‘El Cover’ by Secun de la Rosa and ‘Ama’ by Julia Paz, among the candidates to win the Biznaga award
Two films shot in Benidorm compete in the Official Section of Málaga Film Festival
Two films shot in Benidorm, among other locations, will compete in the Official Section of Málaga Film Festival, which starts on June 4 in the Andalusian city. They are 'El Cover' and 'Ama', by the directors Secun de la Rosa and Julia de Paz. In addition to competing for the Golden Biznaga, ‘El Cover’ is the film selected by the organization to open this edition of the contest.
The mayor, Toni Pérez, has pointed out that “for Benidorm it is a satisfaction that two cinematographic productions shot in the city are among the films chosen to be exhibited in one of the most prestigious festivals and with the longest history in the country and to be eligible for the jury award. ”. "It is a double satisfaction - he has assured - since with the projection of both films, Benidorm, its streets, its beaches and some of its most iconic locations will reach the public that attends the festival."
Toni Pérez recalled that "the outbreak of the pandemic and the announcement of the first state of alarm surprised the teams of both productions while they were filming in our city, logically forcing them to suspend and postpone the recordings." Some recordings that “were resumed at the moment when it was possible to reactivate the audiovisual activity, being two of the first productions that were developed in Benidorm under the new protocols of 'safe filming' in which our Film Office worked with the Spain Film Commission ”.
Thus, the 'El Cover' team, made up of 60 people plus figuration, returned to Benidorm at the end of June and for two weeks to complete the filming, in locations such as the Levante and Mal Pas beaches, the port, the English area. , the discos on Avenida Comunidad Valenciana and a hotel establishment. Also on those dates, 'Ama' –with a team of 47 people plus figuration- took up the recording in the city, concentrating the filming in a single day on Paseo de Poniente, Levante beach, the old town and different establishments on Mediterráneo Avenue and Gerona street.
The mayor recalled that "Benidorm is totally recognizable in both productions". In the case of ‘Ama’, “the trailer published a few days ago shows sequences on Levante beach, with our skyline in the background”. A skyline that "is very present throughout the development of 'El Cover'", that "by express wish of the producer and the director, next July 15 will have a first screening of Benidorm, prior to its premiere in cinemas" .
In addition to both feature films, the city will also be “very present” in the Official Short Films Section of the contest by the hand of two productions arising from the 'ShortPitch' contest of the 2020 Skyline Benidorm Film Festival. As reported by the mayor, “the winning project of the 'ShortPitch' and one of the finalists have been selected and will be premiered in Malaga ”: "Este verano y el resto" and "Amor amenazado." The first one, won the Skyline award, valued at € 12,000 for the filming of the project, and it was shot in the city.
The mayor has indicated that “the fact that the two projects have been shot despite the difficulties of the pandemic and have been selected to participate in Málaga confirms not only their quality, but also the very correct criteria that the jury of our Skyline had Benidorm Film Festival when last year it recognized them and included them in its 'ShortPitch' ”. Likewise, he has advanced that after passing through Málaga, "the public of Benidorm will be able to see both shorts, since they are among the 25 selected in the Official National Section of the 5th edition of our Skyline Film Festival, which starts on June 25 ”.
As a culmination of Benidorm's presence at Málaga Film Festival, the premiere of the series 'Paraíso' in Málaga Premier the out-of-competition section dedicated to series and in which the public will discover this production for Movistar + signed by Jorge Gómez Molina , whose trailer aired last week on Fitur Screen and has sequences shot on the road from Torre de Les Caletes.