Editor

Eight European films received Film Sales Support for promotional campaigns at Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (7-14 March 2008)

With Mexico being one of the largest territories of its Latin America focus, Film Sales Support (FSS), for the second time, backs a range of European films from different countries at this year's Guadalajara International Film Festival. FSS which supports sales agents and their promotional campaigns of European films outside of Europe, is an initiative of European Film Promotion's (EFP) world-wide activities.

Three of the FSS-supported films are screening in the festival's æSan Sebastian ¡ Guadalajara European Trends' showcase, having debuted at San Sebastian's æZabaltegui Section' in September last year: Red Ants by Stephan Carp¤aux, a co-production between Luxembourg, Belgium and France, The Bird Can't Fly by Threes Anna from the Netherlands and Spanish documentary Lucio by Basque directors Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga. Lucio, depicting the life of anarchist Lucio Urtubia, was nominated for last year's prestigious Goya awards.

Another three are in Competition at Guadalajara: The Other Side (Luís Filipe Rocha, Portugal), 14 Kilometres (Gerardo Olivares, Spain) and The Chicken, the Fish and the King Crab (José Luis López-Linares, Spain). 14 Kilometres, a documentary-style feature film of African migrants trying to reach Spain across the straits of Gibraltar, was awarded Best Picture at the Valladolid International Film Festival in 2007.

Guadalajara is continuing its collaboration with several European festivals this year to open up new avenues for Mexican and Iberoamerican professionals and emerging filmmakers. Workshops and meetings such as the Producers Network (Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film), the æWorld Cinema Fund Spotlight' (Berlinale) and æVisionary Campus Guadalajara' (Berlinale Talent Campus) are the main events around these partnerships.
EFP's President and Managing Director of Holland Film, Claudia Landsberger, has been invited to lecture on the æIberoamerican Films Crossing Borders' seminar. This event which includes a two-day workshop, lectures, working groups and one-to-one meetings, encourages the circulation of Ibero-American films outside their countries of origin, in particular in Europe. Other European lecturers include Gerardo Herrero (Tornasol Films), Antonio Saura (Zebra Productions), Renate Roginas (PHARE) and John Durie.

Supported films and companies

Bavaria Film International (Germany)
AND ALONG COME TOURISTS (AM ENDE KOMMEN TOURISTEN) by Robert Thalheim, Germany 2007

Eastwest Film Distribution (Austria)
THE BIRD CAN'T FLY by Threes Anna, The Netherlands, Ireland, South Africa 2007

Fantasia Ltd. (Greece)
CORRECTION (DIORTHOSI) by Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece 2007

Irusoin S.A. (Spain)
LUCIO by Aitor Arregi & Jose Mari Goenaga, Spain 2007

Latido Films (Spain)
14 KILOMETRES (14 KILOMETROS) by Gerardo Olivares, Spain 2007 THE CHICKEN, THE FISH AND THE KING CRAB by José Luis López-Linares, Spain 2007

Mad Filmes (Portugal)
THE OTHER SIDE (A OUTRA MARGEM) by Luís Filipe Rocha, Portugal, Brazil 2007

Wide Management (France)
RED ANTS (LES FOURMIS ROUGES) by Stephan Carpiaux, Luxembourg, Belgium, France 2007