The Award-Winning Series Messiah, Featuring Cannes' New Winners, is Coming to MUBI Turkey

One of the most talked-about television works by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, who returned from the 2026 Cannes Film Festival with the Best Director Award, is coming to Turkey.

The Spanish creative duo's written and directed series La Mesías will be added to the MUBI catalog under the title Messiah. The seven-episode series will be available for streaming in Turkey starting September 3, 2026. It will also be released on the same date in various countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Australia.

The new development here is not the filming of the series. Messiah was first shown in Spain in 2023. What’s new is that this award-winning production will be officially presented to audiences in Turkey for the first time through MUBI distribution.

A viral video awakens buried trauma

The story of Messiah begins with a video of the group Stella Maris, composed of sisters who create Christian pop music, that went viral online.

When the video appears before a man named Enric, childhood memories he has tried to leave behind for years resurface. Enric and his sister Irene grew up in an oppressive household dominated by religious fanaticism, where their mother declared herself the messiah.

The fact that the members of Stella Maris are Enric's younger sisters elevates the viral footage from being just an internet phenomenon. The family secrets that Enric and Irene buried in the past resurface as the group gains fame. MUBI promotes the series through the lens of Enric's childhood shaped by religious fanaticism and the re-emergence of secrets related to his siblings.

The series progresses through different time periods, following the same family during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Thus, the effects of religious oppression on the characters' relationships and identities years later also become central to the story, not just during the period they experienced it.

Not a new series, but an award-winning production reaching Turkey

Messiah first premiered in Spain on October 11, 2023, on Movistar Plus+. Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo wrote, directed, and produced all seven episodes together.

Before its television screening, the series was featured in the Official Selection of the 71st San Sebastián Film Festival, outside of competition. The festival accepted the seven-episode production as a whole into its program, presenting Messiah as a single cinematic narrative of approximately seven hours, beyond a traditional television gala.

Therefore, MUBI's announcement should not be seen as the promotion of a newly filmed Spanish series. The platform is bringing a production that was presented to critics and festival audiences three years ago, but has not had an official screening in Turkey, to viewers through a new wave of international distribution.

Made history at the Feroz Awards

Messiah made a mark in award history by winning all six categories it was nominated for at the 2024 Feroz Awards, showcasing one of the strongest television performances in award history.

The production received awards for Best Drama Series, Best Series Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.

Lola Dueñas and Roger Casamajor won in the lead actor categories, while Irene Balmes and Albert Pla took home the supporting actor awards. The screenplay award was given to Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, Nacho Vigalondo, and Carmen Jiménez. The Spanish Cinema Journalists Association announced the series' six-award success as a record in Feroz history.

The arrival of Messiah on MUBI gains significance precisely because of this award history. The platform is not just adding a previously popular series to its catalog; it is bringing one of the most awarded productions of Spanish television in recent years to new countries.

Back in the spotlight after Cannes victory

The release date of Messiah in Turkey was announced at a notable time for the series' creators.

Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo shared the Best Director Award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival for La Bola Negra with Pawel Pawlikowski. In the festival's official records, the film is listed as a joint directorial work of the duo, and the award was given to both directors.

Thus, MUBI is opening up one of their strongest television works to a wider audience at a time when Ambrossi and Calvo's international visibility has risen again after Cannes.

The significance of Messiah lies here: it is not a new project created by two award-winning directors after their victory at Cannes; it is one of the fundamental works that shows how they developed a narrative language before their latest success in cinema.

Who is in the cast of Messiah?

The series features a large cast, including Roger Casamajor, Macarena García, Lola Dueñas, Ana Rujas, Carmen Machi, Albert Pla, Amaia Romero, Biel Rossell Pelfort, and Cecilia Roth.

Due to the story taking place in different periods, the same characters are portrayed by different actors during their childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Irene Balmes, Bruno Núñez, Carla Moral, Lluc Jornet, Iona Roig, Sara Martínez, Joana Buch, Arlet Zafra, and Ninoska Linares bring the young members of the family to life.

These time jumps are not only used to expand the cast. They make visible how the childhood trauma, which is the core issue of the series, transforms at different stages of the characters' lives.

When will Messiah come to MUBI?

Messiah will be released on MUBI Turkey on September 3, 2026. All seven episodes are expected to be available on the same day. MUBI's Turkey page also lists the production as a 2023 Spanish mini-series under the title Messiah.

The success of Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo at Cannes may have brought their new film to the forefront of world cinema. However, Messiah will allow for the first exploration in Turkey of one of their most comprehensive works that unites family, faith, music, and trauma into a single narrative.

The video of Stella Maris not only awakens Enric's past in the series. On September 3, it will open the door to a story that has been waiting to reach Turkey for three years.