El Almacén will host the Official Section of the Lanzarote International Film Festival (FICL) from May 8 to 12. This was announced by the Cabildo de Lanzarote, in charge of organizing the event, in a statement. In this 23rd edition, the highest island organization encourages the citizens of the island to "let out their film-loving side with a program designed to promote the collective experience of the seventh art".
One of the "most anticipated" activities is the screening of the works in competition, which will take place in the cinema of the CIC El Almacén and which this year includes 62 short films. The works have been selected from among the 2,152 proposals submitted by filmmakers from ninety countries. From Monday, May 8 to Thursday, May 11, three daily screenings have been scheduled: at 18:00, 19:30 and 21:00.
The Minister of Culture of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Alberto Aguiar, recalled that the FICL “represents each year an enormous opportunity to get to know the best audiovisual works in the world and the best works made in the islands, surrounded by a great film-loving atmosphere for the enjoyment of culture lovers”.
On Friday, May 12, there will be a session at 17:00 and a final one at 18:30, in which all the Canary Islands shorts will be screened, with the filmmakers from the Archipelago present in the room. Tickets for each session cost €1 and can be purchased on the Festival website and at Ecoentradas.
Big names in Spanish fiction
"As the prestige of the FICL increases, so does the interest of industry professionals in showing their creations," says the Cabildo. In this edition, the national short films are supported by big names on the screen such as José Sacristán, Goya of honor 2022, who stars in El préstamo, directed by Alex Escudero; Pepe Viyuela, who participates in the emotional film Actos por partes, by Sergio Milán, or Luis Zahera and Paco Tous, who are part of the cast of Mesa para 3, a bitter comedy by Álvaro G. Company.
Other proposals selected by the FICL come as winners of important awards, such as La Noria, by Elizabeth Terri, Biznaga de Plata in Málaga, which tells the story of the happy meeting of two people as special as their own realities. And it is that among the seventeen Spanish shorts chosen, the reflection on the human condition and its relationship with illness, friendship or difference predominates. The peculiar note is given by the very personal proposal of the actor Pedro Casablanc, who takes the reins of the direction for the first time in the short film El sacrilegio, a defense of erudition and “good speaking”, in his own words.
‘Confecciones Saavedra’
The Canary Islands filmmakers are making a strong impression in this edition of the FICL, which hosts eight works of the most diverse styles, from Last Trial, a fanfilm of the Starwars universe, by Marino Darés, filmed in El Teide, to Confecciones Saavedra by Pedro Ayose and José Martret from Lanzarote. The film is already a cinematographic phenomenon, having won two awards at festivals in Sweden and Japan, and has turned the popular merchant Juana Saavedra from San Bartolomé into a world icon.
The documentary look
In the selection of Documentary Shorts this year, "the close look of the filmmakers on the events they narrate is striking", the Cabildo de Lanzarote said in a statement. In the screenings of the CIC El Almacén you can see proposals such as the Swiss ‘road movie’ Il nonno che non c’è, by Sara Furer and Fabian Lütolf, which addresses the identity of those who grow up in a foreign country or Mi holocausto: Philomena Franz, by David Navarro, the shocking testimony of a survivor of Nazism. Likewise, the filmmaker Sandra Ruesga reflects on abortion in older women in the exquisite Lo que no fue, and the Chinese filmmaker based in New York Shuli Huang presents a documentary filmed in super-8 (Will you look at me) in which he talks about his homosexuality with his family, during a visit to his parents in China.
In this section, the FICL hosts the absolute premiere in Spain of the documentary Donde los niños no sueñan, by the visual designer and press photographer Stefano Sbrulli, collaborator of The Washington Post, Zeit online, BBC, El País, Internazionale, L’Espresso, L'Essenziale or La Repubblica. The film will be screened at the CIC El Almacén on Monday, May 8 from 7:30 p.m.
Animation from ten countries
The Festival's short film animation section receives more international works every year. On this occasion, thirteen short films from ten countries can be seen, which have in common the use of different techniques, which make them authentic audiovisual jewels. There are themes for all tastes, from the funny black comedy The Smile, by the Dutchman Erik van Schaaik to the ecological poems The Egret river, by Wan-Ling Liu (Taiwan) or Melodía Torrencial, by the Mexican José Luis Saturno.
Varied international theme
Finally, "the expectation is assured" in the international fiction short film section where up to fourteen works of the most varied themes have been selected: the epic, with L’apocalypse náura pas lieu, by the Frenchman Maxence Ouvard; the relationships, in The trip (Lithuania) by Jorūnė Greičiūtė, the childhood games, in Tango Charlie, by Paul Gojecki and Mathias Priou or the gender violence in Las estrategas (Argentina) by Fabricio Centorbi. The screening of some of these shorts, as is the case of L'anniversario, is its Spanish première.
"The audiovisual offer of this edition of the FICL promises not to disappoint anyone, whatever their preference in genres or themes," invites the Cabildo. Another of the attractions of attending the screenings is that the spectators will award with their vote the Audience award, a recognition that is usually one of the most valued by filmmakers at the International Film Festival of Cinema of Lanzarote.
This event with cinema is organized by Fisme Producciones and the Culture area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, with the sponsorship of the entities CACT Lanzarote, Canary Island Films, Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural and Ayuntamiento de Arrecife. The Lanzarote companies Arrecife Gran Hotel and CICAR collaborate with the Festival.
All those interested can find the complete program of the festival on the website.
