Following the lead of its successful start-up genre division The Fantastic Factory, Spain's Filmax Group has initiated a restructuring of its animation division, newly dubbed Filmax Animacion.

Under the direction of Paco Rodriguez, former head of Spanish rights and production house PPM Multimedia, Filmax's animation division will incorporate three main areas.

The first, production services, will be headquartered at Bren Entertainment, the Galicia-based "animation factory" launched last year by Filmax, post-production lab Filmtel and capital risk fund Xes Galicia. Filmax is currently seeking international partners for future animation projects at Bren, where state-of-the-art Toon Safe technology also services third-party projects.

Second, Filmax Animacion plans to produce and back traditional animation product for TV and cinema. Its first feature-length film, El Cid, The Legend (El Cid, La Leyenda), a co-production with the Cartoon P Group's Toon Factory, has already pre-sold theatrical rights to Mexico. Also in the works is Manolito Gafotas, a TV series spin-off based on writer Elvira Lindo's successful book and film character.

Finally, Filmax Animacion will capitalize on the Filmax Group's in-house international sales and co-production department, led by Antonia Nava, to reach foreign markets. The company aims to pick-up third-party product to represent on the international market as well.