The 13th Lanzarote Film Festival emulates the heartbreak of emigration before the public

Eleven days of activities, workshops and debates revolving around national and international cinema are starting

November 24 2023 (15:22 WET)
Opening of the Lanzarote Film Festival.
Opening of the Lanzarote Film Festival.

The inauguration of the 13th edition of the Lanzarote Film Festival has made the public the protagonist of a performance on emigration, where the attendees have been separated, directing them to two parallel inaugurations so that they can experience both the bewilderment of the separation and different experiences and stories.

The Minister of Culture, Jesús Alexander Machín Tavío, highlighted "the extraordinary nature of the project, which in addition to its national and international projection, is deeply rooted in the island, carrying out activities throughout the island's municipalities. The Film Festival leaves the theaters and puts value on places such as the inauguration, which are a symbol of the artistic, landscape and cultural richness of Lanzarote."

In the words of the director of the Festival, Javier Fuentes Feo, "this minimal symbolic experience of separation, to some extent uncomfortable and strange, seeks to evoke that whoever emigrates usually feels the anguish and sadness of having to separate from their loved ones, from whom they often also stop hearing from, by the way. The inauguration has been designed to remind us of one of the most intense and heartbreaking emotions that accompany emigration."

The Muelle Grande and the Castillo de Santa Bárbara have been the parallel scenarios of the inauguration, offering two complementary visions of the island of Lanzarote. The first, from where you can see the port of Naos, the airport, the islet of Fermina —from which it is said that illegal boats sailed to America—, evokes farewell. While the Castillo de Santa Barbara, almost in the center of the island, offers from its watchtower the landscape of many of the towns that left the island behind to emigrate. Two spaces, two views, two experiences of the emigrant history of Lanzarote.

In one of the most emotional moments of the night, Francisco López Álvarez, representing the San Antonio de los Baños Film School in Cuba, received the Honorary Award and highlighted in his speech that this award "is very important for the School because it confirms the transcendental link between the culture of cinema beyond the territory of belonging. Lanzarote and its Festival are an unequivocal symbol of the culture that understands cinema as we do, with critical capacity, creative freedom, artistic value and social commitment from a broad perspective", just after giving a good account of the award.

The award, a bottle of wine from 'Experiencia de Vendimia: Listán negro Grano a Grano' selected vintage, shelled by hand and trodden on foot from Bodegas El Grifo, was presented, as is now a tradition, by those who more than a decade ago conceived the idea that Lanzarote should have a Film Festival: Marco Arrocha Pérez and Juan Rafael Martínez Curbelo, better known as Busqui.

As has become customary, artists and thinkers from different disciplines, also belonging to different generations, classical artists and contemporary artists who have taken Lanzarote to a multitude of stages around the world, have collaborated in the inauguration of the Festival. On this occasion, Arminda Arteta, José de León, Myriam Ybot, Salvador Cruz, Elvia together with Marius John, Domingo Corujo, Salvador Leal, Vicki Dos Santos and Aarón Márquez have participated.

The 13th Lanzarote Film Festival is organized by the non-profit association Tenique Cultural and is sponsored by the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the Sociedad de Promoción Exterior de Lanzarote through its product brand Lanzarote Film Commission, the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism and the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts of Spain.

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