Spanish producers took advantage of the talent and media congregated in Malaga last week for the sixth annual Spanish Film Festival (April 25 - May 3) to present five new feature films in various stages of production.

The festival's Projects Forum (Foro de Proyectos) offers a glimpse into a few of the Spanish titles which will be making news in late 2003 and early 2004. The Forum also provides a showcase for films backed by Malaga fest sponsors Antena 3 and Via Digital, as well as Antena 3 production arm Ensueno Films.

Films presented in last year's Forum included 2003 Malaga competitor The Bulgarian Lovers (Los Novios Bulgaros) and box office hit Moscow Gold (El Oro De Moscu).

Gracia Querejeta presented her much-anticipated new film, Hector, the story of a young boy (Nilo Mur) who goes to live with his aunt (Ariadna Ozores) after his mother dies. Now in post-production, the film is a co-production between Elias Querejeta, DeA Planeta and Ensueno Films, the film production arm of broadcaster Antena 3.

Producer Gerardo Herrero of Tornasol Films is directing The Archimedes Principle (El Principio De Arquimedes), a drama about two women whose friendship suffers when they start working together. The film began shooting in Madrid this Monday and stars Marta Belaustegui, Blanca Oteyza and Roberto Enriquez.

Herrero is also preparing for the release of his latest film, The Galindez Mystery (El Misterio Galindez), in which Harvey Keitel has a role. The director reportedly organised a private screening of Galindez in Malaga for Keitel, who was in town shooting Mary McGuckian's The Bridge Of San Luis Rey.

Tornasol also co-produces Summer Clouds (Nubes De Verano) with Marta Esteban's Messidor Films. The tale of two cousins who set out to separately seduce a man and his wife during the course of one summer begins shooting under director Felipe Vega on May 26 in Catalunya. Alta Films will distribute both Clouds and Arquimedes.

Producer Pedro Costa, director Oscar Aibar and lead actors Jordi Vilches (Two Tough Guys) and Angel de Andres Lopez (800 Bullets) presented Flying Saucers (Platillos Volantes), a tragicomedy based on the true story of two men in 1970's Spain who commit suicide in order to convene with extra-terrestrials. Enrique Cerezo co-produces.

The last two projects presented were Antonio del Real's small-time crooks comedy Trileros, a Mascara Films-Ensueno Films co-production now in post-production and set to be distributed in Spain by Columbia and in Latin America by Venevision; and Jose Luis Garcia Sanchez's Franky Banderas, a Cerezo production now in post-production about an out-of-work actor who tries to make it big by promoting a child singer.