José Antonio Valencia Camacho – General Director Of The Festival

Ten was the “Ten Little Indians” (Agatha Christie) directed by Peter Collinson in 1975 and starring among others Charles Aznavour, Maria Rohm, Oliver Reed and Richard Attenborough… Ten was also the “Ten Commandments”, directed in 1965 by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring among others Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter… DeMille, and starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter, among other stars of the time…. How Ten are the years that the International Festival of Calzada de Calatrava celebrates in this edition of 2023, and that speaks of a Festival already consecrated and established within the sector of cinema, in general, and the circuit of the Festivals in Spain in particular…

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The history of cinema as a spectacle began in Paris in 1895 thanks to the Lumière Brothers. Since then it has never ceased to surprise and evolve, from its beginnings with silent films to today’s digital cinema. What it has never stopped doing is telling THE STORY, telling stories and conveying emotions. Stories such as that of a small town in La Mancha that in 2014 embarked on an adventure of uncertain future such as the creation of a Festival of Short Films and Feature Films at international level. That town is Calzada de Calatrava.

Calzada de Calatrava.

Now more than ever, we believe that our Festival is very much alive to continue being faithful to those new talents that everyone will undoubtedly talk about in the future, and in which Calzada de Calatrava is an important point for this fact. Many have been the protagonists who, together with the Festival, have been developing their professional careers, at the same time as films have emerged under the protection of our modest but solid programme. And no doubt, in this, the Festival will continue to be an accomplice, transmitting those reflections and feelings capable of generating new transforming talents in this seventh art that is cinema.

Cinema is part of our lives. We need moving images that tell us stories and we owe a lot to all the people who in one way or another are part of that world and make it possible. The Calzada de Calatrava Festival has not only been a great meeting place for professionals and amateurs and a great instrument to promote the work of the youngest filmmakers; it has also given us the opportunity to acknowledge many people for their work and their constant dedication. Figures such as Luis Galán, Roberto Lancha, Lola Dueñas, Marisol Ayuso, Fernando Esteso, or the now sadly deceased Rosa María Sardá and Alex Angulo have been protagonists of this recognition. And in this 10th edition, the protagonist of our tribute will be Miguel Rellán, a very recognisable face on the screen after a life dedicated to the world of acting, participating in countless films, famous TV series and countless plays.

The Miguel Rellán is the star of this year’s edition.

For nine years, Calzada de Calatrava has welcomed the world of cinema and each new edition of the Festival has shown its commitment to a cultural and artistic initiative that is also a popular celebration, a festival in which many people take part, united by a great shared passion. A project that was born as a platform for cultural dissemination and social awareness and education in values through film, which in collaboration with other local sectors, allows the public and professionals in the sector to connect with our history, our customs, our gastronomy, our landscapes, which we believe is a great attraction for national and international tourists and professionals who come to Castilla-La Mancha.

After all this experience, it is now time to keep looking forward. That is why this year we will continue to strengthen our identity even more, supporting young filmmakers with creative, innovative and even transgressive ideas on some occasions; with screenings that encourage this meeting, this dialogue, this discussion… and of course the debate. And we will do so as always with more feature films, with more short film sessions, with premieres, with special screenings and parallel activities for all audiences and tastes.

Over these ten years, the Festival has received, frommore than 70 different countries, a total of more than 600 feature films and more than 5000 short films, which, over the years, have not only increased in number with each edition, but, above all, in quality.

And to give a few figures for this tenth edition, a total of 586 works have been submitted to the competition, with a total of 30 participating countries, (among which the participation of Spain stands out above the rest, followed by France, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Peru and Colombia, and then by countries such as Italy, Germany and Venezuela). Of these 586 works 473 have been short films

• Fiction in a Humorous Tone (156), which is our most prolific section and which above all guarantees us a good and fun time; a very growing and increasingly powerful section.
• Hiparchy (138), and is also our most socially committed section, with feminism, with women’s rights and against glass ceilings and of course against that scourge that plagues us of gender violence;
• Documentary (75), a section that is no longer a minority in public, which brings us face to face with those other realities of our world that are not present in our daily lives or in the media.
• Animation, a format that is no longer only aimed at children’s audiences, and which is exceptionally well-made in terms of both content and technique;
• Made in Castilla La Mancha. It is our commitment and support to the sector in our region, showing what is made here and who makes it, which aims to encourage the development and promotion of Castilian-La Mancha talent in this La Mancha industry inside and outside the autonomous community, which has once again grown enormously.
• And the new
• Made in Castilla La Mancha is the first of its kind in Spain.
• And the new Castilla La Mancha/España Vaciada: With which we intend to give visibility, through this medium, on the one hand, to the reality of the areas suffering the problem of depopulation, and on the other, the possibilities and opportunities that can come out of it.

