Vaca Films: 20 years in cinema, a future in television fiction

Borja Pena, founder of Vaca Films, takes stock of the first 20 years of the Galician production company's history and addresses its future, which will be deeply marked by the impact of new television fiction.

Cell 211, One Hundred Years of Forgiveness, Emperor Code, The Mess You Leave, The Child, Extinction, Fatum, To Heaven, Infiesto, The Unity o Who kills with iron are just a few examples of the audiovisual legacy that Vaca Films is leaving in the Spanish industry since it was founded in 2003 by Borja Pena y Emma Lustres.

Carrying cinema as a flag, 20 years of its foundation, has achieved multiple milestones in the form of awards and identity. The thriller is the banner it carries and continues to explore with an annual production that produces an average of four major projects.

During these decades, and especially in the last five years, the game board on which Vaca Films used to play has changed. The decline of film distribution in favor of video on demand platforms, together with a commitment to premium serial formats, have led the Galician production company to redefine its identity. And the fact is that the label of film producer, once a symbol of know-how, prestige and weight, perhaps today best describes a feeling of romanticism and resilience.

The 20th anniversary of Vaca Films and this exciting context allows Borja Pena to share impressions, reflections and unresolved questions about the reality that accompanies Spanish audiovisual production.

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Vaca Films celebrates two decades of life in 2023. Have they met the objectives that were set at the genesis of the project?

Podemos decir que todas las metas que Emma y yo nos pusimos cuando montamos la empresa hace 20 años los hemos conseguido hace tiempo; éramos muy jóvenes y los objetivos no eran superambiciosos. Básicamente, queríamos hacer películas desde Galicia para España, pero también con posibilidades de que fueran vistas fuera por su temática y calidad. También pretendíamos ser una de las productoras referentes en el sector cinematográfico en España.

Empezamos colaborando mucho con otras productoras, y cuando ya adquirimos la experiencia necesaria y teníamos un bagaje en el sector, comenzamos a liderar nuestros propios proyectos, a hacer las películas mucho más nuestras y a hacer un tipo de cine con su propio sello.

One of the keys for the production company was the decision to make films in Galicia without having to use Madrid or Barcelona as a hub. How has production evolved from Galicia during this time?

Vaca Films has been in Galicia for twenty years and we have not moved to a large extent because there has always been support for our sector that is still there. From the beginning, they were very useful in getting into projects and, later, in making them more competitive; better, bigger and more interesting for the public. Furthermore, we must not forget that here there were pioneers before us who opened this sector, as well as a television that has also supported us a lot.

Has the industry developed to such a point that they can be “independent” from the rest of the territory?

In Galicia you can make first-rate, top-quality films in the Spanish audiovisual environment. While it is true that we do not have all the technicians we might need to cover all our needs, we do have a large majority. This also extends to the actors, since there is a lot of talent derived from Galician theater that provides high-level options. That said, and although we are in a moment of great maturity in which we are capable of shooting our films wherever the script calls for it, We always try to bring everything we can here. First, for commitment to our sector; second, for our personal comfort and conciliation, and third, because filming here is much cheaper for us. In cities like Madrid you have to pay a lot of money for things that are free or practically free here.

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Lessons after two decades

Looking back, do you identify any key knowledge regarding production acquired after years of experience in the sector?

Over the years you pick up tips which are useful later in each project. The first one that comes to mind is be honest con la gente con la que estás haciendo las películas. Los rodajes son un sinfín de problemas y de renuncias a cosas que te gustaría hacer, pero que no puedes. Por eso, es muy importante dialogar con los directores y los cabezas de equipo, que como es natural siempre querrán más. En su ADN está el querer hacerlo mejor y nosotros tenemos el papel de ir ayudando a decidir por dónde tirar cuando no se dan las circunstancias para conseguir todo lo que te propones. Eso es algo muy importante. Pero sí, sí que tengo la sensación de que, con el paso de los años, somos capaces de hacer mejores películas o series con menos cosas, ya que somos capaces de aprovechar los medios mejor y ayudar a los directores en el día a día de los rodajes.

