Overview of Alicante Film Festival’s Fifth Edition and the Lab
Alicante Film Festival unveils its fifth edition this Monday at the Fiction Proposals and Projects Lab. The event showcases works in their embryonic stages, including upcoming feature films and web series, in front of representatives from production companies and platforms. The visual media showcase runs from June 5 to June 9 within the festival framework, offering a unique chance for new projects to gain early attention.
The submission deadline is April 30. By mid May, the festival plans to select a total of 18 projects from those received through the submission form. Last year the festival received over 120 entries, each limited to a 15 minute presentation. The event targets producers, directors, screenwriters, and anyone with a cutting or editing project who wants to turn an idea into a reality. Registration to attend is free. Pre-registration is available on the festivaldealicante.com site, and attendees can also register as listeners before May 21 prior to submitting their project.
The initiative is a collaboration between Alicante City Council, the Local Development Agency, and the SGAE Foundation. It keeps growing every year, offering participants the chance to learn and present projects to industry professionals, while creating a meeting point for audiovisual talent in Alicante. The Lab covers everything from researching an idea to shaping a solid sales dossier and presenting it effectively to manufacturers and platforms. It highlights both the creative process and the practical steps needed to bring an editing project to life.
Festival director Vicente Seva notes that this year negotiations will expand, including master classes with participation from the FlixOlé platform, the Trazos School of Digital Arts with director Sophie de Mac Mahon, and the Music Library, a company with two decades of music supervision experience for content production.
There is also a rise in recognized awards this year. The festival will honor the Driver’s Innovation Project, the Gambling Prize for best national fiction project, and the SGAE Award for originality and creativity. The Music Library Award offers a flat fee allowing access to music catalogs for the production, editing, and distribution work. The HE WeLab Professional Equipment Award provides a direct discount on camera gear rentals, while the Movibeta Award offers one year of free distribution on Movibeta for film festivals.
Seva described previous editions as successful, noting that Marisa Crespo and Moises Romera participated in the prior Lab edition. The director also announced plans to expand internationally by partnering with the London Spanish Film Festival and the Edinburgh Spanish Festival, aiming to broaden project reach and collaboration opportunities.
Local Development Agency and Employment Council member Mª Carmen from Spain emphasized that this activity serves as a meeting point for audiovisual fiction projects, a catalyst for making talent visible and driving local job creation in Alicante.
Calendar
10:00 Masterclass FlixOle
Video-on-demand platforms, exemplified by FlixOlé, and its commitment to Spanish cinema
Speaker: Sophie de Mac Mahon, director of FlixOlé
FlixOlé is a video-on-demand platform operating since November 2018. Its catalog exceeds 4,000 titles, with a strong emphasis on Spanish productions but including notable Italian cinema and the complete RKO catalogue. The platform originated from the merger of Mercury Films, owned by Enrique Cerezo, and Swedish technology firm Magine Pro, and presents films by renowned creators such as Luis García Berlanga, Juan Antonio Bardem, Luis Buñuel, Pilar Miró, Álex de la Iglesia, and Alejandro Amenábar.
11:00 Round table on fiction content production and distribution
10:00 Masterclass by Trazos Digital Art School
12:00 Music sources for audiovisual synchronization
Presented by Music Library and SFX, Daniel Feter and Arturo Olea
Soundtrack and music elevate any audiovisual work by shaping atmosphere and engaging viewers. Yet not all music can be used as background due to copyright and local and international laws protecting creators.
In an instructional session, the key elements for using music in audiovisual productions will be explained. The talk will also survey music resources available to creators and analyze how music can enhance content, with practical examples.
9:30–12:00 Theoretical session on presenting a fiction project
The speaker will outline how an editing project develops, from idea exploration to the final sales dossier. Steps include idea filtering, solid structuring, creating characters, assessing feasibility, contacting producers and platforms, and organizing the workflow to execute the creative aspect of fiction projects.
Presentation and evaluation of projects for digital platforms. Each project is allocated a 15-minute presentation window, followed by Q&A with the presenter. Awards will be announced at the end of the sessions.
Presentation and evaluation of projects for digital platforms.
Awards.