The encounter has stood out in the days destined to professionals of the industry of the cinema, which has adapted to its virtual format in this edition
This morning, within the framework of the Industry Days of the 17th Seville European Film Festival, three prizes have been awarded as part of the European Co-productions Forum, this year featuring Portugal as the guest country. The projects Anoche conquisté Tebas, by Gabriel Azorín, Mamacruz, by Patricia Ortega, and A Noiva, by Sérgio Tréfaut, have obtained these distinctions among the ten participants - five Spanish and five Portuguese - in this encounter, which has been held virtually due to the current health situation. The jury was made up by José Fragoso (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal), Sara Santaella (Arte Sonora Estudios) and Marta Velasco (Áralan Films).
The RTP Award, endowed with 10,000 euros for the acquisition of screening rights, went to Anoche conquisté Tebas, produced by Dvein Films, "for the originality of the theme and for the natural perspective of technical and artistic co-production that will allow between Portugal and Spain". Mamacruz, from Acheron Films, La Claqueta and Spi, has obtained the Arte Sonora Estudios Award of 5,000 euros in post-production services, "because it will be a daring comedy that will break the moulds and stereotypes". Finally, the Seville Festival Award, valued at 5,000 euros in cash, went to the production of Faux, Les Films d'Ici and Mitosfilm A noiva, "because this story needs to be told and we want it to become a reality with this award".
After its successful premiere in 2019, this year the European Co-Productions Forum wanted to strengthen the historical link that the Seville Festival has maintained with Portuguese cinematography and the work of important authors such as Pedro Pinho (Golden Giraldillo in 2017 for A fábrica de nada) Pedro Costa, Miguel Gomes, Rita Azevedo Gomes and João Nicolau (the last Grand Jury Prize of the event). A space that, like the entire program of activities aimed at professionals in the sector in this edition of the contest, has had several public sessions which have been available to be followed online, thus maintaining the objective of offering a framework that favors dialogue between specialists, as well as the promotion and distribution of the films in this complicated context.
Olimpia Pont, in charge of the Industry Activities at the 17th SEFF, highlighted that, despite the restrictions, "we have been able to adapt the vast majority of the activities to an online format which, although it prevents the precious possibility of casual encounters offered by the festivals as a meeting place, has allowed us to bring together and unite various sectors of the industry, not only on a regional or national level, but also internationally". Regarding the aforementioned European Co-Productions programme, Pont also emphasized its "high level" in terms of the quality of the projects. "We are convinced that we have managed to open up new channels that will facilitate collaboration between Spain and Portugal".
PROMIO, a network FOR independent cinemas
The head of the Industry section of the Festival also pointed out the presentation of the new network of independent cinemas PROMIO, "which was attended by colleagues and associations of distributors and producers, as well as European institutions such as Creative Europe, CICAE or Europa Cinemas". Born as an association of exhibitors who program mainly Spanish and European titles and those from countries with low screen share, among its objectives are to defend diversity and audiovisual literacy, along with the experience in cinemas. This virtual launch was followed by a meeting between its president, Ramiro Ledo (also director of the Numax cinema in Santiago de Compostela), the director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, Beatriz Navas, and the director of CineCiutat, Javier Pachón, about the current situation of independent film exhibition in Spain.
In addition to the ICAA itself, numerous institutions have collaborated in these conferences, including Acción Cultural Española, Europa Creativa MEDIA Andalucía, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, Consulado General de Portugal en Sevilla, Europa Cinemas, Europa International, Asociación de Distribuidores Independientes Cinematográficos, Associaçao de Produtores Cinema Audiovisual, Produtores de Cinema Independente Associados, Centro de Iniciativas Culturales de la Universidad de Sevilla, Institut Français de España, Arte Sonora Estudios, Spain Film Commission, Andalucía Film Commission, Portugal Film Commission, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, Asociación Andaluza de Mujeres de los Medios Audiovisuales, Asociación Andaluza de Productoras de Cine and Fundación Audiovisual de Andalucía.
