The Cervantes Institute renews its commitment to Spanish cinema

The Cervantes Institute will exhibit Goya-awarded films in its network of centers outside Spain.

The general director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), Carlos Cuadros; The director of the Cervantes Institute, Carmen Caffarel, and the president of the Film Academy, Enrique González Macho, have renewed this Wednesday a collaboration agreement for the Cervantes Institute to disseminate and promote Spanish cinema outside our borders during 2011.

The three institutions began this collaboration in February 2005 with the aim of promoting the Goya Awards that the Film Academy grants each year, through the Cervantes Institute, which has 77 centers in 44 countries on five continents.

The three entities have signed an annex, as established in the aforementioned agreement, for the Cervantes Institute to exhibit this year the films awarded with the Best New Director Award between the years 2002 and 2009. The centers that carry out this initiative are those located in Berlin, Belgrade, Bordeaux, Fez, Lyon and Rome.

The eight films selected by the Film Academy and the ICAA are: The one-armed trick (Goya 2009), The orphanage (2008), darkbluealmostblack (2007), Tapas (2006), cold winter sun (2005), sleeping luck (2004), Smoking Room (2003) e Intact (2002).

The exhibition of said films will be in the original version with subtitles in English or French and in accordance with the provisions of clauses 2 and 4 relating to the intellectual property rights of their authors or any other type on the works that are delivered to the Cervantes Institute.

Enrique González Macho, president of the Academy, highlighted that the signing of an extension “is always better than something new because it means that something has gone well for all parties.” However, he encouraged the ICAA and the Cervantes Institute to look for new ways to promote Spanish cinema abroad. In relation to this, the director of the Cervantes Institute commented that it is interesting that "several institutions work together to continue adding. These are times when we have to be more imaginative in the sum of organizations that work on the same path."

The director of Cervantes added that the institution carried out a total of 6,400 cultural activities in 78 centers and 44 countries in 2010, of which more than 3,000 were related to film and audiovisual industries. He also pointed out that cycles like this "allow us to penetrate the cinematographic fabric of the countries that host us. It is about establishing a dialogue to understand the culture."

Carlos Cuadros, general director of the ICAA, has indicated that "this is a first step in the application of the Cultural Action Plan Abroad (PACE) that will continue with the coordination of tasks and efforts, and the carrying out of more joint activities with the Cervantes Institute, and other institutions such as AECID and ICEX."

During the signing of the agreement, Cuadros stressed that “the ICAA has notably expanded its collaboration with the Cervantes Institute this year, both in depth of issues and programs and in quantity.”