He platform phenomenon has caught us in a good time.

In 2022, Vaca Films had one of the largest years of activity in its history. Is it the reward of the know-how of years of experience or is there another explanation for this phenomenon?

I think the fundamental reason was that we had a 2020 and 2021 very focused on the project development. Little by little they came to fruition, largely driven by the boom of the platforms, which have started to produce, basically, series. This year we are not off track either, since we are also going to film two series, we are filming a movie and we will surely start another one before the end of the year. And, to this, we add the premieres and post-productions that we carried over from last year. In the end, the platform phenomenon has caught us at a good time, in which we were established within film productions, and it has been good for us to increase production volumes.

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Platforms change everything

Your first project for platforms was The Unit, for Movistar Plus+. Afterwards, many others have come. How did this opening of doors to the world of television fiction develop?

It came about in a very natural way. A few years ago, when the platforms began to produce series in Spain, many of them looked at film production companies, because they wanted to make products with that cinematic quality; logically, do something different for the public that pays a fee every month. We had conversations with several, some of them not even initiated by us, and conversation after conversation the different projects were forged. It is not something that is typical of us, but it has happened to other production companies that are very busy in the film market and, now, also in the television market.

He film market is as it is: most of the movies they just haven't started and work well.

What importance does television fiction currently have in the world? core of the Vaca Films business?

At the volume level, although last year was even, This year television is already bigger than cinema. A series that we make is, practically, like making two or three films. We are immersed in very high-budget fictions with many resources and that makes the balance tip towards the television side. Also, unfortunately, the film market is as it is: most movies don't quite start up and run well, and cinema is becoming a refuge for more family films and blockbusters. That, together with the fact that the platforms are demanding originals in increasing numbers, leads me to think that television will have even more weight in our company. But hey, we'll see how the cinema window improves and if it manages to recover that more adult audience that seems to have abandoned the theaters.

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Movie theaters: survival or agony?

Where do you think the solution for the survival of film distribution in theaters can lie?

The current situation is based on a combination of factors, but basically the main thing is that adults have such a wide range of options available to them at home that going to see a movie in a movie theater must mean something very special, and most movies fail to create that need in the viewer. Before you didn't have 10 video stores at a touch of television in your living room, and now you do. Also, most of the weeks with very good things, call them series or call them movies. From there, how could we get people to go see our films? First, making new Sufficiently ambitious and attractive proposals enough for them to pay to do it, but that entails very large economic investments on the part of the sector that will never be able to match what American studios make.

Could the business models of unlimited access to film sessions in exchange for a monthly subscription, which have just arrived in Spain, be a solution?

I have my serious doubts that this is going to work and really mean a change, basically because in the United States the famous MoviePass and it didn't work. Afterwards, I'm not entirely sure who this product is dedicated to. People who go to the movies two or three times a month end up spending more or less the same amount as with a monthly trip. On the other hand, people who are big fans of cinema can use this instrument very well, but these people already went to the cinema: maybe before they paid 30 euros a month and now they are going to go more times paying 18. Yes, they go to the theaters more times, but will it generate enough value so that in economic terms they can recover what they don't earn for the tickets? I have my doubts, but I hope the pass works. What also has to happen is that the chains are honest with the rest of the operators in the sector, starting with the distributors and ending with the producers so that, if more money is really generated, it will benefit everyone.

We are starting to finance the movies including in the financing launch costs in movie theaters and assuming that they're still going to lose.

Do you think that currently a production company like Vaca Films can survive without movie theaters, exploring new distribution channels through digital distribution platforms?

