The Lanzarote International Film Festival is organizing two training courses to work in the film industry, also taking advantage of the boom in filming on the island.
"More and more productions are coming to Lanzarote looking for qualified personnel among the local population. These courses are intended to be a first step to help create employment in this sector and strengthen the audiovisual industry in the Canary Islands," explains Ismael Curbelo, director of the Festival and technician of the Lanzarote Film Commission.
Both the "Audiovisual Production Assistant" course and the "Eco Assistant: sustainability in filming" workshop will be held from June 13 to 18 in El Almacén and will require prior registration to attend.
"We know that there are numerous film and advertising projects that choose Lanzarote as a set, so it is necessary to have trained professionals on the island who know how to work from an environmentally responsible perspective," said the Minister of Culture of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Alberto Aguiar.
Course of "audiovisual production assistant"
The intensive course "Audiovisual Production Assistant" will be held from Monday, June 13 to Friday, June 17, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the El Almacén Island Culture Center, with a price of 50 euros, which can be paid through the festival website.
Students will learn the phases of a production, how the work is distributed among the different departments, what technical means are used, how to interpret plans and shooting orders, how to develop other essential documents (timings, casting tables, transport orders) and what is the appropriate methodology to face a first job as a production assistant.
It will be taught by Makkers, an audiovisual school integrated by Nick Igea, Pablo Herraiz, Javier Chinchilla and Anna Casinna, all of them with extensive experience in the sector. In addition, Nick and Pablo are production managers of international advertising campaigns, Javier has been assistant director of filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott and Anna is the head of the production department for fiction of Amazon Spain.
Workshop "Eco Assistant: sustainability in filming"
For its part, the workshop "Eco Assistant: sustainability in filming", in collaboration with Construcciones Lafrugan, will be held on Saturday, June 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the El Almacén Island Culture Center, with a price of 20 euros, payment that can also be made through the festival website.
In this workshop, students will learn what a sustainable production is, how to create sustainability behind the screen and what opportunities for implementation of these processes productions have today.
It will be taught by Yanira Cáceres Arocha, Bachelor of Environmental Sciences and Master in Protected Natural Spaces, a specialist who has been working for more than a decade as an environmental consultant in audiovisual productions, such as Exodus: Gods and Kings, Han Solo, The Eternals and Foundation.
Express shorts, murals and showcases
On the other hand, Lanzarote will become the set for short films between June 13 and 19, dates on which the fourth edition of the Corto Expres Contest will take place, which promotes short films as an essential means of transmitting culture.
The Multicines Atlántida will host on Sunday, June 19 at 7:00 p.m. the screening of the winning works and the presentation of statuettes. The FICL will award a first prize in cash of 1,000 euros, a second prize of 600 euros and a Special Prize for filmmakers under 20 years of 300 €. The filming teams will be able to register from June 13 on the festival website.
Likewise, to promote local commerce in Arrecife and provide it with a cinematographic atmosphere during the Lanzarote International Film Festival, the second shop window contest has been announced. Arrecife establishments can sign up for the contest through the Festival website until May 31. The shop windows, inspired by the seventh art, will remain set up from June 6 to 25 and will have a first prize of 1,200 euros and a second prize of 600.
Finally, there will also be a Film Mural Contest aimed at students of ESO, Baccalaureate and Training Cycles, with the theme of film icons, film sets and mythical characters of the seventh art, and a registration deadline set on June 3.
