- FesTVal honours his long career in television
The FesTVal (Vitoria-Gasteiz Television Festival) distinguishes Macarena Rey with the Joan Ramón Mainat 2024 Award in recognition of her extensive professional career in television as a director, creator of television content and promoter of highly successful audiovisual formats.
Macarena studied in San Francisco (USA), has a degree in Business Administration and an extensive career in television, in many different genres and sectors, including her work as General Manager of Production at Canal+ Spain, where she was responsible for overseeing all of the channel’s own production; and Content Director at Telefónica Media, where she was responsible for international film and television co-productions with HBO and Fireworks, among others.
Her career in television began in the purchasing departments of the Telefónica Group (Antena3 and Vía Digital) where she was responsible for the selection of content and assets for the pay TV platform Vía Digital. Since 2008, Macarena was General Manager of BocaBoca Producciones, a production company where she developed successful projects such as ‘21 días’ (for which she won another Ondas Award), ‘Pasapalabra’, ‘Conexión Samanta’, ‘Malas Pulgas’, and fiction series such as ‘Raphael’, ‘Carrero Blanco’, ‘2055’, ‘Rescatando a Sara’, ‘Vidas Robadas’. She came to this position after having performed similar tasks at Drive Group.
Macarena joined Shine Group in 2011, opened the company’s operations in Spain and Portugal, and led its development since then as part of a growing global network of production companies. During these years she has been the executive producer of some of the most successful formats in both territories: ‘MasterChef’ Spain (multi-awarded for example with two Ondas awards, the National Gastronomy Award or the Iris Awards of the TV Academy), MasterChef Portugal, ‘La Isla’, ‘The Voice Portugal’ and its children’s version ‘The Voice Kids Portugal’, ‘Me Resbala’, ‘Maestros de la Costura’, and its Portuguese version ‘Cosido a Mao’, ‘Cinco Tenedores’, ‘Pesadelo na cozinha’, ‘D’Improviso’, ‘Sabe ou Não Sabe’, ‘All Together Now Portugal’…
Shine Iberia is currently expanding its catalogue with ‘Generación Porno’, ‘HairStyle the Talent Show’, the documentary series ‘Bosé Reborn’ and has returned to fiction with ‘Bosé’, premiered in Chile and the USA with great success in Spain, Italy and Mexico.
The FesTVal organisers, in consensus with the Mainat family, decided to name the awards that are the object of professional tribute in each edition after JOAN RAMÓN MAINAT. Died in 2001, the Catalan journalist who gave his name to the now-famous TV awards was the creative director and executive producer of the company Gestmusic.
The winners of the Joan Ramón Mainat Award since the beginning of the festival have been:
- Joan Ramón Mainat (posthumously), Maria Teresa Campos, Pepe Domingo Castaño
- Jesús Vázquez, Julia Otero, ‘Gran Hermano’.
- Luis del Olmo, Ana Rosa Quintana, Matías Prats.
- Mercedes Milá, Imanol Arias, ‘El Hormiguero’
- Andreu Buenafuente, Daniel Ecija, Karlos Arguiñano,‘Informe Semanal’, Pedro Piqueras.
- Susanna Griso, ‘Cuéntame cómo pasó’, Jorge Javier Vázquez.
- María Escario, Jordi Évole, Yusan Acha, Jesús Hermida (a título póstumo).
- Iñaki Gabilondo, Manel Fuentes, María Casado.
- Anne Igartiburu, Arturo Valls, Michael Robinson.
- Olga Viza, Jorge Fernández, Emilio Aragón, Luis Larrodera.
- Juan y Medio, Jon Sistiaga, Juanra Bonet, Ana Blanco.
- Boris Izaguirre, Eva González, Antonio Resines
- ‘Masterchef’, Mikel Lejarza, Ana Obregón.
- Sandra Golpe, Xavier Sardá, ‘Saber y ganar’
- Sonsoles Ónega, José Mota, Carlos Sobera, David Broncano.