The Lanzarote International Film Festival (FICL), which comes to an end this Saturday with the awards ceremony for the winning short films, has established itself as a first-class showcase for short film cinema. This was highlighted by actor Iván Messegué, who emphasized "the visibility given to short films at this Festival," during the jury's meeting with the public this Friday at the El Salinero theater.
The Catalan actor is part of the Canary Islands Shorts jury and has previously participated in the Festival as a jury member for the Short Express competition. RTVE journalist José Fernández, who moderated the round table, joked about this loyalty to FICL, assuring that he is "looking to register as a resident on the Island." Messegué is one of the promoters of the Terra Alta film festival in Tarragona, so he has an authoritative opinion on the role of festivals like FICL, which he defined as "a very important platform to showcase the talent that exists."
Another member of the jury, actor Ernesto Alterio, explained that, in his section, Animated Shorts, they had viewed a dozen films, of which he highlighted "the surprising power of this format to tell certain stories," referring to the social aspect of many of the films submitted to the competition. The interpreter of some of the highest-grossing films in Spanish cinema confessed to feeling "vintage" in the face of the rapid evolution of the audiovisual sector and said he was still "disconcerted" by the paradigm shift that the events of recent months have brought about.
One of the topics addressed by the table was the almost infinite supply of content provided by audiovisual platforms. Actor Pepón Nieto, who is part of the International section jury, welcomes these developments naturally, especially because of the technical revolution they entail. "I imagine that if the classics had had these tools, they would have used them," he said.
However, for director Isaki Lacuesta, from the documentary section jury, the audiovisual market has missed the great opportunity to create product niches, however specific they may be. "Now it is possible to reach audiences all over the world, you can make a series with an absolutely minority theme, which will be received by that segment from Venezuela to the Philippines. Instead, they continue to bet on homogeneous products for a large audience."
Alicia Borrachero, from the National Shorts Jury, alluded to the 'event' factor of the era before the emergence of platforms, the weekly broadcast of the family's favorite series. A type of reception that has also been ended by this new way of accessing audiovisual content.
The industry in the Canary Islands, up for debate
Also this Friday, the traditional meeting with the public of short filmmakers competing in the Canary Islands Shorts section of the FICL was held at the Teatro El Salinero. David Castillo, Samuel Labrador, Dennis García, Pablo Padrón, and Daniel León, through their testimonies, took a snapshot of the moment that audiovisual creation is experiencing in the archipelago. Daniel León, who is presenting his short film 'Mothers' in the competition, spoke about the small public aid established by the Government of the Canary Islands for the sector, "smaller than aid, really," and explained the practical impossibility of living from cinema in the Islands. With a career of twenty years, Daniel assures that he has been professionalized for three years "not in cinema, but in the audiovisual field in general."
The moderator of the table, Francisco García Mateos, commented on the works of those present, highlighting the importance of the editing in 'Travesía de La Bocaina, Aitor', by David Castillo; the setting of a hacienda in 'Tierra de mamá' (Pablo Padrón); the nocturnal atmosphere in 'Noche de guardia' (Samuel Labrador) or the fifties in 'Golondrinas' (Dennis García); as well as "the quality and good execution" of 'Madres', by Daniel León.
The Canary Islands creators debated the importance of training in their professional careers. While for León "you learn more in three weeks of filming than in an academic course," Padrón believes that "talent is deceptive and you shouldn't bet everything on this card, you have to be curious." The rest of the short filmmakers, mostly still students, highlighted the differences that exist simply in the endowment of schools in the national territory. Samuel Labrador spoke of the one in Gran Canaria, "which is small, but offers very interesting practices," while Dennis García admitted that in the FP offered in Lanzarote "you realize that you soon reach your ceiling."
In the two meetings with film professionals that have been organized in this edition of the FICL, the public has taken the floor to question the participants of the tables, demonstrating, once again, the interest that audiovisual creation awakens on the Island.