VIS, Spain’s Fasten Films to Co-Produce Priest Drama ‘Pastor’
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Building its presence in Europe, ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) has closed a deal with on-the-rise Spanish production company Fasten Films to co-produce “Pastor,” a social-issue drama.
Created and written by Natxo López, the creator of “Stolen Away” and writer for Mediaset España banner series “Caronte,” “Pastor” will be directed by Spanish film-TV helmer Jorge Dorado, acclaimed for his work on “The Head,” but with credits reaching back to “Anna” and “The Department of Time.”
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Billed as “a story of anger, pride, revenge but mostly of love, which will bring the viewers to question where the boundaries between good and bad lies,” the 10-hour “Pastor” turns on a socially-committed and controversial priest who, enraged at injustice, ends up crossing the line to protect his parishioners.
“With ‘Pastor,’ I want to create an overwhelming visual experience to disrupt and move the audience’s conscience. I want ‘Pastor’s’ images to be smelled, and even chewed on, through this journey to the most remote places within human soul,” Dorado commented.
“‘Pastor’ is genre, social conflict and mainly a character-driven story. The tale of a beaten man that gets fed up and decides to fight to improve the lives of his peers,” López added.
“He’s a complex main character, whose questionable behavior makes us wonder if we’re witnessing the rise of a hero or villain,” he added.
The fictional drama series will be sold to partners from the beginning of 2022. It forms part of more than 140 projects in development and over 60 titles currently in production at VIS.
Launched in 2018, VIS has proved one of the fastest-growing production powers on the Latin American and Latinx scene, signing first-look deals with Argentina’s Juan José Campanella and Ariel Winograd as well as wih “Disobedience” producer Frida Torresblanco and U.S. singer, songwriter and actor Marc Anthony.
At January’s NATPE TV market, J.C. Acosta, president of ViacomCBS International Studios and Networks Americas. suggested that new phase expansion will take in ever more other key markets outside the U.S. such as the U.K. and Spain.
Fasten Films has caught the wave of new premium drama series production in Spain backing the Netflix-released “Nisman – The Prosecutor, The President and the Spy,” from Justin Webster, director of the Emmy winning “Six Dreams.” Fasten is also producing the upcoming Netflix original “Centaur,” an action thriller feature from Daniel Calparsoro (“Side Games”).
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