Spanish distributor targets gay audience
By JOHN HOPEWELL

VARIETY February 19, 2007

MADRID -- Spain has its first dedicated gay-lesbian film distribution house: Pride Films, based out of Salvador Dali's birthplace of Figueres in Catalonia.

Distrib shingle will launch in March, focusing on DVD rental at video clubs and, after a one- to two-month window, sell-through at specialized outlets such as gay-lesbian bookshops and upscale department stores. Pride is headquartered in the offices of Eurocine films, a minority shareholder, and will use Eurocine for bookings and collections. It aims to distribute two pics theatrically annually.

First titles up are contempo Moscow love-triangle dramedy "You I Love"; Barbara Graftner's "Dream of Floating," about three swimming-crazed gay men; and John Baumgartner's comedy/drama "Hard Pill." All have been purchased from German sales agency Media Luna.

"Pride Films was born from the comments of international sales agencies that they could sell gay-lesbian films all over Europe but nobody wanted them in Spain," said Pride marketing director Ignacio Lamarca.

"Previously, gay-lesbian films were simply bought from abroad or downloaded from the Internet."