Producer Enrique Lopez Lavigne ("28 Days Later" ) has teamed with Belen Atienza, exec producer on "Che" and "Pan's Labyrinth," to launch Apaches Entertainment.
In auteur-driven Europe, Apaches' talent relations gives it a head start, positioning it as a pivotal company in Spain's production scene.
Apaches is currently developing projects with directors Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ("28 Days Later") and Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage").
The startup shingle is working with two other leading lights of Spanish genre pics, "Timecrimes" writer/helmer Nacho Vigilando and "Orphanage" scribe Sergio Sanchez.
Another project is with Eduardo Chapero Jackson, whose "Alumbramiento" took kudos for best short from Venice and the European Film Academy in 2008.
Apaches is looking to consolidate relations with other young producers and line producers in order to enter international co-productions, or offers services in Spain on foreign shoots, said Atienza.
Aiming at a large tech prescence in many films, Apaches has also taken a 30% stake in and manage Imagital, a Madrid-based videogame, 3D and f/x firm.
Both Lopez Lavigne and Atienza have extensive contacts and experience, with Lopez Lavigne having worked at top Spanish production house Sogecine, taking production credits on all Julio Medem's films and movies by Isabel Coixet and Fresnadillo's debut, "Intacto."
Until 2008, Atieza produced films for Telecinco Cinema, the powerful film-production arm of broadcast network Telecinco. She line-produced "Orphanage," and exec-produced "Maradona by Kusturica," both sold by Wild Bunch.
One challenge for Apaches will be to become the first and only stop for its key talent over other shingles. Bayona, for example, has "Hater" set up at Universal, with Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson producing.
But Lopez Lavigne is sanguine: "Our real challenge is to concentrate on developing projects with people who trust in us."
Another necessity will be to seek joint finance for projects with partners allowing Apaches to go and seek foreign coin with much of a film budget covered.
According to Lopez Lavigne, Apaches is in "advanced conversations" to close majority financing on projects.
Apaches will present its first three productions at Cannes, he added.
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