Top Spanish arthouse distributor-producer Avalon had boarded “La niña de la cabra” (“Goat Girl”), the sophomore film by actor-director Ana Asensio whose “Most Beautiful Island” feature snagged the SXSW Grand Jury Award in 2017.
The project, which has just earned support from Spain’s ICAA film institute, is set up at Aquí y Allí Films and co-produced with Romania’s Avantpost Media. Pedro Hernández’s Aquí y Allí Films is the producer behind Antonio Méndez Esparza’s festival hits “Here and There,” a Cannes Critics’ Week winner, and “Life and Nothing More.”
An allegorical drama set in the suburbs of Madrid in the late ’80s, “Goat Girl” is scheduled to roll in 2023 and has been acquired for international sales by Paris-based Alpha Violet.
Both Avalon and Aquí y Allí share a close relationship since they teamed on Carlos Vermut’s “Magical Girl,” which scooped San Sebastian’s Golden Shell in 2016, distribution in Spain being handled by Avalon.
A co-producer and distributor of Carla Simón’s “Alcarràs,” Spain’s current Oscars submission and Berlinale Golden Bear winner, Avalon is a majority co-producer in Ian de la Rosa’s feature project “Iván & Hadoum,” in partnership with Vayolet Films.
De la Rosa, a screenwriter on Atresmedia and HBO Max hit series “Veneno,” made waves with his shortfilm “Farrucas,” which snagged a 2021 Gaudi Prize and Goya nomination.
Avalon handles Spanish distribution rights to both projects, which have recently passed through the Torino Film Lab sessions.
The production news comes as one of Avalon’s most recent pickups for Spain as a distributor, Genki Kawamura’s “A Hundred Flowers,” a mother-son drama sold by Wild Bunch, won best director at San Sebastian on Saturday night.
In recent years, many Spanish distributors have entered production. Founded in 1996 by Stefan Schmitz, Avalon, on the contrary, was born as a production company.
“We not only bring the advantages of entering from the beginning with a distributor’s vision, but also with all that 26 years of production experience entails,” Schmitz said.
“Right now we primarily offer potential partners experience, national and international contacts, financial strength, and a total commitment to content and auteurs,” he added.
