as Netflix originals worldwide on the platform except for Spain. The Influence will open first in cinemas in Spain on June 21 through Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia, and Origenes Secretos, which starts shooting May 27, will be distributed in Spain through Filmax.

The news follows Netflix’s acquisition earlier this week in Cannes of world rights, except for Spain and France, on Eye for an Eye, a revenge thriller from Spanish director Paco Plaza (Veronica).

“Genre films in Spain have a long tradition, and they have generally traveled well,” said Martinez, whose Madrid-based Nadie es Perfecto has co-produced a handful of films that have aired on Netflix, including Alex de la Iglesia’s The Bar, Errementari, Skins and Up Among the Stars, among others. “For the producer and the director, an agreement with Netflix is an opportunity for films to get tremendous global visibility.”

Origenes Secretos will star Leonardo Sbaraglia, currently seen in Pedro Almodovar’s Cannes competition entry Pain & Glory. The thriller is the debut feature of scriptwriter and award-winning short film director David Galan Galindo, based on his own novel about a policeman who enlists the help of a comic book store owner to solve a series of gruesome crimes that recreate the secret origin stories of classic superheroes.

Fernando Navarro (Veronica) co-wrote the script for the film, which is budgeted at Euros 3.5 million ($3.9 million). Co-stars include Javier Rey (Hache) and Brays Efe (Paquita Salas), Martinez said.

Based on the novel of the same name by horror master Campbell and a script by Rovira, Daniel Rissech and Michel Gaztambide, La Influencia is the story of young mother Alicia who returns with her family to the mansion of her unhappy childhood to face past demons as well as the family matriarch Victoria, in a coma and refusing to die. Alicia’s young daughter Nora develops a morbid fascination with Victoria.

Emma Suarez (Julieta) stars alongside Maggie Civantos (Cable Girls), Manuela Velles (Velvet), Alain Hernandez (The Photographer of Mauthausen) and Claudia Placer (Veronica). The Euros 3.45 million ($3.87 million) film marks the first feature from Rovira, director of the award-winning genre short film trio Angel (2002), Lazarus Taxon (2008) and The Faucet (2010).

With a long record of work in television, film and commercials, Nadie es Perfecto has turned its focus to film especially in the last five years. Martinez said the company will continue to work in TV, but also aims to produce two to three features per year.

He is in Cannes this weekend to close deals on some of those projects.