Pokeepsie Films Discusses Bringing Mercedes Ron’s ‘Enfrentados’ to Prime Video and the Early Challenges of the ‘Culpables’ Films

“We are able to do not just horror and fantasy, but we are also doing comedies and young adult. We can touch a lot of different genres and feel comfortable in all of them.” This insight from CEO Bang underscores a versatile approach to content development, emphasizing passion over structured strategy. “It’s not a strategy, actually. What we try to do every day are things that we love. Our mantra is: If we don’t love it, we don’t do it.”

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Ester Expósito and Hugo Diego Garcia filming the Enfrentados movies in New York

Prime Video

Prime Video is expanding its lineup of young adult content with two new films based on Ron’s two-book series, Enfrentados. Production company Pokeepsie is collaborating with Amazon MGM Studios, once again taking the lead on this initiative. Ester Expósito, known for her role in Élite, stars as Marfil, the daughter of a Spanish tycoon whose life in New York City is turned upside down after her kidnapping. Hugo Diego García portrays Sebastian, her hired bodyguard. The projects were filmed back-to-back in both Spain and New York.

Having successfully engaged with the young adult audience, Prime Video is counting on Pokeepsie to sustain this momentum. Bang describes Enfrentados as “more ambitious than Culpa” while still appealing to the loyal fanbase of previous films. “It has more action; it is a little bit more adult, so we can work with the fans who are not 18 anymore. This amazing thing with Culpa was the audience we reached; mothers and daughters could watch them together. With Enfrentados we have the same thing.”

Pokeepsie Is Culpable

Bang shared insights on the challenges faced during the development of the script for Culpables, stating, “When we began to develop the script, it was hard to sell, nobody wanted it. It took almost two years, because there was the pandemic in the meantime, and it was hard to sell. Suddenly, Amazon came in, they understood what they wanted and what we wanted to do, and so we did it together.”

Director González has previously articulated his approach to the films, with Bang noting that both he and co-writer Sofía Cuenca are vital to the trilogy’s identity. “This was our secret weapon. Domingo has this sensibility, and he understood perfectly what we had in mind, and he believed in that. The problem with young adult [content] is people believe that these are ‘lesser’ movies and they don’t have credibility. But the audience is very important, and this audience is very clever and very cultured, so you have to take them seriously.”

Pokeepsie is currently exploring more ambitious young adult projects, potentially expanding into English-language content. One notable project in development involves González, with Bang hinting at exciting details. “Domingo is part of our house and our family, and we have this ambitious project that we hope to shoot next year, it’s a perfect mix of young adult, romance, and a fantasy world.”

Spain Reigns

In addition to the young adult genre, de la Iglesia has directed and co-written the Netflix thriller La Cuidadora (The Caregiver), set for release next year. The company is also collaborating on a thriller project with Jaume Balagueró, known for their prior work on the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired horror film Venus, part of Pokeepsie’s ‘The Fear Collection’.

La Cuidadora for Netflix

Netflix

Last year, de la Iglesia released the thriller 1992 on Netflix. Meanwhile, the sci-fi series Santuario (Sanctuary), directed by Rodrigo Ruiz-Gallardón and Zoe Berriatúa, aired on local platform atresplayer.

Spain is currently a prime location for production in Europe, benefiting from government incentives, new studios, and talented crews, making it highly attractive for many productions.

Reflecting on the local production environment, Bang noted, “All the platforms feel settled here in Spain, a lot of foreign products are coming to shoot here, and we are lucky to have very professional crews. And of course, here in Spain you have [locations], you have stages, you have whatever you need to shoot like in America. In addition, you have tax rebates and incentives…I think we are in the best moment ever.”