Spanish television and film star Ester Expósito, widely recognized for her breakout role in the global Netflix phenomenon Elite, is officially circling a prominent new cinematic vehicle. Expósito has signed a letter of intent to topline Stink Eye (internationally known by its Spanish title, Malmirada), the anticipated feature-film directorial debut of acclaimed Colombian writer and director Cristina Sánchez Salamanca. Sánchez Salamanca first burst onto the international film festival circuit with her critically lauded short film Bebé, which premiered to widespread acclaim at the 2022 Tribeca Festival.

As Stink Eye positions itself as one of the standout international projects currently participating in Madrid’s prestigious Iberseries Co-Production and Financing Forum, the production has continued to bolster its formidable creative roster. Most notably, the feature has secured Goya-nominated cinematographer Gris Jordana. Jordana’s stellar past credits include Netflix’s La Bola Negra—which clinched the Best Director prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and is widely regarded as a frontrunner to represent Spain in the Academy Awards race—as well as the acclaimed series La Mesías and Liberty (Libertad).

The narrative of Stink Eye bridges dark comedy, psychological drama, and elements of body horror. It follows 13-year-old Nina, whose stable domestic life is completely upended when her father abandons her mother for Belén, a mesmerizing model and social media influencer. Expósito is slated to bring her star power and massive digital footprint—boasting over 24.7 million followers on Instagram alone—to the complex role of Belén.

The ensuing familial fallout sends Nina’s mother into a severe physical and mental health decline, forcing the young protagonist to relocate into the household of her father and his glamorous new wife. In an attempt to navigate her new reality and elevate her social standing among her peers, Nina initiates an illicit black market trading her stepmother’s stolen underwear. Through this provocative and taboo endeavor, Nina navigates the labyrinthine trials of identity formation, emergent sexuality, and an unexpected, complex emotional bond with the very woman who dismantled her family.

Detailed Chronology: From Personal Trauma to International Financing

The genesis of Stink Eye spans years of creative development, drawing deeply from Sánchez Salamanca’s lived experiences before finding its footing on the global co-production stage.

The Autobiographical Spark

The conceptual roots of Malmirada stretch back to the filmmaker’s childhood. Sánchez Salamanca has frequently noted how her perspective on womanhood, performance, and societal observation was forged at a remarkably young age. When she was seven years old, her father left her mother for a woman who was, in the director’s words, "Miss Universe—or well, the first runner-up." Describing this figure as a woman who was breathtakingly beautiful, poised, charming, highly intelligent, and effortlessly oozing sex appeal, the young Sánchez Salamanca was forced to grapple with a foundational question that now drives her art: How can you find your own place in life when such a huge shadow is cast upon you?

Festival Circuits and Development Programs

Before attaching a powerhouse talent like Ester Expósito, Stink Eye underwent rigorous international incubation. The project, alongside Continente Pictures’ sister development Name and Surname, navigated some of the most competitive European and Latin American talent labs and financing forums.

The film’s trajectory includes targeted participation in:

• The Torino Film Lab: Renowned for mentoring boundary-pushing auteur cinema.
• The ECAM Forum: A vital launchpad for emerging European cinematic voices.
• Sørfond’s Pitching Forum: Providing international co-production leverage.
• The Bogota Audiovisual Market (BAM), Ventana Sur, and Guadalajara: Where the project swept up numerous development awards, signaling its profound resonance across both Latin American and European markets.

The Iberseries Breakthrough

The project’s current showcase at Madrid’s Iberseries Co-Production and Financing Forum marks a critical turning point. By locking in Expósito via a letter of intent and cementing international co-production partnerships, Stink Eye has transitioned from an ambitious development-stage property into a heavily anticipated commercial and arthouse prospect on the global market.

Supporting Context & Metrics: Talent, Cast, and Crew Profiles

The strength of Stink Eye lies not only in its provocative premise but in the proven commercial and artistic track records of the women steering the production.

Ester Expósito and the Modern Digital Landscape

Ester Expósito remains one of the most bankable and recognizable young faces in Spanish-language entertainment. Her meteoric rise was catalyzed by her portrayal of Carla Rosón Caleruega in Netflix’s international teen drama sensation Elite. Beyond traditional film and television metrics, Expósito commands a staggering digital empire, anchoring an Instagram following of 24.7 million users.

