Abycine receives the Biznaga de Plata Award for its work with Spanish independent film
Authorities from both cities and the directors of both festivals attended the ceremony
In this edition, Festival de Málaga wanted to recognise the work of Abycine with the Biznaga de Plata award, a Festival where Spanish independent cinema is discovered and has become a reference point for it.
The event was presided over by the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, and was attended by the Councilwoman for Culture and Heritage of Malaga City Council, Mariana Pineda; the President of the Provincial Council of Albacete, Santiago Cabañero; the Mayor of Albacete, Manuel Serrano López; the Councilwoman for Culture of the City Council of Albacete, Elena Serrallé; and the directors of Abycine and Malaga Festivals, José Manuel Zamora and Juan Antonio Vigar.
The director of Festival de Málaga opened the event by praising the role of Abycine. "It is the place where we get to know the projects that will be the independent cinema of the future. The Festival follows closely what is selected there, because our official section is nourished by what we discover there," he said, citing the example of Andrea Jaurrieta's Nina, which Malaga discovered in Abycine Lanza's WIP and which is in the Official Selection this year.
The Mayor of Malaga took the floor, pointing out "the important work that is being done in Albacete, promoting the work of emerging talent with new ideas and approaches". To conclude, he said he hoped that "together we will travel a path of service so that Spanish cinema becomes an element of self-esteem, in dialogue with cinema in Spanish from other countries".
The President of the Provincial Council went on to say in his speech that "it is an honour to come to Malaga to receive this recognition from a festival that we admire and consider to be a big brother who gives us security and accompanies us".
The Mayor of Albacete, for his part, explained that "it is a source of pride to receive an award for an event on which so many people have worked", in reference to the Abycine festival team and Abycine Lanza, its market initiative. "This Biznaga gives identity, brand and projection to the city of Malaga and, now, to the people of Albacete", he concluded.
Abycine and Festival de Málaga, which were founded practically at the same time, have established a close relationship over the years, which has allowed, among other aspects, for both entities to share content and information and to complement each other in their mission of promoting new Spanish talent. Thus, Festival de Málaga closely follows the selection of Abycine Lanza to nourish the Festival de Málaga competitions and the MAFIZ sections.
Moreover, Abycine Lanza, the benchmark platform for national independent audiovisual and the development of Spanish talent, has also been the reference for discovering brilliant filmmakers who have subsequently presented their productions at the Festival de Málaga.
In this edition, the work of Abycine Lanza is highlighted with four titles that show the close collaboration and the intention to keep a permanent exchange between these two important events on the national scene in MAFIZ Specials. Finally, Abycine is one of the collaborating festivals that selects one of the films presented at Málaga WIP to participate in its industry laboratories.
