Once again this year, an extensive educational program fills the days leading up to the (S8) Mostra Internacional de Cinema Periférico of A Coruña (Spain). It will start with four screening sessions for schoolchildren, beginning on May 13. On May 30 and 31, it will be the turn of Xpresa, a social inclusion workshop organized with the support of the Emalcsa Foundation and its Accessible and Inclusive Culture program.
With the participation of users with diverse abilities from the Adcor Foundation and Asperga, the Xpresa workshop is led by visual artist Deneb Martos, who offers an educational and creative approach entitled «Rhythms of Light, Cameraless Cinema for Inclusion». The one-day workshop, with each group of users, is presented as a sensorial and creative exploration through different materials, interacting with 16mm and 35mm film with collages, inks, or acetates.
This workshop connects with one of the festival’s purposes: cinema as an artistic experience.
The workshop, now in its eighth year and held at the Seoane Foundation, includes an analog projection of the results, sharing the collective experience of moving light. Its goal is to promote social inclusion through art and collective creation, offering a safe, respectful, and open space for experimentation. It also aims to stimulate visual coordination and perception, enjoying cinema as a sensorial and playful experience.
Visual artist Deneb Martos will manage both creative workshops
DENEB MARTOS
An alchemist, visual artist, and creator, Martos specializes in cameraless photography and filmmaking, utilizing traditional and sustainable techniques. Her work has been featured in events such as FILMADRID, the KONTAKTE’17 Festival (Berlin), the MUTA Festival (Lima), and Punto de Vista (Pamplona), as well as in Punto de Vista (S8), with which she has collaborated for years.
Martos founded and directed LABO DE FOTO at La Casa Encendida in Madrid for a decade and currently coordinates LAV, the Audiovisual Laboratory for Contemporary Creation and Practice. She collaborates with cultural institutions such as the Cerezales Foundation (FCAYC), the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Spanish Film Archive, and the Cine Estudio de Bellas Artes in Madrid.
SCREENINGS FOR SCHOOLS
In addition to the Xpresa workshop, pre-festival activities include didactic events designed to reach younger audiences by showing them a more exploratory, free, and artistic way of making films. These screenings for schoolchildren are held at Domus Museum, in collaboration with the City Council’s Education Department.
Since their launch in 2021, more than a thousand students have attended. This year, there are four sessions scheduled May 13, 20, 27, and June 2 and there are already nearly three hundred seats reserved for students from IES Menéndez Pidal, IES Urbano Lugrís and CEIP Concepción Arenal.
It includes an analog screening and a Q&A with Galician filmmaker Xacio Baño
These sessions are an opportunity for schoolchildren to discover analog cinema, as it includes a Super 8 screening allowing them to see—and even touch—this original form of filmmaking. The event concludes with a Q&A with galician filmmaker Xacio Baño, who will present some of his short films. In addition to being educational, these events are a real boost of energy for the festival team and the creators, thanks to the fresh perspective always brought by children.
It is a chance for young people to discover analogue cinema. Photos: María Meseguer
