director letter

Over the years, the Festival has become much more than a project. In 1994, it kept me (and still does) sleepless while we were trying to be a window of fresh air for a genre - the documentary - that was cornered into the most remote places with limited programming in the few television channels that existed back then.

“The environment is a human right,” I said at the first press conference. And the years passed, and also came thousands of films: documentaries, fiction, shorts and features, animation and television channels. The iron concept that placed the human being in a different level than the rest of life forms on this planet also began to become more “flexible” and change.

We were the first cinema festival in Spain to come together with important documentary majors: HBO, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Arte, Televisión Española, Documanía, Televisión de Catalunya, among others. FIMCA also founded one of the largest environmental video libraries in the world, as well as the EFFN, the principal world environmental festival association that encourages both big and small production companies to incorporate environmental themes in their dramatic films or comedies.

And if that were not enough, Hollywood and filmmakers from around the world have given and continue to give their backing and support to keep dreaming. “Daphne Zuniga will be a part of this year´s edition.” This allows us to believe even more in what we do. Goldie Hawn, Jeremy Irons, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Fernando Trueba, Hebe de Bonafinni, Fundación Couesteau, Ingrid Rubio, Candela Peña, Lola Dueñas, Judit Mascó, Carmen Conesa, Barbara Willliams, Iciar Bollain, Paul Laverty, María Miró, Jorge Prelorán, Ken Loach, and Steve Macurry, and many more are the greatest example of compromise, militancy and struggle, and all of them have been in FICMA!!!

I send my warmest regards to all those who have made possible these last 16 years of the Festival, to all our friends and our colleagues with whom we have made this long journey.

We would also like to thank the institutions that have supported us always and unconditionally; the Departamento de Medio Ambiente Generalitat de Catalunya, and today especially, the Ayuntamiento de El Prat de Llobregat

For many more years, a continuation of this Festival that stands for cinema, change and LIFE, with or without CRISIS!

Thank you!

president letter

Jaume Gil i Llopart

Claudio Lauria

[ welcome ]
[ activities ]
[ jury ]
[ regulations ]
[ cinemas]
[ press ]
[ gallery ]
[ golden sun ]
[ sponsors ]
[ barcelona ]
[ el prat de llobregat ]
[ EFFN ]
[ contact ]
[ hotels]
[ schedule ]

OFFICIAL SECTION
[ int. documentary]
[ nat. documentary ]
[ short film ]

SECTIONS
[ premiere section ]
[ focus section ]
[ bell section ]

PAST EDITION
[ FICMA’08 ]

A festival that is absolutely necessary: FICMA began sixteen years ago when the environment was nothing more than an institutional interest in natural habitat preservation, recycling campaigns, and simple acts to promote sustainability awareness. Today, environmental degradation and its consequences have now reached the limits of “social alarm” - climate change, energy depletion, bad air quality, degradation and/or extinction of ecosystems, rapid extinction of animal species, etc. - like never before.

In the past, when the environment did not have big headlines in the media, and companies did not have environmental policies that went beyond the obvious, there were no campaigns to save the planet and the common citizen didn’t feel threatened.

But today things are very different, governments and industries make policies, campaigns and even laws to project the environment and now the citizen must change their habits against the threat of specific natural resource depletion and non-sustainability.

For these reasons, FICMA is necessary. Originating from culture, the Festival uses cinema to inform, form and educate audiences on many environmental themes, sharing culture while presenting entertaining audiovisual productions from national and foreign countries and granting space for these under its competitive and informative sections; for children, youth and the wider public in order to take part in a greater awareness that is vitally important during these times.

Our commitment to being a reference and bringing new subjects to the table continues. This year we will discuss “Environmental Justice”, health and the environment, and how climatic change effects our food supply. The North American actress and activist Daphne Zuniga, known for her rolls in “Melrose Place” and “One Tree Hill”, will share her experiences with environmental justice. The Festival will present a variety of content and activities: the Spanish premieres of two Oscar-nominated films, a series of hilarious shorts about the sexual life of insects by Isabella Rossellini, a presentation by the Redford Center from the Sundance Preserve with European premieres, a human rights film narrated, written and produced by Madonna, and a world premiere that will be projected simultaneously in various countries that assess the state of our planet; all of this and more will be a part of this year’s programming. The 16th Edition of FICMA will also take place in new spaces and combine novel sections in order to reach an even wider public.

Having a good time while learning is our mission. We look forward to seeing you at FICMA, from May 29th to June 7th.

Enjoy the Festival,