The Spanish company 'Abarca Shoes', with the collaboration of the Regional Ministry of Culture, organizes a micro-short film contest will be open for participation until July 10th.
Filmoteca of the Region of Murcia will host next Autumn the first edition of the 'Abarca Film Festival', a micro-short films contest organized by the Murcian company 'Abarca Shoes' in collaboration with the Regional Ministry of Culture, and which will be open to filmmakers from around the world.
Alongside the contest, some films, where shoes are part of the plot, will be shown in this cultural space. Some examples of these movies are the Spanish 'Piedras' or the French 'The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe', winner of the Silver Bear in Berlin in 1972.
This new cultural initiative was presented today by Marta Lopez-Briones, the general director of the Institute of Cultural Industries and the Arts (ICA), Pedro Martinez-Abarca, the managing director of 'Abarca Shoes', and Pascual Vera, the festival director.
Lopez-Briones highlighted "the constant involvement of the company 'Abarca Shoes' with culture and society of the Region of Murcia", and thanked the organizers of the event for "the support to young artists, and their help in the promotion of their work through initiatives such as this micro-short film festival.
"All of us, governments, citizens and businesses, should support our culture and take directly part in its development. We believe this is the way of collaboration we must follow, and therefore a comprehensive plan of tax incentives has been created by the Government. In this regard, 'Abarca Shoes' is one of the companies that has become an example of responsible management and, at the regional government, we are pleased to collaborate with them in their new cultural initiative of the city of Murcia", Lopez-Briones added.
All filmmakers of any nationality over 18 years and presenting original works from after January 1st, 2014, can freely participate in the micro-short film contest 'Abarca Film Festival'. The submission period is from 25th April to 10th July, and the duration of the movies cannot exceed two minutes.
In order to participate, interested parties must fill out a form that can be found on the website of 'Abarca Shoes' (www.abarcashoes.com/filmfest). Similarly, all the requested files (the file of the film, the poster and frame) must also be sent via this web page. Subsequently, an email from the organization will be sent informing whether the short-film was or was not admitted, and those selected will be published on the Internet.
For this event, Abarca Shoes has reunited a jury formed by leading cinematography professionals, such as the actress Maria Luisa San José, directors such as Chema García Ibarra and Adán Aliaga, awarded for their works in contests as Cannes, Berlin or the European Film Awards, actress and productions writer such as 'La que se avecina" Araceli Alvarez de Sotomayor, as well as the president of Cine-Club Segundo de Chomón and the "Semana de Cine Español de Mula", Martín del Toro.
During a gala, which will take place in the Filmoteca, The 'Abarca Film Festival' will deliver a total of 3,500 € in prizes. There will be two jury awards: the first one of 1,500 € and the second one 1,000 € respectively; and one audience award worth 1,000 €.
Cycle "Pisando con garbo"
In the first edition of 'Abarca Film Festival', and in parallel with the micro-short film contest, a cycle "Pisando con garbo" will be organized next October in the Filmoteca. For four days, this new cycle will provide a series of films that have one thing in common: shoes.
Specifically these films will be screened: the Spanish film "Piedras" (Ramón Salazar, 2002), US 'The Cobbler' (Thomas MacCarthy, 2014) and 'In Her Shoes' (Curtis Hanson, 2005), the British film 'The Red Shoes' (Michael Powell, 1948) and the French production 'The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe' (Robert Ives, 1972), Silver Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival.