Between 4 and 8 March, during the 27th edition of the Málaga Film Festival (see the news), the Spanish gathering will host its industry events, which are grouped together under the name MAFIZ (Málaga Festival Industry Zone) and which are set to gather together professionals from all over the world in search of Spanish-speaking audiovisual talents. The events will span five intense days brimming with chats, conferences, round-tables, meetings, screenings, presentations and other activities intended to forge closer collaborative ties.

MAFIZ was born seven years ago in a bid to foster the circulation and promotion of Ibero-American cinema: events designed to allow film-industry professionals from Latin America and Europe to develop new business networks, all based in La Village, an exhibition space and meeting point for the Latin American film institutes and Spanish film commissions.

Standing out among the different MAFIZ strands is Spanish Screenings Content, one of the most prominent projects to enhance the international outreach of the Spanish audiovisual sector, which will celebrate its 18th edition as part of Europe’s Spain Audiovisual Hub, a component of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan promoted by the Ministries of Culture and Digital Transformation, boasting brand-new sections adapted to the needs of the international market. More information on this event will follow shortly.

The MAFF (Málaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event) is another one of MAFIZ’s centrepieces, as it offers a way of collaborating on the development of a groundbreaking Ibero-American film industry. The announcement of the selected projects took place at the Argentinian festival Ventana Sur in 2023 (see the news).

Meanwhile, Málaga Work in Progress is presenting 15 films presently in post-production, split between the Spain and Latin America sections (see the news).

The Canary Islands will be the autonomous community specially invited to the third edition of Territorios MAFIZ: its delegation will shine the spotlight on its locations and tax incentives in front of the international industry, in order to attract new productions to the islands and strengthen professional networks in the sector.

Finally, six projects from production companies headed up by women have been selected to take part in the Women Filmmakers workshops: these professionals will attend meetings conceived to facilitate the internationalisation and placement of their films in the global market. The selected projects are as follows: Cosas de chicos, produced by Ángeles Maeso, of Lobaloba Produce; Cuántica Rave, staged by Pilar Campano, of La Zanfoña; Cuerpo Quimera, produced by Delia Márquez, of Agudeza Visual; Siempre vuelven, staged by Marta Alamillo, of The Flow Studio; Las débiles, produced by Laura Muñoz, of 24violets; and Brando, staged by Alazne González, of La Loma Blanca.