Spanish animated feature, El Cid: The Legend, will make its U.S. debut in September, thanks to new distributor Hannover House. According to Daily Variety, the Filmax-produced epic toon, which is also one of the five features in competition at the Annecy Film Festival in June, is the first of the Barcelona-based quartet of animated projects ready for global distribution.
As the film’s executive producer and director of Filmax Animation, Paco Rodriquez explained to Animation Magazine a few months ago, "We started with El Cid because it is a classic, and our aim is to create a mixture of classic stories and innovative ones based on original ideas and characters."
El Cid is an 82-minute adventure story based on the legend of the Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, who fought in the name of King Alfonso. Directed by first-time helmer Josep Pozo, the traditionally animated film (which also incorporates about 10 minutes of CG work) was reportedly made for only six million euros. Filmax is also prepping Pinocchio 3000, Donkey Xote and Nocturna for international distribution.
