The festival, which will bring together audience and industry and will set the trends in series for next season, has become a European benchmark and has France as a guest country.
The South International Series Festival has presented in Cadiz the image of the Official Poster of its second edition, designed by Okuda San Miguel. In addition, those responsible for the event have advanced the main lines of programming for 2024.
With the presence of Joan Álvarez, South International Series Festival Director; Okuda San Miguel, author of the poster of the second edition of the South International Series Festival; Arturo Bernal, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía; Vanesa Beltrán, Deputy of Culture of the Provincial Council of Cádiz; Teófila Martínez, President of the Port Authority Bay of Cádiz and Bruno García, Mayor of Cádiz.
For six days, from October 25 to 31, the capital of Cádiz will host the premiere of the great titles of the series season in 2025. And it will do so hand in hand with their protagonists in an event that promotes business for the industry and brings the general public closer to their idols.
“The Andalusia of the series is entering a Hollywood moment”, said in his speech the director of the event, Joan Álvarez, who highlighted the character of South as a European series festival, entirely competitive and with a jury of the highest prestige.
The poster for this first edition proposes “a scene where the nature of Cádiz and the audiovisual world merge, creating a portal or channel that invites you to explore these possible universes of cinema,” explained Okuda San Miguel.
The artist will also star, around the dates of the festival, a large-scale intervention with which he will bring a special touch to the life of the city. Specifically, some of his brushstrokes of the South International Series Festival poster will be part of the new exterior image of the port’s Warehouse Number 1. Along with this, Okuda San Miguel will offer us other surprises that will accompany the South in its second edition.
Óscar San Miguel Erice, known artistically as Okuda San Miguel, is a Spanish sculptor, painter and designer specialized in urban art. His works, which can be seen in the streets of much of the world (India, Japan, Chile, United States …), are characterized by being large-scale and make use of geometric shapes and bright colors. This style has consecrated him as one of the most famous urban artists of today.
After congratulating Okuda for his work, Arturo Bernal, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, pointed out the relevance achieved by the South International Series Festival in just one edition. “Andalusia is one of the audiovisual powers and this festival opens a huge door to attract more productions, to inspire new projects and stimulate collaboration with national and international partners,” said Bernal, also highlighting the own productions: “Our stories are told and they are told from here. These are 100% Andalusian-made projects, which carry the Andalusia brand very far”.
Bernal stressed that “the event is a powerful attraction, not only for culture, but also in a very important way for tourism, becoming an ally to attract visitors to Cadiz in the autumn season”.
Vanesa Beltrán, Deputy of Culture of the Provincial Council of Cádiz has emphasized the desire that the province has to bring out the talent because “Cádiz is not only beach, but also culture, history, gastronomy and sport. This city is going to position itself within the audiovisual industry at international level and that is why from the Diputación de Cádiz we are available to all production companies so that the entire province continues to be stage and audiovisual set. Last year 32 shootings were made only in the capital”.
In her speech Teófila Martínez, President of the Port Authority Bay of Cadiz has announced that the artist Okuda will make a mural in the ship 1 of the port that will have a first phase and that little by little will be expanding its design because “what is good for Cadiz is good for its port and there are many creators of series and documentaries that request the space of the port to shoot their productions”. He also added that “the first steps are being taken for the integration of the port and the city, but we want it to be not only a physical integration, but also social, cultural and economic”.
The Mayor of Cadiz, Bruno Garcia concluded by thanking all the people who made possible the realization of the festival and putting as an example the work done by Womack. Garcia has also extended thanks to all the administrations that were part of South at the institutional level because “the impact was positive and the illusion that we had became a reality. The city of Cadiz turned to the festival generating an economic impact but also social and cultural”.
Cadiz, the audiovisual capital
Cadiz will once again look to Andalusia but also to Spain and the rest of the world to tell what is being done in the series, promote meetings and commercial exchange, strengthen the audiovisual cultural industry and also talk to the public, give them unique moments in which to share their love for the series and celebrate the good health of the sector with its protagonists.
The first edition of the Festival made clear the potential of the province of Cadiz as a destination for filming and audiovisual productions, in line with the strategy of the territory to develop the cultural industry linked to tourism and the economy of the province. The data on activities for the industry of the last edition were a success: 38 activities were held with 120 speakers and 57 screenings in which 18 platforms from eleven countries participated. This year the forecasts point to an overbooking in the city of Cadiz, since the demand for national and international accredited industry members is considerably higher than the one received in 2023, which was already a success.
The Andalusian community has become the reference territory for the filming of series and movies in the south of Europe. Andalusia is nowadays, one of the most important natural film sets in the continent, and also has perfect conditions as an attraction for the creative and cultural nomads of the world.
Innovative programming for industry and the public
Premieres, reference players, new seasons previews, specialized sessions for the industry, one-on-one meetings between agents, producers, distributors and platforms, university campus and many other attractive contents will be present in the second edition of the South International Series Festival.
In addition, the Andalusian audiovisual sector will have its own section, “SUR”, to showcase some of the reference series with Andalusia as a privileged enclave for audiovisual creation and stage for international productions. And “SOUTH BOOST” Work in Progress section for the Andalusian audiovisual sector.
The festival will be attended by actors, screenwriters, producers and analysts from Europe, Latin America and the United States.
In addition, this year it will have France as a guest country. And it will renew collaborations with Mediaset España as media sponsor and with Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group and Movistar Plus+ as collaborating platforms.
One of the new collaborations is the agreement with THE WRITERS GUILD FOUNDATION, an organization that preserves and promotes the craft of screenwriting in Hollywood and we will have one of its selected screenwriters who will give a masterclass during the festival.
The public will have the opportunity to enjoy the most anticipated series and be close to their idols on the red carpet, thanks to the varied programming of premieres, season previews, unpublished gems, presentations and exhibitions both national and international.
The registration period for both industry professionals and specialized press will begin in the coming days.
South Series is a private initiative, co-financed by the Programa Feder Andalucía 2012-2027 and the Regional Government of Andalucía, whose Officials Organizations are the Ayuntamiento de Cádiz and the Diputación de Cádiz. It also has the participation as media sponsor of Mediaset España, as sponsor of Movistar Plus+ and Autoridad Portuaria de la Bahía de Cádiz and with the collaboration of the Canal Sur Radio and Television.
