The African Film Festival (Festival de cine Africana, or FCAT) in Spain will move from the town of Tarifa, where it’s been hosted since 2004, to the historic city of Cordoba this year.
Festival director Mane Cisneros made the announcement at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in December, shortly after the new contract had been signed by Al Tarab, the NGO behind FCAT.
The 2012 festival, from 13 to 21 October, will screen more than 120 films. “It’s important to us that the number of films remains stable and that the festival reflects the production of film that takes place in Africa, as well as the evolution of film in French, English and Portuguese speaking Africa,’ noted Cisneros.
She explained the reason for the move: “Tarifa is a very small town and was chosen because of its symbolic value as the city in Spain that’s closest to Africa. We wanted to stay in Tarifa, but the economy in Spain has changed. Tarifa has no cinemas and lacks infrastructure which has economic implications for the festival. We looked for a new place with the same symbolic value, but also infrastructure, so that the festival can consolidate and grow.’
“Cordoba has always been a meeting point of cultures and a city of tolerance with three religions living together in peace. The city, like Africa which is often seen as an invisible continent, also represents places in Spain that are not well known.’
The change to Cordoba will also mean a change in the content of the festival. “As homage to the Arab heritage of the city we will be adding content from the Middle East in the form of a retrospective curated by DIFF. However, changes in content will come slowly and the city will allow us to give more visibility to African cinema specifically.’
By Linda Loubser
Screen Africa February 2012 Magazine
