Atlàntida Mallorca Talents Lab is the feature-film development programme organised by the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest, which this year is celebrating its 15th anniversary (read more). At this eighth edition, the programme (taking place between 29 and 31 July) has selected ten projects currently in development, which will benefit from personalised support from mentors and will take part in group sessions to work on their production and distribution strategies, culminating in a final pitch to key industry figures. The programme with conclude with the award of prizes worth €57,000, including the rights acquisition by Filmin, cinema distribution Elastica, DCP and deliveries with Deluxe, as well as recognition from Abycine, Málaga Talent and the Balearic production company Solworks.

Projects include The bastard daughter, by director and actress Olivia Delcán (seen, for example, in Isla bonita [+leggi anche:
recensione
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scheda film] and Los inocentes [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Guillermo Benet
scheda film]), a sharp tragicomedy about women devoted to their families, but also independent and enterprising, who have made their way in a man's world; The (big) Rip, by Rai María  (director of Karen [+leggi anche:
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intervista: María Pérez Sanz
scheda film]), about a young woman with a week to finish her novel and send it to the literary prize that could save her; My Name is Erik Satie, Like Everybody Else, by Joana Carro (award-winning project at the last MECAS - read more), in which a Spanish woman travels to Uruguay in search of an absent father she last saw 12 years ago; Caprichos, by Teresa Carril, about Catalina, a girl who has everything she ever wanted (love, lovers, success, ambition) and in one fell swoop, loses it; and Carrying Espaliú, by Jesús Pascual, about the artist Pepe Espaliú, suffering from AIDS, who in 1992 had his body carried by a human chain in the middle of the street to force society to look this taboo issue in the face.

The selection is completed with Bai bai, directed by Alba Esquinas about a 12-year-old girl who idealises her lifelong best friend, but everything changes when her friend abandons her on a study trip to Madrid; High by Daniel Alegrete, about a former gay club where men from different eras meet in a night frozen in time; The Burrow, by Frank Lucas, about a young man who returns to the village where he was born to find out more about his father, who he thought was dead, and starts to experience the same terrifying visions about an epidemic that occurred in the village 70 years ago and drove his father mad; Honey, by Pau Colomina, about a teenager who is forced to move to a cursed village during a post-industrial crisis where self-harm and traditional healing are the only possible means of escape; and The Unsaid, by Juan Sebastián Vásquez, about a woman practising illegally as a dentist in Barcelona and unexpectedly is visited by her father, leading both of them to face their prejudices and their position as immigrants.

Selected projects:

High - Daniel Alegrete
Production: Santiago Skiappa

Caprichos - Teresa Carril
Production: Alejandro Castillo (Little Spain)

My name is Erik Satie, like everyone else - Joana Carro
Production: Jaione Camborda (Esnatu Zinema)

Honey - Pau Colomina
Production: Miguel Molina (Jaibo Films)

The Bastard Daughter - Olivia Delcán
Production: César Esteban Alenda (Solita Films)

Bai bai - Alba Esquinas
Production: Alejandro González Clemente (Mubox Studio, Solita Films) 

The Burrow - Frank Lucas
Production: Gerard Rodríguez (Japonica Films)

The (big) rip - Rai María
Production: Cristina Hergueta (Garde)

Carrying Espaliú - Jesús Pascual
Production: Jorge Naranjo (Nana Films)

The Unsaid - Juan Sebastián Vásquez
Production: Nakarey (Producciones En Crudo)