Online Lecture by the Head Writer of “La Casa De Papel”
On April 28, at 7pm, Instituto Cervantes de Manila is presenting an online lecture by Javier Gómez Santander, the Head writer and Executive co-producer of the popular Spanish TV show La casa de papel. In his talk, Gómez Santander will share aspects of his career as a screenwriter, as well as a couple of secrets and details of the creation of the successful crime drama that has taken the world by storm.
La casa de papel (also known by its English title Money Heist) is a Spanish television series created by Álex Pina. It follows two well-planned robberies led by the Professor, one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and one on the Bank of Spain. Initially intended as a limited series to be told in two parts, it had its original run of 15 episodes on Spanish network Antena 3 in 2017.
Later in the year, Netflix acquired global streaming rights, and renewed the series with two more seasons. The latest one, Part 4, was released on 3 April 2020. On the same day, a documentary titled Money Heist: The Phenomenon was also premiered. It was written by Javier Gómez Santander and Pablo Lejarreta, and showed the audience some facets of the show, involving the producers and the cast.
La casa de papel received several awards including best drama series at the 46th International Emmy Awards, as well as critical acclaim for its sophisticated plot, interpersonal dramas, direction, and for trying to innovate Spanish television. By 2018, the series was the most-watched non-English language series and one of the most-watched series overall on Netflix.
Before his stint in La casa de papel, Javier Gómez Santander worked as a radio, press and TV journalist for 15 years, until he decided to leave the media and write fiction.
The online lecture, presented by Instituto Cervantes de Manila in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, will be in Spanish but questions in English will be entertained. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis via Zoom. For further information and updates on this event, please check out http://manila.cervantes.es or Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.