On 25, 26 and 27 October, Abycine Lanza, the Albacete International Film Festival’s market for independent cinema, returned for a fourth year, the twenty-first for the festival itself. The coveted Work in Progress award, in the form of a €7,000 grant towards post-production costs, was presented to The Year of the Discovery, the second solo feature by Murcian director Luis López Carrasco (El futuro [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]). The project is funded by LaCima Producciones (Spain) and Alina Film (Switzerland) — find out more here.

Carrasco’s film beat off competition from three other finalists: The Offering [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], by Ventura Durall (The Two Lives of Andres Rabadan), starring Alex Brendemühl and Verónica Echegui — another Spanish–Swiss co-production, this time between Nanouk Films, Fasten, Suica Productions and Bord Cadre; Pedra Pàtria, a documentary directed by Macià Florit and produced by Elsabeth Produccions; and Qué hicimos mal, by Liliana Torres, which has secured the backing of Matriuska Producciones, Avalon PC and Miss Wasabi (more here).

Meanwhile, a total of eighteen projects were in the running for two awards of €17,250, stumped up by Castilla La Mancha Media CMM for projects still in the production phase — as well as the chance to make use of the studios, facilities and resources on offer at ECAM, the Madrid Film School without paying a cent, courtesy of the fourth Abycine Lanza–CCM Production Support Forum. The victors were La desconocida [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Pablo Maqueda
fiche film], directed by Pablo Maqueda and featuring Manolo Solo and Eva Llorach — the project is based on Paco Becerra’s play Grooming — to be produced by Imval Madrid; and Rapsodia sueca, a documentary by Fran Ruvira and a co-production between Intropía Media (Spain), Les Films D’Ici (France) and Cinema 226 (Mexico). Jo Sol (Living [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jo Sol
fiche film] and Other Fictions) made quite an impression with Armugan [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jo Sol
fiche film], filmed in moody black and white and produced by Leo Dolgan and Daniel Vergara, wearing two hats in this film as both producer and director of photography. Sol’s project is this year’s winner of the “MAFIZ en Abycine” award, earning a spot in the MAFIZ-Málaga Festival Industry Zone in 2020.

Also throwing their hats in the ring were some of the hottest names in independent cinema, including Belén Funes (A Thief’s Daughter [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Belén Funes
fiche film]) with Los Tortuga, a drama produced by Oberon; Adrián Orr (Niñato [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]), presenting his second feature, docudrama El futuro no nos ha cambiado (New Folder Studio); and Antonio Méndez Esparza, director and writer of Courtroom 3H [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Antonio Méndez Esparza
fiche film], a documentary that marks a continuation of his relationship with Spanish production company Aquí y Allí Films and the US’s 9AM Media Lab, which is set to be distributed by Wanda.

Other contenders worth watching are acclaimed short filmmaker Álvaro Gago (Matria and 16 de decembro), who also triumphed in Abycine’s official section with his first full-length feature, Matria [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Alvaro Gago
fiche film], produced by Ringo Media and Matriuska Producciones; Ángel Santos (The High Pressures [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Ángel Santos
fiche film]), with Así llegó la noche, produced by Amateurfilms; actress and director Elena Martín (Júlia ist [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Elena Martín
fiche film]), with fantasy-tinged drama Creatura [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Elena Martín Gimeno
fiche film] (Lastor Media); Yayo Herrero (The Maus [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]) and his latest project, Los Quinquis (Dynamite Films); and Andrea Jaurrieta, with her follow-up to Ana By Day [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], Nina [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Andrea Jaurrieta
fiche film] (Lasai Films).

Rounding out this year’s crop of entries were Comandante (El Retorno Producciones), a documentary written and directed by Julio Pérez del Campo; El Drogas, a non-fiction film with a musical theme directed by Natxo Leura and produced by Gentzane Martínez de Osaba and Rosa García Loire; La hojarasca [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Macu Machín
fiche film] (El Viaje Films), by Macu Machín; Finding La Singla [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (Fábrica Naranja de Películas), by Paloma Zapata, a documentary centred on the legendary flamenco dancer of the same name; Lobster Soup [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (a Spanish–Icelandic co-production between SUICAfilms, REC Grabaketa Estudioa and Axfilms), directed by Rafael Molés and Pepe Andreu; Nacer por nacer (Falca Visual), a documentary by Pablo García Pérez de Lara; and Un hombre solo (Boogaloo Films), a fiction film by Alejandro Marzoa.

Recap of this year’s winners:

Lanza Work in Progress Award
The Year of the Discovery [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] – Luis López Carrasco (Spain/Switzerland)

Castilla La Mancha Media CMM Production Support Award:
La desconocida [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Pablo Maqueda
fiche film] – Pablo Maqueda (Spain)
Rapsodia sueca – Fran Ruvira (Spain/France/Mexico)

“MAFIZ en Abycine” Award
Armugan [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jo Sol
fiche film] – Jo Sol (Spain)