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Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a characteristic wherever we radiance a spotlight connected cardinal executives and companies extracurricular of nan U.S. shaking up nan offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking to AF Films, nan Spanish institution that has been softly and quickly building up its footprint since it was founded conscionable 3 years ago. We chat to AF Films laminitis Frank Ariza astir accumulation and distribution ambitions, their soundstages successful nan Canary Islands and upcoming projects ‘Hammer Down‘, ‘No Man’s Land’ & more.
As accumulation successful Europe continues to turn astatine a accelerated pace, AF Films is emerging arsenic 1 of Spain’s astir eager caller players. In conscionable 3 years, nan predominantly Madrid-based banner has built itself into a fully-fledged indie workplace that not only develops, finances and produces internationally-driven projects, but now besides has a Spanish distribution label, AF Pictures, and boasts 2 soundstages connected nan incredibly tax-friendly Canary Islands, AF Stages. To boot, nan institution collaborates often pinch Canaries-based post-production location Match Point, enabling nan institution to connection up a “360 approach” to its productions.
The institution was founded by producer-writer-director Frank Ariza, who runs nan outfit alongside producing partner and character Manu Vega. Its world portfolio includes Eva Victor’s Sundance-winning directorial debut Sorry, Baby, Antonio Banderas shark thriller Above and Below with Capstone Pictures and upcoming dystopian thriller No Man’s Land with Noomi Rapace and Millicent Simmonds.
More recently, AF Films has boarded action pic Hammer Down, which it is co-producing with Oppenheimer producer Charles Roven. It is besides partnering with The Housemaid producer Hidden Pictures connected action-driven feature Chopper. Last year, nan company wrapped a Vatican-backed documentary connected nan tomb of St. Peter, which is headlined by Chris Pratt and is group to beryllium released this year.
“Our purpose is to build a 360 business wherever we tin do everything from A to Z,” Ariza tells Deadline. “Our scheme has been to break nan accepted accumulation institution exemplary and enactment much arsenic a imaginative workplace pinch a world attraction that integrates development, financing, accumulation and distribution into a unified ecosystem.”
Thanks to Spain’s generous 30% nationalist taxation rebate – which is higher successful regions for illustration nan Canary Islands (think 45-54%) – divers locations and skilled crews, world studios and streamers person flocked to sprout successful nan state successful caller years. AF Films is building connected this accumulation roar to align pinch high-profile co-productions and English and Spanish-language projects that will click pinch a worldwide audience.
“Europe is charismatic for galore reasons, but its incentives are a large driver for world productions,” he says. “There are truthful galore accumulation services wherever group are not arsenic hands on, but what we bring to nan array is that we’re progressive early connected and we return risk. We negociate nan beingness accumulation and because of that, we effort to prevention money and beryllium arsenic businesslike arsenic imaginable pinch everything connected screen, including nan building and nan incentives.”
First steps
Ariza had been moving for Spanish streaming work Tivify earlier he moved to L.A. successful 2019 wherever he worked pinch MGM and Disney Latin America to create ideas for shows successful Spanish speaking territories specified as Yo Quisiera Perdóname, Señor and Secretos de Estado.
While costs of accumulation successful nan U.S. and Latin America were increasing, Ariza saw really Spanish incentives were luring world productions. “I thought it would beryllium absorbing to do thing wherever we created an confederation pinch partners each complete nan world, and we could nutrient contented and tally nan imaginative and beingness accumulation alternatively than conscionable being a accumulation service. We wanted to create and ain IP.”
Ariza says nan institution initially started moving connected “very section content” earlier building its world business, which began pinch 2025 Sundance hit Sorry, Baby. Ariza admits that AF Films served “more arsenic passive finance” connected that project. “We didn’t tally nan beingness accumulation connected it,” he says. “But it was a awesome acquisition moving pinch [producer] Adele Romanski and Eva Victor.”
This twelvemonth it has 2 projects that will sprout successful Spain, some successful nan Canary Islands, which sees productions capable to entree up to a 54% taxation rebate connected nan first €1M and 45% afterwards. AF Films is co-producing Hammer Down with Roven and his Atlas Entertainment banner. The film, which antecedently had Idris Elba attached (a replacement is expected to beryllium announced soon), follows a seasoned long-haul trucker and his tenacious girl arsenic they’re forced to face their fractured narration while transporting a mysterious cargo crossed nan country. Because it’s a roadworthy movie, Ariza says there’s nary request to usage AF Stages. “The communicative takes spot successful Southern California and Las Palmas [Gran Canaria] has nan aforesaid landscape,” he says.
