30/10/2019 - Last weekend’s fourth edition of the Spanish Independent Film Festival and Market in Albacete saw El año del descubrimiento scoop the coveted Work in Progress award

A group picture of the participants and winners of 2019 Abycine Lanza (© Abycine)

On 25, 26 and 27 October, Abycine Lanza, the Albacete International Film Festival’s market for independent cinema, returned for a fourth year, the twenty-first for the festival itself. The coveted Work in Progress award, in the form of a €7,000 grant towards post-production costs, was presented to The Year of the Discovery, the second solo feature by Murcian director Luis López Carrasco (El futuro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). The project is funded by LaCima Producciones (Spain) and Alina Film (Switzerland) — find out more here.

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Carrasco’s film beat off competition from three other finalists: The Offering [+see also:
trailer
film profile], by Ventura Durall (The Two Lives of Andres Rabadan), starring Alex Brendemühl and Verónica Echegui — another Spanish–Swiss co-production, this time between Nanouk Films, Fasten, Suica Productions and Bord Cadre; Pedra Pàtria, a documentary directed by Macià Florit and produced by Elsabeth Produccions; and Qué hicimos mal, by Liliana Torres, which has secured the backing of Matriuska Producciones, Avalon PC and Miss Wasabi (more here).

Meanwhile, a total of eighteen projects were in the running for two awards of €17,250, stumped up by Castilla La Mancha Media CMM for projects still in the production phase — as well as the chance to make use of the studios, facilities and resources on offer at ECAM, the Madrid Film School without paying a cent, courtesy of the fourth Abycine Lanza–CCM Production Support Forum. The victors were La desconocida [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pablo Maqueda
film profile], directed by Pablo Maqueda and featuring Manolo Solo and Eva Llorach — the project is based on Paco Becerra’s play Grooming — to be produced by Imval Madrid; and Rapsodia sueca, a documentary by Fran Ruvira and a co-production between Intropía Media (Spain), Les Films D’Ici (France) and Cinema 226 (Mexico). Jo Sol (Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jo Sol
film profile] and Other Fictions) made quite an impression with Armugan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jo Sol
film profile], filmed in moody black and white and produced by Leo Dolgan and Daniel Vergara, wearing two hats in this film as both producer and director of photography. Sol’s project is this year’s winner of the “MAFIZ en Abycine” award, earning a spot in the MAFIZ-Málaga Festival Industry Zone in 2020.

Also throwing their hats in the ring were some of the hottest names in independent cinema, including Belén Funes (A Thief’s Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Belén Funes
film profile]) with Los Tortuga, a drama produced by Oberon; Adrián Orr (Niñato [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), presenting his second feature, docudrama El futuro no nos ha cambiado (New Folder Studio); and Antonio Méndez Esparza, director and writer of Courtroom 3H [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antonio Méndez Esparza
film profile], a documentary that marks a continuation of his relationship with Spanish production company Aquí y Allí Films and the US’s 9AM Media Lab, which is set to be distributed by Wanda.

Other contenders worth watching are acclaimed short filmmaker Álvaro Gago (Matria and 16 de decembro), who also triumphed in Abycine’s official section with his first full-length feature, Matria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Álvaro Gago
film profile], produced by Ringo Media and Matriuska Producciones; Ángel Santos (The High Pressures [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ángel Santos
film profile]), with Así llegó la noche, produced by Amateurfilms; actress and director Elena Martín (Júlia ist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elena Martín
film profile]), with fantasy-tinged drama Creatura [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elena Martín Gimeno
film profile] (Lastor Media); Yayo Herrero (The Maus [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and his latest project, Los Quinquis (Dynamite Films); and Andrea Jaurrieta, with her follow-up to Ana By Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Nina [+see also:
film review
interview: Andrea Jaurrieta
film profile] (Lasai Films).

Rounding out this year’s crop of entries were Comandante (El Retorno Producciones), a documentary written and directed by Julio Pérez del Campo; El Drogas, a non-fiction film with a musical theme directed by Natxo Leura and produced by Gentzane Martínez de Osaba and Rosa García Loire; La hojarasca [+see also:
film review
interview: Macu Machín
film profile] (El Viaje Films), by Macu Machín; Finding La Singla [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Fábrica Naranja de Películas), by Paloma Zapata, a documentary centred on the legendary flamenco dancer of the same name; Lobster Soup [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (a Spanish–Icelandic co-production between SUICAfilms, REC Grabaketa Estudioa and Axfilms), directed by Rafael Molés and Pepe Andreu; Nacer por nacer (Falca Visual), a documentary by Pablo García Pérez de Lara; and Un hombre solo (Boogaloo Films), a fiction film by Alejandro Marzoa.

Recap of this year’s winners:

Lanza Work in Progress Award
The Year of the Discovery [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Luis López Carrasco (Spain/Switzerland)

Castilla La Mancha Media CMM Production Support Award:
La desconocida [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pablo Maqueda
film profile] – Pablo Maqueda (Spain)
Rapsodia sueca – Fran Ruvira (Spain/France/Mexico)

“MAFIZ en Abycine” Award
Armugan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jo Sol
film profile] – Jo Sol (Spain)

(Translated from Spanish)