Alicante will host the fourth edition of the Smartphone Film Festival from December 9th to 13th, the Valencian Community's first international competition for mobile phone films. More than 260 entrees have been submitted, and €2.500 in prizes will be awarded. The program of activities, which includes screenings, talks, and workshops, will take place at the Tossal Lab and the Impulsalicante Entrepreneurship Center, as well as the Provincial Archaeological Museum (MARQ) and the Doctor Balmis General Hospital.
Impulsalicante, the Local Development Agency, is once again hosting the workshops and screenings of the Alicante Smartphone Film Festival, the first festival in the Valencian Community dedicated to mobile phone filmmaking, which takes place from December 9th to 13th. The Tossal Lab and the Entrepreneurship Center will be the venues for the training activities, and the Puerta Ferrisa auditorium, headquarters of the Local Development Agency, will also host the screenings.
The activities, which will take place from December 9th to 13th, were presented this Wednesday at the Alicante Provincial Council by the Deputy for Culture, Juan de Dios Navarro, and the Councillor for Employment and Development, Mari Carmen de España and the director of the Alicante Smartphone Film Festival, David Seva Morera.
For this edition, more than 260 works have been submitted to the competition, competing in the categories of Fiction, Comedy, Animation, International, Province of Alicante, Actor, Actress and Director, sections in which 2.500 euros in prizes will be distributed.
Meanwhile, the International section is strengthening its reach and has signed an agreement with the Vertical Movie Festival in Rome, a festival in vertical format, which expands the event's international profile. This year, submissions have been received from various countries, including Spain, France, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, the United States, Italy, Costa Rica, Germany, Venezuela, and Argentina.
The activities will begin with the workshop “Introduction to filmmaking with a smartphone”, on Tuesday the 9th at the Entrepreneurship Center and on Wednesday the 10th at the Tossal Lab, where participants will learn practical techniques to create short films with their mobile phones and will learn firsthand how a film set works.
Councilor Mari Carmen de EspañaHe highlighted the "innovative" and "entertaining" nature of the initiative, "with a novel format that embraces technology within the world of cinema." Impulsalicante has supported this competition, now in its fourth edition, since its inception. The competition aims to discover new talent, primarily among young people, using readily available tools such as mobile phones.
Program
On Wednesday the 10th, at the Marq Museum and Puerta Ferrisa, we will have screenings of the selected short films from the festival.
On Thursday the 11th, the classroom of the Doctor Balmis General Hospital will be transformed into a film set with the "Hospital of Cinema" section, directed by Dr. Javier González de Dios, in which hospitalized children will be the protagonists.
On Friday the 12th, there will be a Q&A session with the audience featuring Alicante-born actor Luis Miguel Seguí, who will discuss his acting career. Last year's event was dynamic, entertaining, and full of questions from the audience.
Meanwhile, the Closing Gala will be held on Saturday, December 13th, at the Arniches Theatre, where the awards will be presented in the different categories and a tribute will be paid to films made with mobile phones.
The festival director, David Seva Morera, highlighted "the growth of the festival and its role as a meeting point between filmmakers and the public, promoting creativity and local talent."
Within the "Province of Alicante" section, which aims to showcase the great cinematic talent in the Province of Alicante, short films from the towns of Sant Vicent Del Raspeig, Novelda, Jijona, Petrer, Elche, will participate. Torrevieja, San Juan de Alicante, Santa Pola, Daya Nueva, Orihuela, Benidorm and Elche, this award is endowed with €500 and distribution of the short film at national festivals for one year.
Juan de Dios Navarro commented that the "Province of Alicante" section highlights the work of filmmakers from the province of Alicante, which has more participants each year, a breeding ground for future directors.
The Alicante Smartphone Film Festival is supported by the Alicante Provincial Council, Impulsa Alicante, Coca-Cola and other collaborating entities.
