Filmax Boards AI-Driven 3D ‘DinoGames’ for EFM

Filmax has taken international sales rights to “DinoGames,” a 3D-animated feature directed by Goya winners Carlos F. de Vigo and Lorena Ares, with the Barcelona-based company set to present first images to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market.

Produced by Spain’s Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat alongside Belgian producer Beside, “DinoGames” is positioned as a family adventure fusing video-game wish fulfilment with a contemporary AI hook. 

The project has already enjoyed early market traction, surfacing on the international industry circuit at Annecy’s MIFA Pitch and across Cartoon’s flagship platforms, Cartoon Movie and Cartoon Forum.

Set inside the world’s most popular video game, the film imagines a next-gen AI system that allows in-game characters to become sentient, shifting the game from entertainment into a living universe that awakens, evolves and begins interacting with human beings. 

The story is driven by siblings Codi (10) and Vera (15), still reeling one year after their mother Loren vanishes during a mysterious accident at her hi-tech lab. 

The lab was developing a revolutionary AI Universe Simulator for the DinoGames ecosystem. When Codi receives an invitation to test the simulator’s latest build, the message turns out to be a trap set by Pinkolaf, a vengeful AI creature born inside DinoGames that has learned to manipulate real-world electronics. 

A system error pulls Codi, Vera, their friends and Aunt Susan into the game world, while Danny is left behind in the damaged lab, racing to reopen a portal as both realities tilt toward a final showdown.

Script development is led by Todd Edwards, a key writer on indie breakout “Hoodwinked,” while character design is by Annie Award-winner Carlos Grangel, behind characters for filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro. Animatics include work by Paco Sáez and David Frasquet.

The feature has been supported by pubcaster RTVE, Spain’s Ministry of Culture, Eurimages, and regional partners including Sodena and Generazinema in Navarre, Ourense Provincial Council and Wallonia’s Wallimage.

“This is the adventure of fantasy and friendship we were all dreaming of seeing on the big screen,” Ares said. De Vigo added: “What happens when the code awakens?” 

Filmax international head Iván Díaz called the pickup “a strategic move for Berlin and one which we’ve developed very closely with its producers.”