Filmax International and Latido Films are among the Spanish sellers to secure deals in Berlin, despite reports of a slow market.

Iván Díaz, head of sales at Filmax, confirmed to Screen that the Barcelona-based distributor had sold Invader (Invasor) to France’s Swift Distribution. The action thriller about the war in Iraq has also been picked up in Germany, Mexico and Brazil.

Filmax has also sold horror sequels [REC] 3 Genesis  and [REC] 4: Apocalipsis, now filming, to Korea.

According to the distributor, the films have been picked up in “virtually every territory around the world”. Jaume Balagueró (Sleep Tight) will return as director of the fourth instalment.

Díaz said: “EFM was not a very exciting market but we have great hopes for Cannes.

“In Berlin we were able to give a first look at three films in which we are very confident: The Returned (a zombie title directed by Manuel Carballo), Here’s the Deal (a comedy against a backdrop of the economic crisis directed by Alejandro Marzoa) and Son of Cain (a thriller from Jesús Monllaó Plana).

“We will have them finished in May.”

Juan Torres, from Latido Films, revealed sales of Thesis on a Homicide (Tesis sobre un homicidio).

The thriller, directed by Hernán Goldfrid, has been picked up in France (Eurozoom) and Korea (Sonamu Pictures), adding to pre-sales in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey and Brazil. Italy and Benelux are on hold.

It stars Ricardo Darín as a professor who suspects that one of his pupils (Alberto Amman) is a murderer. The film has grossed more than $5m since its release in Argentina.

At the EFM, Latido also sold animation feature Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe to Russia (Top Films).

However, Madrid-based DeaPlaneta International fared less well in Berlin.

“It was a really slow market”, said sales manager Gorka Bilbao.

The Body, a thriller by Oriol Paulo with Belén Rueda that has grossed nearly $9m in Spain, “was already sold to a lot of territories”.

He added: “In Berlin, we spoke to some buyers and we hope to close sales soon”.

Conversely Vicente Canales, head of Barcelona-based Film Factory Entertainment, had a successful EFM and is closing deals on action film Combustion, family feature Zip and Zap, and the new film from Alex de la Iglesia, Witching and Bitching.

6 Sales is also set to announce sales of Blancanieves, which recently scooped 10 Goyas, awarded by the Spanish Film Academy.

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