Spain's Filmax begins shooting today (Monday) on itslatest English-language outing, Jaume Balaguero's Fragile starring Calista Flockhart and rising Spanishactress Elena Anaya.

The thriller, Balaguero's follow-up to 2002's Darkness and co-scripted with Jordi Galceran, will shoot fornine weeks between Barcelona and England's Isle of Wight. The budget wasnot disclosed. Filmax's Julio Fernandez co-produces with JustFilms' Joan Ginard.

Flockhart stars as a nurse fighting to keep safe the youngpatients of an isolated and seemingly haunted children's hospital. Anaya(Van Helsing, Sex And Lucia) co-starsalongside a cast including Richard Roxburgh, Gemma Jones, Colin McFarlane andMichael Pennington.

"The people working on this film [much of the sametechnical team as on Filmax's The Machinist] are calling it a 'supernatural drama,'" said Filmaxsenior vp of sales and co-productions Antonia Nava. "It has a spiritualelement apart from the terror." Nava aims to show buyers a promo at theautumn AFM.

Meanwhile, Filmax was surprised by reports this week thatMiramax intends to release Balaguero's Darkness straight to DVD in the US. "It is lamentableand unfortunate for the film and for Jaume," Nava said. A planned Junetheatrical release on upwards of 1,000 screens had previously been cancelled.

Miramax also holds rights to Balaguero's debut featureThe Nameless (Los Sin Nombre), yet to bereleased stateside.

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