Through the Institut Valencià de Cultura, Generalitat Culture supports the participation and presence of Valencian audiovisual projects at the European Film Market of the Berlin International Film Festival, held face-to-face from February 16 to 22, 2023.
The Valencia corporate committee, which guides productions forming connections in this international market, comprises the regional secretary of Culture and Sports Ximo Lopez Camps; the Deputy Director of Audiovisual and Cinematography at IVC Francesc Felipe; and the president of the Valencia Audio-Visual Academy, Teresa Cebrian.
In this Berlinale edition, the Generalitat de Catalunya once again secures a regional space in the market, presenting Cinema from Spain from the ICEX booth to promote Valencian audiovisual productions on the international stage.
Among the Valencia audiovisual promotional initiatives organized by the IVC for the Berlinale European Film Market were a catalog and a video showcase featuring 16 films that were shot or premiered, along with 11 development projects in production. In total, 27 Valencian productions joined the call initiated by the IVC to participate in this in-person Berlinale market edition.
Fiction features
Eleven Valencian feature films are completed and seeking international buyers and distributors. Titles include works associated with Ana Ramf3n Rubio (Cosabona Films); a dystopian project linked to Samuel Sebastian; Elena Lf3pez Riera (Suica Films); Unemployment Club (David Marquis, Sunrise Pictures); Mud (Inaki Se1nchez Arrieta, Sunrise Pictures); In Low Season (David Marquis, TV in Productions); When the Night Is Not Over (Oscar Montf3n, Morvedre Audiovisuals, Dacsa Productions); Dreams (Carlos Abad Tent, Pi Art Productions); Tuscany (Pau Dura, Gaia Audiovisual); and You Are Not Merely (Marisa Crespo and Moises Romera, Project Films). Other titles include Vasil (Avelina Prat, Different Movies, Different Movies).
Documentaries
Valencia’s documentary slate features Guard. A man who died twice (Ricardo Me1cian, Mediterranean Media Entertainment); Sunday Sunday (Laura Garceda Andreu, Suica Films, Studio Nominum); Francis Brines. Signs Appeared (Rosana Pastor, Gorgos Films, Mediterráneo Media Entertainment); Montesinos. Other Faces of Mites (Laura Big, Audio-Visual Star); and For a Lifetimer (Martha Romero, Project Films, Different Films).
Development
The slate includes six development projects for feature films: Blessed Mary (Victoria Pe9rez, Admirable Movies); Still Life with Ghosts (Enrique Buelo, produced by Alejandra Mora, Four Movies); Karen and Julia (Inaki Sanchez Arrieta, produced by Jorge Acosta, Road to Garaitondo AIE); L’aguait (Mark Ortiz, produced by Victoria Pe9rez, Admirable Movies); Chick (Gaby Ochoa, produced by Moorish Pigeon, TV ON Productions); and Little Troubles (Javier and Guillermo Polo, produced by Borja Aracil, Polo Brothers).
Five documentary projects are under development to attract investor support: Abyss of Oblivion (Joan Batista Miguel, Document Productions); Chronic Team. Trench Art (Rafael Sesa, Felipe Villaplana, produced by Laura Big, Audio-Visual Star and Zoetrop Studio); Marshal (Ignacio Estrella, Audio-Visual Star); Paco Roca Draws Life (Michael Batiste, produced by Joan Baptista Miguel, Docu Productions); and a project titled A Cartoonist in Havana (Laura Perez Gomez and Rafael Casan, produced by Jorge Acosta, Unheard).
Ratings
Ximo Lopez Camps notes that after two seasons affected by the pandemic, the market remains pivotal with a measurable rise in space and Valencian participation. From 21 productions in the prior year, Valencian involvement grew to 27 in 2023. Seventeen filmmakers and representatives from Valencian production companies participated, marking a significant milestone.
Francesc Felipe, Assistant Director of Audiovisual and Cinematography at the IVC, explained the objective: to promote feature films and new project development within one of the world’s leading recruitment forums for television, film production, distribution, and exhibition across global platforms. Source attribution: Valencia Generalitat Cultural Administration.