With the next edition of ECAM Forum, to be held from 9 to 12 June, on the horizon — and at a time of heightened international visibility for Spanish independent cinema — Cineuropa spoke with coordinator Alberto Valverde to explore the identity, ambitions and achievements of a market that has established itself, in just two editions, as a benchmark for international co-production. ECAM has launched two calls for applications: Films to Come, aimed at feature film projects in the development stage seeking funding (deadline 27 January) and Last Push, aimed at feature films in the editing and post-production stages (deadline 12 February).

Cineuropa: ECAM Forum has established itself as a key venue for international co-production. What do you think sets it apart from other European markets today?
Alberto Valverde: I think ECAM Forum stands out for its commitment to a modest scale and a very careful selection of both projects and national and international guests, which allows us to give each participant close, personalised attention. Our guest list —which includes programmers from major festivals, sales agents, funds, and international producers— is tailored according to the specific needs of the selected projects. This combination of strong projects, prestigious guests and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere makes ECAM Forum particularly attractive to key figures in national and international independent cinema. It’s true that, in just two editions, ECAM Forum has had a very positive start  and has become something of a “must” for part of the international independent film scene. However, the event still needs a few more editions at this level to become known to other industry players who have not yet discovered us.

What kinds of projects and producer profiles does ECAM Forum seek to attract, and what specific opportunities does it offer during the market?
We aim to attract projects with strong artistic potential and clear international ambition — formally daring projects that bring something new both in terms of storytelling and their approach. We place particular emphasis on supporting emerging filmmakers and producers at a time of growth. We are proud to have supported projects by international filmmakers such as Maryam Tafakory, María Alché, Denise Fernandes, Viv Li, Francisca Alegría, Ingrid Pokropek and Mihai Mincan, as well as a new generation of Spanish women directors who are sure to make a name for themselves, including María Herrera, Marina Velázquez, Elena Molina, Anna Martí and Laura Santos, Claudia Estrada, Alba Esquinas and Irati Gorostidi.

The opportunities we offer projects may seem similar to those of other markets (presenting to an audience of industry professionals, one-to-one meetings, etc.), but our hallmark lies in the care with which we curate the guest list and the highly personalised support and scheduling we provide. Also, the selected production companies have priority access to FINDE (Independent Film Financing Meeting), which connects European investors, funds, and co-production mechanisms with independent producers. The first edition of FINDE generated considerable interest, and we focused on giving producers tools to understand new financing models, while bringing investors and independent producers closer together.

Madrid is gaining importance as an international audiovisual hub. What role does the city play in the identity and projection of the ECAM Forum?
Madrid is central to the project. Both the Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council are our fundamental supporters. FINDE is the result of a collaboration between the Madrid Audiovisual Cluster and ECAM, driven by a shared ambition to strengthen the city's role as a global hub for audiovisual financing. The creation of ECAM Forum is closely linked to boosting the prestige and current international success of Spanish cinema, while sustaining a trend in recent Spanish audiovisual production towards internationalisation.

For those considering participating for the first time, why can ECAM Forum be a decisive step in the development and co-production of a project?
Because the results speak for themselves. Projects that have passed through our first two editions have received significant boosts in their paths. We have helped secure co-production, distribution, sales and world premiere agreements at A-list festivals. It's great to see projects such as María Herrera's Desde que tú te has ido and Francisca Alegría's Natividad being selected for markets such as Les Arcs and the Berlinale Co-Production Market after participating in ECAM Forum. Although ECAM Forum is a very young market, from its very first editions it has become a place where the industry looks to discover distinctive voices and projects. Thirteen of the sixteen films that were screened in the first two editions of Last Push (our WIP section) premiered at major international film festivals, These include The Exiles [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Belén Funes
scheda film] by Belén Funes (Toronto 2024), Milk Teeth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mihai Mincan
scheda film] by Mihai Mincan (Venice 2025), Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gabriel Azorín
scheda film] by Gabriel Azorín (Giornate degli Autori, Venice 2025), Balearic [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ion de Sosa
scheda film] by Ion de Sosa (Locarno 2025), Gods of Stone [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Iván Castiñeiras (IFFR 2025), Ariel [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film] by Lois Patiño (IFFR 2025), Hanami [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Denise Fernandes
scheda film] by Denise Fernandes (Locarno 2024) and Aro Berria [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Irati Gorostidi (San Sebastián 2025). This success rate exceeded all our expectations for this section, and we hope it will help consolidate ECAM Forum and Last Push as key work-in-progress events on the European map for discovering the cinema of the future.