One hundred short films will compete at the Alicante International Film Festival, held from June 3 to June 10, celebrating twenty years of activity. To mark the milestone, the festival increased participation, reaching exactly one hundred works divided across several sections. The selection brings together shorts from seventeen countries, chosen from more than two thousand submitted works, a higher total than last year. These hundred shorts vie for a share of the festival prizes, including a prize of three thousand five hundred euros.
“This festival began as a short film event, and its foundation remains central,” stated Vicente Seva, the festival director, at the opening in 2012. The feature film lineup for this edition will be announced soon. The rise in the number of short entries was most noticeable in the Alicante Cinema segment, following the creation of a new section devoted to documentary shorts. A first call selected about a dozen works from roughly one hundred fifty submitted during the initial round.
Seventeen countries are represented in this edition across the international, Mediterranean and LGBT fiction sections, including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, England, Argentina, Costa Rica, Luxembourg, the United States, Iran, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico and China.
“The festival drew significant attention to the short film category, receiving more than two thousand submissions. The jury faced a challenging task due to the high quality and variety of entries, and attendees are warmly invited to enjoy the screenings,” Seva noted during the festival week. He also highlighted a strong domestic short film presence and the robust social messages threaded through the comedy selections.
The jury selected eighteen entries for the Spanish fiction shorts section, including titles such as “(N)os miran” by Kiko Prada, “A un lado de la carretera” by Iñigo Apestegui, “Children’s Things” by Bernabé Rico, “Cuentas divinas” by Eulalia Ramón, “Denali” by Alberto Ortega, and others by Cecilia Gessa, Luis Larrodera, Miguel Ibáñez, and more. The lineup spotlights several Alicante-based filmmakers like David Valero, Marcos Chanca, Tirso Calero and Ángel Puado, with Marta Nieto and Eulalia Ramón also producing notable work from different regions.
These eighteen shorts will compete for best actress, best actor, best screenplay, best director, and best short film awards. The final prize contribution is aligned with the festival’s collaboration with the Film Academy and contributes to the 2024 Goya Awards pre-selection.
Ten selected works lead the animation category, including “1996” by Ramón Mascaros, “Becarias” by Marina Dongeris, Núria Poveda and Marina Cortón, “Chimborazo” by Kelia Cepeda, “Dennis” by Carlos Beceiro and Guillermo Garzón, and others by María Lorenzo, Ana María Mendicote, Miguel Rosique, Fabián Molinaro, Adolfo Aliaga and Anna Juesas, and more. The collection also features works such as “Everything is Lost” by Carla Pereira and Juanfran Jacinto, and “White Butterflies” by Jara García de Viedma and Shuangshuang.
In the international fiction subsection of short films, twelve entries from twelve countries were selected, including “Plastic” by Philp Rom (Malaysia), “A Never End Sound” by Daniel Beltrán (Poland), “Aplauso” by Guilherme Daniel (Portugal), “Break Free” by Oswaldo D. Guitierrez (United Kingdom), and others from Argentina, Costa Rica, Luxembourg, the United States, Colombia, Iran, and Ireland.
Eight shorts will represent three Mediterranean countries in the Mediterranean fiction collaboration: “Cold Beds” (France) by Laetitia Martinucci, “La Piccola Estate” (Italy) by Sara Scalera, “Memoir of a Veering Storm” (Greece) by Sofia Georgovassili, “Ogni tre” by Mark Giorni Petrasso (Italy), among others from France and Italy.
In the LGBT section, conducted in cooperation with Alicante Entiende, ten entries from two countries are highlighted: “Reflections” by Kane Kwik from Mexico and “Mi esquina, mi trenchera” by Guinduri Arroyo. The remaining selections originate from Spanish production, including “She loves me, she doesn’t love me” by Alejandro Galdón and several other standout titles across the Spanish program.
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The jury chose eighteen entries for the Spanish fiction shorts section, including titles such as “(N)os miran” by Kiko Prada and “A un lado de la carretera” by Iñigo Apestegui. The slate features works by renowned Alicante filmmakers including David Valero, Miguel Ibáñez, Marcos Chanca, Tirso Calero and Ángel Puado, with Marta Nieto and Eulalia Ramón also contributing prominent pieces. The eighteen shorts will compete for best actress, best actor, best screenplay, best director and best short film awards, with the best short film prize counting toward the 2024 Goya pre-selections.
Additionally, ten selected works lead the animation category: “1996” by Ramón Mascaros, “Becarias” by Marina Dongeris, Núria Poveda and Marina Cortón, “Chimborazo” by Kelia Cepeda, “Dennis” by Carlos Beceiro and Guillermo Garzón, and more, including “Everything is Lost,” and “White Butterflies.” The list also includes additional animation pieces like “Papirola” and “Skydome.”
In the international fiction segment, twelve short films were chosen from twelve nations, including “Plastic” by Philp Rom (Malaysia), “A Never End Sound” by Daniel Beltrán (Poland), and “Break Free” by Oswaldo D. Gutierrez (United Kingdom), among others from Argentina, the United States, and Europe.
Eight shorts will represent the Mediterranean fiction category in collaboration with Casa Mediterráneo: titles from France, Italy and Greece that showcase a diverse mix of storytelling styles and cultural perspectives.
In the short film section, international LGBT entries are compiled with a focus on cross-border collaborations. The festival will run June 4 to June 9 at Kinépolis and Casa Mediterráneo, the official venues for the twenty-year Alicante International Film Festival.
The Alicante International Film Festival runs from June 3 to June 10, supported by the City Council of Alicante, the Alicante Tourism Office, Valencia Cultural Institute, À Punt Media, and other partner organizations.