3.151 works from 131 countries were submitted to this edition of the Mequinenza International Film Festival (MIFF)
From 3.151 submissions from 131 countries, the Mequinenza International Film Festival (MIFF) has announced the Official Selection of finalists for its ninth edition. The selection comprises 26 films from 12 countries: 6 documentaries, 9 fiction films, 7 animated films, and 4 westerns. The majority, 9, are from Spain, four of which are Aragonese productions, followed by films from the United States, France, Italy, and Colombia, among other countries. The short films are closely related to water, the festival's central theme, and will be screened at the Sala Goya from August 29 to September 1.
As for animation, the list of finalists in the fiction genre, the largest, includes the Franco-Belgian film "Thirsty" directed by Lisa Sallustio, the Spanish films "This is not Norway" by Alicia Albares and Paco Cavero, "Free Tour" by Pablo Porcuna, "The Empty Pool" by Pablo Conde, "Matchmakers" by Pedro Suárez from Zaragoza, "Last Night I Dreamed Again" by Raúl Prat Sarrablo from Huesca and "Up to My Neck in Water" by Enrique Novials from Mequinenza, the Chinese film "Silent Storm" by Grace Hsia and the Colombian film "Sea Life" by Luis Vanegas.
The chosen ones from the animation genre “Burkāns Neparastais (The Strange Carrot)” under the direction of Inese Pavēne and from Latvia, the French “Icepick” by Nadia Amadou, Julien Barbieri, Pierre Ghio, Josselin Masdevall, Clara Poirier, Romane Suire, Flavie Toiron and Valantine Viotti, the Spanish “And Eva also” by the Aragonese Laura Torrijos-Bescós and “Kapitan” by Andrei Simkin, the German “Monster (Monster)” by Piers Goffart and Eric Giessmann, the Italian “Sand (Arena)” by Rose Thorne and Matteo Costa and the American “Splash!” by Nathan Rigaud.
As for the documentary, the following have been selected: the Peruvian film “Beatriz Velarde” directed by Rodrigo André Flores, the Cuban film “Ojalá fuera río” by Sergio Eguino Viera, the Spanish film “Volver a Riaño” by Miriam Martín, the Portuguese film “Salgar (Salado)” by Pedro Vinícius, the Brazilian film “Saudades de Iguape (Extrañando Iguape)” by Adriano Gómez and the Colombian film “Wuinkat (El agua)” by Óscar Darío Jiménez Escrucería and Alejandro Beltrán Olivero.
Finally, the films chosen as finalists in the western genre, which was incorporated for the first time into MIFF last year and which in 2024 saw the number of competition entries increase tenfold, and which will be screened in the “Rio Bravo” section, include the Italian film “Billy the Kid” directed by Michele Zampieri, the American films “DuPhomf's Passing” by Alan Halls and “Western Wrath of the Ravishing” by Craig Ducillette, and the French film “Shoot” by Tellier Dominique.
The 26 short films in the Official Selection of the 6th Mequinenza International Film Festival, organized by the Mequinenza Town Council and the local production company Film Factory, will compete for one of the six "Silucams"—the festival's statuettes, half catfish, half film projector—for Best Fiction Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Best Aragonese Short Film, Best Western, and the "Antonio Blas" Audience Award, which includes a €200 cash prize for each category. In addition, honorary awards will be given for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography, distinctions that were added to the MIFF awards in 2023.
