3rd edition Cines del Sur festival

The third edition of the Granada Festival, Cines del Sur, once again transforms the city into a meeting point for Southern cinemas, bringing together a mosaic of films, authors, and perspectives that engage in dialogue and invite us to discover new landscapes and talents still little known in Spain. Driven by the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía, the festival reaffirms its objective of making Granada a space where Southern cinemas find visibility and where the image of the 'other' enriches our way of seeing the world.The third edition of the Granada Festival, Cines del Sur, once again makes the city a privileged vehicle for Southern cinemas, bringing together a heterogeneous mosaic of films, authors, and perspectives that engage in dialogue and invite reflection, encounter, and the enjoyment of a multiple and diverse beauty. Promoted once again by the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía, the festival reaffirms its objective of making Granada a place where Southern cinemas find their space, where the image of the 'other' gains prominence and enriches our way of looking at the world.The second edition of the Granada Festival, Cines del Sur, solidifies as a splendid reality that builds on the success of its first call and reinforces the Junta de Andalucía's commitment to a project destined to be an annual meeting point for the cinemas of Southern countries. The festival aligns with cultural cooperation and dialogue with the South, based on the conviction that cinema can weave stable networks of communication and understanding between societies that share a common history and future.The first edition of the Granada Festival, Cines del Sur, represents the achievement of a project that the Junta de Andalucía has firmly supported since its inception, and which is part of this regional government's lines of action in creating strong foundations for cooperation and dialogue with Southern countries.

In 2009, the program combines the Official and Itineraries sections, which showcase the most vibrant state of cinemas from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with 'Pantalla Abierta' (Open Screen), which brings cinema to emblematic squares and spaces in the city to be shared outdoors in a warm and festive atmosphere. Additionally, there are sections such as 'Andalusians and the South,' the 'Mediterréneos Award,' and the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film, which strengthen the dialogue between Granada and other cinematic geographies.In 2009, Cines del Sur invites cinephiles and the general public to discover new places and talents still little known in Spain, through a program that combines the best titles of the year with authentic recovered gems. The Official Section and Itineraries showcase the most vibrant state of cinemas from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while 'Pantalla Abierta' brings a selection of films designed to be shared outdoors, in a warm and festive atmosphere, to emblematic squares and spaces in the city.In 2008, Cines del Sur took another step forward, expanding its presence in the city and its content offerings, without abandoning its essence: fostering direct encounters between the public and creators, discovering new perspectives, and offering a diverse and quality program rarely found in commercial circuits. The Official Section brings together fourteen feature films, previously unreleased in Spain, selected from the best of the year in Southern countries, while Itineraries offers a journey through some of the season's most outstanding works, combining auteur cinema and vigorous popular cinema that almost never reaches our screens.Thus, we respond once again to the urgency of creating meeting spaces that enable this increasingly necessary dialogue between civilizations. We start from the firm conviction that effective communication networks can be created through culture, laying the foundations for fluid international relations. It is a strong desire and at the same time an obligation imposed by a common history and future.

The festival also strengthens its historical and heritage dimension with two major retrospectives: a tribute to Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé and a series that revisits the Cuban Revolution through the eyes of foreign directors, including Andy Warhol and Alfred Hitchcock. These offerings are complemented by the collaboration of the World Cinema Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna, which present restored copies of fundamental classics from Southern cinemas.Beyond the screening rooms, Cines del Sur unfolds a broad program of parallel activities that include photography, video creation, and training. Exhibitions such as 'The Transparent Image of China' or 'Abandoned Spaces,' along with the exhibition dedicated to artist David Lamelas, engage with the screenings and open new avenues for approaching contemporary visual imagery. The EnEscena Workshops, the tent in Plaza Bibarrambla, and meetings with creators transform the festival into an active laboratory for citizen participation and intercultural exchange.Granada once again becomes a privileged setting for this journey to the South, a natural combination of city and festival that invites one to embark on the journey simply by sitting before a blank canvas that fills with images and light. The inauguration at the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra, the open-air screenings of 'Pantalla Abierta' in Plaza de las Pasiegas, the Palacio de los Córdova and the Corral del Carbón, or the Interculturality Tent in Plaza Bibarrambla turn the beginning of summer into a grand film festival under the stars, where monuments and images engage in an equal dialogue.The program also includes sections that delve into key issues of our time: the tribute to Mohsen Makhmalbaf highlights the strength of a committed creator, a reference for so many honest and independent filmmakers; 'The Dream of Europe' addresses migration and the immigrant's perspective on the European continent; and the new 'Mediterréneos' section awards television productions that explore interculturality and dialogue between civilizations in the Mediterranean region. Added to these is TransCine, a space dedicated to 'other cinemas' of the South, encompassing film essays, video art, and creative documentaries, which questions traditional narrative forms and expands the boundaries of what is cinematic.

Photography and video art exhibitions like 'The Transparent Image of China' or 'Abandoned Spaces,' the AulaSur project, and the EnEscena Workshops, along with professional meetings and international co-production initiatives, complete the profile of a festival that understands audiovisual media as a driver of cultural diversity, development, and dialogue. In this way, Cines del Sur consolidates Granada and Andalusia as privileged locations for the discovery and dissemination of Southern cinemas, which are becoming increasingly known to the European public.The festival's commitment to the professional sector is materialized through initiatives such as the 1st Andalusian International Co-production Meeting, organized with Extenda, which aims to build bridges between Andalusian production companies and partners from countries like China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, and other Southern territories present at the festival. Additionally, there's the Southern Film Festivals platform, which brings together over twenty festivals dedicated to Southern cinemas, and training programs like Sources Script Check, aimed at strengthening the creative and production foundations of these cinematographies.This proposal is completed by the Aula Sur educational project, which uses cinema as a pedagogical tool to foster values and interculturality, and parallel activities such as 'Africa in the Gaze,' dedicated to the work of Ryszard Kapuściński, which highlights the ethical dimension of looking at 'the other'. Also included are 'A Window to the South' and other exhibition initiatives that bring less visible African and Latin American visual creation to Granada, extending the festival's spirit beyond the screening rooms.Granada once again serves as the privileged setting for this journey to the South, a natural blend of city and festival that invites one to embark simply by sitting before a blank canvas that fills with images and light. The inauguration at the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra, the open-air screenings of 'Pantalla Abierta' in Plaza de las Pasiegas, the Palacio de los Córdova and the Corral del Carbón, or the Interculturality Tent in Plaza Bibarrambla transform the start of summer into an open-air film celebration, with workshops, thematic screenings, and meetings that introduce Granada's residents and visitors to other realities, languages, and cultures.