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Spain’s Movistar Plus continues to double down on its strategies to further amplify Spanish series and storytelling internationally with the world premiere of the highly anticipated eco-thriller “Patagonia.”
Bowing at
the upcoming South International Series Festival in Cádiz, the series is the latest major co-production to be boosted by the Spanish streamer and the fruit of a pioneering collaboration with Chile’s Wood Producciones and Spain’s Atlantika Films. Germany’s ZDF Studios handles international distribution for the series, which is set for release on Movistar Plus in January 2027.
Led by “Money Heist” star Itziar Ituño, “Patagonia” is a six-episode series following Ituño’s Alicia, a desperate mother who travels from the Basque Country to Chile’s titular region to find her missing teenage son, Noah (Unai Arana).
As the search continues, Alicia must navigate her own family conflicts while dealing with the mysteries of the ancient forest and a dangerous illegal logging network. The series is created by Chilean writers María Elena Wood and Patricio Pereira. The former is behind Platino Prize best series winners “News of a Kidnapping” and “Dignity,” while the latter produced “Mary & Mike.”
“Patagonia” is directed by Rodrigo Susarte, who recently helmed the high-concept sci-fi “Hidden Island,” featured on this year’s Berlinale Series Market Selects. Speaking with Variety ahead of the film’s premiere, Susarte says he was drawn to the idea of an eco-thriller because it amplifies a suspense story’s core hook, which is “what we fail to see.”
“I didn’t want the series to explain the climate crisis,” he adds. “I’d rather it leaves the audience with a lingering sense of unease. Maybe the real question isn’t what we’re doing to the forest, but what part of ourselves disappears along with it.”
Wood adds that “Patagonia” was born from a desire “to tell a story in which a unique territory is not merely a backdrop, but a protagonist.” “We envisioned a contemporary Western set in the southern reaches of the globe—a place where extraordinary nature, isolated communities, economic interests, and deeply human conflicts coexist,” she notes.
Susarte mentions his work in the series was inspired by films by Werner Herzog and Jane Campion. The former is a particularly resonant influence given his infamous experience of shooting “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” in the depths of the Peruvian forest. When asked about the experience of shooting in Hornopirén, Susarte says it was a chance to physically experience how organisms can shape one another in nature.
“There, the forest isn’t a backdrop; it’s a presence, with its own rules, its own light, and its own sense of time,” he says. “The first thing you learn is that you’re not in charge. The weather rewrites your shooting schedule every morning, and there’s an almost philosophical lesson in learning to accept that without giving up. Filmmaking is, at its heart, an attempt to control things. Patagonia constantly reminds you where that control ends.”
The director also notes an interesting paradox that guided the shoot: “We were telling a story about the destruction of a forest while moving through it with an entire film crew.” “Shooting there demanded an awareness of the footprint we were leaving behind, of entering a space that doesn’t belong to us.”
“For me, bringing ‘Patagonia’ to life between Chile and Spain has been a truly unique experience, and undoubtedly one of the most rewarding projects of my career,” notes Atlantika Films producer Nano Arrieta. “Working alongside Pato and Mané at Wood Producciones has been a real privilege. From day one, we knew we were in excellent hands, with access to some of the finest crews in Chile. On the Spanish side, we made an equally strong commitment to bringing together top-tier talent in the Basque Country.”
The producer also mentions how “Patagonia” is feeding into an “incredibly exciting moment for Spanish cinema.” Arrieta brings up names like Oliver Laxe, Los Javis and Alauda Ruiz De Azúa as exponents of this new wave. “These are bold, distinctive filmmakers with powerful creative voices, and they’re helping push Spanish storytelling into exciting new territory.”
“Great moments in an industry usually come from something deeper than the market itself, [they come] from having confidence in your own voice,” adds Susarte. “I think that’s a big part of what’s happening in Spain right now. Stories that don’t feel the need to apologise for being local, and platforms like Movistar Plus have understood that. What I hope is that this moment doesn’t simply end with success, that it creates room for bolder creative voices, and that the dialogue between Spain and Latin America continues to grow.”
On top of launching “Patagonia,” Atlantika is currently developing “When Devils Rule,” a series based on an original idea by Arrieta and starring Oscar-nominated “Emilia Perez” actress Karla Sofia Gascón. “When Devils Rule” will also reunite Susarte and Ituño. The six-part series will be pitched at Tallinn’s TV Beats Co-Financing Market running Nov. 16-17.
“The concept is quite wild, actually. It’s a hyperrealistic story, deeply rooted in the political and social chaos of our times, but with one supernatural twist: demons,” says the producer of the series. “The central idea is pretty simple, and perhaps a little provocative. What if the political madness, moral corruption and sheer absurdity of the world we’re living in could only be explained by the fact that demons are actually behind it all?”
As for Susarte, he’ll soon start his festival journey with “Invunche,” a reinterpretation of a tale from Chilote mythology, originating in the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile and combining Indigenous beliefs with Spanish legends. “I’ve set it in a time when information reaches us in fragments, distorted and out of order. At the heart of it is the same idea I’ve always been drawn to: what does a place reveal about the people who inhabit it, and what does what we’re willing to lose reveal about us?”
Wood is currently developing two features, both international co-productions. “Arca” is directed by Matías Bize (“The Punishment”), written by Julio Rojas (“Case 63”), and co-produced with Spain’s Potenza, Brazil’s Trema, and Chile’s Céneca and Wood Productions. It is a psychological thriller that confronts its protagonists with an extreme moral dilemma in the face of a world spiraling out of control.
The second project, “Lucila,” is an animated feature film centered on the childhood of Gabriela Mistral in the Elqui Valley, exploring the emotional and creative world of the person who would go on to become one of the great voices of Latin American literature.
“Patagonia” is produced by María Elena Wood and Pereira and Atlantika’s Nano Arrieta and Claudia Ruiz. Production oversight is shared with ZDF Studios’ Sebastián Krekeler, Susanne Frank, and Peter Nadermann, plus Cristina Merino at Movistar Plus. “Patagonia” is an exclusive Movistar Plus series.
