Mario Balarezo del Caz

The Guillermo Del Toro produced "Julia's Eyes” became the second biggest grossing Spanish film of 2010. Now, the director Guillermo Morales (“The Uninvited Guest”) and co-writer Oriol Paulo team up again for a new horror thriller called "Venom".

The Short film Net was recently presented in Madrid - a new project established as a way to promote the short film format the Spanish city. Renowned actors Marta Belenguer (“7:35 In The Morning”) and Mariano Venancio (“23-F”, “Camino”) were on hand to support the project.

After a 12-year absence (“Nadie Conoce A Nadie” aka Nobody Knows Anybody), Alejandro Amenábar's longtime collaborator Mateo Gil has officially returned to his directing duties. His comeback film “Blackthorn” which is a western starring Eduardo Noriega (“Thesis”) and American playwright and actor Sam Shepard has been named to the Tribeca Film Festival's World Narrative section line-up.

After the cold reception at the box office, mixed reaction from critics and only two tech award wins at the recent Goya awards with A Sad Trumpet Ballad a.k.a The Last Circus, director Alex de la Iglesia has commenced filming on “La Chispa De La Vida”. Based on an original screenplay by Randy Feldman (“Tango & Cash”), the film stars Salma Hayek (“Frida”) and Spaniard comedian José Mota.

The 61st edition of Berlinale kicked off late last week, and with the inclusion of four spanish films, four less than the last year. The already well known “También La Lluvia” (“Even The Rain”) by Icíar Bollaín, “Amador” by Fernando León de Aranoa and “Medianeras” by Gustavo Taretto, all presented out of competition at the panorama section. The fourth film, “Escuchando Al Juez Garzón”, by cult filmmaker Isabel Coixet (“My Life Without Me”) is a documentary shot on black and white based on a popular figure in a Spanish judge -- this will be showcased at Specials section of the Berlinale.