- Its main activity will begin this Friday, April 19, with the presentations of the Almost-Finished Films and Films-To-Be-Made sections
- 45 film experts will get to know the 18 selected projects
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Friday, April 19, 2024. The seventh edition of MECAS, the Market of Almost-Finished Films, started this Thursday, April 18, with Terrero Isla MECAS, the training area of the market that holds different meetings, talks and workshops to promote and internationalize local audiovisual industry thanks to the advice of experts and the network of contacts built throughout the event.
The activities, which will last until Saturday, April 20, began at Cine Yelmo Las Arenas with a meeting dedicated to the calls of Rotterdam Lab, Cinemart, ECAM Forum or Porto/Post/Doc, in which the different representatives of the markets presented their guidelines and particularities. In addition, Music Library &SFX held a session on musical composition and supervision, with the participation of Canarian composers Jonay Armas and Verónica Londoño as well as Arturo Olea (Music Library &SFX). Patricia Carrera (musical supervisor) was in charge of moderating the talk. The first day of Terrero Isla MECAS will end with editing and script mentoring by Emma Tusell (editor) and Anna Ciennik (Very Good Script) at Hotel Cristina by Tigotan.
The market’s main activity will start on Friday afternoon, April 19, with the presentations of the Almost-Finished Films and Films-To-Be-Made sections moderated by Fran Gayo (FICX, GIFF and Centro Niemeyer) and Miquel Escudero (IndieLisboa). A total of 45 film experts will meet the 18 selected projects and their creators, who are committed to making cinema outside of conventional financing methods, and who will have the opportunity to talk and meet industry professionals with the aim of developing their films.
The winners of this seventh Market of Almost-Finished Films will be announced at the closing ceremony next Sunday, April 21. As a novelty in this edition, the amount of each of the main awards will be increased by 1,000 euros, in total 9,000 euros for the Almost-Finished Films section and 6,000 euros for the Films-To-Be-Made one. 1,000 euros will go to the Isla MECAS award for a project from the Canary Islands. In addition, five other prizes will be granted in kind.
In order to promote the island as a privileged location for filming and as home to a dynamic audiovisual production sector, the Market includes a Fam trip organized by the Gran Canaria Film Commission, where international guest producers will visit emblematic places on the island.
MECAS is funded by Consejería de Universidades, Ciencia e Innovación y Cultura from the Canarian Government, and has the support of the program for the internationalization of Spanish culture, PICE Visitors, of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E). It is also sponsored by the Gran Canaria Film Commission (Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria), and Music Library &SFX, and collaborates with Proexca, Very Good Script, Gijón International Film Festival’s Semilleru Lab and Cinema Pendent de L’Alternativa.
The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, organized by the Culture area of the Gran-Canarian capital’s City Council through Promoción de la Ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has received public assistance by the ICAA [Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts], the program for the internationalization of Spanish culture, PICE Visitantes, of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), from the Consejería de Universidades, Ciencia e Innovación y Cultura del Gobierno de Canarias, as well as public support from Promotur Turismo Islas Canarias.
Among the Festival’s collaborators we may find Fundación Auditorio Teatro, Cines Yelmo, Las Arenas Shopping Center and Hotel Cristina by Tigotan, places which also function as venues or hold activities of the film event; as well as other institutions and companies such as Sagulpa, Hospitales San Roque, Jameson, Ikigai, Cientouno Group, el Centro de Cultura Audiovisual de Gran Canaria, Audiovisuales Canarias, Music Library &SFX, Blackout Films and International Bach Festival. Likewise, its market, MECAS, has been possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Gran Canaria Film Commission-Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria and the support of Canary Islands Film and Proexca.
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Mid Atlantic University, the CIFP Felo Monzón Grau-Bassas, the Canary Islands Film Institute, the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, Digital 104, the Audiovisual Cluster of the Canary Islands, CIMA Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas y de Medios Audiovisuales, the Cartagena International Film Festival, the Gijón International Film Festival, the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, Toyota Canarias and Very Good Script are also collaborators.
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