Once again, the SEFF Andalusian Panorama will show the present of our film industry with a selection of 24 titles (12 feature films and 12 short films).

Special mention should be made of the screening of the two films which recently won awards at the IX Competition for Creation Documentary IMAGENERA, Reality and Memory of Andalusia, organized by the Centro de Estudios Andaluces. The winner of the competition, Mi querida España, by Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez, looks back at the recent history of the country through the coplas sung at the Cadiz Carnival and the vast archive of the journalist Jesús Quintero, which includes over 5,000 interviews.

Also showing at the SEFF is the documentary which won second prize. Melchor Rodríguez, el ángel rojo, by Alfonso Domingo, focuses on the figure of this ex-apprentice bullfighter, anarchist and prison director during the II Spanish Republic, unknown despite having saved the lives of thousands of people –among them prominent figures in the Franco regime, his political enemies- during the Civil War.

Andalusian Panorama will also have the world premiere of La isla de Perejil, produced by Maestranza Films (La ignorancia de la sangre, La voz dormida) and directed by the Moroccan Ahmed Boulane. It is a satirical film about the famous invasion in 2002 and the armed conflict between Spain and Morocco, which recalls moments of La vaquilla by Berlanga in its mockery of politics and grand ideals.

Mention should also be made of Lo que vale un peine, a daring documentary by the young filmmaker Rosa del Mar Salido (who was part of the Camp_US Jury at the last edition of the SEFF), in which she tries to dismantle the prejudices and clichés about the Spanish film industry, inviting leading figures in the sector to talk quite openly, including such names as Roman Gubern, Jordi Costa, Alberto Rodríguez and Judith Colell.

Andalusian Panorama also includes the sincere social drama Techo y comida, winner at the last Malaga Festival of the Best Actress award for Natalia de Molina and the Audience Award. Juan Miguel del Castillo is the writer and director of this film which follows the steps of a young mother as she tries to find ways to survive the crisis. The section also includes the documentary La vida en llamas, produced by La Claqueta and directed by Manuel H. Martín, responsible for 30 años de oscuridad (nominated for a Goya for Best Documentary). On this occasion, they examine the work of fire fighters in one of the worst regions of the planet for fighting forest fires, Andalusia.

Also being shown is Isidro Sánchez’s film, No me contéis entre vosotros, Best Documentary at the 47th Alvances Festival. This looks at the end of existence though a pensioner who is spending his last days in a residence. In Boliviana, Mariano Agudo portrays the stories of four women of different ages and social situations who are fighting to change their destiny. Lunas de Nueva York, by Juan José Ponce Guzmán, recalls Lorca’s journey to the city where he spent nine months which would change his perception of the world and his writing.

In Morería 17, Ignacio Guarderas tells the story of a camera operator who is hired to work on a film, but the director never appears. La eficacia de la utopía, by Raúl Arteaga, is a documentary in which the filmmaker Juan Sebastián Bollaín –to whom the SEFF is dedicating a retrospective this year– looks back at his career, still with his obsession to show an unusual Seville. In Seis y medio, Julio Fraga tells of the meeting of a couple who are burdened with the weight of previous disastrous love affairs.

In the Short Film section, and as a novelty this year, the support of the Fundación de la Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) makes it possible to increase the cash prize that accompanies the Best Short Film Award in the Andalusian panorama section. This year it will be 1,500 euros. Added to this is a Special SGAE Award of 600 euros which will go to the director, writer or composer of the sound track of one of the selected short films. A jury made up of members of the Asociación de Escritores Cinematográficos de Andalucía (ASECAN) will decide on both awards.

This section will show the following works in competitions: El juego del escondite, by David Muñoz; Allo?, by Carmen Jiménez; Septiembre, by Jorge Castrillo; Araan, by Jorge Dayas; Show me now, by Manuel Jiménez; Inmensa nieve, by Carlos Rivero; El lugar adecuado, by Fernando Franco and Begoña Arostegui; Tracking Birkenau, by Sergio Tallafet; Bla bla bla, by Alexis Morante; Sevilla Santa, by Mateo Cabeza; and Pura (hasta la sepoltura), by Alejandro Lobo. Besides, out of competition will be showed Not the end, by José Esteban Alenda and César Esteban Alenda.