Yesterday the San Sebastian Festival hosted the presentation of all details of the second edition of Spanish Screenings on Tour at an event attended by Ignasi Camós, Director General of the ICAA; Elisa Carbonell, Director General of Company Internationalisation at ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones; Annabelle Aramburu, Head of the Industry Department at Málaga Festival (MAFIZ); and José Luis Rebordinos, Director of the San Sebastian event. Said participants are the leading representatives of the bodies involved in ‘Spanish Screenings XXL. An international market for Spanish audiovisual production’, an initiative corresponding to Component 25, going by the name of ‘España hub audiovisual de Europa’ (Spain AVS Hub)’, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

During the event, the parallel activities to be attended by the Spanish delegation were revealed. The delegation will be made up of more than fifty professionals, who join the more than thirty projects, WIPs and films and sneak-peeks already announced. This important presence in the Italian market will help to internationally showcase the vitality and diversity of Spanish talent and the buoyant situation of our industry.

First up was Ignasi Camós, who detailed the extensive Spanish presence at the event, highlighting the pledge to new talent, with twelve debut films, and the presence of women, with twelve films signed by female directors and eighteen produced or co-produced by women. She also highlighted the ambition of this second edition of Spanish Screenings on Tour, which seeks to strengthen Spain’s role as a reference in the audiovisual sector, consolidating our international positioning after having been the Country of Honour at the Marché du Film – Cannes, while stressing the excellent health of the Spanish audiovisual industry, always open to new synergies with international partners.

Next, Elisa Carbonell went into more detail about the selected content, placing particular emphasis on Market premieres, the section for unseen films having their world premieres at MIA thanks to Spanish Screenings on Tour, and Next from Spain – Comin’UP, the section in which sales agents will show the international industry trailers of the best upcoming films. She also recalled that the attending professionals will have the opportunity to participate in market activities, networking events and one-to-one meetings concentrated within the actual Spanish Screenings on Tour spaces at MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. Lastly, she stressed the importance of the meeting spaces focused on attracting investment, where representatives of film funds and production companies will discuss Spain’s role as an ideal co-production partner in Europe.   

Annabelle Aramburu, for her part, turned the spotlight on the Showcase, WIP, Remakes and Industry Talks selection, which continues the work carried out in Spanish Screenings Content at the Málaga Festival. She referred to the diversity of genres, perspectives and formats, and to the priority placed on combining young and emerging talent with consolidated voices, with the common denominator of international potential in the shape of comedies, road movies, family dramas, coming of age movies, experimental fictions, radical authorship, documentary animation, thrillers, genre and horror movies. She also referred to the Industry Talks where professionals in the Spanish delegation will play the central part. As well as the one focused on the growing interest in co-producing with our country, another talk will concentrate on Spain as a source of talent, entitled “After the Gold (Bear) Rush, Spanish Talent on the Rise”, taking a closer look at today’s healthy rise in emerging Spanish talent, exploring the reasons for the remarkable new wave of Spanish directors selected for (and to have won awards at) A category Festival competitions in recent years.   

The event was brought to a close by José Luis Rebordinos, who spoke about the excellent shape of today’s Spanish cinema, obvious in the increased presence of our recent films at international festivals, including the biggest fests and markets worldwide. He also explained how at MIA, as well as the Spanish delegation coming to the event with Spanish Screenings on Tour, there will be 7 projects including animation, drama, fiction and documentaries selected for the Co-Production Market and for the C EU Soon section, dedicated to the search for new cinematic promises in Europe. To end, he took the opportunity to give a brief rundown of the contents of Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech, to run during the San Sebastian Festival from 26-28 September.

About MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo

MIA | Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, is a market event based in Roma (Italy) at its ninth edition in 2023 from October 9th to 13th, directed by Gaia Tridente and organised by ANICA (Italian Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Audiovisual Producers Association), with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA-Italian Trade Agency, with the contribution of Creative Europe-MEDIA. MIA is also supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the  Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Lazio Region and is held under the Patronage of Eurimages. With a focus on European and international Animation, Doc & Factual, Drama and Film scenes, MIA offers a wide range of programs, featuring Co-Production Market and Pitching Forums, Content Showcases, Works in Progress, Market Screenings, Networking Activities and an impressive line-up of Conferences, tackling the hottest topics among industry insiders. MIA has gained interest from international professionals: decision-makers, distributors, networks and platforms discuss at MIA the opportunities and challenges of audiovisual production and distribution in today's international content paradigm.

About Spanish Screenings On Tour y Spanish Screenings

Spanish Screenings on Tour is one of the four axes making up Spanish Screenings XXL alongside Spanish Screenings Content (Malaga Festival), Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech (San Sebastian Festival) and Spanish Screenings 360, a programme of actions running throughout the year wich also includes the creation of a virtual promotion and business platform PLATFO; and the podcast 'Spanish Screenings 360. The Podcast', available on the main audio platforms, and in video subtitled in English on Youtube and Spotify.

In short, the initiative consists of the creation of an audiovisual market for Spanish-produced content that favours the exchange and creation of new projects in a context of interaction and business that contributes to strengthening the value chain of the Spanish audiovisual industry.

Spanish Screenings XXL, an international market for Spanish audiovisual productions is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), which has the goal to strengthen Spain’s role as a European Audiovisual Hub. Thus, together with the Ministry of Culture and Sport through the ICAA and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, Festival de Málaga and Festival de San Sebastián.

This programme to increase the international reach of Spanish audiovisuals recieved a new boost in 2022, with a wider diversity of contents and volume of activities for adapting to the new challenges of the audiovisual industry.