Pablo Berger: Last News

Neon has acquired North American rights to Robot Dreams, the first animated feature from Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger (Blancanieves), which is poised to premiere in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival this Saturday, May 20th.

Catalonia has become one of Europe’s most vibrant regional audiovisual forces. The proof can be found at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. More than 50 Catalan companies — some 100 executives and creatives — are expected to attend. Five films, four by new directors, have made the official cut at Cannes; six projects play in Marché du Film showcases. The three biggest Catalan movies at the festival, Elena Martin’s “Creature,” Pham Thiên An’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” both in Directors’ Fortnight, and Pablo Berger’s “Robot Dreams,” playing out of competition, also underscore strong trends coursing through current Catalan cinema, including international co-production and an exploding animation scene.

Spain trails only France in the number of animated projects set to pitch in March at Bordeaux’s 2022 Cartoon Movie, a key international event for the artform.Spanish producers will bring 10 feature projects to the event, including two from Lorena Ares and Carlos Fernández de Vigo in “Moonbeam” and “DinoGames,” María Trenor’s “Rock Bottom,” Lorenzo Degl’Innocenti and Xosé Zapata’s “Draw” and Carmen Córdoba’s “A World of Their Own.”From the slate, four are international co-productions, two boast budgets more than €8 million ($9.04 million) and seven of the 10 projects are aimed at adult audiences, mirroring a recent global trend. With a glut of projects currently in the works from Spain, several other possible gems include Pablo Berger’s Elle Driver-sold “Robot Dreams,” Warner Bros. España and 4 Cats Pictures’ co-production “Mummies,” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s “They Shot the Piano Player” – sold by Film Constellation – Salvador Simó’s SC Films Intl.-sold “Dragonkeeper,” and the third release from the popular “Tadeo Jones” franchise.Spain has a long and solid tradition in animation, particularly in developing talent.