ALCINE, the Alcalá de Henares / Community of Madrid Film Festival,organised by the Department of Culture of Alcalá de Henares City Council. gets rolling on 5 November, with 46 short films competing in its National and European competitions. For those who cannot wait that long, and for fans of genre cinema, ALCINE 55 will hold its well-established fantasy and horror microfestival, AL(U)CINE, and comedy microfestival, (J)ALCINE, on 28 and 29 October. Two opportunities to see a selection of the best current shorts and two feature films: Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s classic Who Can Kill a Child?, followed by a discussion with his son, Alejandro Ibáñez; and the recently released Pizza Movies, starring Berto Romero and Judit Martín.
Once again, ALCINE 55 offers a taste of the festival with its horror microfestival on 28 October, featuring two screenings. The first, at 6.00 pm, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s classic Who can kill a child? (1976), in partnership with FlixOlé and with his son Alejandro Ibáñez in attendance. It will also revisit one of the acclaimed Manolo Solo’s most distinctive forays into horror with the multi-award-winning short El tren de la bruja (2003), introduced by its director, Koldo Serra (Reina Roja, La casa de papel…).
The second screening, starting at 8.30 pm, will feature the now-traditional short film competition, in which the audience can vote for the best fantasy or horror short from the six selected films: Triangle, by Joseph Díaz; Quai sisowath, by Stéphanie Lansaque and François Leroy; Tenéis que verlo, by Nacho Solana; La dernière neige, by Rodolphe Bouquet-Populus; La robe peau, by Joachim Hérissé; and Señuelo, by Martha G. Ayerbe. The winner will receive the award presented by Cimuart and the University of Alcalá General Foundation.
AL(U)CINE will be hosted by Karim Shaker and Marta Salvador and is organised in collaboration with Walskium, FlixOlé and the University of Alcalá General Foundation/Cimuart.
The comedy section, (J)ALCINE, gets ahead of the main festival celebrations on 29 October with a four-part programme built around two screening sessions. During the first (6.00 pm), the audience can vote for the best comedy short, which will receive the award presented by the Quevedo Institute of Humour (IQH), part of the University of Alcalá General Foundation. The six finalists are Montecarlo 67, by Rubén Guindo Nova; Trío, by Morten Borgestad and Fridtjof Stensæth Josefsen; Ultra todo, by Casandra Macías Gago and Marina Maesso; Cara de cona, by Guillermo de Oliveira; Spektakl w?adzy (The spectacle of power), by Anna Balcerak; and In memoriam, by Teresa Bellón Sánchez de la Blanca and César F. Calvillo.
Shortly afterwards, at 6.30 pm, the IQH’s La Fábrica del Humor gallery (Calle Nueva, 4) will host the opening of the exhibition La historia del cine según Paco Alcázar (The History of Cinema According to Paco Alcázar), with the popular El Jueves contributor.
After the shorts, the theatre will host a panel discussion with Alcázar, creator and actress Lorena Iglesias (Millenial Mal), and Carlo Padial, director of Pizza Movies, which will screen in the second session (8.30 pm). Co-written by Desirée de Fez and starring Berto Romero and Judit Martín, it is one of Spanish cinema’s most revolutionary romantic comedies: the story of a couple who love each other.
(J)ALCINE is organised in collaboration with the University of Alcalá General Foundation and Quevedo Institute of Humour (IQH).
