A Contracorriente Films

[Reuquen Lanier]

AContracorriente Films is the leading independent film distribution company in Spain, which also has exhibition activities through its emblematic brand, Cines Verdi. The company has an extensive catalogue of more than 2,000 films and series that it distributes in cinemas, streaming platforms and television channels. With an outstanding presence in the film industry, A Contracorriente Films has become a benchmark for quality and variety in the independent film market in Spain.

Our main challenge is to consolidate our position as a national leader in the sector. The entry of Suma Capital will allow us to strengthen the purchase of titles, boost our own productions and launch new lines of business. In this way, we will be in a privileged position to meet the demands of a constantly evolving market and offer our customers the best possible experience.

A Contracorriente Films, the leading independent film distributor in Spain, contributes to SDG 9 by promoting the creation and distribution of high quality audiovisual content, as well as by creating its own online platform (Acontra+). In addition, through its Cines Verdi brand, it promotes access to art and culture in local communities, which is aligned with SDG 11. On the other hand, the company is also committed to gender equality and diversity, both in its employees and in the film industry, which has a positive impact on SDG 5. Finally, A Contracorriente Films focuses on the sustainability of its operations and works to minimise its environmental impact, demonstrating its commitment to SDG 12.

The Inseparables is based on an original story by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow (Toy Story 1) and a script by Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker (Paw Patrol, the movie, Bigfoot Family). The film is coproduced by Octopolis in France and has just begun principal animation for a release in theaters in the summer of 2023.

Currently the biggest independent film distributor in Spain, managing an extensive and diverse catalogue of over 1500 films and series and a portfolio of exhibition sites including the Cines Verdi and Cines Conde Duque brands as well as a production team that produces and co-produces theatrical films and television.

While studying film at CalArts in Los Angeles in 1996, filmmaker Javier Fuentes-Lon was given an exercise in his screenwriting class: to write a scene with three characters in one location, and create an intense conflict. Javier wrote a scene that contained magical elements, which he later developed into a play.

In November 2005, Javier was invited to participate in another screenwriting lab in Spain for emerging and established Spanish and Latin American writers. Undertow developed further, and through rehearsals with actors, Javier refined the script, often cutting scenes from three pages down to one page. By the end of the lab, he was close to a final draft.

The French and German producers were not able to acquire any more funds, so they took a back seat on the project, and the Colombians and Javier took over as the hands-on producers. Fund raising continued for a few years, with the producers pitching the project at festivals worldwide, including Toronto, Cannes, and Berlin. During this period, Javier was working as an editor, and subtitling films into Spanish.

As is often the case with foreign co-productions, the European funds had a caveat attached to them. The German funds had to be spent in Germany, and some of the French funds had to be spent in France. So Javier completed the sound mix in France, along with the score (conveniently, Javier found a Peruvian composer he liked, Selma Mutal, who lived in France). The final film blow-up to 35 mm was completed in Germany, with the German funds.

At the end of March, after the screening of Undertow in Toulouse, Javier was invited to premiere the film at the San Sebastin International Film Festival in Spain in September 2009, one of the most prestigious festivals in Europe behind the big three of Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. Shortly thereafter, Sundance accepted the film for its 2010 festival. Sundance programmers usually prefer to screen world premieres, but they were not bothered by the San Sebastin premiere. However, they did request that Javier not screen the film publicly after its debut, so the filmmakers had to turn several festivals down that wanted to screen the film after San Sebastin and before Sundance.

Johnny Depp, owner of the production company Infinitum Nihil, and Adolfo Blanco, managing adviser of A Contraccoriente Films, have concluded an international collaboration agreement aimed at developing projects, both feature films and television series, for the increasingly hotly contested world market, currently almost monopolised by North American, British and Asian productions.

The agreement, concluded at the San Sebastian Film Festival, also brings together Paris-based producer Jelena Gold Bach, London-based producer Alexandra Stone and producer/director Julien Temple, a team that is already working with a number of new and veteran screenwriters to market a catalogue of productions for 2022-2023.

The deal is made through Johnny Depp's UK-based production company IN.2, in which the American actor, director and producer has teamed up with Stephen Deuters and Stephen Malit. His most recent productions have been 'Crock of Gold', directed by Julien Temple, and 'Minamata', directed by Andrew Levitas, both distributed in Spain by A Contracorriente Films.

According to Johnny Depp and Adolfo Blanco, this would be the first step towards the creation of a pan-European production company dedicated to housing a truly independent voice for a wide range of artists. IN.2 wants to intensify its film, theatre and television productions with a focus on European sensibilities, yet accessible to North American audiences.

Depp, who already has more than 90 productions under his belt, declared that "IN.2 will build a space where artists can be artists, where they have the freedom to create those unexpected moments, those fortunate accidents that tend to become great art and bring their ideas to life".

For his part, Adolfo Blanco, who founded A Contracorriente Films in Barcelona in 2009 and has positioned it today as the leading independent film company in Spain, expressed his satisfaction with the agreement with IN.2: "In a project that is so timely for the new times, marked by a changing model in our industry. Being able to identify and produce films with the ability to target specific audiences will be key to remaining competitive". Blanco praised the enormous talent Depp has always shown "to select works that appeal to audiences, taking significant risks".

A Contracorriente already brings an extensive and diverse catalogue of more than 1,500 films, demonstrating an unquestionable nose for identifying, producing, acquiring and distributing a wide variety of celebrated films such as 'Intocable', 'Dios mo, pero qu te hemos hecho?', 'El mejor verano de mi vida', 'Mia y el len blanco', 'Ballerina' and 'La librera' among others.

Like many countries, Spain is having to live with a period of confinement, which includes closing its cinemas. As a consequence a Spanish distribution and production company, A Contracorriente Films, may be forced to postpone several of its films.

To prevent total disruption to its schedules, A Contracorriente Films has decided to preview four of its films on their original release dates, creating a virtual cinema online so the public can watch these new films.

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