This past weekend I was invited to Abycine, which is taking place this week. On Saturday, the first edition of Mercado Abycine Lanza concluded, having begun on Thursday. It is dedicated to the development of projects in the most independent new Spanish cinema and is supported by Castilla-La Mancha television and ECAM.
This market consolidates Abycine’s commitment to new Spanish cinema.
On Friday morning, just after arriving in Albacete, we learned the full program of the Seville European Film Festival, which includes the Resistencias section, dedicated exclusively to new Spanish cinema.
This is a good time to review the festivals that are most actively supporting this new, more independent Spanish cinema. Cinema made from the margins of the industry, with the most daring and compelling proposals, is in many cases the cinema achieving the greatest international success.
I have identified 5 festivals we should follow to stay current with what is happening in this other Spanish cinema. These festivals are essential if you are preparing your film now and want to consider them in your distribution strategy. In some cases they have sections exclusively for Spanish cinema, but they also have a more cross-cutting character, with Spanish films present in various sections.
These festivals have had the foresight to take the initiative and make a clear commitment in their programming lines. Although most tend to include short films, either in competitive sections or out of competition, in this post I refer exclusively to feature films.
#1 Seville European Film Festival
In Seville there are several sections that include Spanish films: Official, New Waves, and New Waves Non-Fiction, although the Resistencias section is the main focus for Spanish cinema. It represents one of the most decisive commitments to new Spanish cinema—no less than 30% of its programming consists of the best independent cinema of the year.
It takes place from November 4 to 12, 2016. If you are considering participating next year, the submission deadline was September 10.
Let’s review this year’s programming:
Official Section
- Mimosas, Oliver Laxe
- The Death of Louis XIV, by Albert Serra (out of competition)
New Waves
- The Film of Our Lives, by Enrique Baró Ubach
- The Invisible Hand, by David Macián
- Belle Dormant, by Ado Arrietta
- Orange Days, by Pablo Llorca.
New Waves/Non-Fiction
- Born in Syria, Hernán Zin
- Cowboy Life, by Ramón Lluis Bande
- Belle Dormant, by Ado Arrietta
- Orange Days, by Pablo Llorca
Resistencias
- Blue Blood Analysis, Gabriel Velázquez and Blanca Torres
- The Mystery of Aaron, Carlos Rivero
- La Substància, by Lluís Galter
- The Mutants, Gabriel Azorín
- Loving Objects, Adrián Silvestre
- Marisa in the Woods, Antonio Morales
- Pasaia Bitartean, Irati Gorostidi
- Bictor Ugo, Josep María Bendicho (as a posthumous work) and Carlos Clausell.
- The Last Summer, by Leire Apellaniz (Out of competition)
- Misfits, by Kikol Grau
- We Are Nothing, by Kikol Grau
#2 Albacete Film Festival
The Abycine Indie section is the section dedicated to the most recent Spanish cinema, with a selection of only 5 titles. With the launch of the Abycine Lanza market, we can also get a glimpse of the cinema to come, thanks to the presentation of projects by new Spanish directors.
The festival is taking place this week, from October 21 to 30, 2016. The submission deadline was August 1.
The Abycine Indie section consists of these titles:
- Bittersweet Days, Marga Melià
- Brave Class (work in progress), Víctor Alonso Berbe
- La pols, Llàtzer García
- The Furies, Miguel Del Arco
- Living and Other Fictions, Jo Sol
#3 Ourense Film Festival
The Ourense Festival underwent a significant change this year with the arrival of programmer Fran Gayo as artistic director. The new structure and programming lines include Spanish cinema in a cross-cutting manner across its different sections (which also include short films), which justifies keeping it very much in mind.
It takes place from October 28 to November 5, and the submission deadline ended on August 18.
These are the feature films participating in the festival:
Ibero-American Section
- Angélica [A Tragedy], Manuel Fernández-Valdés
- Manuel Vilariño. To Be Light, by José Manuel Mouriño
Symptoms
- Forget Monelos, Angeles Huerta
- María (and the Others), Nely Reguera
- Verengo, Víctor Hugo Seoane
Extramuros
- Pelerinaxes, by Simone Saibene
- Visións, by Xisela Franco and Beli Martínez
These are three festivals that have already published their programming for this year.
There are two more festivals still in preparation. We will learn their programming in the coming months:
#4 Márgenes Festival
The Márgenes Festival is one of the festivals that has been committed to the most daring Spanish cinema for years. It has become an essential event for taking the pulse of new Spanish cinema.
In addition to the competition, in 2015 it created MRG/WORK, a project development meeting along the lines of Abycine Lanza. In the case of MRG/WORK, it is also open to Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American projects from residents in Spain and Portugal, with no duration restrictions.
Márgenes takes place throughout December, both in Madrid and at venues in Latin America and Portugal. The submission deadline ended on September 20.
The 2016 official section is still pending; this is the selection of Spanish cinema in 2015:
- L’Esma del Temps (The Sense of Time), Alexandra Garcia-Vilà and Marta González, Marta Saleta
- The Foreigner, Miguel Ángel Blanca
- Next, Elia Urquiza
- Rosalia. One More Bee in the Hive, by Víctor Gonca (in this case with a duration of 44 min., between short and medium-length film)
- Passersby, Luis Aller
- O futebol, by Sergio Oksman (special screening)
- Berserker, by Pablo Hernando (special screening)
#5 Barcelona Auteur Film Festival
The Cinema D’Autor D’A is another festival that has consolidated its support for new Spanish cinema. Like other festivals, it does so in a cross-cutting manner, including Spanish cinema in its different sections: Direccions, Talents (for new directors with fewer than three films), and Transicions (dedicated to the best auteur films that have screened at international festivals).
The festival will take place from April 27 to May 7, 2017. The call for entries closes on January 15, 2017.
Direccions
- That Feeling, by Juan Cavestany, Julián Génisson, and Pablo Hernando
Talents
- Dead Slow Ahead, Mauro Herce
- It Seemed Important to Us, by Marc Ferrer
- Oleg and the Rare Arts, Andrés Duque
Transicion
- Toxic Love, Norberto Ramos Del Val
- Callback, Carles Torras
- The Name of the Trees, Ramón Lluís Bande
Let’s review the submission deadlines for each of these festivals and their premiere policies:
- Albacete Film Festival – August 1 (no premiere restrictions).
- Ourense Film Festival – August 18 (must be a Spanish premiere).
- Seville European Film Festival – September 10 (must be a Spanish premiere).
- Márgenes Festival – September 20 (no premiere restrictions).
- Barcelona Auteur Film Festival – January 15, 2017 (Catalan premiere).
I hope this post helps you follow the most recent and daring Spanish cinema, as well as establish your distribution strategy at the national level.
Do you miss any other festival that is committed to new Spanish cinema?
I would love to receive your comments.