The Canary Islands received the Biznaga de Plata award for its policies in support of the audiovisual industry
The guest autonomous community at Territories has presented its tax incentives, subsidies, and locations
The Festival de Málaga has awarded the Biznaga de Plata Award to the Canary Islands for its work in attracting film productions and for all the promotional efforts made by the public bodies related to the audiovisual industry so the islands can be the setting for all kinds of productions. As the Autonomous Community featured in Territories, a section of MAFIZ, the Festival's industry area, their representatives presented the opportunities offered by the archipelago in terms of tax incentives and locations in a series of conferences, as well as presenting productions in the Festival's competitive sections and in MAFIZ.
The ceremony was chaired, as usual, by the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, who was joined by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo; the Councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage of Málaga City Council, Mariana Pineda; the Regional Minister for Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Canary Islands, Migdalia Machín; the Director General of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries of the Canary Islands, Cristóbal de la Rosa; the Director General of Communication, Cristina García Maffiotte; the Director General of Coordination and Strategic Projects, David Pérez; the Director of Canary Islands Film, María Natalia Mora and the Director of the Festival de Málaga Festival, Juan Antonio Vigar.
The Mayor of the city opened the event by complimenting the guest autonomous community and praising its diversity of landscapes and geography. 'The Canary Islands is one of Spain's great assets. It is a well-deserved Biznaga for its capacity to host shootings and for its tax incentives policy, which has allowed cinema to be more powerful and active and, in short, to produce more films,' he said.
The president of the Canary Islands took the floor to express his gratitude for the recognition. 'This paradise is thousands of kilometres away from the world's main production centres, and today this is no longer a handicap. The Canary Islands have reduced this physical distance thanks to tax incentives. This commitment has been recognised with this Biznaga'. He also emphasised how these policies have enabled the creation of quality jobs and the industry to multiply its turnover sevenfold. He ended his speech with a few words for Malaga, 'we have made a significant commitment to talent and creativity, and Malaga is an inspiration in this regard. We look at you from the periphery with great admiration'.
The programme of the autonomous community invited to Territories this year included a first conference entitled Keys to financing in the Canary Islands: subsidies and tax incentives, during which representatives of Canary Islands Film, the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development and ECIJA Canarias explained the many subsidies for development and various audiovisual genres, as well as tax incentives and financing tools. In addition to this, another conference on aid for minority co-production was given by representatives of the ICAA, ICEC and the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development.
As a sample of the vitality of Canarian audiovisual projects, this year's Malaga Festival will have several productions in official competition. La hojarasca by Macu Machín in Zonazine, Cuadro by Anatael Pérez in Short Films in Competition, and It was hot that day: a jandiman story by Chisco Valdés in Documentary Short Films Official Section.
Lastly, within the framework of Spanish Screenings Content, Eduardo Cubillo's Rave Culture - A new era was screened at the Regional Film Hub, and eight short films from the Canary Islands took part in Málaga Short Corner. In MAFIZ Specials, Guillermo Polo's Lo carga el diablo was screened, and projects from the Canary Islands also participated in MAFF.
