Filmax, one of the main audiovisual companies in Spain, is now 70 years old. The brand was founded in 1953 as a distributor of the greatest hits of North American cinema - the first was Moulin Rouge, by John Huston - and in 1987 it was acquired by producer Julio Fernández for 100,000 pesetas, about 600 euros, who rehabilitated it as a brand. distribution of international hits and later opted for fantasy and animated films.
The anniversary party was celebrated in style last Sunday within the framework of the San Sebastián festival, in which tribute was paid to an emotional Julio Fernández, accompanied by his daughter Laura, producer and associate director of Filmax, and his brother Carlos, CEO of the company. “Before I was aware that my father was dedicated to cinema, I loved cinema. It is a very beautiful profession,” says Laura in conversation with this newspaper.
The executive speaks with admiration of her father, “a person who left a remote village in Galicia at the age of 14” and has many dreams ahead of her. She “made a journey out of nothing and made Filmax today a world-known brand in the audiovisual sector.” Under her leadership, such successful films as The Fourth Protocol, Fried Green Tomatoes and The Fabulous Baker Boys, among others, were released in cinemas in Spain.
“My father has always instilled in me a love for cinema and telling stories,” he says. And he confesses that one of the films that had the most impact on him during his childhood was Grease. “When she was little she watched it on loop. And now my daughters see it. It has a hook..." The brand is organized into four large areas: "Today we are creators of stories, we have scriptwriters, there is a distribution, production, exhibition and international sales part, so we are a kind of mini studio from Spain that We are in the entire cinema value chain. And there are no family businesses like that that are still alive, so it has to be celebrated. Filmax has had very good times, also tough ones, and here we are,” Laura proudly states that next week she will be honored for her career by the Penedès Women's Talent Business Association.
He is optimistic about the future of cinema in theaters, but points out that exhibitors “have to make an effort to invest in theaters. We have done it in Filmax cinemas. We have 3 4DX rooms with 21 effects that are spectacular. I know that not all cinemas can make this investment, but you have to have a place that is pleasant for the public. And you have to think at the producer level, looking for stories that move and have something to say.”
Of the latest films they have produced, she is especially happy with No Matarás, by David Victori, Lemon Bread with Poppy Seeds, by Benito Zambrano, and La Ermita, by Carlota Pereda, a fantastic drama that will hit theaters on December 17. November and whose origin is based on a story that Fernández read in an article and with which he became obsessed. “I was lucky that Carlota connected with the story. I told him to rewrite it and that's how the project has grown. I already want to let her go.”
The film will be seen first at the Sitges festival, within the framework of which and on the occasion of the 70th anniversary, a call will be launched to prepare the Filmax Presenta awards with the idea of searching for "the best Spanish horror film project, which can be with or without a director and will be sponsored by Pereda and Jaume Balagueró, two directors of the house".
As new challenges, the producer cites that it is important “to be closely linked to the usual talent, the new one that comes out of film schools, directors, new scriptwriters... and to be closely linked to the world of short films, the new perspectives that come out of cinema. Also be very close to new technologies. And have projects that you fall in love with and are excited about. I don't get involved in a project if I don't fall in love with it. Then the movie will work or not, but that's another story."
