There was both magic and realism involved for the Chilean creatives Francisca Alegría and Fernanda Urrejola , who brought Isabel Allende’s beloved novel “ The House of the Spirits ” to the screen as a limited series for Amazon Prime Video .

Alegría and Urrejola and “House of the Spirits” executive producer Eva Longoria detailed the backstory of the eight-episode series during their keynote address May 1 at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers’ Diverse Women in Media Forum. Variety gave “House of the Spirits” a rave review, calling the Spanish-language adaptation “sensational, and long overdue.” “House of the Spirits” bowed April 29.

Although Alegría and Urrejola did not have a long track record of managing elaborate period productions, the faith that FilmNation and Longoria’s Hyphenate Media showed in their vision for the Spanish-language adaptation and the support system they provided made all the difference.

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