22/02/2006

Madrid is about to consolidate its position as the capital of Spanish film with a brand new internationally oriented event, "Madrid de Cine-Screenings", which will be held June 18-20.

Driven by the increasing export results of national films over the last several years, the new annual event has set three main goals: to increase the international sales of Spanish cinema, guarantee its coverage by the international press, and promote the autonomous region of Madrid as a privileged shooting location.

Originally created by the Associations of Spanish Audiovisual Producers Federation (FAPAE), "Madrid de Cine-Screenings" is supported by other major domestic institutions, including the Institute of External Commerce (ICEX), the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), Madrid’s City Hall, the Entrepreneurial Confederation of Madrid CEIM-CEOE and the Madrid Film Commission.

Over 100 international professionals (producers, buyers, the foreign specialised press and local professionals) are expected to attend the three-day event, whose programme includes the screening of the 40 most successful films of 2005, bilateral meetings, and interviews with directors, actors and producers, as well as organised trips to several places in Madrid that have already been used as natural sets.

A focal point for audiovisual sector companies, the autonomous region of Madrid has become the main national host for foreign and domestic productions, including Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts and Volver [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agustín Almodóvar
interview: Carmen Maura
interview: Pedro Almodóvar
interview: Pénélope Cruz
film profile], the highly anticipated new film by Almodóvar.

"Nowadays, exporting is a necessity Spain must face in a globalised world", said ICEX Vice President Ángel Martín Acebes, who also stressed the two main reasons ICEX supports the project: "Film is an industry with an enormous potential for industrialization, as proven by the €60m in growth recorded between 2001 and 2004, and it has a great capacity to promote the country’s image".