Onza Distribution has signed an agreement with Movistar+ for the international sale of its new documentary series Palomares: The Atomic Bomb Fiasco.
Onza Distribution has signed an agreement with Movistar+ for the international sale of its new documentary series Palomares: The Atomic Bomb Fiasco. On Friday 22 April, the Spanish platform premiered the series, which comprises 4 52-minute episodes and will be shown weekly. Onza Distribution will own the rights around the world.
17 January 1966. 4 thermonuclear bombs with the capacity to cause the largest atomic explosion in the history of humanity fall on Palomares, a small village on Spain’s Mediterranean coast with a population of just 1000. One of the 4 bombs would not be found for 80 days. 55 years later, Palomares, a new Movistar+ original, reconstructs the events of those days for the first time in this uncensured thriller-style documentary series.
Under the astonished gaze of the locals in a parish with a population of little over one thousand, 1,600 US soldiers descend on Palomares to dispose of the radioactive material scattered by the bombs. The Spanish authorities reject the idea of evacuating the village; it would harm the image of a country that relies heavily on tourism. The international media is bilaterally silenced; the USA does not want to take responsibility for this monumental blunder and Spain does not want to become famous for being radioactive. Now, a light will finally be shone on the reports on what really happened.
Palomares includes witness statements from key figures and recently declassified information. This documentary series reveals the true story of how 4 hugely powerful thermonuclear bombs fell on European territory and how, in the midst of the Cold War, keeping the information secret was critical in order to avoid a crisis that could have changed the course of history.
Palomares is an original documentary series from Movistar+ in collaboration with 93 Metros, the team that brought us El Palmar de Troya and Clandestino. Directed by Álvaro Ron (Hernán, La Caza: Monterpedido) and scripted by Daniel Boluda (El Palmar de Troya) and María Cabo (Clandestino).
Onza Distribution has established itself as a leading distributor and has renowned names among its partners. It boasts a wide range of documentaries; as well as Palomares it has over 100 hours of products from the Iberia History Channel in its catalogue.
Carlos Garde, the director of Onza Distribution, stated: “we are delighted to start a collaboration with a brand like Movistar+, which is so well positioned internationally. Palomares is a unique, once-suppressed story that is already generating conversation among the main international buyers. This alliance with Movistar+ forms part of our strategy for growth by uniting with key producers in Spain”.
Synopsis
1966. Palomares, Almería, a quiet village of a thousand inhabitants where life peacefully revolves around agriculture. That is, until 17 January 1966, the day that everything changed forever. That morning, Lyndon Johnson received some alarming news at the White House; two American planes had crashed during a refuelling manoeuvre and four thermonuclear bombs, whose yield was far greater than those used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, had just fallen on Spanish soil. This came at a critical moment in the Cold War and the consequences of this accident could have led the USA into an irreversible crisis. 80 days that would have shocked the world, had they known about it.
