Spanish mini-studio Filmax is prepping the launch of new genre label Fantastic Family to create feature films targeted at the entire family.

The new label will complement the company's existing Fantastic Factory, for fantasy and horror pictures, and Fantastic Discovery, for new directors.

Producer-director Brian Yuzna, co-founder with Filmax president Julio Fernandez of the genre labels, said the objective was to "create films for more general audiences without diluting the Fantastic Factory" concept.

Long-gestating live action-adventure project Captain Thunder (Capitan Trueno), with an anticipated $10m-plus budget, is on the high end of the kind of "big adventure films" conceived for the new label, Yuzna said.

Filmax is also expected to present a new slate of films for its successful Fantastic Factory label at the upcoming MIFED market. Among the most ambitious projects in development is Roma Santa, an English-language period tale about a serial killer in 19th century Spain who claimed to be a werewolf.

Yuzna (pictured) took a break this weekend from shooting in Valencia on his own project: Beyond Reanimator to join the entire Filmax team in Sitges for the presentation of Jaume Balaguero's highly-anticipated English-language chiller Darkness, starring Anna Paquin and Lena Olin, which inaugurated the 35th annual Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia on Thursday night.

Under second-year director Angel Sala the event is taking on a higher profile in both its selection of films and draw of A-list talents. Highlights of the opening weekend were the presence of Guillermo del Toro and David Cronenberg, both recipients of honorary awards.

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