- On its 12th edition, the festival resorted, once again, to a dual format, offering original online contents devoted to disseminating innovative films, while making an effort to keep alive the spirit of cinema as a face-to-face collective experience in the theaters.
- (S8)’s online offer was enjoyed by audiences from 100 countries, including USA, Ireland, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, UK, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Japan, Portugal, and Canada.
- (S8) Mostra Internacional de Cinema Periférico da Coruña’s 13th edition will take place between May 27 and June 5, 2022.
A couple of days ago, (S8) closed its 12th edition – a dual format edition that offered exclusive, original contents specially designed for the online dissemination of innovative, groundbreaking film creations. At the same time, the festival renewed, for yet another year, its traditional commitment with film screenings and on-site activities at the theaters. More than 30,000 people followed the festival in its both formats, and the tickets for the on-site activities in A Coruña sold out.
Besides being visited by illustrious international guests, such as Tomonari Nishikawa, Giulia Mazzone, Chiara Marañón, Dietmar Schwärzler, Giuseppe Spina, Mariana Hristova, Deborah S. Phillips, Jean-Claude Rousseau, and James Edmonds, (S8) was joined by more than 75 accredited journalists from Oporto, Cáceres, Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Cuenca, Gijón, Bilbao, Burgos, and Valencia.
The festival will continue its activity for the next few weeks within the framework of XPRESA, an initiative intended to make the most of the potential of film creation for social inclusion. The organizers have already started working on next year’s edition: (S8)’s 13th edition, which will take place between May 27 and June 5, 2022 with the aim to be, once again, at the core of avant-gardist film creation.
The dual format – a successful choice
For the second consecutive year, (S8) opted for a dual format with the aim to bring to the front its commitment to disseminating innovative cinema, and reached audiences of many countries with the exclusive online contents they offered in Galician, Spanish, and English. (S8) online programs included Camera Obscura (with guests like Jodie Mack, David Domingo, Juan Sebastián Bollaín, and a special program devoted to Val del Omar’s PLAT laboratory), Sinais (with Helena Girón and Samuel Delgado), Sinais en curto (featuring Alberto Gracia, Sol Mussa, Xacio Baño, Marta Valverde, and Eloy Domínguez Serén), Desbordamientos (a section that brought to us a number of film performances and the panel Val del Omar. An aprojimación), and Observatorio (an open meeting point for professionals of the film industry). These programs, which were shared online on (S8)’s website and through many different platforms (including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch), were watched by audiences from 100 countries, among which USA, Ireland, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, UK, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Japan, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Austria, China, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, South Korea, India, Russia, Czech Republic, Cuba, Rumania, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Puerto Rico, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Turkey, Australia, Costa Rica, Croatia, and Malaysia.
As for the on-site activities that took place in A Coruña, (S8) brought together outstanding representatives of avant-gardist cinema from all over the world, including Deborah S. Phillips (Germany), James Edmonds (UK), Tomonari Nishikawa (Japan), Juan Sebastián Bollaín, and Bruno Delgado Ramo (Seville). Film performances –(S8)’s flagship– were enjoyed by the audience at Fundación Luis Seoane: Phillips and Edmonds’ Berlin Night, performances by Las Synergys and Esperanza Collado, and an intervention by Helena Girón and Samuel Delgado were the protagonists of this year’s Desbordamientos.
Cervezas Alhambra recommitted themselves to supporting the dissemination of unique artistic creations to be enjoyed with all the senses, and reinforced their collaboration with (S8) by joining the festival for another year through their initiative Momentos Alhambra. For this year’s edition and on the occasion of (S8)’s Desbordamientos’ sessions, Cervezas Alhambra invited the attendees to accompany their cultural discoveries with their products, showing their engagement with culture and the promotion of exceptional experiences.
Val del Omar: at the core of (S8)’s program
This year, the festival presented a twofold program devoted to legendary filmmaker José Val del Omar, curated by (S8) and developed in collaboration with AC/E and Archivo Val del Omar. The project, designed as an initiative to internationalize Val del Omar’s works, will tour around a number of relevant institutions, taking Spanish cinema to different cultural events worldwide during 2021 and 2022.
During the festival, (S8) devoted an episode of Camera Obscura to Val del Omar, his life and his work, and screened his masterpiece Tríptico Elemental de España in 35mm. These activities were complemented by a mirror program (Val del Omar. Cinema as an element) and a panel session (Val del Omar. An aprojimación), which was joined by experts in Val del Omar’s career, including Gonzalo Sáenz de Buruaga, Piluca Baquero, and Víctor Berlín.
An open meeting point for professionals and emerging projects
S8) acted as a meeting point for professionals of the cinema industry through their section Observatorio, which was divided into two sessions. The first, organized in collaboration with Proxecta – the Galician coordinator for film festivals, was devoted to film exhibition in self-sustained spaces, and counted with the participation of Damien Sanville (Close Up Cinema, London), Ed Halter (Light Industry, New York), Albert Triviño (Zumzeig Cinecooperativa, Barcelona), and Xan Gómez Viñas (Numax, Santiago de Compostela). The second session featured CREA – Association of Galician filmmakers and featured Jorge Rivero, a representative from the agency for Spanish short films who presented the platform Archivo del Cortometraje Español.
(S8) renewed their collaboration with Fundación Luis Seoane through their tutoring program INPUT: this year, three outstanding professionals of the film industry (Mariana Hristova – film critic, programmer, and cultural journalist from Bulgaria; Chiara Marañón, content director at MUBI; and Pablo Useros, filmmaker and founder of Máster LAV) were invited to guide and supervise three film WIPs by Lucía Vilela, Luis Lechosa, and Miguel Rodríguez Pérez.
(S8) commitment to promoting creation (with an accent on analog formats) continued through their artist-in-residency program BAICC, developed in collaboration with AC/E and LIFT, and now in its fifth year of operation. The call for projects will be open till September 25.
Support
(S8)’s 12th edition was organized by Asociación eSe8 with the support of the following institutions: Concello da Coruña, Deputación da Coruña, Xunta de Galicia, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales – ICAA. The participation of Tomonari Nishikawa, Giulia Mazzone, Chiara Marañón, Dietmar Schwärzler, Giuseppe Spina, Mariana Hristova, Deborah S. Phillips, and James Edmonds was possible thanks to AC/E and their PICE Visitors’ Program, devoted to help Spanish cultural entities host international professionals interested in delving into Spain’s creative and cultural offer.