Yes, of course, undoubtedly. One thing has nothing to do with the other. For us, movie theaters always represented additional value for the financing of films, which was still very juicy when the films had big box offices. Right now, we are in a system in which financing with platforms, television stations and international agents means you do not have to depend at all on what happens in the theaters. What's more, we are beginning to finance films by including in the financing the launch costs in movie theaters and assuming that they still go to losses. The theatrical release fulfills other functions: it is the way to give the film notoriety and that all partners who have participated are satisfied with the product; May everything have a worthy launch. That is the current model and in the short term I would tell you that it will continue to be that way. Unfortunately, the recovery of the box office for certain types of medium-medium-high level Spanish films is going to be very complicated.

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Technology, virtual set and Vaca Films

Vaca Films has several editing stations. How are these spaces used?

The assembly stations were motivated by the volume of television series. The shoots are very long and require several stations and people working at the same time. We have three complete stations that we use exclusively for our projects; We do not usually rent them, since it is difficult to balance the times; They are even becoming short for us. If you start making television, the equipment pays for itself quickly.

Do you value expanding your post-production capabilities with space for color grading?

El tema del color es otro cantar, ya que yo creo mucho más en las personas que están detrás de las máquinas que en las máquinas en sí. El color requiere de un tratamiento muy especial y a nosotros nos gusta trabajar con los mejores etalonadores que hay en este país, quienes suelen estar en estudios con mucho volumen de trabajo. Por ello, dudo que nos animemos a comprar equipos de color porque, aunque lo podríamos hacer, lo que buscamos es trabajar con los mejores profesionales.

Estamos metidos en una iniciativa con otros productores gallegos en la que prevemos la construcción de unos platós en La Coruña muy punteros.

Para el resto de las cuestiones técnicas, ¿Vaca Films sigue confiando en proveedores externos?

That's right, but I can say that we are involved in an initiative with other Galician producers in which we foresee the construcción de unos platós in La Coruña very cutting-edge, including a virtual set.

What are the keys to this project?

This initiative in which we have participated from the beginning includes the construction of a very cutting-edge virtual set, which already has funds allocated by the Provincial Council of La Coruña and the government of Spain, through the aid of the Audiovisual Hub, of 7 million euros. Work is already underway on it with a view to having it operational next year. In addition to that, a couple of very large sets of 1,500 square meters have also been planned to serve all the filming that is needed. All these infrastructures will be in the Santa Bárbara Weapons Factory, an area five minutes from the center of La Coruña and the city airport. These cutting-edge facilities, together with the aid that exists in Galicia to attract filming from abroad, means that the territory even more interesting than it was before.

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The new television, in the core by Vaca Films

What projects is Vaca Films working on for 2023 and 2024?

We have already released for Netflix Infiesto, un original, en febrero, y la serie Hasta el Cielo en el mes de marzo, que está yendo muy bien en la plataforma. Hace unas semanas hemos estrenado el largometraje Fatum, y estamos en producción de una serie llamada Clans, que se rodará próximamente También estamos rodando una película bastante grande y ambiciosa en Madrid que todavía no se ha anunciado. Además, estamos con una serie documental para Prime Video de El circo de los muchachos, un proyecto dirigido por Elías León Siminiani. En verano, estrenaremos Un pasado por delante, a family film of those that still works in the cinema [laughs]. And, in addition, we are working on three or four films, and some more series, for next year.

In the near future, will Vaca Films become a production company that is more serial than film?

I think we will continue to combine the two things, although it is true that series are becoming more and more interesting to us, because we really like making them, because of the narrative they allow us to develop and because we have very comfortable partners and platforms with which we work. So, it is very difficult for me to see which way the balance will tip, because, just as years ago I told you that we will always make more cinema and films than television, the reality is that today adult narratives are more on television than in cinema. Also, I'm sure we will make many movies too, but for television. For now, we will continue to focus on doing projects that we are passionate about, that we like and that are worth dedicating ourselves to. two, three or four years of our lives.

An interview by Sergio Julián Gómez

https://youtu.be/bkuNUdsCwiA