Director Michael Labarca, whose project Muchachos bañándose en el lago, a co-production between Venezuela and France,
has been selected.
The Malaga Festival Fund & Co Production Event will be held online till 11 June, treating audiences to a taste of the rich diversity of Ibero-American cinema.
The Malaga Spanish Film Festival has announced its pick of projects for the MAFF (Malaga Festival Fund & Co Production Event), section of MAFIZ (Malaga Festival Industry Zone). This year’s selection includes entries from Portugal and Spain, reflecting the festival’s commitment to celebrating the Ibero-American world’s diverse linguistic and cultural identities and promoting its audiovisual industries. MAFF is organised by Malaga City Council and the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, in partnership with the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), the Conference of Ibero-American Audiovisual and Film Institutes (CAACI), Ibermedia, the Federation of Ibero-American Film Producers (FIPCA) and European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE).
Part of the 24th Malaga Spanish Film Festival, it promises a packed programme of online activities that will run till 11 June. The selected projects — each receiving a grant to cover two months of training in creative filmmaking and production — are: Amanda, directed by Sandra Gugliotta and Madreselva, by Ernesto Aguilar (both from Argentina); Bala perdida, by Juan Vicente Manrique and Esta bestia tan salvaje, by Valeria Ariñez (Mexico); El arte de la guerra (Peru) by Grecia Barbieri and Gonzalo Benavente Secco; Ida Vitale (Uruguay), by María Inés Arrilleda; Silencio (Brazil), by Enrique Santas; Sugar Island (Dominican Republic), by Johanné Gómez Terrero and Trenzadas (Puerto Rico), by Raisa Bonnet.
Featured European coproductions will include: Muchachos bañándose en el lago (Venezuela/France), directed by Michael Labarca; Os livros restantes (Brazil/Portugal), by Ralf Tambke; Tú no eres yo (Spain/Portugal), by Marisa Crespo and Moisés Romera; and Un hombre en un puente (Spain/France), by David Martín de los Santos. Finally, courtesy of Portugal comes Terra vil, directed by Luis Campos.
Meanwhile, the Social MAFF section will focus on topics that invite us to reflect on current issues impacting life in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. This section will feature El viaje del cocodrit (Panama), by Elio Barrigón, alongside a number of other projects presented in partnership with Sanfic Lab (Santiago International Film Festival) — Gemelos celestiales (Chile, directed by Niles Atallah — Cinemundi (Paralaxe (Brazil, by Ricardo Murad and Cao Guimarães) — Bolivia Lab — Las almas (Argentina, by Laura Bosombrío) — and the Directorate of Audiovisual, Sound Production and New Media) (DAFO) at the Peruvian Ministry of Culture — Devenir (Peru, by Ricardo Adolfo Amador Yui Hifume).
MAFF defines its mission as follows: to be the leading communication and networking platform for fund executives to get together and discover new projects in the early stages of development; to encourage innovative business and production models for new films with potential to attract international coproducers, with a view to distributing and promoting them in different markets and through different channels; to offer high-level creative, economic and financial advice to help filmmakers create viable, quality projects with strong prospects in the global market, thus boosting their international presence; and to provide a platform for new entrants in the world of film, creating content that reaches and resonates with viewers and engaging new audiences in a continuously expanding audiovisual scene.
Frank Ramos
Chus Gonzalez