Amazon MGM Touts Successes in Spanish-Language Action Films
At the Iberseries & Platino Industria conference in Madrid, Amazon MGM executives Javiera Balmaceda and Nicole Morganti discussed their approach to backing non-English language projects. The executives pointed to Spanish action films 'Zeta' and 'Venganza' as examples of big swings in genre.
'Zeta', produced by Pablo Isla's Fonte Films, was a chance for Spain to prove it could deliver a big action movie with a distinctly Spanish identity, said Morganti. The film ranked among Amazon Prime Video's most-watched Global Top Ten hits earlier this year.
Balmaceda described 'Venganza' as a similar bet for Mexico, convincing Amazon that a Mexican production could deliver the scale and action audiences expect from the genre. Neither project was an automatic greenlight; the teams had to make the case around directors, talent, and production capabilities.
The executives emphasized having conviction over quantity when pitching projects to Amazon. Morganti's advice was 'You need an original idea and, above all, to really believe in it.' Balmaceda added that creators should know which story they want to tell rather than arrive with a menu of interchangeable concepts.