Javier Calvo: Last News

Having spent three years making buzzy Spanish series La Mesías, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo have admitted to a crisis of confidence before the show was released.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Series from Atresmedia TV, RTVE, Movistar Plus+, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (“La Mesías”), Zeta Studios (“Elite”) and director Carlota Pereda and Morena Films (behind Sundance hit “Piggy”) will unspool or be unveiled at the Berlinale. They underscore the breadth and depth of Spanish TV output: “Death to Love,” (“Que muera el amor,” Morena Films, Buendía Estudios) Carlota Pereda dazzled at Sundance with first feature, “Piggy.” Now, Pereda’s at the Berlinale Co-Pro Series on Feb.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Telefonica’s Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest pay TV-SVOD operator, is set to co-produce new movies from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Iciar Bollaín, Alberto Rodríguez, Óliver Laxe and Ana Rujas. It’s a move which sees the high-end Spanish TV powerhouse become one of Spain’s most significant movie players.

Drag Race España is gearing up to debut the first ever international All Stars season!

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Fresh off the selection of “La Mesías” as the only European series at this year’s Sundance, “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – Los Javis – are set to produce Netflix original series “Superestar,” created by Spain’s Nacho Vigalondo, writer-director of 2016’s Anna Hathaway starrer “Colossal,” Neon’s first pick up for the U.S. The six-episode series is directed by Vigalondo and Claudia Costafreda, co-creator of “Cardo,” an uninhibited portrait of Spain’s young generation eager for a quick fix of sex or drugs for want of a larger sense of direction in life which was chosen by Variety, as “Veneno” as one of the best international TV shows of the year.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a deal unveiled at Mipcom, Movistar Plus+ International, the prominent Spanish pay TV/SVOD platform’s sales division, announced at Mipcom a key sale to HBO Latin America of series “La Mesías,” hailed as the buzziest title at the San Sebastian Film Festival in September. The series is written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo of Suma Content, best known for their series “Veneno,” an HBO Max U.S. pickup, as well as “Paquita Salas,” sold to Netflix.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The Spanish world premiere that made the most waves at this year’s San Sebastian Festival was not a film but a series, “La Mesías,” written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. “A masterpiece,” proclaimed Spanish website Cineconñ; national newspaper El Mundo greeted it as the first work of maturity from hugely unconventional auteurs.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Turning on real-life 1990s trans icon Cristina Ortiz, “Veneno” established Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo as leading LGBTQ directors in Spain. In “La Mesías,” they bring their hallmark visceral sense of diversity to each and every scene and episode, which lends them their large distinction. “We’re not very conscious of it, but you can see diversity in how each character reacts differently to trauma, as well as the genre mix and diversity of settings.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In 2017, Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest SVOD-pay TV player, rocked the San Sebastian Festival, the highest-profile movie event in Spain and Latin America region, with “The Plague,” the biggest series ever made in Spain. Movistar Plus, owned by Telefónica, looks set to make waves again at this week’s San Sebastian by world premiering another big, bold series: “La Mesías.” It’s written, directed and produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – known in Spain as Los Javis – marking their follow-up to overseas breakout “Veneno,” a raunchy but highly grounded bio of Spanish trans icon Cristina Ortiz.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Oscar winner Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”), “The Secret Life of Words” director Isabel Coixet and “Veneno” writer-director-producers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature among talent behind Spanish titles at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, the highest profile film event in the Spanish-speaking world.  Coixet will compete for the first time in San Sebastian’s main competition with “Un Amor,” a probing village-set tale of emotional dependence starring Laia Costa (“Lullaby”) and “Money Heist’s” Hovik Keuchkerian.    Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal will present as a special screening animated feature “They Shot the Piano Player,” a joyful and finally devastating portrait of the life and fate of pianist Francisco Tenorio Jr. narrated by Jeff Goldblum. 

The San Sebastián Film Festival has revealed the lineup of Spanish titles that will screen as part of the Official Selection of its latest edition, which is due to unfold from September 22 — 30. Scroll down for the full list.

