The 11th “Festival de Malaga” featuring Spanish films made in 2007 / 2008, takes plase in the town of Malaga between 4th and 12 April and is the most important talent showcase of the Spanish Cinematography.
In the long history of Spanish cinema, the great filmmaker Luis Buñuel was the first to achieve universal recognition, followed by Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s. In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition as a result of its creative and technical excellence with films by directors like Segundo de Chomón, Florián Rey, Luis GarcÃa Berlanga, Carlos Saura, Julio Medem and Alejandro Amenábar. The Spanish actors Penélope Cruz , Fernando Rey, Antonio Banderas, Javier Bardem and Fernando Fernán Gómez have obtained world recognition and many international awards including the Oscars..
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Another aspect of Spanish cinema mostly unknown to the general public is the appearance of English-language Spanish films such as The Machinist (starring Christian Bale) The Others (starring Nicole Kidman), Basic Instinct 2 (starring Sharon Stone), and Milos Forman’s Goya’s Ghosts (starring Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman). All of these films were produced by Spanish firms. This attests to the dynamism and creativity of Spanish directors and producers.
Today, only 10 to 20% of box office receipts in Spain are generated by domestic films, a situation that repeats itself in many nations of Europe. The Spanish government has therefore implemented various measures aimed at supporting local film production and movie theatres, which include the assurance of funding from the main national television stations. The trend is being reversed with the recent screening of mega productions such as the €30 million film Alatriste (starring Viggo Mortensen), the Academy Award winning Spanish/Mexican film Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), Volver (starring Penélope Cruz), and Los Borgia (€10 million), all of them sold-out blockbusters in Spain.
This year the “Festival de Malaga” is featuring a hefty dose of directorial debuts mixed with veteran directors:
OFFICIAL COMPETITION - (click the photo thumbnails for more information, trailer, photos and synopsis).
Manuel Gutierrez-Aragon’s controversial “Todos estamos invitados” about an ETA terrorist suffering from amnesia will open the official competition. Other hot titles in competition include Javier Gutierrez’s sci-fi thriller “3 Dias - Before the Fall” produced by Antonio Banderas’ Green Moon Productions and the directorial debut of the 81-year-old, accomplished literary and theatrical veteran Jaime de Arminan “14, Fabian Road” focusing on a complex relationship between a writer and one of her admirers.
Belen Rueda stars in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “8 Citas - 8 Dates” chronicling a relationship’s different stages, while Xavier Bermudez’s “Rafael” traces the emptiness of a womanizer. Headline-inspired plots include Ana Diez’s “Paisito - Small Country” about immigrants’ lives and loves upon reunion, Xavi Puebla’s “Bienvenido a Farewell-Gutmann - Welcome To Farewell-Gutmann” using a multinational pharmaceutical company as a backdrop, Juan Cruz and Jose Corbacho’s ” Cobardes - Cowards” about high school bullying and Antonio Gonzalez-Vigil’s “Naranjo en flor - Flower of Seduction” a strange fascination with a man who has to discover a crime.
A string of comedies to make the ranks includes: Juan Luis Iborra’s ” Enloquecidas - Crazy“, Juan Cavestany’s ” Gente de mala calidad - Low Quality People” Guillermo and Jorge Sempere’s ” Pájaros muertos - Dead Birds” and Nacho Garcia Velilla’s ” Fuera de carta -Chef’s Special“.
Rounding out the section will be feature debuts by Silvia Munt with “Pretextos - Pretexts” depicting shared loneliness,” Guillermo Groizard with identity crisis drama “Proyecto Dos - Project Two” and Aitzol Aramaio with intergenerational exchange “Unpoco de chocolate - A Bit of Chocolate”
ZONA ZINE
The ZonaZine section is a platform for the more alternative and risky forms of film. It will encompass six feature films, along with 25 shorts and 27 video clips, while the documentary section hosts 18 titles in competition for the 12,000-euro top documentary prize.
DOCUMENTARIES
There are 18 documental films in “Seccion officialâ€, 8 in “Selección de estrenos†and 3 in “sesiones especiales†– for details see “Documentalesâ€.
TERRITORIO LATINOAMERICANO
The competition of films from Latin America include 10 films – for details see “Territorio Latinoâ€
JURY
The Festival de Cannes’ Guy Braucourt will head the official jury, comprising musician Bernardo Bonezzi, magazine editor Charo Izquierdo, New York Film Festival director Richard Pena, Spanish producer Mate Cantero, actor Juan Diego and director Eliseo Subiela.
WHERE TO SEE THE FILMS
The main festival screenings take place in the Teatro Cervantes - C/ Ramos MarÃn S/N . The public screening take place in the following venues in and around Malaga town: CINES ALBÉNIZ 1/2/3 - C/ Alcazabilla 4, CINES ALAMEDA C/ Córdoba, 9 AUDITORIO MUSEO PICASSO MÃLAGA, TURISMO ANDALUZ, SALA UMA, SALÓN ROSSINI and many cinemas around Malaga in Costa del Sol. For details see “Programaciónâ€.
HOW TO GET TO MALAGA
You can find information about Malaga Airport and Car Hire, Malaga See Port, and Ave High Speed Train on TVSpain. The town has an extensive public transport and you can rent a bicycles in the Plaza Marina and by the entrance to the Alcazaba Car Park near Plaza De la Merced.
ACCOMODATION
There are many hotels in Malaga but they would be probability fully booked. However you can find thousands of hotels and apartments near Malaga in Torremolinos Benalmadena and Fuengirola (just minuts by a cheap train running every 20 minutes), which at this time of the year would be free. For details see Lastminute.com.
Soursces:
Festival de Malaga Oficial Websie
Wikipedia - Cinema of Spain
Variety.com
TVSpain
