We, together with STARZPLAY, Pantaya and the Oscar winning production company Fabula, have today announced our newest Spanish language co-production collaboration for the science fiction miniseries El Refugio, wrapping principal photography this week in Chile. The series stars Alberto Guerra (La Jauria) and Ana Claudia Talancón (Como Caído del Cielo) and is directed by Argentinean Pablo Fendrik (Ardor).
In El Refugio a family experiences the strangest hours of their lives when unusual phenomena begin to take place, apparently caused by an alien invasion or a completely unidentified force of nature. But all of it happens through their screens. When they go outside, nothing seems to be happening, aside from what springtime in the Mexican countryside holds in store for a group of humans. The parents must protect their children from an invisible enemy whom not even they know exists. What is real? What happened to the world they knew? Is this ranch a refuge? Is it the final stronghold of humanity?
The miniseries consists of six one-hour episodes based on the original idea by Julio Rojas (La Vida de los Peces) who also co-wrote the series with Francisco Ortega (Logia) and Enrique Videla (La Jauría) Production included 10 weeks of filming in rural areas of Santiago, Chile. El Refugio will premiere in Latin America, Brazil and Spain on STARZPLAY, and in the United States and Puerto Rico on Pantaya. Internationally known as The Shelter, we will handle international distribution of the series.
“We are excited to push the boundaries of premium Spanish-language series with ‘El Refugio’, which is a brilliant fusion of various genres” said Mario Almeida, Head of content for Pantaya. “At its core though, ‘El Refugio’ is a love story about families, and how families cope with life-changing events. This series is wholly unique, and we know will strike a chord with audiences when they watch.”
“We are eager to share the unique story that ‘El Refugio’ offers filled with suspense, love and familial themes to the STARZPLAY audience in Latin America, Brazil and Spain,” said Superna Kalle, President, International Networks for STARZ. “Reuniting with the magnificent teams at Fabula, Pantaya and Fremantle for this powerful story reinforces our commitment to co-producing locally made and culturally relevant content.”
“It is a great challenge to make a 100% Latino science fiction series and the result of Pablo Fendrik’s work and his team is surprising”, said Ángela Poblete, Executive Producer at Fabula. “‘El Refugio’ is an entertaining and exciting story, performed by great actors and actresses”.
“We are very happy to be continuing our relationship with Fabula, STARZPLAY and Pantaya on such an ambitious series” says Christian Vesper, President of Global Drama for Fremantle. “A sophisticated and timely thriller with universal issues of love and family at its heart, ‘El Refugio’ features extraordinary talent both on and off screen. We can’t wait to share this unique story with audiences and see how they react.”
The cast of El Refugio also includes
- Zuria Vega (En Las Buenas y en las Malas)
- Paloma Woolrich (La Muchacha Que Limpia)
- Alfredo Castro (El Club), Diego Escalona (La Suerte de Loli)
- Camila Valero (Herederos Por Accidente)
- Isabella Arroyo (A Love Letter)
- Jorge Guerrero (Roma)
- Gabriela Cartol (La Camarista)
- Fernanda Urrejola (Narcos)
and a special appearance by Gustavo Sánchez Parra (La Muchacha que Limpia).
El Refugio (The Shelter) is executive produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Ángela Poblete and Mariane Hartard for Fabula and Christian Vesper, for Fremantle. The co-production deal was brokered by Sheila Aguirre, EVP Content Distribution & Format Sales, Caribbean & Hispanic US for Fremantle, Paul Presburger and Mario Almeida for Pantaya and Jeff Cooke for Starzplay.
