{"id":1060,"date":"2025-10-13T09:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T09:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/1060\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T09:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T09:38:07","slug":"spanish-creatives-diego-san-jose-elena-trape-on-mediapros-jakarta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/1060\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Creatives \u00a0Diego San Jos\u00e9, Elena Trap\u00e9 on Mediapro’s ‘Jakarta’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOne of Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio<\/a> Distribution\u2019s tentpole scripted series at Mipcom, also in the lineup for Barcelona\u2019s Serielizados Spanish competition, \u201cJakarta\u201d (\u201cYakarta\u201d)\u00a0is one of the boldest and most endearing new shows from Spain, reuniting some of the country\u2019s heaviest names.<\/p>\n

\n\tDriving in creative terms the six-part half-hour is the duo behind Series Mania\u2019s two-time International Panorama winning comedy drama \u201cCeleste\u201d \u2013 creator\/head-writer Diego San Jos\u00e9 (also credited for the Spanish mega-hit film franchise \u201cSpanish Affair\u201d), and concept director Elena Trap\u00e9, credited for the Movistar Plus+<\/a>\/Arte thriller \u201cRapa\u201d and the multi-awarded pic \u201cDistances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe two were joined early in the development stage by Javier C\u00e1mara, one of the country\u2019s most popular and lauded actors (\u201cTalk to Me,\u201d \u201cTruman\u201d), who helmed one episode and took on the lead role.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a towering performance, C\u00e1mara plays Joserra, a former Olympian badminton player, now a world-weary physical education teacher in a small town in Spain, whose monotonous life takes a new turn when he meets a young badminton prodigy at a school tournament, 16-year old Mar (Carla Qu\u00edlez, San Sebastian best actress for \u201cMotherhood\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tRounding off the core creative team are co-writers Daniel Castro (\u201cCeleste\u201d) and Fernando Delgado (\u201cHierro\u201d) who also served as episodic director.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter \u2018Celeste,\u201d featuring top actress Carmen Machi as a middle-aged tax inspector facing retirement, San Jos\u00e9 says \u201cit almost seemed impossible to find an even greyer world\u201d for the basis of the screenplay, yet he did. \u201cJakarta\u201d unfolds in the world of regional badminton tournaments and \u201cchampionships played out in ugly spots centres\u201d, not in a specific city but what he calls \u201ca type of city. The provincial city, the one that\u2019s neither a capital nor has the charm of a village.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think that\u2019s the real Spain,\u201d the creator tells\u00a0Variety\u00a0ahead of Mipcom. \u201cThe interchangeable Spain, and I say this with all the affection as I\u2019m from Ir\u00fan, a provincial city that\u2019s like so many others \u2013\u00a0similar architecture, similar shops and the same bands playing at local festivals.\u201d For the creator, the two main character Joserra and Mar \u201care a bit like that, two provincial cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough a major source of inspiration for its universe, badminton wasn\u2019t the core for the storyline, but defeat. \u201cNot sports defeat, but existential defeat,\u201d explains San Jos\u00e9, before adding: \u201cJakarta\u201d is a vindication of failure as a way of life and, with that goal in mind, we had to set the story in a context where, even if you win, you\u2019re still a loser. I think regional badminton has that. Even if you\u2019re the best at what you do, it won\u2019t make you a winner. It\u2019s defeat squared,\u201d says the showrunner who admits being \u201cterrible at any sport. I\u2019m bad at all of them and I\u2019m convinced that\u2019s why I ended up writing,\u201d he quips.<\/p>\n

