Cannes winner Quijote Films moves into TV with scripted series arm

Chilean film company Quijote Films is moving into television with its own scripted series unit.

The Chile and Los Angeles-based company has put up to $250,000 into development ahead of Mipcom, the international TV market in Cannes where broadcasters, streamers and producers buy and sell shows. The launch was reported by Variety on 12 October.

Scripted means dramas and comedies performed from written scripts, as opposed to reality or documentary. Quijote will develop originals in-house, meaning with its own staff, rather than waiting for outside pitches. It has set up an in-house writing team alongside an external development team to originate new series ideas.

The push is led by chief executive Giancarlo Nasi. Day-to-day strategy sits with Sergio Karmy, the company's head of strategy. Karmy joined Quijote from Fabula, the Chilean company run by director Pablo Larraín and producer Juan de Dios Larraín, and he represented Quijote at Mipcom.

At the market, Quijote was looking for international co-development and co-financing partners among streaming platforms, studios and production companies. Co-development means two or more partners shape a show together from an early stage. Co-financing means they share the production cost and, usually, the rights.

Quijote arrives with a strong festival record. It was behind The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo and The Settlers, both prizewinners in Un Certain Regard, the Cannes section for distinctive new voices and filmmakers. In total the company has lead-produced or joined close to 30 international co-productions, meaning films made by partners from two or more countries. That list includes Chile's first co-production pact with Ukraine, on Pamfir, and its first with South Africa, on The Smell of Apples.

Chile itself is part of the pitch. The country offers a cash rebate, a government refund, of 30% to 40% of costs spent in Chile by incoming productions. The rebate covers features and series that spend at least $400,000 locally, with refunds ranging from $120,000 to $3 million, according to Variety.

What makes this stand out is the shift in job. A company known for auteur films is now hiring writers and funding scripts built to run over several episodes. For viewers, it points to more Chilean-rooted stories made for series from the start.