On 25, 26 and 27 October, Abycine Lanza, the Albacete International Film Festival’s market for independent cinema, returned for a fourth year, the twenty-first for the festival itself. The coveted Work in Progress award, in the form of a €7,000 grant towards post-production costs, was presented to The Year of the Discovery, the second solo feature by Murcian director Luis López Carrasco (El futuro [+leggi anche:
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Carrasco’s film beat off competition from three other finalists: The Offering [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by Ventura Durall (The Two Lives of Andres Rabadan), starring Alex Brendemühl and Verónica Echegui — another Spanish–Swiss co-production, this time between Nanouk Films, Fasten, Suica Productions and Bord Cadre; Pedra Pàtria, a documentary directed by Macià Florit and produced by Elsabeth Produccions; and Qué hicimos mal, by Liliana Torres, which has secured the backing of Matriuska Producciones, Avalon PC and Miss Wasabi (more here).

Meanwhile, a total of eighteen projects were in the running for two awards of €17,250, stumped up by Castilla La Mancha Media CMM for projects still in the production phase — as well as the chance to make use of the studios, facilities and resources on offer at ECAM, the Madrid Film School without paying a cent, courtesy of the fourth Abycine Lanza–CCM Production Support Forum. The victors were La desconocida [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pablo Maqueda
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intervista: Jo Sol
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Also throwing their hats in the ring were some of the hottest names in independent cinema, including Belén Funes (A Thief’s Daughter [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Belén Funes
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intervista: Antonio Méndez Esparza
scheda film], a documentary that marks a continuation of his relationship with Spanish production company Aquí y Allí Films and the US’s 9AM Media Lab, which is set to be distributed by Wanda.

Other contenders worth watching are acclaimed short filmmaker Álvaro Gago (Matria and 16 de decembro), who also triumphed in Abycine’s official section with his first full-length feature, Matria [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Álvaro Gago
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intervista: Ángel Santos
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intervista: Elena Martín
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intervista: Elena Martín Gimeno
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Rounding out this year’s crop of entries were Comandante (El Retorno Producciones), a documentary written and directed by Julio Pérez del Campo; El Drogas, a non-fiction film with a musical theme directed by Natxo Leura and produced by Gentzane Martínez de Osaba and Rosa García Loire; La hojarasca [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (El Viaje Films), by Macu Machín; Finding La Singla [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Fábrica Naranja de Películas), by Paloma Zapata, a documentary centred on the legendary flamenco dancer of the same name; Lobster Soup [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (a Spanish–Icelandic co-production between SUICAfilms, REC Grabaketa Estudioa and Axfilms), directed by Rafael Molés and Pepe Andreu; Nacer por nacer (Falca Visual), a documentary by Pablo García Pérez de Lara; and Un hombre solo (Boogaloo Films), a fiction film by Alejandro Marzoa.

Recap of this year’s winners:

Lanza Work in Progress Award
The Year of the Discovery [+leggi anche:
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Castilla La Mancha Media CMM Production Support Award:
La desconocida [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pablo Maqueda
scheda film] – Pablo Maqueda (Spain)
Rapsodia sueca – Fran Ruvira (Spain/France/Mexico)

“MAFIZ en Abycine” Award
Armugan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jo Sol
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