30/01/2020 - This weekend sees the start of the fourth edition of the Ibizan festival that, once again this year, is throwing its weight behind free-spirited and arthouse cinema

The Fourth Kingdom by Álex Lora and Adán Aliaga

Just in case the Mediterranean island of Ibiza wasn’t appealing enough already, for the last four years it has been hosting its own festival of international, independent film, Ibizacinefest, headed up by Xavi Herrero. This year’s iteration kicks off on Friday 31 January, and it is due to unspool until 9 February. Between those two dates, audiences will be able to dive headfirst into its rich selection of titles that focus on and showcase independence, auteur filmmaking at its finest, and sheer originality. In addition to this, attendees can enjoy workshops, conferences and industry meetings, like the one that will take place on Saturday 8 February with Catalan producer and European Film Academy member Ángela Bosch, who will give a master class entitled “Distribution and Promotion of an Audiovisual Work”. Furthermore, on its opening day, Moonface. A Woman in the War will be shown, and there will also be a preview screening of Salka en la tierra de nadie (which will be taking part in the EFM at the impending Berlinale), both of which are documentaries directed by Herrero himself.

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There will be a total of 80 screenings – encompassing both features and short films – taking place on Ibiza over the coming days. The standout titles in the former group include Ojos Negros [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marta Lallana, Ivet Castelo
film profile] (winner of the Silver Biznaga for Best Spanish Film in the Zonazine section of the most recent Málaga Film Festival), a sensitive movie directed by Marta Lallana and Ivet Castelo; Young & Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a documentary by Marina Lameiro; The Fourth Kingdom [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which was shot in New York by duo Álex Lora and Adán Aliaga; the Spanish-Portuguese road movie 522. A Cat, a Chinese Guy and My Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Paco R Baños, starring Natalia de Molina; the fascinating burlesque documentary Glittering Misfits [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ibán del Campo; The Deer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Koldo Almandoz
film profile] by Koldo Almandoz (winner of the Irizar Award for Basque Cinema at San Sebastián in 2018); the Japanese-Bulgarian production A Picture with Yuki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lachezar Avramov
film profile] by Lachezar Avramov; the doc Peret: My Name Is Rumba [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Paloma Zapata; 4 Years in 10 Minutes [+see also:
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film profile] (Serbia) by Mladen Kovacevic; and the US non-fiction film Ballad of a Righteous Merchant by Herbert Golder, which centres on the adventurous and tireless German filmmaker Werner Herzog.

Cineuropa got in touch with Xavi Herrero, who told us: “At this year’s festival, we’ve had a lot of support from local public and private institutions, which has allowed us to extend the duration of the event to ten days. Twenty-six directors are set to present their films, and we’re expecting more than 50 guests. We’re also organising an environmental-themed day for schools and a competitive section dedicated to feminism, with titles such as El proxeneta, a documentary by Mabel Lozano, and the short films Watermelon Juice by Irene Moray – which has just won a Goya – and 16 de decembro by Álvaro Gago. It’s the first year that we’ve organised this sidebar, and our objective is to develop it further in the years to come,” sums up the filmmaker and founder/director of Ibizacinefest.

(Translated from Spanish)