Monday, November 4, 2013

The African Film Festival of Cordoba Reaches 13,000 Spectators in its 10th Edition




The African Film Festival of Cordoba reaches 13,000 spectators in its tenth edition Annual date of reference in Europe for African cinemas

Cordoba, 4th November 2013. The African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT has reached 13,000 spectators in its tenth edition, celebrated from the 11th to the 19th of October. In its second year at Cordoba, after eight editions in Tarifa (Cadiz), the audiences have enjoyed a panoramic view towards the realities of cinemas in Africa and the Arab World, through 70 films from 32 different countries, and a series of round tables, conferences and exhibitions, among other activities. 

 FCATstaff.
The director of FCAT Cordoba, Mane Cisneros, has highlighted that the festival “has managed to maintain the number of spectators despite the very hard times that Spain is going through”. In this tenth anniversary, the organisation has designed a very modest festival regarding funding (200,000€), yet “under high standards of quality”.
Cisneros considers that this piece of data confirms that Cordoba has made a good choice by consolidating the festival in its city. However, she has pointed out that “if we want the festival to grow, we will need to find solutions fighting against the scarcity of means that we have worked with this year”.
In this way, the festival –organised by the NGOD Al Tarab, supported mainly by the City Council of Cordoba, and sponsored by Magtel, Halal Institute, El Corte Inglés, Turkish Airlines, Diputación de Córdoba and Eurostarshotes, among others – cements its place as the annual date of reference in Europe for African cinemas. Today, it is the only Spanish event devoted to the film productions in Africa and one of the most important events in the world.
During the festival, a total of 13,000 spectators have joined the screens and at Cordoba to enjoy the wide range of activities offered by the festival. Among them, 3,000 children and teenagers have participated in the Learning Space of FCAT Cordoba, an on-growing number thanks to the work carried out by the areas of Education and Cooperation in the City Council of Cordoba, as well as the contributions of a large number of teachers.
Under the aim of bringing African cinemas for all publics, the festival has integrated in its programme screenings across the province and municipalities of Cordoba, as well as a storyteller in the squares of the town.
The director of the festival has also highlighted the importance of the volunteering team in this tenth edition, “as an indispensible link with the city” and organising numerous activities of citizen participation during the weeks prior to the festival. These parallel activities proposes “as festival open to the citizens, offering it much more than a week of cinema”. Thus, and always thanks to the volunteering team, “we will try to keep all these activities for the whole year, so that there is a consolidation of audiences for the incoming editions”.
Once again, FCAT Cordoba has organised the FCAT Espacio Profesional, gathering together a number of international experts on African and Arab cinemas as well as European and African producers, distributers and filmmakers, seeking to find new ways of funding these projects and prompting new links between Africa and Europe, allowing young African filmmakers to develop their film projects.
The festival has reached around 550 publications in the national media, valued in over 750,000€. Also, the international media coverage has reached around 300 publications, bringing new countries on board, such as China, India, Madagascar and Peru. Almost 100 journalists have been accredited to come and cover the festival for their media. 
A city of cinema
The African Film Festival of Cordoba, celebrating its tenth anniversary, has proposed, between the 11th and the 19th of October, a panoramic trip across 32 different countries, loyal to its aim to contribute to a better understanding of the neighbouring continent through its cinemas.
Over 70 films have been screened during one week, whose subjects revolve around Africa and the Middle East. Out of these 70 films, 27 were part of the three competitive sections: The African Dream (feature length films), The Other Side of the Strait (documentary films) and Africa in Short (documentary and feature short films).


National Media Office:
María José Martín
Tel.: +34 659 80 88 16

International Media Office:
Estrella Sendra
Tel.: +34 667 39 26 13



 
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