This Friday 21 March, the Festival de Málaga presented 'La canción', a series created by Pepe Coira and Fran Araújo and directed by Alejandro Marín, in the Series Out of Competition section.

With a first-class cast led by Carolina Yuste, Patrik Criado, Alex Brendemülh and Marcel Borrás, the series explores the political, artistic and media background to Spain's Eurovision 1968 victory in a narrative that combines drama, comedy and music.

In 1968, Esteban Guerra, a young RTVE executive, is given a mission that could define his career: Spain must win Eurovision. Ambitious and determined, he teams up with Artur Kaps, an eccentric TV producer, to design the secret operation that will ensure the country's success at the tournament.

Together, they embark on a quest for the perfect song and the ideal performer, facing censorship, government pressure and rivalries within the music industry. What begins as a political strategy to modernise Spain's image abroad becomes a journey full of obstacles, unexpected strategies and moments of high tension.

The screening of the series was attended by the director, Alejandro Marín; the main characters Carolina Yuste, Alex Brendemülh and Marcel Borrás; the creators Pepe Coira and Fran Araujo, and the producer Pepe Ripoll.

The series' director Alejandro Marín mentioned that he "likes to strike a balance between comedy and drama", and that in this series he has tried to "extract all the gold the script had to define a tone". It is a work of "rigour", but also of "freedom". He also thanked the staging team for "their great work".

The actress Carolina Yuste mentioned her excitement at being "surrounded by highly intelligent human beings". She went on to say that during the viewing she was "very moved because it is a series that talks about many things", and in which "all the decisions are made out of love and generate love". The actress also declared herself a "Massiel fan" and shared that her aim in playing her was to "capture her essence and energy".

The actor Marcel Borrás said that in the creation process they were able to "try and experiment", which made the filming "a lot of fun".  Borrás confessed that he was "very happy". And actor Alex Brendemülh said it was a great experience and a journey that allowed him to "investigate his character".

The creator of the series, Pepe Coira, explained that in the process "there were no set decisions, but rather they arose naturally in the search for a common objective, which was to talk about people".

Last, creator Fran Araujo said that what they want is to "make characters the audience loves". To this end, his proposal was to create "a hero riddled with flaws, who generates brutal empathy". Araujo concluded by saying that "The whole series talks about the truth, about being on the verge of telling the truth and never being able to do so".
Pepe Coira, a screenwriter and producer with more than 20 years’ experience, has worked on high-impact fictions such as 'Hierro' and 'Rapa', winners of the Iris, Feroz, Alma and Ondas Awards. He has also developed documentaries and series such as 'As leis de Celavella' and 'Luci'.

Fran Araújo, executive producer of original series on Movistar Plus+, has worked on titles such as 'Apagón' and 'Rapa', and he has featured in cinema with films such as 'Un año, una noche' and 'La próxima piel', which won five awards at the Festival de Málaga in 2016.

A graduate in Directing from the ESCAC, Alejandro Marín debuted in 2018 with the short film 'Nacho no conduce' and the collective feature film 'La filla d'algú'. In 2021, he directed the acclaimed series 'Maricón perdido', created by Bob Pop and winner of the Ondas Award for best comedy series. In 2023, he released his first film, 'Te estoy amando locamente', a story about the origins of the LGTBI movement in the Transition, which was nominated for five Goya Awards, including best new director and original screenplay.
After its screening at the Festival de Málaga, 'La canción' will premiere on Movistar Plus+ on 8 May 2025.