‘Smiley’ premieres at Serielizados Fest 2022
The International Series Festival, Serielizados Fest, will open its ninth edition in Barcelona with the premiere of Smiley, Netflix’s new series based on Guillem Clua’s acclaimed play (winner of the 2020 National Dramatic Literature Award). Clua serves as showrunner on this adaptation, starring Carlos Cuevas (Merlí) and Miki Esparbé (Reyes de la noche).
The opening event of Serielizados Fest Barcelona will take place on 18 October at the Phenomena cinema. The festival will run until 22 October at venues including CCCB, CASA SEAT, Phenomena and the Rouge Cocktail Club, the festival’s official cocktail bar.
Tickets are available here.
In November 2012, Álex and Bruno, the protagonists of Smiley, the play written by Guillem Clua, shared their first kiss in a small theatre in Barcelona. After moving to the city’s commercial theatres, it reached Madrid in 2015 and became a small gem that has since been adapted in countries including Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Chile, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, Miami, New York, Colombia, Australia and Singapore. A sequel premiered in 2020, and now Netflix has turned this story into a television series, with a cast led by Miki Esparbé (The Innocent, Reyes de la noche), Carlos Cuevas (Someone Has to Die, Merlí), Pepón Nieto (30 Coins, Los hombres de Paco), Meritxell Calvo (Amar es para siempre, Pulsaciones), Giannina Fruttero (La jauría, Ema), Eduardo Lloveras (Intimidad, The One), Ruth Llopis (Durante la tormenta, Valeria) and Ramon Pujol (Ciega a citas, The Perfume: Story of a Murderer).
The series, directed by Marta Pahissa and David M. Porras and produced by Minoría Absoluta, has already begun filming in Barcelona. It tells the story of Álex (Carlos Cuevas), a young man who has just suffered a romantic disappointment. He had high hopes for a boy who, after a few weeks, gave him textbook ghosting, and it does not sit well with him. He picks up his phone to demand an explanation in a voice message that will have the most unexpected consequences—because he accidentally sends it to Bruno (Miki Esparbé), a complete stranger. That innocent first misunderstanding begins a chain of events that will change Álex and Bruno’s lives forever.
