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Start of the Formentera Film Festival

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The Formentera Film Festival, festival of shorts, documentaries and video art, celebrates its third year the weekend of 24 to 26 May, with a very special programme and a number of high-profile guests.

New this year from the festival's organisers, Formentera Art, is a special preview of clips the day before the official start of the programme. This preview will take place in El Pilar de la Mola under the name El festival al festival (The festival at the festival).

Cinephiles will be able to enjoy the projection of a number of the winning shorts from the X!V City of Soria International Competition of Short Films. The project receives the collaboration of competition director Javier Muñiz. El festival al festival will also conclude with a night of celebration in the Can Toni restaurant of El Pilar de la Mola.

The official Formentera Film opening will be held Friday, and the event will continue with three days of talks, videos, workshops and artistic performances, placing Formentera as a point of cultural reference in Spain and across the world. The official projections of participating shorts will take place at the square in Sant Francesc at night, although those who can't make it will have a second opportunity to watch them at 4:30 the next day in the municipal cinema. We remind readers that, to reach the widest possible audience, when Formentera Film draws to a close all of the participating shorts will be catalogued and held in the Marià Villangomez City Library.

The Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” Centre (8:00 pm) will be the site of two exhibitions: the first overseen by Marta Muschietti (illustrator and video artist) and another – 'Formentera Foto Blu' – a collective photo exhibition. Lorenzo Pepe will also be on-hand to share his video-installation “Osservazioni sulla Riva”. Then, in continuation with the tradition established over the last several years, a space will be given to Espai Unicef for the presentation of a selection of short films for children, organised by Unicef.

Simultaneously, the Plaça de la Constitució will host the presentation of the video filmed at the FormenterArt- and Unicef-organised workshop, “Per a una Gota” (For one drop). We remind readers that this event received great acclaim at last year's festival for its implication of the island's younger residents in the filming of a short film with materials at-hand as well as in the video's post-production using a common-use application.

Projections from the Espai Unicef section will continue the following day at the Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” Centre while the festival's official section kicks off in the Sant Francesc plaza. Of special note and new to this year's festival will be musical performances by the charismatic Marco Torres & Lost Angeles DJ set, two of Eivissa's most well-known rock DJs, charged with bringing the night's festivities to a close.

For the final evening of the Formentera Film Festival, a talk by the name of “Creative Tourism” will be held at the Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” Centre in the presence of Ràdio Illa coordinator Toni Ruiz and several members of the Formentera Filo Blu association; Stefania Campanella, Antonio Scalzotto and Davide Saclzotto. In this way, the association (which promotes increased consciousness of the culture and lifestyle typical of the island and its people) will present the Formentera award for the short that best develops the concept of creative tourism.

Award-recipients for the third year of the Formentera Film Festival will decided by a jury of cinema specialists from both local and international scenes. The jury will choose the festival's winner, who will receive a trophy crafted by Lorenzo Pepe. The audience pick, on the other hand, will be Formentera spectators' chance to decide which is the best film. The winner will receive a piece made by Marta Muschietti. The jury of children will pick the best short from the Espai Unicef section, with an award designed by Enric Majoral.

Once the Formentera Film 2013 prizes have been awarded, projections of the winning shorts and the four shorts from the Extrafest section will close the year's festival. Among these the Council would like to highlight “Plàstica”, produced by the year four students of Formentera's IES Marc Ferrer, and a German short-film that received the distinction of Cannes Film Festival Official Selection: “Der Schwimmer”, directed by Klaus Huettman. Also of special note are “Perseveritas Stone”, a mini-film by Pilar Aldea, and NEKAMA (The Cave), directed by Yoav Cohen and named best short-film at the City of Soria Short Film Competition.

The festival wouldn't be possible without the collaboration of its volunteers, both from the island and not, or the help of Formentera businesses, who volunteered their assistance to festival logistics and organisation with the goal of providing a cultural programme to be enjoyed by off-season tourists and residents alike.

Year after year, the Formentera Island Council supports projects whose goal it is to develop art and culture through events like the Formentera Film Festival, making Formentera synonymous with a quality-guarantee in tourism and culture.

From 23 to 26 May 2013
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