Sony Pictures International Productions and Pokeepsie Films (the company run by Álex de la Iglesia and actress Carolina Bang), in association with Amazon Prime Video, have signed a deal to create The Fear Collection, a new brand and seal of quality for various genre features that will be made under the creative supervision of de la Iglesia, the director of The Bar [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alex de la Iglesia
scheda film], who will serve as producer and/or director on them all.

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“It’s an ambitious project that I’ve had dragging around for years. The concept consists of creating a series of films that unfold in a horror universe that is not restrained by time: the characters will have to grapple with supernatural forces that threaten humanity. The idea is to shoot movies of a particular nature – cosmic horror. Our initial intention is to produce two features per year, with genre-loving filmmakers. If there’s one thing that we’re very familiar with in this country, it’s feeling scared, a fear that’s been entrenched in our minds ever since we were children, on that school trip, when we saw Goya’s Black Paintings for the first time. Sony and Amazon are giving me the opportunity to give the green light to a nightmare, which, I hope, will keep us awake at night,” stated the Bilbao-born filmmaker, who recently shot the series 30 Coins [+leggi anche:
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scheda series] for HBO.

In the words of Laine Kline, head of International Productions at Sony Pictures, “Álex is a horror maestro. The Fear Collection is the perfect platform – for Álex as well as for us – to push the boundaries of genre in Spanish film.” Meanwhile, Iván Losada, managing director of Sony Pictures España, opines: “Álex is one of the most brilliant and prolific creators in this country, and we enthusiastically celebrate the fact that we can bring his talent on board as we develop this collection of horror films.”

Some of the projects from this new brand are already in development: one of them, Veneciafrenia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], will be directed by de la Iglesia himself, from a screenplay co-penned by the filmmaker and his regular co-writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría, which takes place in a virtually unrecognisable Venice and is slated to be shot in the autumn; other forthcoming instalments will be helmed by Jaume Balagueró, Paula Ortiz, Fernando Navarro and Carlos Therón. According to what he told the website of the Spanish Film Academy, the Basque director would also like to call on the services of young talents as well as more seasoned ones, such as Chus Gutiérrez, Helena Taberna, Borja Cobeaga and Javier Ruíz Caldera, because, in his own words, “Spanish fantastic cinema is the best in all of Europe: in this country, we have a special, morbid taste for the bizarre”.

The films that form part of The Fear Collection will first be released in movie theatres, distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia, and will subsequently be available on Amazon Prime Video. “Álex de la Iglesia is one of Spain’s great cinematic inspirations. To be able to collaborate with him, accompanied by Sony Pictures Entertaintment and Pokeepsie Films, is a privilege for us, as it will allow us to offer our customers a collection of films with an undeniable seal of quality,” remarked Ricardo Cabornero, head of content for Amazon Prime Video in Spain.