The fifth edition of MECAS is all set to unspool from 23-26 April in the El Muelle Cinesa and the Hotel Cristina by Tigotan, on Gran Canaria, in parallel with the island’s 21^st International Film Festival (see the news). A total of 22 titles hailing from Europe and Latin America will be competing in this industry gathering, scattered across three different strands: Cine Casi Hecho (for works in progress), Cine por Hacer (projects in development) and Isla MECAS (films from the Canary Islands, at various stages of production).

The eight films selected for Cine Casi Hecho, which homes in on titles currently in post-production – all vying for an €8,000 prize – are La parra [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Spaniard Alberto Gracia (Wandering Star [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Alberto Gracia
scheda film]), Algo nuevo, algo viejo, algo prestado by Argentina’s Hernán Rosselli, Sed (Argentina/France) by Julia Solomonoff (Nobody’s Watching [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), Un polifacético espejo de mí (Argentina/Spain) by Luciana Terribili, Infinite Summer (Estonia/Spain) by Miguel Llansó (Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Miguel Llansó
scheda film]), Fósiles del Mar Blanco by Spaniard Lina Gorbaneva, Peter Pan, a French production by Natacha Samuel and Florent Klockenbring, and the Canary Islands’ own Montaña sin nombre by José Víctor Fuentes and David Pantaleón (Rendir los machos [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]).

The seven projects selected as finalists for Cine Por Hacer – which will all be locking horns for a prize worth €5,000 – are Los estratos by Colombia’s Jerónimo Atehortúa, Espectro corazón (Uruguay/Argentina) by Alejandra Frechero, Samsara by Galician helmer Lois Patiño (Red Moon Tide [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film]), Detrás del Edén (Mexico/Turkey) by Tin Dirdamal, Lejos de los árboles by Catalonian filmmaker Meritxell Colell (Dúo), La vida que vendrá (Chile) by Karin Cuyul and El exterior by Canary Islander Víctor Moreno (The Hidden City [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Víctor Moreno
scheda film]). The participants will enjoy four days of screenings, presentations, tutorials and meetings with the invited experts, who are professionals from production companies, festival programmers, distributors and sales agents.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival’s MECAS Market Dedicated to Almost-finished Films is also presenting its more regionally focused section, Isla MECAS, aimed at filmmakers and producers from the Canary Islands, and at projects that will be filmed on the islands. The selected titles here are Mi familia isleña by Cristina Yurena Zerr, Trans-star by Bibiana Monje and Ana Sánchez-Gijón, En la Calle 24 by Alba Chaparro, Circe by María Abenia, Un hogar sin armarios by Eduardo Cubillo, 922-928 by Adrián León Arocha and Salvaje es el viento by Miguel G Morales. The participants will have access to personalised advice on pitching and production dossiers, dispensed by Álvaro Vega (of DobleSentido), and furthermore, they will be duking it out for a support package worth €1,200, destined for the internationalisation of their project, courtesy of Canary Islands Film.

This industry event of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival is also pressing on with its objective to promote filmmakers, production outfits and service companies from the Canary Islands, both nationally and internationally, with its Isla MECAS PRO programme, a series of conferences intended to attract international investment and create a network of contacts among the participants.

This is because MECAS is a platform specialising in activities targeting directors, producers and industry representatives from Europe and Latin America who are in search of support for the completion and development of feature films. It boasts sponsorship from Canary Islands Film (Canarian Institute of Cultural Development), Gran Canaria Film Commission (Society for the Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria), AC/E Acción Cultural Española, Proexca and Music Library &SFX. It is organised in collaboration with the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster, the Microclima Association of Canarian Filmmakers and the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA).

Here is the full list of projects taking part in MECAS 2022:

Cine Casi Hecho

La parra [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Alberto Gracia
Producer: Filmika Galaika (Spain)

Algo nuevo, algo viejo, algo prestado - Hernán Rosselli
Producer: Juan Segundo Álamos (Spain)

Sed - Julia Solomonoff
Producer: Laura Huberman (Argentina/France)

Un polifacético espejo de mí - Luciana Terribili
Producers: Florencia Franco and Liv Zaretzky (Argentina/Spain)

Infinite Summer - Miguel Llansó
Producer: Tallifornia (Estonia/Spain)

Fósiles del Mar Blanco - Lina Gorbaneva
Producer: Palmeras Salvajes (Spain)

Peter Pan - Natacha Samuel and Florent Klockenbring
Producer: Gaëlle Jones (France)

Montaña sin nombre - José Víctor Fuentes and David Pantaleón
Producer: Chukumi Studio (Spain)

Cine por Hacer

Los estratos - Jerónimo Atehortúa
Producers: Juan Sebastián Mora and Jerónimo Atehhortúa (Colombia)

Espectro corazón - Alejandra Frechero
Producer: Florencia de Mugica (Uruguay/Argentina)

Samsara - Lois Patiño
Producer: Sr. & Sra. (Spain)

Detrás del Edén - Tin Dirdamal
Producer: Tranvía (Mexico/Turkey)

Lejos de los árboles - Meritxell Colell
Producer: Mayca Sanz (Spain)

La vida que vendrá - Karin Cuyul
Producer: Joséphine Schroeder (Chile)

El exterior - Víctor Moreno
Producer: Kino Pravda (Spain)

Isla MECAS

Isla Cine por Hacer

Circe - María Abenia
Producer: Tinglado Films

Un hogar sin armarios - Eduardo Cubillo
Producer: La Gaveta Producciones SL

Isla Cine Casi Hecho

Mi familia isleña - Cristina Yurena Zerr

Trans-star - Bibiana Monje and Ana Sánchez-Gijón
Producer: La Mirada (Spain)

En la Calle 24 - Alba Chaparro

922-928 - Adrián León Arocha
Producer: 3.14

Salvaje es el viento - Miguel G Morales
Producer: Encarna Pérez