ALCINE 55 officially opened yesterday with an Opening Gala at which Tadeo Jones creator and franchise director Enrique Gato received the festival’s Piedra Angular Award from Isabel Ruiz, Deputy Mayor of Alcalá de Henares.
“Thank you so much, Alcalá, the city that welcomed us and where we have made our home. I hope you enjoy everything you’ll be seeing of the character at this festival—and there’s plenty,” Gato said in his speech.
“Receiving an award like this at this festival carries so much symbolism. Firstly, because we have just released the character’s fourth film, and we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of his creation. Many people first encountered him through the first feature film, but he had been around for as many years before that film as he has since. And receiving it here, in Alcalá, my home for no fewer than 21 years—the same number of years since the first Tadeo short was screened here at ALCINE—is the other hugely symbolic part. It brings us full circle on a journey that began a very long time ago,” he said.
