Mercedes Gamero (Beta Fiction Spain): “Windows can coexist so that films achieve total success”

Mercedes Gamero, CEO of Beta Fiction Spain, reviews the current situation in Spanish production and distribution a few weeks after its great bet of recent years, 'La infiltrada', received the Goya Award for Best Film of 2025.

After launching Beta Entertainment Spain in October 2019, Beta decided to continue strengthening its presence in Spain with Beta Fiction Spain, a company born to look head-on at European audiovisual models, combining local production and distribution. It was not the initial purpose of the German group, which initially viewed its new Spanish initiative from the exclusive prism of content creation. However, the experience and market analysis undertaken by Mercedes Gamero y Pablo Nogueroles They allowed them to see the opportunities that this dual approach could bring.

Since then, the company embarked on a path to consolidate itself as Spanish independent producer and distributor, a not so common aspect in a context led by the distribution channels of the large studios. The effort has borne fruit: their seven titles released in 2024 They positioned it as the independent distributor number one in the Spanish market, thanks to works such as the winner of the Goya awards The infiltrator, which is currently resuming its run in cinemas, exceeding 1,250,000 spectators; The Benetón family, comedy by Joaquín Mazón, and the latest adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, firmed by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte.

2025 will be the year of confirmation of Beta Fiction Spain. Beyond repeating the success of its distribution strategy, it will embark on exciting projects alongside such notable names as Marcel Barrena (The 47) o Dani of the Order (House on Fire). He talks about all this, and other interesting topics such as the current cinematographic model, distribution opportunities or the balance between commercial and quality Spanish cinema. Mercedes Gamero.

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Independent distribution in Spain

Beta followed the Spanish market very closely. I observed how the acquisitions of Spanish production companies by already consolidated giants in our country proliferated, such as the paradigmatic example of Banijay, although he was clear that his landing in film production and distribution would have to come from the construction of a project from scratch.

Both Gamero and Pablo Nogueroles had been “touched” by the German company, but, in the words of the CEO of Beta Fiction Spain, “the right time comes when it comes". A moment in which both professionals, from giants such as Atresmedia or Warner Bros, were able to propose a differential vision to combine production company with distributor: “Pablo was a firm believer that there was a gap in Spanish independent distribution to carry local production and follow in the footsteps of other European countries, where the most relevant locally produced cinema is carried by independent distributors and not studios.”

“When you have a feature film and you decide to distribute it with a large studio or major, you have all your force, but sometimes you are in background depending on the studio's own films. You are not the priority”.

Replicating the example of companies such as Lucky Red, Eagle Red or RAI Cinema itself, and following in the wake of “local heroes” such as A Contracorriente, the company took its first steps with a clear diagnosis of the most frequent problems in the distribution of many Spanish productions: “When you have a feature film and decide to distribute it with a big studio or major, you have all your strength, but sometimes you are in the background depending on the studio's own films. You are not the priority. Therefore, we could find a gap that was to be filled. We asked the Germans and they immediately said yes.”

This space is not only being taken advantage of by Beta, but by other market agents who are seeing how the most relevant Spanish films of the year reach viewers through independent companies. The change is underway: "There is a very important thing that no one has echoed this year, and that is that the five films nominated for Best Film at the Goya were distributed by independent distributors. No one has valued it, and I think it means a change in trend compared to previous years. There is a line that will probably be maintained in the coming years," underlines Gamero.

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Quality commercial Spanish cinema

The duo formed by Gamero and Nogueroles has set its sights on the “quality commercial Spanish cinema”, a slightly forgotten concept despite a recent golden age in which such relevant feature films as The great Spanish family (2013) o The minimal island (2014). Beta Fiction Spain, beyond having the distribution of international films with potential but far from the independent scene, seeks to create a label by selecting films that provide a differential approach in billboards and catalogs.

“He has lost the medium cinema that, when it finds its place, it find very well. (…) They are films that They do not fall within the standard formula, but they have personality and the ambition to reach the audience.”

The panorama is still complex. Just as the North American industry is divided between large blockbusters of franchises and a still healthy scene indie, auteur cinema is established in Spain and is accompanied by blockbusters like the great family comedies, a genre that breaks milestones season after season. Gamero reflects on this phenomenon: “In recent years there has been an inclination on the part of operators to make a safer cinema. There is a tendency towards formats that provide more comfort at the box office, but above all on platforms and linear television.”

There is a third way: the one proposed by Beta Fiction Spain. “The average cinema has been lost, which, when it finds its place, finds it very well. The 47 o House on fire, not to mention The infiltrator. They are films that do not fall within the standard formula, but have personality and the ambition to reach the audience,” explains the company's CEO.

