The Spanish Film Festival of Malaga plans to inaugurate a sales office and documentary film market at this year's fourth edition (June 1-9).

The sales office will be open free of charge to films participating in any of the sections of the festival, which include the official competition, a short film sidebar, a tribute and a retrospective.

The market, dubbed MercaDOC, also invites participation from producers, distributors and potential buyers of documentaries produced in Spain or Latin America, or with Hispanic themes, since 1999. MercaDOC runs parallel to the festival's traditional documentary section, which screens 30 to 40 documentaries of the same characteristics, and this year's first annual two-day Congress on Spanish and Latin American Documentaries.

With the support of new, deep-pocketed sponsors, Via Digital and Antena 3, the Malaga event has gained in stature and last year's edition saw a strong industry turn-out. Top winners in 2000 were Laura Mana for best film (Compassionate Sex) and Cesc Gay for best director (Krampack).