Meanwhile, No Man’s Land, which sees AF Films service arsenic nan lead producer, will beryllium changeable partially successful Madrid and partially successful nan Canaries. The movie draws inspiration from existent events successful Hungary betwixt nan 1910s and 1920s, erstwhile a tightly knit group of women successful a mini village, led by a charismatic fig known arsenic Auntie Suzy, began murdering their abusive husbands successful an effort to reclaim power of their lives.
“We’re mounting that movie nan mountains and we’re besides capable to find those landscapes successful nan Canaries,” he says. “One of nan top things astir nan Canaries is that each azygous land looks different from nan different truthful you tin find these different landscapes wherever you go.”
Its 2 soundstages connected nan Canaries are 100% owned by AF Films and Ariza says nan scheme is to only usage them for their ain productions. “We built them past twelvemonth and because we person truthful galore productions successful nan pipeline, it’s businesslike for america budget-wise.”
Ariza stresses that nan institution is “genre agnostic” and nan institution boards projects based connected nan value of nan book and nan accumulation partners attached. “There’s nary rule, arsenic agelong arsenic nan task is important to us, that’s each that matters.”
AF Films is besides stepping into nan doc abstraction pinch projects specified as La Casa Del Carnaval, directed by Joel Barrios, astir really trans and queer communities contributed to nan creation of carnival civilization successful nan Canary Islands, and nan documentary astir nan find of St.Peter’s tomb, presented by Chris Pratt. The second was filmed astatine St. Peter’s Basilica and nan Vatican Necropolis, a funeral crushed underneath Vatican City. AF Films produces pinch Vatican Media.
“This was 1 of those gifts of life,” said Ariza. “I person been successful connection pinch nan Vatican for galore years and established a bully narration pinch them and they gave maine nan opportunity to show nan communicative of St. Peter, and they wanted to show immoderate of nan treasures of nan Vatican that had ne'er been seen before.”
He continues: “It’s not astir faith, it’s besides astir history, which makes it much absorbing because we’re not trying to show group that St Peter was present and conscionable attraction connected everything related to nan Church, we besides item immoderate of nan contention that happened astatine nan time. It’s thing group are going to beryllium shocked astir erstwhile they watch it.”
This month, nan institution acquired Spanish remake authorities to Italian comedy Buen Camino, which precocious became nan country’s all-time highest-grossing film. It’s besides partnering with The Birthday Party filmmaker Miguel Ángel Jiménez for his adjacent feature Hijos del Miedo about younker radicalization. “We’re profoundly committed to cinema that dares to look straight astatine nan astir analyzable realities of our time,” Ariza says of nan latter.
AF Pictures
Entering nan distribution fray was ever portion of nan “big strategy” for AF Films. Its explanation AF Pictures has released 5 films since it launched precocious past year: Jacob Santana’s psychological thriller Reversión, pinch Jaime Lorente and Vega; Santana’s supernatural horror Evil Dress (El vestido); Horacio Alcalá’s Spanish drama Fragments (Fragmentos), written by Ariza and starring Vega; drama Islands (Islas), starring Ana Belén and Vega; and Spanish comedy-drama Cool Books (Casi todo bien from board Andrés Salmoyraghi and Rafael López Saubidet.
“It intends we power nan early of our movies successful Spain,” he says. “This is important for america arsenic it gives america nan opportunity to support much independent films.”
Ariza continues: “With smaller, indie films and upcoming artists, it’s very difficult to springiness them nan abstraction to beryllium seen and to travel. Right now, we spot truthful galore movies successful Spain successful theatres that past only 1 week and past they disappear. So, we wanted to discuss pinch nan movie theaters ourselves and person those conversations and effort to springiness our projects nan champion script possible. It’s moving good for america truthful far.”
Ariza says that while nan immense mostly of AF’s ain productions will spell done their distribution pipeline successful Spain, nan institution is gearing up to make much acquisitions arsenic it grows. “We’re going to nan market, we’re trying to get content, but it’s not easy,” he admits.
The institution besides collaborates pinch post-production location Match Point successful nan Canaries. “We usage them for our movies, and we are producing truthful galore things astatine nan aforesaid clip that we want to springiness opportunity to nan board to spell to nan offices and activity wherever they want, nevertheless they want and do what they request to beryllium free,” he says.
When it comes to adjacent steps, Ariza is keen to turn but not for nan liking of growth. “The thought is for group to cognize america much and for america to proceed moving pinch nan correct partners and turn nan institution and ain much IP,” he says. “We’re creating a library. That’s nan goal. We don’t want to conscionable beryllium seen arsenic a accumulation institution but arsenic a spot wherever we tin create projects pinch artists. For us, value is much important than quantity. We don’t want to make it bigger, but possibly better.”
