The Ministry of Culture and Sports has completed the first selective aid round for feature film production. The initiative backs a project valued at roughly 15 million euros, aiming to support 45 works in 2023, with 20 projects directed by women.
From 194 submitted proposals, 45 were funded, totaling 12,063,891.02 euros. Among these, 24 projects fall under fiction, representing about 80.4% of the allocation; 18 are documentaries at 2,321,532.66 euros (about 15.5%); and one group of experimental cinema received 276,407.88 euros (roughly 1.8%).
The 2023 call carried a total budget of 30,000,000 euros and will be resolved through two procedures, marking a 10 million euro increase from the 2022 cycle.
Of the 45 beneficiary projects, 27 involved international co-productions and together received 10,178,911.28 euros, which accounts for 67.86% of the overall aid.
The top-rated film, Forastera, scored 86.60 out of 100. Written and directed by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias and produced by Lastor Media, it will receive a maximum grant of 800,000 euros. Close contenders include White Room, by Argentine filmmaker Ana Piterbarg and produced by Potenza Producciones, which earned 212,664 euros and posted 85.73 points.
Catalan productions followed closely, with Too Far (Zo See Weg) by Gerard Oms, produced by Zabriskie AIE, awarded 783,735.81 euros and 85.23 points, while The Day Ewan McGregor Introduced Me to His Family, a 2D animation by Santa Coyote directed by Marta Puig (Lyona), achieved 85.21 points and a maximum 800,000 euro grant.
Salen las lobas, directed by Claudia Estrada and produced by Alba Sotorra Cinema Producciones, earned the highest score at 84.47 points. The co-produced La misteriosa mirada del flamenco, a collaboration among Chile, France and Mexico and produced by Irusoin, registered 84.74 points and received 99,630 euros for assistance to SA.
The Canary Islands received 750,000 euros for Bajo Risco by Helena Girón and Samuel M. Delgado; Mister Miyagi Films’ animated Julia secured 300,000 euros; the Galician film Así llega la noche, written, directed and produced by Ángel Santos Touza, received 250,000 euros; and Klaudia Reynicke’s co-production Reinas, produced by Inicia Films, was allotted 150,000 euros.
In the documentary segment, Catalan production Only on Earth led with a score of 83.81. Polar Star Films produced the project, with Robin Petré directing and a grant of 117,878 euros. Claudia Pinto’s Here, Now, focusing on Carme Elías’ Alzheimer’s process, followed with a grant of 140,000 euros.
Among experimental works, Maria Molina Peiró’s Como todo mortal, produced by 15L Films, secured 105,882 euros; The Level, produced by Anna Berkhof and Carlos Mora Fuentes, earned 35,625 euros; and Claudia García de Mateos’ Portrait of a Match, an audiovisual feature for Digital Cine Media, received 134,900 euros.
Another notable project secured 800,000 euros in aid for Daniel Guzmán’s new film Debt. Additionally, Basque animation Korri, Kuru, korri by Dibulitoon Studio SL and Pecado Films SL’s A la cara shared in the allocation of 760,000 euro grants in related efforts.
Women-led projects performed strongly in this round, with five funded initiatives by women and an additional eight projects led by women receiving a combined 6.7 million euros. In total, seventeen works were directed and scripted entirely by women. Among these, 36 women held administrative roles in production, and more than half featured technical teams with at least 40% women.
Regional distribution shows Andalusia receiving 942,400 euros from the first selective aid procedure by autonomous communities; the Canary Islands 1,310,370 euros; Cantabria 35,625 euros; Catalonia 6.4 million euros; the Community of Madrid 3.3 million euros; the Valencian Community 727,527 euros; Galicia 822,435 euros; the Balearic Islands 98,908 euros; and the Basque Country 994,200 euros.