Canary Islands Cinema Lifts Off, Primed by Local Talent, Relocation, Governmental Backing
variety.comJohn Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Boosted by world-class incentives, Spain’s Canary Islands has attracted the shoots of some of the higher-profile movies on earth from “In the Heart of the Sea” to “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Eternals.” Now, however, a homegrown Canary Islands cinema is bursting onto the scene, a Canary Island New Wave cinema lifting off, hitting festivals and making ever more insistent production news.
If a date can be attributed to the event, it may be March’s Malaga Film Festival. Already playing Berlin’s Forum, Macu Machín’s “Undergrowth” won ZonaZine, Málaga Festival’s edgier main sidebar.
Two Canary Islands projects were pitched at the Malaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF): Lucía Pérez’s Locarno hit “Ever & the Sharks” and Víctor Moreno’s anticipated fiction feature debut “The Outside.” Malaga’s Spanish Screenings featured Canary Island production “I’m Gonna Disappear,” Coré Ruiz’s tale of two estranged brothers.
Another Spanish Screenings title, David Baute’s animated feature “Black Butterflies,” co-produced from his Tinglado Films at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has gone on to be selected for the Annecy Animation Festival next month. Why the Growth? Why the Canary Islands cinema has suddenly seemingly exploded onto the scene is another matter.
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