More than 150 films have drawn participants from France, Canada, Brazil, Chile, the United States, and Spain to the second edition of the International Film and Ecology Festival, Cineco, organized by Miguel Hernández University. The event takes place on Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th. In December, the Akdeniz Foundation’s venue in Elche hosts the festival’s screenings (Kursaal street, 1). The competition features 24 works across documentaries, fiction, and animation, with some works presented by their directors. Admission is free until the venue reaches capacity.
The final lineup includes nine documentaries and fifteen non-documentary films, spanning fiction and animation. The first session presents morning short films from 11:00 to 13:00. The competition then continues in the afternoon from 19:00 to 21:00. The final screening occurs on Sunday from 11:00 to 13:00. The awards ceremony and closing gala follow at 19:00 on Sunday.
At the closing gala, the audience award will be presented alongside the best documentary and best non-documentary prizes, each with a prize of 500 euros. During the closing ceremony, artist Ruth Soria will showcase a portion of her project. Soria combines contemporary dance, video dance, and a critique of environmental issues.
The festival is directed by Marcos Altuve and features a jury of twelve members, including ecological researchers and filmmakers.
Topics
The documentaries address environmental challenges while offering hopeful answers for the future. The festival aims to evoke emotion and reflection through topics such as recycling, plastic consumption, biodiversity loss, and the duties tied to Mediterranean fire risk. It underscores the importance of seed banks and sustainable urban management. Viewers will journey from Hawaii’s jungles to the Atacama Desert and even the outskirts of Albacete in Spain.
Predictions
- Rethinking cities — Javier Cumella
- Name of plants — Herve Bressaud
- After the fire — Marco Carvalho
- January ’66 — Jaime Garcia Parra
- Gaia — Elanit Rubalcava
- Rust Cap? — Pierre-Antoine Carpentier
- Seaside Provincial Park, Inigo Kernels — Inigo Kernels
- Days that don’t exist — Pedro Rivero and Kevin Iglesias
- Yungay 7020 — Raquel Calvo and Elena Molina
- Chimborazo — Kelia Cepeda Devil
- Desert Stars — Katherina Hard
- Feel the Apocalypse — Chen Sing Yap
- Share the Land — Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita
- House Green Class
- Plastic Shopper — Pierre Dugowson
- Plastic Killer — Jose Well
- Bread the Future — Alberto Utrera
- Albacete 2137 — Raul Urquijaga Cela
- Blue Forest — Pierre-Antoine Carpentier
- Fire and Herriza — Guillermo Ojeda
- O’o Last Voice — Hanah Cincotta
- In the Footsteps of Willkomm — Serena Vincent
- April 22 — Cesare Maglioni