Onza Distribution Inks Further Sales on Alfredo Castro-Led ‘Allende, The Thousand Days,’ ‘Heartless,’ ‘Flowers Over the Inferno’

With Mipcom in full swing, Spain’s Onza Distribution – with offices in Madrid and Miami – has cemented sales to Portugal, Romania, Croatia, Latvia and Mozambique for a slew of key titles. 

Chilean drama “Allende, The Thousand Days,” Onza-produced thriller “Heartless” and its comedy “Traffic Jam” as well as acclaimed Italian mini-series “Flowers Over the Inferno” are among productions included in deals alongside telenovelas “Cacao,” “The Value of Life” and “Forever.”  Portugal’s RTP and Romania’s Antenaplay go all-in, with several acquisitions each.

Onza’s “Heartless,” an eight-episode psychological thriller which hit the No. 2 slot on Prime Video Spain upon its release, was acquired by Portugal’s public broadcaster RTP and streamer Antenaplay, an arm of Romania’s Antena TV Group. The narrative follows a diabolical criminal targeting elite businessmen in Madrid, capturing and cruelly torturing them, investigators hot on the case.

“Allende, The Thousand Days” was swooped on by Portugal’s Canais TVCine (NOS) after prior other sales, OCS previously nabbing the title for France. The series also made its debut on Chile’s TVN. An international co-production between Chile’s Parox (“Invisible Heroes”), Spain’s Mediterráneo Media Entertainment and Argentina’s Aleph, Mente Colectiva and HD Argentina, the title features “El Conde” star Alfredo Castro, who earned a Platino Award for his portrayal. In just four, hour-long episodes, the drama documents Salvador Allende’s three-year mandate in Chile which culminated in the 1973 military coup and brutal Pinochet dictatorship. 

“Summarizing such a complex historical period in four episodes was a significant challenge. We could have made three seasons of 12 episodes, and we would still have stories left to tell,” Parox producer-showrunner Leonora González told Variety last September. 

Produced by Italy’s legacy indie outfit Publispei (“I Cesaroni”), “Flowers Over the Inferno” – whose upcoming second season was added to the Onza Distribution slate ahead of Mipcom and debuts Oct.28 on RAI1 –  has been sold to Portugal’s RTP following prior deals with Romania’s Antenaplay, public broadcaster SBS Australia and Walter Presents in the U.K. The buzzy crime drama is based on the bestselling novel by Ilaria Tuti and traces the first case of Teresa Battaglia, an Alpine criminal profiler battling early Alzheimer’s. The second season sees a young police officer investigating the alleged crimes of her father that surround a mysterious painting, the sleeping nymph.

Romania’s Antenaplay further scooped ‘Traffic Jam,’ Onza’s six-episode comedy stacked with 25 top-tier Spanish comedians. Reaching No. 1 on Prime Video Spain on its premiere, the title centers on a traffic jam that disrupts the plans of thousands of citizens. According to the synopsis, “comical, unexpected, and emotional stories unfold on the road.”

Finally, Croatian broadcaster HRT seized on Portuguese title “Cacao,” in tandem with 70 countries set to air the series– including Spain (Mediaset España) and Lithuania. 

The TVI telenovela follows the title character as she discovers her real father is the owner of the cocoa farm where she lives, making her an heir and stirring resentment among his other children. Telenovela “Forever,” which won the Venice TV Award for best telenovela in 2023, was sold to Latvia’s Helio Media while the mind-bending title “Value of Life” will soon air in Mozambique.