\n\tDiego San Jos\u00e9, from Comedy to Drama<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 46-year-old writer who has in fact made his name with comedy, makes a bold move into pure drama with this show which he describes as \u201cthe first project where we\u2019ve really worked with emotion. Both the bad kind, with which we want to shake up the viewer, and the good kind, which sometimes the cynicism of comedy tends to avoid,\u201d he acknowledges.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlejandro Fl\u00f3rez, \u201cJakarta\u201d executive producer and director of Mediapro Studio\u2019s banner 100 Balas (\u201cCeleste\u201d), also underscores San Jos\u00e9\u2019s brave shift away from comedy \u201cinto a story unlike anything he\u2019s done before. It\u2019s a work of great maturity, further elevated by the outstanding performances of its cast. Both Javier C\u00e1mara and rising actress Carla Qu\u00edlez deliver sublime portrayals of their characters who are in fact, the emotional backbone of the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDiego is one of the most interesting and stimulating creators in Spain,\u201d concurs Fran Ara\u00fajo executive producer of Movistar Plus+ Originals, who praises his \u201cremarkable ability to explore complex themes without ever losing that sense of accessibility for the audience, which makes him quite unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTrap\u00e9, who was first approached by San Jos\u00e9 to board the series when they were post-producing \u201cCeleste,\u201d felt working on his screenplay \u201cwas like winning at the lottery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDiego has a rare ability to grab your attention and gradually peel off the characters\u2019 psychology and deepest trauma in a very delicate way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe also embraced the setting, \u201cthe Spain with no spark, yet beautiful,\u201d intimately connected to the characters\u2019 inner being. \u201cWith our cinematographer Rita Noriega (\u201cPiggy\u201d), we worked a lot on re-creating a sense of emptiness that both characters feel by the time they meet. We wanted to use the grey landscapes and places to catch this atmosphere, full of loneliness yet poetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDigging deeper into his main characters, San Jos\u00e9, who met up with three young badminton players and a coach while researching, says Joserra and Mar are \u201ctwo characters who aren\u2019t doing anything to fight their wounds. They hurt, but they keep going with them. Meeting each other and starting a journey through sad Spain is what will make them face their pain once and for all, and for that, each will become the other\u2019s hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd, of course, the problem is that I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s worse that your hope is a 16-year-old girl or an adult who\u2019s still stuck in 1992,\u201d muses the creator, who admits being drawn to anti-heroes-be it \u201cCeleste\u201d\u2019s Sara Santano or Joserra.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel like one of them,\u201d he tells\u00a0Variety. \u201cI\u2019m a screenwriter who doesn\u2019t want to be a director, so imagine how much I empathize with ordinary people! I\u2019m not interested in people for whom things go well and I\u2019m not talking about fiction, but about real life. I think there\u2019s a very powerful poetry in defeat that\u2019s in serious danger, because of all this current thinking based on winning, on achieving your dreams. I feel that not achieving dreams is more like adult life than achieving them. And, curiously, losers, who are less common in fiction, are the overwhelming majority in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSan Jos\u00e9 cites two cinematic references that were clearly in his mind. \u201cThe Color of Money,\u201d \u201cwhich has an adult mentoring a young prodigy and embarking on a journey through deep America. I wanted to do something in that style but swapping deep America for provincial Spain. Then \u201cFoxcatcher,\u201d \u201cnot so much for the sports part but for the portrayal of obsession, the ambiguity in style, the whole dark side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor her part, Trap\u00e9 says she was inspired by Charlotte Wells\u2019 debut \u201cAftersun,\u201d for the constant feeling of discomfort conveyed by the characters and atmosphere. \u201cYou feel something\u2019s about to blow up so you\u2019re on the edge.\u201d She also referred to the classic \u201cHarold & Maud\u201d for the portrayal of two opposite characters in age and personality, whose encounter forever changes their lives.<\/p>\n

\n\tDiscussing the main challenges during the shoot, Ara\u00fajo cites \u201crecreating many different parts of Spain in the surroundings of Madrid, and building a whole new universe in each episode. But without a doubt, the greatest challenge was an artistic one,\u201d he adds, referring to Javier C\u00e1mara\u2019s performance as \u201cabsolutely monumental.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs \u201cJakarta\u201d was about to be shopped around by The Mediapro Studio Distribution to global buyers at Mipcom, both Ara\u00fajo and Fl\u00f3rez underscored its universal appeal.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a line in the series that says, \u2018no one starts playing badminton if they\u2019re happy,\u2019 and I think that could apply anywhere in the world,\u201d Ara\u00fajo comments.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe two main characters travel through a non-touristic Spain, those in-between places, the towns people usually just pass through. Every country has spaces like that, inhabited by people like them. Everything the story touches on feels recognisable. At its core, the series is about two lost souls who find some kind of anchor in the most unexpected place-a sport that no one really cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFl\u00f3rez adds: \u201cThe series revolves around the relationship between a former Olympic athlete, now working as a coach, and a young badminton player in whom he sees great future potential. It\u2019s a dynamic that resonates across the world and in many disciplines. At its core, it\u2019s a human story, driven by personal bonds, emotional subtlety, and the complexity of everyday life. And while the setting and context may naturally feel local, it\u2019s a narrative that could unfold anywhere, making it highly relatable to audiences around the world. Even the sport at the heart of the plot, badminton, has a broader international presence than in Spain, further reinforcing the series\u2019 global appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by 100 Balas with Buend\u00eda Estudios Canarias, in co-production with Movistar Plus +, \u201cJakarta\u201d was exec produced by Ara\u00fajo and Fl\u00f3rez with San Jos\u00e9, Laura Fernandez Espeso, and Javier Mendez. The show will roll out in Spain Nov. 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Madrid-based The Mediapro Studio Distribution\u2019s tentpole scripted series at Mipcom, also in the lineup for Barcelona\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1643,1644,88,90,89,1645],"class_list":["post-1060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-javier-camara","tag-movistar-plus","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-the-mediapro-studio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}