Veneno” writer-director-creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – popularly known as Los Javis – have dropped an international trailer for its sequel, “Vestida de Azul” (“Veneno 2: Dressed in Blue”)  sharing it in exclusivity with Variety. Sold to HBO Max for the U.S., where it aired to acclaim, “Veneno” was picked as one of Variety’s best international series in 2020.  This time round, Los Javis produce through Suma Content, the Madrid-based label they launched in 2021, where they also serve as its creative directors. The series is its fourth production after “Una navidad con Samantha Hudson,” a Christmas special, “Cardo,” and “Cardo 2.” An Atresplayer original series, “Vestidas de Azul” is produced for Atresmedia Television in collaboration with Suma Content. Atresmedia TV International Sales handles international distribution.  

Liza Foreman Spanish SVOD service Atresplayer Premium has announced at the Berlinale Series Market a raft of new cast members joining the continuation of its award-winning trans series “Veneno,” which played on HBO Max in the U.S. to large acclaim. Joining the cast of the seven-episode series “Vestidas De Azul” are supporting cast members Susana Abaitua (“Crazy about Her”), Elena Irureta (“Patria”), Luis Callejo (“Jefe”), drag artist Estrella Xtravaganza, Mercedes Sampietro (“Gary  Cooper, Who Art in Heaven”) and Anabel Alonso (“7 Vidas”), among others. The announcement was made at a Q&A on Monday focused on the continuation of the series. It forms part of a Next from Spain event focusing on first looks at four new series.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The latest series from Alex de la Iglesia and “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature at a first-look Next from Spain Showcase which marks a massive step-up in the country’s presence at the Berlinale Series Market. Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.  The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “La Mesías,” from “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, drinks deep from Catholic tradition from its very title — literally, “The Female Messiah” — to iconography  and focus on faith.  Another awaited Movistar+ series, “The Left-Handed Son,” created by “The Plague” screenwriter Rafael Cobos, was presented to the press in July against a spectacular backdrop taking in, just across a waterway, Seville’s iconic Torre de Oro and, a little further away, the Giralda bell tower of Seville’s Cathedral. In line with platform production trends the world over, rather than playing down local elements, Movistar+ is playing them up. For the Telefonica SVOD/pay TV player in Spain, this has been a longterm philosophy, reaching back to its earliest series in 2017. 

Veneno” and producers of “Cardo,” have joined forces with Movistar Plus, the pay TV/SVOD of Telefonica, to develop and produce a new series, “La Mesías.”Presented on Tuesday in Madrid, like “Veneno,” the series has been written by Los Javis – as they are popularly known in Spain – and, according to Javier Ambrossi, the scale of the series marks the natural “next step” in the growth of Suma Content. A Movistar Plus original series, the series will be written, directed and produced by Ambrossi and Calvo and made in collaboration with Suma Content, their new production label launched last year.  Movistar Plus International will handle international distribution of what rates from the get-go as one of the hottest Spanish series which will be brought onto the global market this year. According to a synopsis read out by Javier Calvo at the presentation, “La Mesias,” described as a family thriller, turns on Enric, who is heavily impacted by a viral video of a Christian pop band made up of five sisters. Enric himself, the synopsis says, is still traumatised by a childhood marked by religious fanaticism and a mother with delirious messianic ambitions.

Atresmedia, owner of the OTT service Atresplayer Premium, is finding the sweet spot between auteur and broad audience shows.Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone –  and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S.

Sasha Urban editorIsabel Torres, the Spanish actor known for portraying the transgender icon Cristina “La Veneno” Ortiz on HBO’s “Veneno,” died Friday, according to a post originally written in Spanish on her official Instagram. She was 52.“Although her family and friends feel her loss deeply, we know that wherever she goes, she will have fun as only she knows how,” the post reads in English. “Thank you for all the messages of affection and concern.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“17 KHZ,” (Mediacrest)Cut off in a border region, five people from different generations and countries confront Tiamat, a conspiracy of young teens who have ermined that the inly way to stop climate change is to eliminate all adults. That, for Tiamat, however, is not the end of their plan, just a beginning.

Veneno is getting a follow-up series!

Jamie Lang Spanish showrunners Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, popularly known as Los Javis, are launching Suma Content, a new, Madrid-based but internationally operating independent production company which will replace their current, smaller label, Suma Latina.The pair are already superstars in Spain and their star is rising abroad. They’re responsible for several recent hit productions including the Atresplayer Premium original series “Veneno,” sold to HBO Max in the U.S., and Netflix pickup “Paquita Salas,” and are regular contributors on the unscripted scene having appeared on Spain’s legendary singing competition “Operación Triunfo” and the recently launched “Drag Race España,” among others.