- The actress Alex de la Croix will receive the Interpretation Award
- Fernando Esteso and Arantxa Echevarría will be the other major protagonists of this edition
The XXIII International Benalmádena Film Festival (FICCAB) starts tomorrow, Saturday, October 19, with an inaugural gala at the Casa de la Cultura de Arroyo de la Honey, where it will pay tribute to two great figures of the seventh art. Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan will receive the International Benalmádena City Award in recognition of his career, which has left a mark in contemporary cinema with films like 'The Sweet Hereafter' and 'Exotics'. Egoyan has been awarded five times in Cannes and nominated for the Oscar Awards twice.
The other tribute of the night will be given to the Malaysian filmmaker José Antonio Hergueta, known for his historical documentaries as' Operation Ursula 'and' Caleta Palace ', will be distinguished with the Special Prize, highlighting his contribution to documentary cinema and Andalusian history.
These distinctions will be delivered during the inaugural gala that will be held tomorrow Saturday, October 19, at 8: 00, at the House of Culture of Arroyo de la Honey. After the award, the 'Exotics' tape, directed by Atom Egoyan, will be projected.
The opening gala will mark the beginning of a week of cinema, which will extend until October 26, with film projections, homenajes and parallel activities to take place at the Casa de la Cultura and the Benalmádena Costa Exhibition Centre.
In the programming the FICCAB will devote a retrospective cycle to Egoyan's works that includes the projection of 'Remember', 'The Adjuster' and 'The Sweet Future'. It will also pay tribute to the film trajectory of Hergueta with the projection of 'Caleta Palace', which will be presented by the director on Sunday, October 20, at 21: 00, at the House of Culture of Arroyo de la Honey.
In this edition, FICCAB will pay tribute to three great names of Spanish cinema. Fernando Esteso will be awarded the "Una Vida de Cine" award in an emotional gala to be held on Thursday, October 24, at 21: 00 at the Casa de la Cultura.
For her part, the talented director Arantxa Echevarría will receive the Benalmádena City Direction Award during the closing gala, which will take place on Saturday October 26 at 20: 00 on the same stage. That night, actress Alex de la Croix will also be recognized, who will be distinguished with the Interpretation Award, thus closing a week of recognition at the best of the cinema.
The closing ceremony will also be the stage for the presentation of the International Short-Term Awards, which celebrate the creativity of filmmakers from around the world. The winning short films will be projected after the award. This year, 29 projects have been selected covering a wide diversity of gender and themes, including fiction, documentary and animation. With these awards, FICCAB continues its commitment to give visibility to new talents and to highlight the emerging filmmakers of the current landscape.
New Andalusian Documentary
One of the novelties of this edition is the Nuevo Documental Andaluz cycle, a space organized with the collaboration of the Diputación de Málaga that will show the most recent works of Andalusian directors.
The works that will be planned address different approaches and focus on issues related to an ethnographic look to flamenco (La singla, on the deaf dancer Antonia Singla), the passion for cinema and its forgotten stars (Osario Norte, Miradas del Cine Español, Steven wants to meet you), or the claim of people and silent historical events (My last condemnation, Rostpanier, Generation Jarcha).
As every year, the official section of short-films for competition becomes one of the most expected actions between the festival's programming, where 29 selected works will be displayed among the almost 1,200 entries made from around the world.
This selection has debuts in the direction of actresses such as Sara Sálamo, Marta Etura or Eulalia Ramón, who will compete to rise with one of the awards Nita de Benalmádena, with 2,000 euros (first prize), 1,000 euros for the second, and 500 euros, to the best Malaysian short film. Likewise, distinctions will be given to the best direction, the best script and the best interpretation.
other short films to the competition, FICCAB will show in its program "Interfestivals," a sample of short films from different festivals, which this year has works from Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon or South Africa, from the Madagascar Short Film Festival. Another of the competitions represented will be Morocco Short from Rabat and the European note will be presented by the Mediterranean Film Festival in Split.
The Festival will publish a new issue of Benalzine magazine, on this occasion it is a monograph about film personalities that this year will be dedicated to Marlon Brando to commemorate the centenary of its birth and the shooting of 'El Baile de los Malditos'.
For the little ones
The youngest also have one more year with a section in the FICCAB, as it returns' The School goes to the Cinema ', the training program that invites the educational centers of Benalmádena to discover the cinema with film projections and short films programs in morning sessions. The Benalmádena Exhibition Centre will also host on Saturday, 26 November, a free workshop on sound for boys and girls, from the age of 8. The activity will be coordinated by the Minichaplin school and participants will be able to discover the secrets of this trade and its relationship with the cinema.
