April 2020
last section
A television blockbuster series about the first
round-the-world sea voyage, with the participation
of the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the Navy
RECOUNTING the tale
of a unique feat in history,
this million-euro budget
production will be shot in
the Canary Islands, the Basque Country
and the Dominican Republic with
film treatment, premieres in Spain, the
United States, Latin America and the
United Kingdom... and, at the helm,
British director Simon West, author of
films such as Con Air or Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider.
These are some of the pillars of the
future fiction TV series Sin Límites,
which seeks to publicize the first round-the-
world sea voyage (1519-1522), an
unparalleled accomplishment conducted
by the ship Victoria, captained by Spanish
sailor Juan Sebastian Elcano.
PRESENTATION AT THE NAVAL MUSEUM
This blockbuster, launched by
the Spanish Radio and Television
Corporation (RTVE) and Amazon
Prime Video with the participation of
the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the
Navy, was presented at Madrid’s Naval
Museum on February 20th and among
its “guests” were God Neptune and Saint
Telmo, patron saint of sailors.
The ceremony took place in the
courtyard next to the exhibition
entitled We were the first (RED no.
365), organized on the occasion
of this historical feat by the host
institution.
Due to its success, the exhibition
has been extended twice and can
be visited until June, said the Navy
Chief of Staff, Admiral Teodoro
Lopez Calderon, who hosted the
event. The Navy Chief of Staff
highlighted the circumnavigation
58 Revista Española de Defensa
completed by Elcano, an unexpected
and successful ending for the Spice
Islands fleet of Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan, which was
sponsored by King Charles I to search
for a westward route to the Maluku
Islands and, as noted by Lopez
Calderon, sailed on unknown seas.
PROMOTING HISTORY
The Navy Chief of Staff also described
this TV series as a way of bringing this
unique adventure, which empirically
demonstrated the roundness of the
Earth, closer to the audience, particularly
to young people.
He emphasized its historical accuracy
and indicated that it is part of the
collaboration agreement signed in 2018
between the Ministry of Defence and
RTVE to carry out different activities
commemorating the 500th anniversary
of this endeavour.
On behalf of the public channel,
its interim administrator, Rosa María
Mateo, pointed out the challenge
involved in turning this story into an
appealing television series, as well
as its financing, a chapter that has
opened the door to co-production with
Amazon Prime Video.
Ricardo Cabornero, Head of Content
at Amazon Prime Video Spain, stressed
the dual Hispanic and international
nature of the first round-the-world sea
voyage and how attractive it is for his
firm to collaborate in the broadcasting of
this crucial venture.
The shooting of this TV series will
begin this winter, between December
and January, and will be premiered in
2021. Each of its four episodes will cost
around five million euros.
The screenwriter is Patxi Amezcua
and the producer is Miguel
Menéndez de Zubillaga (The Endless
Trench), who compared this round-the-
world trip with the experience of
Matt Damon’s character in the movie
Interstellar. Finally, Simon West
described the voyage as “epic” and
said that his purpose was to apply all
his experience to Sin Límites in order
to ensure it is “faithful to history,
fast-paced, entertaining and action-packed”.
Esther P. Martínez
Photos: Hélène Gicquel
“SIN LÍMITES”
Elcano accomplished the feat. Image of
the exhibition entitled We were the first.
Armada
The Navy Chief of Staff hosted the presentation of the TV
series that took place in the Naval Museum in Madrid.
RTVE and Amazon Prime Video have launched this
project to be directed by British filmmaker Simon West