Brian Yuzna's Fantasy Factory, the Spanish genre house which struck deals with Dimension Films, Lions Gate and Trimark late last year, is expected to world premiere Arachnid at Portuguese fantasy festival Fantasporto as part of a spotlight on the Filmax subsidiary.

The Porto-based festival, which runs February 23 to March 3, is also screening another Fantasy Factory genre title, a re-invention of Faust by Yuzna. In addition, an exhibition and special effects master-class at the festival are aimed at showcasing the hot production outfit to Portuguese audiences.

The festival noted that the operation, backed by Filmax under president Julio Fernandez, aims to build a horror-fantasy label as a modern-day Hammer. Arachnid's director, Jack Sholder, previously won the festival with The Hidden.

Other side-bars include the Melies d'Or Award, run by the European Federation of Fantasy Film Festivals and a platform for such films as Alex de la Iglesia's El Dia De La Bestia and Jaume Balaguero's Los Sin Nombre. Competing this year are Miguel Bardem's La Mujer Mas Fea Del Mundo from Spain, French horror title Promenons-Nous Dans Les Bois, Denmark's Possessed, the UK's Lighthouse, Germany's Tuvalu and Denmark's Angel Of The Night.

Other titles confirmed for the festival's main competition include Shadow Of The Vampire, starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. Mexican film Amores Perros also screens.