Some of Spain’s biggest names in Spanish and international cinema descend on the capital on Thursday to get Madrid International Film Festival off to a red carpet start. The prestigious festival will be a week long cinematic extravaganza of excellence and cultural exchange which will now celebrate mainstream and independent films.
Give the festival another year. More than 200 films from 50 countries take over famous venues in Madrid. Acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work, Shadows of the Past (Sombras del Pasado), premieres at the theatre historic Teatro Real on the opening night gala. The film also looks at themes of memory and identity, which have already made it an Oscar-buzzed poignant drama.
Almodóvar, who was handed a standing ovation on the red carpet, escorted the film’s stars, Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. She made good on that with a similar, broad smile as well, reuniting in a custom Chanel gown to express her eagerness to work with Almodóvar for the seventh time. Cruz added though Pedro has such a great way into the human psyche. It really pushed us as an ensemble to places we haven’t gone to emotionally before.
The festival’s growing global footprint was seen especially with international stars, who turned up with some of the biggest stars around the world. Two Hollywood giants, both headed by top actors, took charge of the jury: Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, and jury president Liv Ullmann joined this year’s heavyweight parade of fans lined up on the red carpet. Streep praised the festival for telling diverse stories in fluent Spanish. ‘The beauty of cinema is you can break bridges and understanding,’ she added.
Spanish cinema royalty was present: veterans Javier Bardem and fresh faces, including ‘La Casa de Papel’ star Álvaro Morte. Their involvement means the festival is an important showcase of Spain and its tradition of film and, moreover, a platform on which to encourage new voices in the industry.
The festival is taking an environmental bent this year, with the festival’s ‘Cine Verde’ thematic strand focused on climate change and sustainability-themed documentaries and detective fiction. ‘Hosting the LAC was entertaining and a reminder that using cinema as a tool for critical global conversations is important,’ said festival director Carmen Maura. “I hope the film can inspire change,” said Maura. “We know how hard we’ve worked to choose these stories, that they will lead to important dialogues about our future planet.”
The festival promises to be diverse, including programming. So many women and often filmmakers from underrepresented communities are directing films in competition. As has been the case with industry insiders, they have waxed enthusiastic about the diversity push, a big step toward a more level film industry.
Masterclasses and panel discussions with industry luminaries will also be present in addition. In this workshop on visual storytelling acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins will lead, and a panel of European cinema’s top producers and distributors will assemble to discuss European cinema’s future.
The economic impact of the festival has seen Madrid’s hotels and restaurants full booked all week. It will inject an estimated €50 million or more into its economy, says local authorities. The festival was a ‘cultural jewel’ and ‘brought prestige to the international profile of Madrid,’ said the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
This year, the festival will also see the debut of its new technology showcase, which will present virtual reality experiences and talk about the use of artificial intelligence in a film. To be sure big tech giants as well as startups all want to look around the confluence of technology and storytelling in this forward looking approach.
As the festival gets underway, the competition section, in which twenty feature films compete for what is irrevocably the Golden Lynx prize, will be closely watched. Early favorites are a gritty drama from emerging Mexican director Lucía Carreras and a thought-provoking sci-fi from British filmmaker Alex Garland.
Very familiar with Madrid International Film Festival, it has served as a long time stage for films to be successful and critically acclaimed as a global film. The industry is watching to see if one of these entries will follow the same path as past festival darlings that moved on to get Oscar glory.
The Madrid International Film Festival – blending artistic excellence, industry networking and cultural celebration – is one of Europe’s best films events. The screenings start, the discussions start, which promises to resonate far beyond Spain’s borders, and we can look forward to a cinematic feast of sorts for the next week.
With the sunset on opening day, the mood in Madrid is electric. Everyone is waiting for the stories to unfurl on the screen and for other future talents to emerge, just as seasoned critics or film students would do. The Madrid International Film Festival is not a cinema party. It is a reminder of cinema’s power to put people together, to be moved, and to make what’s possible.