Casting Expósito as Belén—the magnetic, hyper-visible model-influencer—is a stroke of meta-casting brilliance. Expósito is uniquely positioned to deconstruct the archetype of the "perfect woman," having spent years navigating the intense public scrutiny and objectification inherent in modern celebrity culture. Her involvement guarantees immediate global visibility, transforming an indie-spirited coming-of-age drama into a must-watch international event.

Cristina Sánchez Salamanca’s Artistic Vision

As a writer and director, Cristina Sánchez Salamanca has consistently investigated the fault lines of the human psyche. Her artistic vocabulary centers on alienation, the physical body, psychological duality, identity, and the "shadow"—themes heavily influenced by her upbringing and her navigation of contemporary Latin American society.

Her breakout short film, Bebé, premiered at the prestigious 2022 Tribeca Festival, where it earned praise for its unblinking look at childhood anxiety amidst the wreckage of a fractured household. Furthermore, Sánchez Salamanca’s visual sensibilities were further refined through The Tour ’23, a series of commissioned short documentaries for Victoria’s Secret. That project required her to capture the dizzying, chaotic sensory experience of moving through Bogotá inside a woman’s body—an exercise in atmosphere and physical alienation that directly informs the tone of Stink Eye.

Gris Jordana and the Visual Aesthetic

Cinematographer Gris Jordana joins the crew fresh off landmark critical successes. Her nomination for a Goya Award underscores her status as one of Spain’s premier directors of photography. Jordana’s inclusion—alongside her work on Netflix’s La Bola Negra (the Cannes 2026 Best Director winner poised for Oscar consideration), La Mesías, and Liberty (Libertad)—indicates that Stink Eye will boast a lush, deeply atmospheric, and visually arresting cinematic language that elevates the material beyond standard domestic drama.

Official Statements & Directorial Intent

In interviews detailing the thematic underpinnings of Stink Eye, Cristina Sánchez Salamanca has elaborated on why the casting of Ester Expósito is vital to the film’s subversion of traditional tropes:

"The most exciting aspect of this project is having the magnetic Ester Expósito on board to play such an important figure in my own coming of age," Sánchez Salamanca shared. "I can’t think of anyone better to deconstruct the perfect woman and show something much more interesting that lies beneath."

Rejecting clean categorizations of the project as a standard, nostalgic coming-of-age narrative, the director frames the film through a sharper, more subversive lens:

"This isn’t a coming-of-age story. It’s closer to dark comedy body horror — but here, the horror lies in growing up as a 13-year-old girl in a world that validates women’s existence through the eyes of others."

The narrative tension relies heavily on the psychological push-and-pull between young Nina and her glamorous stepmother. As Nina attempts to fill the maternal vacuum left by her mother’s illness, her illicit black market operation—selling Belén’s stolen underwear to teenage boys desperate for proximity to feminine allure—serves as a bizarre, desperate vehicle for self-actualization. Yet, as Nina penetrates the veneer of her stepmother’s glamorous life, her animosity curdles into an unexpected intimacy, throwing her relationship with her biological mother into painful, agonizing relief.

Future Outlook: Production Structure and Global Horizons

As Malmirada moves forward from the Iberseries Co-Production and Financing Forum, its multi-territory production apparatus is fully established to ensure seamless execution across European and Latin American markets.

Transatlantic Production Powerhouses

The film is spearheaded by Bogotá-based Continente Pictures, founded by Sánchez Salamanca and her producing partner Duván Duque Vargas. They are joined by prominent Spanish outfit Ringo Media, spearheaded by Mireia Graell (noted for the critically acclaimed Matria), and French production house Dibona Films, led by Jérémy Zelnik (whose credits include The Spectacle, featured at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival). Producers Duván Duque Vargas and Paola Pérez Nieto are set to oversee day-to-day physical production.

What Lies Ahead

With development backing from elite international labs secured, top-tier cinematography locked in, and a global streaming and social media heavyweight like Ester Expósito attached to lead, Stink Eye is poised to enter pre-production as one of the most anticipated Hispano-French co-productions of the coming cycle.

By marrying a deeply personal, autobiographical narrative about female alienation with the stylistic sensibilities of dark comedy and body horror, Sánchez Salamanca and her production team are crafting a cinematic experience that promises to challenge audience expectations of female beauty, domestic trauma, and identity construction in the modern era. As financing finalizes and physical production dates loom, the film stands as a testament to the surging power of women-led Latin American and European cinematic collaborations on the world stage.