PAMPLONA, Spain — A project pitched three years ago at the very first Conecta Fiction in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela, “Ines of My Soul” was back at the international co-pro and networking summit, this year in Pamplona, where it was held up as one of the still-young event’s most significant success stories.

The stage was crowded, including speakers Consuelo Silva, executive producer at Chilevisión; RTVE director of content Fernando López Puig; Jorge Redondo, executive producer at Boomerang TV; Ricardo Carbonero, head of acquisitions for Amazon Prime Video in Spain; screenwriter Paco Mateo and co-directors Alejandro Bazzano and Nicolas Acuña.

Based on one of Spain and Latin America’s most significant historical female figures, Inés Suárez, the series is a globe-trotting romantic drama full of action and adventure which takes place during the Spanish conquest of South America. Suárez, the mistress of conquistador Pedro de Valdivia, levied her relationship with the man to secure a place among his crew as a domestic servant, a highly controversial inclusion at the time, which sailed out of Extremadura in 1539 and became a pivotal player in the conquest and settlement of Chile.

“When we talk about the conquistadors, we always talk about the men who arrived in South America and never the women. With ‘Inés’ that will finally be addressed,” explained Silva.

“Getting into Inés’s skin was difficult, far more difficult than writing battles between the conquistadors and the Mapuche,” said screenwriter Paco Mateo. “But people will find an intimate story in ‘Inés.’ Women and men will see themselves reflected in her character.”

Bazzano, who has previously worked on major Spanish series such as “Money Heist” (“Casa de papel”), “Mar de plástico” (“Plastic Sea”) and “Presunto Culpable” will co-direct along with Acuña, who himself had a jam-packed week having been involved in three series projects which pitched in Pamplona as well.

“This story happened many years ago, but for me it’s a contemporary story. A story of a woman who was the protagonist of a heroic feat,” said Acuña.

“I think that the secret to the series is to portray honestly the epic of the Spanish conquest and the reality of the characters involved,” said Bazzano. “They are so well depicted in the novel and so well written in the script, hopefully we can film them just as well.”

Read the original article at Variety