MAFIZ welcomes international industry from 63 countries to the Festival de Málaga
The institutional representatives then visited the Industry Club
The institutional representatives then visited the Industry Club
MAFIZ, the industry area of the Festival de Málaga, held its official opening this afternoon. This is the start of an intense few days that pack in a full programme of screenings, presentations, conferences and networking opportunities.
The ceremony was presided over by the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, who was accompanied by the Regional Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth of the Region of Murcia, Carmen Conesa; the Councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage, Mariana Pineda; the regional delegate for culture and tourism of the Junta de Andalucía in Málaga, Carlos García Jiménez; the Deputy Director General for Promotion and International Relations of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) of the Ministry of Culture, Camilo Vázquez; the provincial director of ICEX Spain Export and Investment, Teresa Amaro; and the director of the Malaga event, Juan Antonio Vigar.
After a brief introduction, MAFIZ coordinator Annabelle Aramburu gave the stage to Teresa Amaro, who reiterated ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones' commitment to Spanish Screenings Content and its role as a key market for "Spanish content to meet the international industry".
Camilo Vázquez then emphasised the "Ibero-American accent that the Festival de Málaga has", which is "an intelligent and strategic commitment that has been worth strengthening in recent years”.
Carlos García went on to say that MAFIZ has become an essential meeting point for the cultural industry and the growth of the sector, and that "the aim is to generate opportunities for Andalusian talent, so that our stories reach further afield and a wider audience".
Carmen Conesa reiterated the gratitude of the Region of Murcia and its audiovisual sector for being the focus of Territorios and for "allowing us to show what we are at the level of cinema".
Francisco de la Torre closed the round of speeches by welcoming the nearly 1,000 industry accreditation holders from 63 countries. He highlighted the new Andalucía Cultura space in the Industry Club and hoped that the attendees "would find opportunities to propose new projects during these days at MAFIZ".
They then began their tour of the stands of the Industry Club, the networking, sales and promotion space available to organisations, film institutes, sales companies and other companies in the audiovisual sector. The first stop was the spaces of Murcia, the autonomous community on which the event focuses in its Territorios section, and the Dominican Republic, guest country of honour at Latin American Focus, where they had the opportunity to greet the representatives of both delegations.
They then toured La Village where there is a large representation of Ibero-American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Costa Rica.
They also stopped at the spaces occupied by the autonomous communities under the name Spain Colorful Diversity, which is an opportunity for them to present their locations, tax incentives and support programmes for audiovisual production.
Before finishing their tour, they were able to chat with the representatives of the Spanish sales agencies who have turned their stands into a meeting point for their businesses. Last, they visited the stands of the Málaga Film Office and the Spain Film Commission.
An intense programme of screenings and activities await the industry accreditation holders, among which are festival buyers and programmers who never miss their appointment with Spanish Screenings Content, the only official Spanish film market, where 132 recently produced national titles are waiting to be discovered.
In addition, MAFIZ, in its ongoing evolution to adapt to the demands of the industry, has created two new initiatives for 2025: Warmi Lab, a training initiative to empower women producers; Mercadoc.0, a new space for innovation in Ibero-American documentary filmmaking and the development of new business models.
