BY LIZA FOREMAN
SAN SEBASTIAN – Spain’s most important film festival draws to a close on Saturday night, concluding nine days of industry meets, film screenings and galas.
The Spanish film industry’s post-pandemic recovery program: Spanish Screenings XXL, worked to beef up the festival’s industry activities. That program aims to increase the international reach of Spanish audiovisual content, and consists of four components with the Financing and Tech section hitting the ground in San Sebastián.
The other focuses of Spanish Screenings XXL, which take place at different markets and events and online are: Spanish Screenings Content (Malaga Festival), Spanish Screenings On Tour, and Spanish Screenings 360, a year-round program of activities.
In San Sebastian, the program included two main initiatives, the Zinemaldia Startup Challenge, a competition that showcases future tech start-up initiatives; and the Creative Investors Conference which drew a line-up of A-list American film executives to town for two days of panels and meetings with Spanish players.
A special presentation was held during the fest as part of theSpanish Screenings XXL initiative to publicize details on ‘Spanish Screenings on Tour’ set to take place in Rome next week.
More than fifty Spanish professionals are heading to the MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo market, running from October 9-13 in Rome where 30-plus Spanish films and WIPs (Work in Progress) will be screened. Twelve of these films are by female directors and eighteen have been produced or co-produced by women.
Several titles will have their world premieres at MIA. Some of these will be seen in the Next from Spain at the Comin’UP section. This is where sales agents screen international industry trailers of the best upcoming films.
The WIP section includes several hotly anticipated Spanish titles including:
“Ariel” by Lois Patiño (Spain, Portugal); “Rock Bottom” by María Trenor (Spain, Poland); “Valenciana” by Jordi Nuñez (Spain); and “Where The Silence Passes” by Sandra Romero (Spain).
Also at MIA, a panel on co-producing with Spain will bring representatives from film funds and producers from Italy and Spain to discuss what makes Spain an ideal co-production partner in Europe.
Scheduled speakers include Pilar Merino Troncoso, the Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Spanish Embassy Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs in Rome; Jara Ayucar, Marketing Deputy Director at ICAA; and Alba Sotorra, Producer at Alba Sotorra Productions.
A selection of Spanish features with European co-production potential will also be presented at MIA. Seven projects have been selected for the co-production market. Among them are the dramedy “A Supermarket in Tigaday” by Paula Bilbao; debut feature”Strange River” by Jaume Claret Muxart (Spain, Germany); “This Body of Mine” by Afioco Gnecco and Carolina Yuste (Spain); “Unkind People” by Sara Gutiérrez Galve (Spain); and debut feature “Weekends” by Alicia Moncholí.