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Risk averse: a Spanish (and global) model

In his trips to the different production markets and in his presence in different forums, Gamero constantly listens to concepts such as risk averse (risk aversion) or fiscally responsible (Fiscally responsible). The production and distribution industry, so close to risk since its conception, seeks secure every decision to guarantee the stability of markets, shareholders and projects with more and more production companies working in parallel.

“Los players regulars of financing are spending less and being more cautious, careful; everyone has more fear at the time of giving green light to the projects.”

“We are in a delicate moment in which it costs more and more to produce and the market wants to pay the same or less for more rights,” comments the CEO of Beta Fiction Spain, alluding to a moment of “funnel"in which the aim is to achieve the same excellence with less cost and fewer financing facilities. The company, which plans to continue expanding its seal in the co-production and make your way in the terrain of television fiction, paints a certainly complex scene: “The players financing habits are spending less and being more cautious; “Everyone is more afraid when it comes to giving the green light to projects.”

This situation reflects more a global situation, dragged by large video-on-demand platforms that see how their growth models are beginning to falter in the face of AVOD models, that a change in the nature of the film producer: "In our business, risk is inherent. We work in an ecosystem in which the failure rate is 85%, because deep down nobody knows anything. You can have clues and base it on your experience, but in the end nobody knows why people go to one movie and not another."

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Measuring success in production and distribution

Working in an industry that understands “neither success nor formulas” implies place bets that may or may not connect with the audience. However, Gamero invites don't lose perspective of the entire Spanish audiovisual chain: "This is not only making the film, but also selling it, distributing it and positioning it. If you have a great film, but you don't have a vehicle to help it reach the viewer..."

"How much better movies work in the cine, they work best in platforms”.

The reflection extends to all distribution possibilities for a feature film: For the Beta Fiction Spain team, success cannot be measured solely by the box office since the rise of platforms, but must be addressed in “all its life cycleGamero, far from underestimating the value of cinema (“it acts as a cultural and event amplifier like no other”), closely related to other market manifestations: "The better the movies work in the cinema, the better they work on the platforms, in the transactional and in the rental. It permeates all the subsequent windows to the cinema. We are seeing it with The 47 and with The infiltrator, who have been in Movistar Plus+ for a long time and are working in a complementary way. (…) It is very nice to see how the windows can coexist to achieve total success.”

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The internationalization of Spanish production

In parallel to the production and distribution aspects of Beta Fiction Spain, the company has been committed since its origins to the internationalization of your business. This approach arises from an analysis in which Gamero identifies a situation unfavorable for the Spanish market compared to other European cultural industries, which have been actively working on their positioning for several decades: "We, who go to all the markets and festivals, see how all the Italian, German or French cinema is sold. Ours has a pending issue with the internationalization of our films and sales, especially in the major markets”.

“All cinema Italian, German or French is sold. Ours has a pending subject”.

According to the analysis of the head of the production and distribution company, there is a tendency in the Spanish market to “be very domestic and see how films work in our market”, given that “historically, producers have never looked” outside the local market. This is a effective model, but limited, given that part of the growth and creation of more ambitious films involves “co-productions or pre-sales for European markets.” However, Gamero believes that there are agents that are taking the appropriate steps in this regard, such as Movistar Plus+: "In this regard, they are doing a spectacular job. Rodrigo Sorogoyen's film is led by Goodfellas, Óliver Laxe's is led by The Match Factory... They are leading a movement that I find very interesting."

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The infiltrator and the future Chronos: a bet on the premise

For the first time, the box office success of one of the productions of Beta Fiction Spain has been accompanied by greater recognition of the Spanish Film Academy. The infiltrator, a co-production with Bowfinger, was recognized on February 8 with the award for Best Film 2025 exaequo with The 47.

Analyzing the reasons for the success of this production, and even highlighting the unpredictability of success, Gamero considers his premise as a key element: “The concept attracted a lot of attention from every person we told it to, outside or inside the industry: a policewoman infiltrated into ETA.” However, "you don't live from a premise”: “We trusted the project from the beginning. Before we had the script or the casting, we put up a billboard at the San Sebastián Festival and we made a great effort to think about how we were going to position it or how we were going to sell it.”

When questioned by the next The infiltrator from the Beta Fiction Spain catalogue, Gamero does not hesitate to identify Chronos, a film that began filming on August 24 in Barcelona: "It narrates the 100 hours from the Las Ramblas attack until Younes Abouyaaqoub is killed. It has a spectacular script by Beto Marini; one of the best I have read in recent years." Apart from Marcel Barrena's upcoming feature films (The 47) and Dani of the Order (House on Fire), the company also plans to expand its journey in the television market “from humility and respect”, following the path undertaken with Out to sea by Atresplayer.

A report by Sergio Julián Gómez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEfOVZDvHPU