Álvaro Ariza (This too shall pass): “I never see in series all the freedom that there is in cinema”

In this interview, the owner and CEO of the Cádiz production company This too shall pass, Álvaro Ariza, outlines his great commitment to movie theaters in a context in which television fiction for platforms takes up a large part of the efforts of the Spanish audiovisual industry, materialized in great hits such as 'La infiltrada', 'Un funeral de locos', 'La familia Benetón', 'Tierra de Nadie' or 'De caperucita a wolf'.

In 2019, Spain was going through one of the sweetest moments in production terms. The great state of display health was complemented by the growing investment of video-on-demand platforms in European territory, which sought partners international under a movement glocal to expand your series catalog originals in a fierce battle for differentiation in a saturated market. In this whirlwind of Anglicisms that we have already internalized in our daily lives, a production company born by and for the movie theaters: This too shall pass.

no man's land, A crazy funeral, The Benetón family, The snail house, The refuge, big bad wolf, Without you I can't, From Little Red Riding Hood to Wolf, Your mother or mine, The bogeyman or the recent winner of the Goya for Best Film The infiltrator They report a production aimed at the general public, with great stories capable of capturing the attention of the Spanish viewer and family comedies that have exceeded half a million viewers. All, moving away from platforms to opt for a classic model of co-productions headed to the premiere in salas, a model that demonstrates its viability for ambitious productions in a context of continuous redefinition of viewer preferences.

Alvaro Ariza, head of the production company, starts from his passion for cinema to build a production company based on his convictions with freedom as motor industrial y creative. His journey, current analysis and short and medium ambitions are reflected in a conversation without half measures, in which it is clearly reflected how feature films created for theaters continue to provide opportunities.

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Cinema vs. television: a simple decision

This Too Shall Pass was born in a great year for Spanish production: 2019. What were the first steps of the production company in this context?

Although I have been dedicated to cinema since 2010, I created This too shall pass, a more personal seal, to be dedicated exclusively to cinema. The film we started with, in co-production with Mexico, was The snail house with Macarena Astorga: the first film that was shot post-confinement in Spain, with Javier Rey and Paz Vega. Then we roll big bad wolf in Cádiz, a remake of Big Bad Wolf, an Oscar-nominated Israeli film that Tarantino called “the best film in the world” in 2014. Then we made The Shelter, From Little Red Riding Hood to She-Wolf, No Man's Land, A Crazy Funeral, The Infiltrator... And now we have several more projects in production that we will start very soon.

I always say that those of us who dedicate ourselves to real cinema we do it because we love him. It is not a sprint, but a long-distance race

In the last two years we have put more than two million people to the rooms. We are super happy with the reception of the projects from both critics and the public, a recognition of hard and beautiful work. I always say that those of us who dedicate ourselves to real cinema do it because we love it. It is not a sprint, but a long distance race. It is a beautiful path that I am enormously proud of. I make films because I like to make films, not because of the consequences it brings, whether the reception of the project at the box office, critics, the Goya or at any festival.

At that time, a large part of Spanish production was turning to the field of television fiction given the opportunities provided by national and international platforms. Why did you opt for cinema at this time?

It's something that everyone has asked me. I had already done series. In 2017, we did forgive me sir, the most watched series in Spain, and later State secrets, One of ours… I have done series that have led me to work very well and be very comfortable, but I needed tell stories, not generate content.

It is true that series have taken on a more attractive concept, relying on prestigious directors to make films, but in series format. But when we promoted This Too Shall Pass, that 180-degree turn had not yet occurred. I had the need to tell stories, traveling, watching a movie in another country that I fell in love with or telling the stories that I had in my head like no man's land.

I have done series that have led me to work very well and be very comfortable, but I needed tell stories, not generate content.

In the series, everything was very fast. I had the feeling of manufacturing and generating “content”, a word I hate. For me, everything revolves around the stories. I have done all of them dedicating affection, sensitivity and heart; seeing how they evolved without any pressure. We dedicated five years for it to see the light in theaters no man's land, while if I had done series I would have had to do fifteen in that time.

From the platforms and networks, what is requested, and with all the need and reason in the world, is content. I don't think that with the pace they have I could tell what I want with this care and dedication. At that moment, I knew that the only chance I had to do what I do was in the cine.

In the world of series, is there less space to develop and tell stories? Is there less freedom in these contexts than in film creation?

Yes, there are projects to which the platforms dedicate time, but there is very little space for it, just one or two projects. Also, the construction is different. When I shape a story, I surround myself with the creative people that I consider should be on the project, covering the creative part with a good scriptwriter, director or cast. I never see in series all the freedom that exists in cinema.

In it cine yes I have the freedom to tell the stories with the people I love, with the harmony we need and a pace of project evolution marked by us.

You have to be very important to have the power to say: “No, this is my series and I do it the way I want.” In the cinema I do have the freedom to tell the stories with the people I love, with the harmony we need and a rhythm of evolution of the projects set by us. Furthermore, with these projects we can test the market, seeing how he breathes and reacts, which generates an illusion while we wait for the feedback because we have built it in a way that we consider very attractive. Maybe it may be shit, but it's our shit. It doesn't belong to anyone else.

I'm happy to have created This Too Shall Pass. It was a before and after for my professional career. Not only do I still maintain the same enthusiasm as when I created it, but also, in recent years, we have come up with very attractive projects that have resonated in the market and the public. I'm especially glad to have this company and to surround myself with the people I surround myself with.

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Building films, always, from co-production

Currently, Does This Too Shall Pass continue with the same philosophy of its beginnings?

A person I met, who apart from being a movie buff, had a brutal career in Hollywood, told me: “When something is going well, don't move pieces, and when things go wrong, don't move pieces, because that will be when you stop believing in what really made you get there.” Obviously, the production company has evolved, but we continue betting on what we want.

We are undertaking and international turn. There is a film with a very powerful casting that we are already preparing and hopefully get out.

Now we are very attracted to telling situations inspired by real events and that we would like people not to forget, how it was The Infiltrator, or current situations such as No man's land. We are already rolling Operation Hades, which is based on the true story of a tunnel that was built in an industrial warehouse to connect Morocco and Ceuta. The last two productions allow us to reflect on the effectiveness of law enforcement in the fight against drug trafficking, whether on land, sea, air or underground.

We are also undertaking a international turn. There is a film with a very powerful casting that we are already preparing and I hope it comes out. We are also launching soon There are no jungles left, starring Ron Perlman and filmed in English and Spanish.

One of your recurring partners has been Bowfinger, with whom you have signed films such as The infiltrator y A crazy funeral. How did this alliance develop, starting from your beginnings?

When I was doing series, a well-known actor left me a movie script while I was filming with him. I had a post-it that said: for you, read it with affection. The production director, Pepe Ripoll, had also received it and told me: “Read it, because it is incredible.” I did it, I loved it. This happened in 2018 and that year I kept thinking about it.

The good thing about this sector is that it allows you surround yourself with beautiful people and start doing things together.

At that time we made a movie called Oh, my mother!, which we had made without the construction of film financing. And to make this new film project, which was what I had always wanted to do, I asked myself how I could make it a reality. The answer was very simple: surrounding myself with a co-producer that it had solvency, that its editorial line was attractive and that it made films. That's when we tried María Luisa Gutiérrez and I get together for a presentation. We tried four times the same year, but it wasn't possible because we both had a lot of work: I had about eight series and she had five movies.

In 2019, calmer, I decided to rescue the script, we were able to partner with Bowfinger and that was the beginning of The snail house and our alliance. We have generated ideas that for her were also attractive, building the creative part. Us we complement very well.

Do you consider co-production as your favorite production model?

We surround ourselves with partners who like what they do, and someday we will do it. The good thing about this sector is that it allows you surround yourself with beautiful people and start doing things together. For example, Glow Animation, with whom we are making an animated film, complementing each other in the process.

We go hand in hand and that's how relationships are built. When you repeat it is because we do something well, and we have repeated a lot. For example, we are doing again with Joaquín Mazón the sequel to The Benetton Family.

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Movie theaters: non-negotiable for This too shall pass

Do you consider releasing directly to platforms as an alternative to your current model, based on movie theaters?

To this day, no one is going to take away my tour What do I do with movies? Believe me, I would travel all over Spain with them. I'm not saying that it's not open and that it can't happen in the future, but the feeling that a movie theater filled with applause, be able to present your films or go to do interviews and colloquiums no one is going to take it away from me. My bet, and that of This Too Shall Pass, is the movie theaters. I love cinema. I go every weekend. I want cinemas.

Internationalization is among its short-term plans. Has the Trump administration's announcement of tariffs on cinema affected you, as it seems to be affecting other colleagues in the industry?

Today, everything is normal. It is also true that There are no jungles left It is a national and Spanish project, but drawn internationally with director of photography Gabriel Beristáin, who has worked on Marvel films, and with John Perlman as the protagonist. That has been our only way of testing that American market.

The feeling that a movie theater filled with applause No one is going to take it away from me.

About the uncertainty that Donald Trump is creating not only in the cinema, but in the entire world, for now We are not seeing that it can slow us down.. But those production companies dedicated to service I think they are already suffering from this situation.

Aside from its upcoming releases and its internationalization policy, how does This Too Happen see its immediate future?

Right now we are in a sweet moment. Can choose the stories that we want to tell and try to sell them, and in the meantime we can repeat that we will repeat with the artistic and technical team of recent films. We are very happy with the projects that await us 2025 y 2026.

An interview by Sergio Julián Gómez