Perhaps the growing reputation of Marbella's international film festival (MIFF) can be measured by the number of shortlisted entries that gave this year's panel of judges quite a hard time to decide on. More than 1,000 films and shorts made it into this year's competition's shortlist! MIFF ran from 28th September to 2nd October and was once again a huge success.
Some of the world's most accomplished and celebrated actors and film directors gathered in Marbella to celebrate the 11th outing of the festival. After waging an intense promotional campaign in Cannes, actors, producers, writers and directors were ready to give it their all at the Costa del Sol. Supported by local residents and businesses, as well as a global community of film makers, the film festival kicked off with two British films this year.
The festival's entries comprise not just of full feature-length films and shorts, but also embrace documentaries and animations. MIFF is an all genres, all cultures festival that has not only helped to promote the work from countries that sometimes find it difficult to get their films before an international audience, but MIFF has also put Marbella firmly on the global map of film makers and those that fund films.
Entries this year came from more than 50 different countries, which included Spain and Britain. Premiering at MIFF were films “London Heist”, which was partly shot in Marbella, and British comedy “Golden Years”. Both films were screened at the Teatro Goya in Puerto Banus, while other films, workshops, talks and seminars took place at Hotel H10 Andalucia Palace, which also hosted the award ceremonies and glamorous gala dinner on the Sunday night. The festival is now an important part of the city's cultural programme, attracting visitors from around the world for the duration of the festival.
With a ticket price of 5.00 Euros for regular screenings and 10.00 Euros for premieres, MIFF is widely accessible, offering people from all walks of life a glimpse of other cultures' movies. For a full list of what was screened this year and what to expect in 2017, please visit MIFF's website at ww.marbellafilmfestival.com.