Former Movistar chief tells commissioners to gamble on bold projects
Don't reject the bold ones. That was the warning from former Movistar Plus+ content chief Domingo Corral to the executives who decide what gets made for TV and film.
Corral was speaking at the MIA Market in Rome, which runs on October 19–23, 2026, on a panel titled “Can Excellence Survive the Mainstream?” MIA Market. He appeared alongside producer Maria Zamora of Elastica Films, producer Belén Atienza of Suspense Entertainment and producer Fernando Bovaira of Mod Producciones, according to Deadline.
His message was blunt. Commissioners, meaning the gatekeepers who approve projects and control budgets, should not turn away ambitious work in favour of safe bets or they could miss the next La Bola Negra or Sîrat.
“Formulaic, conservative proposals will always be there, but you cannot reject the other way,” Corral said.
Corral knows the risk from both sides. He spent 11 years at Movistar, the pay-TV and streaming arm of Telefónica-owned Movistar, before he and his team were removed from Movistar Plus+ last year.
During that run he backed a slate of high-profile Spanish originals. That list includes Sîrat from Oliver Laxe, Los Tigres from Alberto Rodríguez, Los Domingos from Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, and Cinco Minutos Más, starring and written by Berto Romero and directed by Javier Ruiz Calder.
Two titles came up again and again in Rome. La Bola Negra, which explores queer desire across different periods of Spanish history, opened on four screens in the United States to $278,000 ahead of its streaming launch. Sîrat is Academy Award-nominated. Corral greenlit both films, as well as the upcoming Javier Bardem film The Beloved.
Zamora’s Elastica Films is selling La Bola Negra. Bovaira, whose credits include Agora and Vanilla Sky, backed Corral’s call for braver decision-making.
“We need commissioners who are willing to go the casino and gamble,” Bovaira said.
Support for Corral has been public. Around 150 creatives, including Pedro Almodóvar and Javier Bardem, signed an open letter thanking him and his team for championing high-end original film and TV.
What comes next for Corral is already taking shape. He is now listed by MIA Market as producer and owner of Good Day Productions in Spain. In March, HBO Max signed him to a first-look deal, an agreement that gives the streamer first refusal on his new projects, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Streamers and broadcasters are all trying to organise ambitious local stories for global audiences. Corral’s argument is simple. Leave room in the schedule for the gamble. The safe proposal will still be there tomorrow.
