- The names of the projects chosen to represent the Spanish film industry at the Cannes Film Festival market have been announced.
- Five producers will participate in the Producers Network’s Spanish Spotlight, four documentary proposals will be presented in the Spanish Showcase at Cannes Docs, five projects in development will be presented by Spanish Screenings at Goes to Cannes and eight short films will be shown in the Short Film Corner.
- On 21 May, the first showcase dedicated to Spain in the history of Cannes Docs will take place.
Last March, the Marché du Film announced that Spain would be the market’s guest of honour at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from 16 to 27 May. One month before the start of the festival, the names of the projects and professionals selected to represent the country’s film industry in a particularly special edition for Spain have been announced.
As a result of the collaboration with the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures within the Plan “Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe” (PRTR), the Spanish participation is being co-organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, through ICEX Spain Export and Investment, and by the Ministry of Culture and Sport through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), and also has the support of experts from the sector, representatives of the most important national film festivals: San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) and the Malaga Film Festival through the Spanish Screenings programme, the Bilbao International Documentary and Short Film Festival (ZINEBI) and the Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival (FICX).
A total of twenty-two Spanish projects and professionals have been selected to participate in the special programmes dedicated to Spain in the different sections of the market. Specifically, five Spanish producers will take part in the Spanish Spotlight of the Producers Network, four documentary projects will be presented in the Spanish Showcase of Cannes Docs, five projects in the development phase will go hand in hand with Spanish Screenings in Goes to Cannes and eight short films by new talents from Spanish schools will be shown in the market’s Short Film Corner.
In addition, the Spanish pavilion, located at stand A3-A5 in the Riviera building, will offer sales agents, producers, film commissions and other professionals and companies from the sector a space for meetings. The pavilion, in which a total of 48 audiovisual companies will be represented, will be organised into two zones: the first, dedicated to film, documentary and animation content, will have 7 sales agents and production companies organised under the umbrella brand Cinema from Spain of ICEX Export and Investment; the second, for the promotion of Spain as a filming destination, will have 8 film commissions represented by the umbrella brand Shooting in Spain of ICEX-Invest.
Focus on Spain at Producers Network
On Saturday 20 May, the Producers Network’s Spanish Spotlight will highlight Spanish production and its professionals with the presence of five Spanish professionals at what is one of the most prestigious international co-production forums, bringing together more than 400 producers from all over the world every year.
Paola Botrán (Sideral), Marisa Fdz. Armenteros (Buenapinta Media), Luis Ferrón (Lazona Producciones), Xavier Font Pijuan (ZuZú Cinema) and Emilia Fort Molas (Avalon) are part of the small group of five producers who will travel to Cannes with ICEX and ICAA. The five Spanish producers, along with eight other professionals who will attend as guests, will present their projects to the professional audience, with the opportunity to find financing in an initiative to promote Spanish co-productions set up by ICEX Export and Investment’s Cinema from Spain as part of the ‘Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe’ Plan.
Spanish showcase at Cannes Docs
In a programme developed in collaboration with the Bilbao International Documentary and Short Film Festival (ZINEBI) and the Gijón International Film Festival (FICX Xixón), Spain will present four feature-length documentary projects in what will be the first showcase dedicated to Spain in the history of Cannes Docs, which will take place on 21 May at Riviera2. Specifically, Itoiz by Larraitz Zuazo produced by Doxa Producciones; Los restos del pasar by Luis Muñoz Cubillo “Soto” and Alfredo Picazo produced by Du Cardelin Studio and Mubox Studio; Um film by Fernando Ruiz Vergara by Concha Barquero and Alejandro Alvarado and produced by Azhar Media and Alvarquero films; and Un árbol es un árbol by Carlos Marques-Marcet produced by Suica Productions, AXfilms and Lastor Media.
The directors and producers of the four selected documentaries will have the opportunity to present images of their projects to a prestigious audience made up of programmers from the most important film festivals in the world, as well as renowned documentary film producers, distributors and directors. All of this in the market space dedicated to documentary film professionals, which highlights the value of this genre and its organic integration into the global film industry.
2cool4school Vol. 3 at Short Film Corner
Between 21 and 24 May, a collection of recently completed short films will be presented at the video library of the Short Film Corner in Cannes. The 2cool4school Vol. 3 programme, previously presented at the Malaga Short Corner in March, is an initiative promoted by ICEX and ICAA to showcase the projects of young talents from Spanish film schools.
The programme 2cool4school Vol. 3 will include Bound by Lucía Silvestre Graude from the University of Navarra; Conej Steps Out by Pablo Río from DigiPen Institute of Technology Europe Bilbao; Corpúsculos by Laura Ibáñez López from Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE); Muerte en Torrevieja by Adriana Erratia from ESCAC; Aproveche la infancia que luego va la vida by Mauro Maroto Megino from the ECAM; Not Yet by Pau Ballesté Aguirre, Jorge Librero Cano and Maria Bros Carreras from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Te vengo a buscar by José Provencio Vallecillo from TAI. School of the Arts; and Cando o tempo acabe by Miguel Gómez Abad from the University of Vigo.
Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes
In a 110-minute session on Saturday 20 May, the main producers of the five selected titles will give a brief presentation or project pitch, followed by the screening of a 12-minute fragment of their film in the context of the Goes to Cannes section, the market’s special section for work-in-progress projects.
The five selected projects were selected by Spanish Screenings, the programme for the internationalisation of the Spanish audiovisual industry, in coordination with ICEX and ICAA in the context of the Marché du Film: El salto by Benito Zambrano and Cine365 Films; La canción de Sima by Roya Sadat and Alba Sotorra; A nuestros amigos by Adrián Orr and El viaje Films; Tratamos demasiado bien a las mujeres by Clara de Bilbao and Ficción Produccions; and Llobás by Pau Calpe Rufat, Galápagos Media S and Dacsa Produccions.
In addition to the films selected in the four sections of the Marché du Film and the companies participating in the Spanish pavilion, the Spanish presence at the market will be completed by a programme of panels and conferences on tax incentives, audiovisual projects linked to accessibility and sustainability and the streaming platform that aims to make the contents of the collections of the Filmoteca Española’s film archives available to the public.
You can see the original news on the Spain Audiovisual HUB website: https://spainaudiovisualhub.mineco.gob.es/es/actualidad/proyectos-espanoles-seleccionados–marche-du-film-2023