And of these, a total of 44 works selected for the competition will be screened.

For this year, 73 feature films have been submitted, of which, after an arduous and difficult task for the jury, 5 of them have been selected: 3 Spanish, 1 Brazilian and 1 Colombian that will compete for the different awards and whose teams will accompany us throughout the festival, thus demonstrating the support and commitment of the festival with the Young Filmmakers from other countries in the world, but especially from Latin America.

All this programming is complemented by a series of Parallel Activities that range from Theatre, with “Globe Story” – by the Company “The Blue Dog” – with a subtle and emotional tribute to the beginnings of cinema on the Opening Day; passing through Music, which also has its presence and this year much more. We began with the presentation concert “La Unión Uno. Grandes Éxitos Versión Salvaje”, by Luis Bolín, bass-guitarist of the legendary group La Unión. It will continue with the concert “Music and cinema” of BSO by our A.M. Santa Cecilia de Calatrava, which is becoming a regular feature in our programme. And we will end with an Interactive Concert, a music, film and circus show where dance, aerial acrobatics and cabaret music are intermingled to surprise all audiences by La Petite Suite Band, which will close the official sections of feature films and short films. Dance will also have its place in this edition with Akaida Orozco who will present two performances, “A little female was born” and “My own film”, in different areas of our festival. And the Training through the Workshop “Cine Express with little means” by the director, scriptwriter and producer Tommy Llorens.

Gastronomy also plays a leading role in our Festival. And the good taste in the mouth will once again be provided by our traditional Tapa de Cine Route “Al Modo Bar”, in which our hotel and catering business will surprise us with its exquisite culinary interpretations, in the form of tapas, of titles from films from the history of cinema of all time. And as a novelty this year, a Tasting Tasting, paired with white and red wines from our area, with almonds as the star product at the Finca “La Rosala” in Calzada de Calatrava. And another Tasting Tasting – run by the company Queen de Manzanares -, with pistachio as the central product, and where you can taste delicacies such as horchata, hummus and ice cream made from this rich product.

The nostalgic and sentimental touch will be provided by the Photographic Exhibition “Ten years are nothing”, a real trip down memory lane through photographs of the nine previous editions, which will take us back to the best moments in the history of our Festival.

The social commitment is brought back by our usual Solidarity Act, this time it is dedicated to Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Altos De San Jerónimo, a non-profit work, which seeks to dignify the human being and address various problems of children and adolescents, from Barrio Verbenal del Sur, the highest and poorest area of the South Verbenal, the highest and poorest area of Ciudad Bolivar (Colombia), and present ssituations of vulnerability associated with abandonment, domestic and gender violence, forced displacement or the consumption of psychoactive substances, through the development of socio-affective skills, the promotion of skills for work, entrepreneurship and employability.

The tenth edition of the festival has the essential support of our institutions, such as Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, Diputación de Ciudad Real, the G.D.R del Campo de Calatrava and of course the Ayuntamiento de Calzada de Calatrava. Among the festival’s official collaborators are the production company El Deseo, CIMA – Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media– and the Plataforma Nuevos Realizadores: PNR. And it has the official sponsorship of the technological business group Grupo ASPA – CASER Seguros

Grupo ASPA – CASER Seguros

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The Festival takes to the streets, more than ever, with the hope of making the public enjoy these days of cinema as much as possible, to bring intense cinematic moments to the public,for attracting actors and actresses, filmmakers, directors, creators, cultural agents and, of course, for once again filling the streets of Calzada de Calatrava with cinema.

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And from these lines I encourage you to participate in all the activities, to support our Festival by attending the screenings during these days, and to cinema in general by going to enjoy it in the cinemas throughout the rest of the year, which is its natural habitat. It is undoubtedly the best way to keep cinema with us.

And I don’t want to say goodbye without taking advantage of the occasion, repeating once again that preparing an event of these characteristics is something big, very big, that requires a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of people involved, of restless people, who are not satisfied with what has been achieved so far, who do not stop in the face of difficulties but fight to overcome them, and who put all their talent, their effort, their work and imagination into consolidating Calzada de Calatrava as a place of national and international reference for the seventh art; people who in one way or another make possible the magnificent continuity of the Calzada de Calatrava Film Festival, without forgetting all the people who have taken part in the previous nine editions and who will take part in the celebration of the Tenth, thus contributing to its development as an open, multicultural and integrating city. Converting Calzada into… a town of cinema.

Calzada is a town of cinema.

José Antonio Valencia Camacho
General Director of the Festival.
Councillor of Culture – Calzada de Calatrava Town Council

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