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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Spain

The Las Palmas International Film Festival turns 20 (in hybrid form)

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- The Gran Canaria-based gathering is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a programme also partially viewable on Filmin, while its MECAS market will unspool its fourth edition

The Las Palmas International Film Festival turns 20 (in hybrid form)
No Kings by Emilia Mello

The Filmin platform continues to be a key ally in these pandemic-riddled times, and the Las Palmas International Film Festival, which is being held physically (while adhering to the requisite health-and-safety measures in order to avoid infections) on Gran Canaria, has made a sizeable portion of its programme available on said website. The gathering, which kicks off on Friday 9 April, will continue unspooling until the 18th.

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Ten features will be duking it out for the Golden Lady Harimaguada Award in its Official Section: standing out among them are Goodbye Mister Wong [+see also:
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 by Kiyé Simon Luang (France/Laos), which tells a story based around a lovers’ tiff; Exemplary Behaviour [+see also:
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by Audrius Mickevicius and Nerijus Milerius (Lithuania/Bulgaria/Slovenia/Italy); the documentary No Kings [+see also:
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(Brazil/USA/Italy) by Emilia MelloRadiograph of a Family [+see also:
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(Iran/Norway/Switzerland), a personal essay by poet Firouzeh Khosrovani; and This Rain Will Never Stop [+see also:
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interview: Alina Gorlova
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by Alina Gorlova (Ukraine/Germany/Latvia), a doc set against the backdrop of war.

In the new, competitive Banda Aparte section, dedicated to fringe films made on the outer edges of the industry, a number of European titles stand out, such as The Metamorphosis of Birds [+see also:
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interview: Catarina Vasconcelos
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by Portugal’s Catarina Vasconcelos, Nemesis [+see also:
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by Swiss helmer Thomas Imbach and the short film Naturaleza muerta by Spaniard Carolina Astudillo. Other sections include Panorama and Panorama España, which scour the festival circuit for titles, in addition to Linterna Mágica and Déjà Vu, where there will be no lack of references to Chris Marker as the event marks what would have been his 100th birthday. This edition will also dredge up 25 works that have a particular significance for the festival, and they will serve to remind its loyal attendees of the gathering’s idiosyncrasies as well as giving the younger audiences some hints as to the nature of a rendezvous that is turning 20 and has spent all that time following a programming policy based on film as art.

Besides this, between 10 and 13 April, both the Elder Museum and cyberspace will play host to the MECAS market. Nine titles have been chosen as finalists in the Cine Casi Hecho sidebar, intended for films at the post-production stage, and they will be vying for a prize worth €8,000. They are: Spain’s La mala familia [+see also:
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interview: Nacho A Villar and Luis Rojo
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by Nacho A Villar and Luis Rojo (Tasio and Blur Films); the Spanish-Mexican co-production Coraje by Rubén Rojo (Apapacho Films, Mago Production and Cinema226); the Colombian-French co-production Mudos testigos by Jerónimo Atehortúa (Invasión Cine); the Chilean-French effort Notes For a Film by Ignacio Agüero (Ignacio Agüero & Asociado); the Argentinian titles Álbum para la juventud (by Malena Solarz), Las cercanas (by María Álvarez) and Sobre las nubes by María Aparicio; Carajita by Silvina Schnicer and Ulises Porra, hailing from the Dominican Republic and Argentina; and the Mexican-US co-pro Dioses de México by Helmut Dosantos.

Another ten films are partaking in Cine Por Hacer, a new strand intended for projects in the development phase, which will be battling it out for a €5,000 prize. Taking part are the Spanish titles La escuela pesada by Hernán Rosselli (Un puma), Anekumen by Irati Gorostiri (Tractora Koop and Pirenaika), Así llegó la noche by Ángel Santos (Amateurfilms), Balearic by Ion de Sosa (Apellaniz & De Sosa), El futuro no nos ha cambiado by Adrián Orr (New Folder and El Viaje Films), El mapa para tocarte by Mercedes Afonso (Lunática Producciones Audiovisuales SL) and Krakatoa by Carlos Casas (Filmika Galaika); the Argentinian-French-Portuguese effort Celosos hombres blancos by Iván Granvosky (Frutacine); the Georgian work Grey Skies by Konstantine Kalandadze (Parachute Films); and the project Ka, funded by Portugal, France and Brazil, which is set to be helmed by Pedro Peralta (Terratreme Filmes).

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(Translated from Spanish)

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