Julio Fernández, the producer who believed in Catalan fantasy cinema, has died.

BarcelonaJulio Fernández, the producer who transformed Filmax into a cinematic giant in Catalonia during the 1990s and 2000s, died Monday at the age of 78 at his home in Miami. Fernández, who had long been retired from frontline business, made Filmax the leading film distributor in Spain and introduced the company to film production with the ambitious Fantastic Factory project, which brought filmmakers like Brian Yuzna and Brad Anderson to work in Catalonia and served as a springboard for others. [REC], one of the company's greatest achievements.

Fernández was born in Fonsagrada, Lugo, but in the late 1960s moved to Catalonia, specifically to Hospitalet de Llobregat. His first job was cleaning a car repair shop, but over the following years he progressed through different commercial sectors and in 1987 entered the world of film with the acquisition of Filmax, a distribution company founded in 1953. Some of the achievements of Fernández's first period at the helm of Filmax were Fried green tomatoes and The Fabulous Baker BoysBut the company released hundreds of films during the following decades, including the Oscar-winning ones Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

Under Fernández's leadership, Filmax expanded its activities to include production, international sales, and exhibition, becoming one of the driving forces of the sector in Catalonia and Spain. Its commitment to film production was particularly strong; by the late 1990s, it had produced iconic titles such as The Nameless (1999), Jaume Balagueró's feature film debut, or the popular Manolito Gafotas (1999), by Miguel Albadalejo, which was seen by more than a million viewers in theaters.

A fantastic factory

But Filmax's turning point in production came in 2000 with the creation of Fantastic Factory, an ambitious production project that debuted that year with the Splendor by Brian Yuzna. The Fantastic Factory not only welcomed foreign talent from the world of fantasy cinema, such as Stuart Gordon (Dagon, the sect of the sea) or Jack Sholder (Arachnid), but it served to create a technical and professional network of international level and to launch films by in-house directors such as Balagueró (Darkness) or Paco Plaza (The second issueFilmax also expanded into the international co-production market and brought to Catalonia such interesting projects as The train driver (2002), with Christian Bale losing weight to pathological levels, The waywith Martin Sheen, and Trans-Siberian, starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley.

The great success of this period came in 2007 when Balagueró and Plaza joined forces to reinvent horror found footage with the masterful [REC]a huge box office success that spawned three sequels and even one remake American in English. However, the company's rapid growth took its toll, and Filmax's finances faltered in the late 2000s. In 2008, Fernández was acquitted of the crime of diverting €47.5 million through another company, Ivex Films; in 2010, he filed for voluntary bankruptcy for six of the group's companies, which were carrying over €100 million in debt; and in 2012, he reached an agreement with the banks to pay off the debt over 10 years.

During the last decade, Filmax has diversified its productions into family films, animated films, and television series, with major successes such as Red bracelets either Barcelona appointmentsAt the same time, the company has created its own international sales agency to distribute its films and those of other Spanish production companies, and it operates in more than 50 markets worldwide. In the exhibition sector, the creation of the Filmax Gran Via Cinemas, inaugurated in 2001, stands out. This complex currently has 12 screens, three of them with 4DX technology, and more than 2,600 seats. In 2023, Fernández participated in the company's 70th anniversary celebration, which culminated in a party at the San Sebastián Film Festival.