Almería Western Film Festival presents the program of its 14th edition

AudioVisual451

Marco Sánchez Sequera

The Tabernas Desert is preparing to host the 14th edition of the Almería Western Film Festival (AWFF), an event dedicated exclusively to the western genre that will be held from October 10 to 13 in the municipality of Tabernas. The festival comprises four days of activities that will revolve around the leitmotif of this edition: water, train, immigration and Sergio Leone.

The organization has presented the contents of its next event. The event, held at the Almeria Provincial Council, was attended by the Deputy for Culture, Cinema and Identity of Almeria, Almudena Morales; the mayor of Tabernas, José Díaz; and the director of the festival, Juan Francisco Viruega; as well as the illustrator of the poster of this edition, Celia Coe.

[José Díaz, Juan Francisco Viruega and Almudena Morales.]

Almudena Morales highlighted that the festival "celebrates one of the most exciting chapters of our extensive cinematographic history, such as the close relationship of our land with the western genre. In addition, it reaffirms once again that the province is the best set for film projects, and this is demonstrated by the numerous shootings and the great artists who have worked here."

"This festival is a great commitment to the seventh art that enriches the cultural panorama of the province, becomes a powerful tourist incentive and reinforces the actions that we promote in favor of the audiovisual with the Almeria International Film Festival, FICAL and Filming Almeria as emblems. From the Provincial Council of Almeria, we reaffirm our commitment to culture and we will continue to support events like this that make the history of the province greater," added the vice president of the Provincial Council.

"This edition the Tabernas Film Award will be awarded to Fabio Testi, who has left an indelible mark on the Western. He receives this award on the fiftieth anniversary of the filming of 'The Four of the Apocalypse', largely in the Tabernas Desert. The Italian actor will be with us and, like other winners in this category, he will have his chair on the town's Paseo del Cine, an initiative to keep alive the memory of great legends of the genre," announced José Díaz.

AWFF will pay tribute to prominent figures in western cinema in other of its awards. The Spirit of the West Award will go to Argentine director Lisandro Alonso, in recognition of his innovative contribution to the genre. The legendary Italian director Sergio Leone (1929-1989) will receive, posthumously, the In Memoriam Award, a tribute to the creator of spaghetti western, while the Italian editor Eugenio Alabiso will be awarded the Desierto de Tabernas Award for his work in the edition of western classics, and the writer and film historian from Almeria José Enrique Martínez will receive the Award for the Dissemination of the Western Genre.

"The Spirit of the West Award once again goes to an international filmmaker, the Argentinean Lisandro Alonso, who despite his youth has a career of more than 20 years and has achieved success at festivals around the world. He is the contemporary western director pampered by the Cannes Film Festival, where all his films have competed. Together with other contemporary filmmakers such as Chloe Zhao, Carlos Reygadas or Oliver Laxe, he is probably the best exponent of international neo-western, focusing on the coexistence of indigenous tribes with capitalist societies, migrations or the exploration of territory from an existential perspective," explained Juan Francisco Viruega.

On the other hand, in this edition a journalistic or essayistic award has been created, to recognize the work of those professionals who investigate the legacy of the western genre. "We wanted the first winner to be José Enrique Martínez Moya from Almeria, who has dedicated his life to the recovery of the historical cinematographic memory of the province," adds the director of the festival.

Main Sections

The festival's Official Feature Film Section presents a selection of films that will compete for the jury and audience awards. Attendees will be able to see 'Escanyapobres', by Ibai Abad (Spain); 'Eureka', by Lisandro Alonso (Argentina); and 'Until the End of the World', by Viggo Mortensen (USA). USA-Mexico-Canada). The opening film will be 'Paradise', directed by Max Isaacson (USA), while the competition is completed with titles such as 'Nina', by Andrea Jaurrieta (Spain); 'Los de abajo', by Alejandro Quiroga (Bolivia); and 'Ride', by Jake Allyn (USA). USA).

In the Panorama Special Documentary Section, the public will be able to enjoy works such as 'Sergio Leone, the Italian who invented America', by Francesco Zippel (Italy), which explores the life and work of the master of spaghetti western, and which will have its premiere in Spanish commercial theaters at the festival. Also part of this section are 'Territory', by Alex Galán (Spain); and 'The Magnificent Stranger', by Iván Karras and Miguel Ángel Guerra (Spain), which will have its world premiere at the festival.

The festival will feature a selection of 30 short films in four sections, such as the International Short Film Section and the Outlaw International Short Film Section, where a variety of innovative works will be presented. The RTVA Short Film Section will offer a look at local talent, while the Outlaw Section of Made in Almeria Short Films will highlight the creativity of the region. In addition, this edition will have a Film Schools Section that will be evaluated by a young jury.

The jury of the Official Feature Film Section will be made up of renowned figures, such as the English director Alex Cox, the director and screenwriter Elena López Riera, the RTVE journalist Cristina Delgado, the screenwriter and writer Fernando Navarro, and the director of photography Pepe de la Rosa. For its part, the jury of the Official Short Film Section is chaired by the director and screenwriter Rubin Stein, accompanied by the actress and producer Eva Almaya, the writer Juan Manuel Gil, the composer Pilares Onares and the director of advertising and video clips Willy Rodríguez. The jury of the RTVA Short Film Section is chaired by the screenwriter and director Sandra Romero, the film writer José Enrique Martínez Moya, the presenter of Canal Sur Manuel Carretero and the head of locations and president of the Association of Audiovisual Technicians of Almería (TESA), Sofía Rodríguez.

Other activities

The festival will offer a Western Classic Section, which includes screenings of classics such as 'The Iron Horse', by John Ford (USA). USA, 1924); 'A Fistful of Dollars', by Sergio Leone (Italy, 1964); and 'The End', (Spain, 2009), allowing attendees to relive the magic of the traditional western on the big screen.

In addition, literary works related to the genre will be presented, such as 'Malaventura', by Fernando Navarro; 'Carlo Simi, designer of dreams', by Andrea B. Nardi and Giuditta Simi; and a selection of novels and western essays by Carlos Aguilar. There will also be the exhibition '60 years of Sergio Leone in Tabernas', which will highlight the impact of the director on the environment.

Attendees will be able to enjoy a series of parallel activities, such as the X Western Characterization Contest, the VII Window Decoration Contest and the XI Tapa Route. And the workshops and master classes will include topics such as 'New archetypes of the western', taught by Fernando Navarro; 'The magic hour of the desert', with the photographer Pepe de la Rosa; 'Collage western', with Celia Coe; and the round table 'Of railways and ghost birds', on trains, western and Almeria. Likewise, the highlights include the dramatized reading of the script 'Dead Mexicans' with director Alex Cox, and the talk 'Rabios@', with Eva Almaya and Willy Rodríguez.

The cultural offer is completed with music, theatre and children's shows, such as the concerts of Leone Band and Peligro Ciervos, the performance of the San Indalecio de La Cañada Musical Group, the presentation of the official tunes of the Almería Western Film Festival by the composer Javier Arnal, and the play 'A Hollivud 2 kilometres', of the Theatre Classroom of the University of Almeria.