Filmax: seven decades bringing the highest quality to cinema and TV

The San Sebastián Festival has been the space chosen to celebrate the anniversary of Filmax, which this year celebrates seven decades of experience as the first independent film and television studio in Spain.

Great audiovisual professionals, actors, directors and producers such as David Trueba, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Natalia de Molina, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Bruna Cusí, Álvaro Cervantes, Nacho Vigalondo, Carolina Yuste, Enrique López Lavigne, Marta Nieto, Sergi Casamitjana, Eneko Sagardoy, Olmo Figueredo, David Matamoros, Álvaro Longoria, Juan Gordon, Leire Apellaniz, Iván Miñambres, Kike Maíllo, Carlota Pereda, Javier Ruiz Caldera, Albert Serra, Nahikari Ipiña, Juan Carlos Tous and Alba Flores among others, toasted and danced to the rhythm of Carlos Areces.

During the event held in the Bataplán room, an excited Julio Fernandez, that covered by Carlos and Laura Fernandez, who dedicated a few words to him, received the affection of all those present. the sculptor Diego Cabezas He surprised all the guests with one of his creations, an iron sculpture of the tightrope walker, an iconic image of the company, created expressly for the honoree. Cabezas, with more than 20 years of career behind him, is an expert in the treatment of iron and has exhibited his playful, colorful and experimental aesthetics around the world.

Filmax has become, throughout its seventy years of history, one of the main audiovisual companies in Spain. Since its birth in 1953, the company has developed its activity with the same purpose: to tell stories that make the viewer dream.

Filmax is organized into 4 major areas, production, international sales, distribution and exhibition. Which makes it the first independent film and television studio in Spain. Filmax has produced more than 100 audiovisual projects, many of them awarded and projected internationally as The Machinist, Transsiberian, While You Sleep, Lemon Bread with Poppy Seeds, Red Bracelets, Everyone Lies y Dating Barcelona.

With the premiere in Spain of Moulin Rouge, by John Huston, Filmax began its love affair with the Spanish public and established itself as a distributor of hits. In 1987, Julio Fernández acquired the Filmax brand and under his leadership such successful films as The fourth protocol, Fried green tomatoes y The fabulous Baker Boys, among others.

In the 90s, Filmax fully entered the field of film production. Three-way (Enrico Coletti, 1997) kicked off a career full of outstanding titles such as The nameless, by Jaume Balagueró, winner of the Méliès de Oro award for Best European Fantasy Film; Manolito Gafotas, which achieved more than a million viewers; and Compassionate Sex, winner of the Biznaga de Oro at the Malaga Festival in 2000.

The production line took a giant leap with the creation of the Fantastic Factory, a cinematographic label of its own fantasy genre, which opened a period of splendor and international expansion. Devised by Julio Fernández and the North American filmmaker Brian Yuzna, this seal is consecrated within Spanish cinema with Faust.

Revenge is in the blood (Brian Yuzna, 2001), Arachnid (Jack Sholder (2001), Dagon, the sect of the sea (Stuart Gordon, 2001), Darkness (Jaume Balagueró, 2002), and The middle name (Paco Plaza, 2002). At this time, Filmax also began its journey in international co-productions as The machinist, by Brad Anderson and starring Christian Bale, The Way, with Martin Sheen, and Transsiberian, con Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer y Ben Kingsley.

In 2007, the horror saga [REC] It marked a turning point in the trajectory of Filmax. The premiere of the first installment was a national and international box office phenomenon, it received applause from critics and the public at the Venice and Sitges festivals and gave rise to the creation of a universe that has given rise to sequels, documentaries, immersive experiences and NFTs. In addition, the film, directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, had an American remake.

Throughout all these years, Filmax was also the undisputed leader in the domestic format among independent distributors, releasing an average of 80 rental films per year and more than 120 titles in DVD and direct sales (VHS) formats. All about my mother, Solas and Carne trémula were some of the most representative hits of the time.

Throughout these seven decades of walking, Filmax has released more than 700 films in theaters, which has positioned it as one of the Spanish distributors with the most experience in the market. Among its most popular and critically successful titles are the winner of 8 Oscars (including Best Picture) Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008), winner of 4 Oscars Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004), winner of 6 David di Donatello Awards The best offer (Giuseppe Tornatore, 2013) y Truman (Cesc Gay, 2015), the great winner at the 2016 Goya Awards.

In recent years Filmax production has diversified between films for all types of audiences, animation to enjoy with the family and television series. A new era of production for an audience that continues to share the same objective: dreaming about stories. Titles like Thou Shalt Not Kill, Lemon Poppy Seed Bread o where two fit, animated films like La gallina Turuleca o Pérez, the little mouse of your dreams and series as relevant as Vermelles Polseres, Everyone lies o Selftape.

Internationalization

Regarding the internationalization of the brand, Filmax opened itself to the world by creating its own sales agency. From this line of business, the company distributes all its productions and also films from other Spanish producers that fit with the line of content set by the company.

In recent years, Filmax has made a great impact in international markets, making sales in more than 50 countries around the world. Filmax's present also involves taking another step in business growth and facing a new challenge: creating a line of work dedicated to providing services to the international audiovisual sector. A comprehensive production service that covers all possible needs in the production process of an audiovisual work.

After production, distribution and international sales, Filmax also opted for the exhibition with the inauguration of the Filmax Gran Via Cinemas. Multiplex cinemas that have become a benchmark in the sector for being the only ones in Spain to have three theaters with 4DX. A technology that offers an innovative multi-sensory experience with motion-based seating synchronized with 21 different effects, and a Screen

He future of Filmax It has its sights set on continuing to focus on quality, commitment and stories that excite the public. In the coming months it will premiere The hermitage together with Bixagu Entertainment, a supernatural drama directed by Carlota Pereda, starring Belén Rueda and the young promise Maia Zaitegi; The teacher who promised the sea, starring Enric Auquer and Laia Costa about the true story of the teacher Antoni Benaiges, who disappeared during the Civil War, co-produced with Minoría Absoluta and Lastor Media; and The jump, the new film by Benito Zambrano, produced together with Cine 365 Films and Virtual Contents, which tells the hard odyssey of the migrants who cross the fence that separates Morocco from Spain.

On the other hand, in the television field, Filmax will premiere the second season of Everyone Lies on Movistar Plus+ and Dating Barcelona, a new edition of the successful Cites format, on Prime Video and TV3.