The Inaugural Gala highlights the love bond of cinema with all of Almería

Over the next ten days, the XXII Almería International Film Festival will highlight the romance between the audiovisual industry and the province, and last night the first sequence was recorded with the Inaugural Gala, which, as always, was dressed in glamor in a packed Maestro Padilla Auditorium.

The main protagonist of this filming was Nathalie Poza, who was recognized with the ‘Almería, Land of Cinema’ award. It was one of the most exciting moments, along with posthumous tribute to Carlos Saurawho filmed two films in the province, Stress is three three and Hurry, hurry and that he was accompanied by the words of his son Antonio Saura. The Gala concluded with the preview of the latest film by Almeria filmmaker Manuel Martín Cuenca, Andrea’s love, presented by actress Lupe Mateo.

The Gala turned the spotlight on a bright blue carpet along which actresses of the caliber of Mabel Lozano, Ingrid Rubio, Rosario Pardo, Ana Torrent or Assumpta Serna, screenwriters like Carmen Garrido, producers like Eduardo Campoy, Ana Camacho or Lina Badenes, and directors like Alejandro Suárez. And, of course, the presenter, journalist Elena Sánchez.

The filming of the Inaugural Gala had the soundtrack of the singer-songwriter Depedro and allowed us to remember, as Elena Sánchez said, that “in Almería, on these special days, anyone who doesn’t watch movies is because they don’t want to. There are more than 100 opportunities in the form of activities to experience stories of all genres and formats.”

And FICAL has been increasing the footage in these 22 years until it has brought together 13 feature films, 30 short films and twenty series in competition. And one of the hallmarks of FICAL is that it projects all formats: long films, short films, series.

The lights were especially illuminated to announce the ‘Almería, Land of Cinema’ award, presented by the president of the Provincial Council, Javier A. García, to the great Spanish actress Nathalie Poza. The honoree was especially excited and assured that “it is an honor to return to this land that is magical and has everything it takes to generate stories that invite us to dream. Thank you for the recognition.”

For his part, the president of the Provincial Council of Almería, Javier A. García, highlighted the launch of FICAL 2023 with a gala “in which we have appreciated the enormous potential of our date with cinema and the close link of our land with the seventh art. Everything is ready for cinema to be the main protagonist of the province until next November 26. The tribute to Nathalie Poza has rounded off a dream night”. The public, standing up, did not stop applauding an excited Nathalie Poza, and among the attendees, the mayor of Almería, María del Mar Vázquez, and the provincial delegate of the Andalusian Government in Almería, Aránzazu Martín.

The second tribute of the night was dedicated to the filmmaker Carlos Saura, who died at the age of 91 at the beginning of 2023, leaving behind a legacy full of a multitude of works that are now part of the collective imagination of fans of the seventh art. Saura, defined by Elena Sánchez as “a master of filmmakers”, was also paid tribute during the afternoon with a round table in his honor in which Ana Torrent, Assumpta Serna, Ingrid Rubio and her son Antonio Saura were present. .

His son was the next to speak at the Inaugural Gala to give this great figure a halo of present that moved the public in Maestro Padilla. And Saura’s reminiscences in Almería are not a trivial matter. In the province he rolled Stress is three, threean intense intimate drama for which Geraldine Chaplin once received the ‘Almería, Land of Cinema Award’, and the wonderful Hurry, hurrywhich elevated him to the top of celluloid and served as an inspiration to other directors such as Eloy de la Iglesia.

After this memory, the Gala script continued, emphasizing television fiction, a section that FICAL has recently included in its programming in light of the importance it has acquired in recent times among the viewer.