Colombia’s Fidelio, one of the fastest growing companies in Latin America, has made its third big unveil at Spain’s Conecta Fiction, revealing this time round a multi-title co-development alliance for Spain and Latin America with Barcelona-based Amor y Lujo, headed by Andrea H. Catalá, Javi Ferreiro y Almudena Monzú.
First title up is “Picadero” a neo noir series created by Spanish scriptwriter and story editor Almudena Monzú, co-founder of the Barcelona-based Amor y Lujo, which she launched in 2016 with Venezuelan producer-director Andrea H. Catalá. Over the last few years. it has been providing production services, while building up its own project portfolio.
“Picadero” is a detective thriller that draws inspiration from Spanish film director Iciar Bollaín’s “Mataharis” and great detective classics.
It follows the cases of Llanos, a female detective who sets up in Barcelona to escape a dark family past and makes a living off secrets and scandals of the the city’s bourgeoisie. These leads her to discover the city’s Queer Underground and the attainments and miseries of Catalan society.
Witty and with a refined sense of irony, Llanos guides the audience -sometimes addressing them directly – through every stratum of Barcelona society, like a “Fleabag”-style Sam Spade adding new breadth to the figure of a film noir gumshoe.
“Viewers are highly aware of the literary tradition of the private detective where the image of a male investigator is so ingrained that it’s really a large advantage for women who are seen as much less suspicious,” said Monzú. She added: “There are also a lot of female private eyes. 30% of detectives in Spain are women. But that image hasn’t registered in the collective imagination.”
Development will be led by Monzú, assisted by Fidelio’s Mauricio Leiva Cock, who will help transform her concepts and ideas into a series format.
The project has already caught the attention of big names in Spain’s writing firmament such as Isabel Peña, the Spanish Academy Goya Award winning co-scribe of all of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s films. Schedule allowing, Peña will form part of an already strong writer’s room.
Amor y Lujo has a very clear line of interest as creators, Catalá told Variety.
“We are very interested in revisiting genres and exploring what’s happening to erotic imagination in today’s global context. If you see the projects we’re developing, there have facets of both, a genre reworking and Queer elements, and they usually have a strong erotic charge.”
Synergies sparked by the alliance underscore the new opportunities that co-production opens up to indie content creators.
“We very quickly realized the affinities we share as our partners are writers, creators looking to explore new possibilities. We very early on saw an opportunity to collaborate. It’s been a beautiful business-to-business relationship” said Fidelio producer-partner Juan Diego Villegas.
Catalá added: “For us, Fidelio, due to its vast experience, has become the commercial center of our project, and gives us a great gateway to a broader market.”
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