Posted: Wed., Jan. 7, 1998, 11:00pm PT

Sogetel sets plans to push newcomers

Spain's largest prod company looks to accelerate 'generational renewal' in country's filmmaking

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MADRID -- With its latest production, "Open Your Eyes," proving a critical and box office sensation in Spain, Sogetel, the country's largest film production company, has announced that it will skew its upcoming production slate toward films from Spain's roster of new cineastes.

The production focus, enhanced by the mid-1996 appointment of thirtysomething Fernando Bovaira as Sogetel general manager, looks set to accelerate the so-called "generational renewal" in Spanish filmmaking. This has seen directors such as Juanma Bajo Ulloa ("Airbag") and Alex de la Iglesia ("Perdita Durango") break through to first critical acclaim and later boffo B.O. at home wickets.

After bowing Dec. 19, "Open Your Eyes," the second film by 25-year-old Alejandro Amenabar ("Thesis") has grossed $3.3 million after 17 days, despite opening on just 84 screens. Unlike so many European domestic pic hits, however, "Open Your Eyes" is not a local comedy, but rather a highly demanding sci-fi psychological thriller.

"Young audiences in Spain are saturated by so many local TV sitcoms. It's far easier for them to identify with other genres," said Ele Juarez, general manager of conglom Sogecable, which owns Sogetel. Juarez told Daily Variety that Sogetel will be focusing in the future on "thrillers, suspense pics and dramas" aimed at a 12-to-35-year-old demo, such as new films by Amenabar, Julio Medem, Isabel Coixet or Gracia Querejeta, directors all in their 20s or 30s.