The Ibiza IFF took place between the 31st of August and the 2nd of September, one of the most important cultural events on the island. Within the industry, this gala has been growing in importance, where each year artists from the international film scene meet and deliver the awards to the ones nominated by the jury. The emblematic “Falcó D’or”, a branded award of the island which brings the ceremony much closer and relatable to Ibiza.
In this edition, the director of the Ibiza Film Festival decided to share with the film community two projects that are set in motion for the next gala of the awards: “Ibiza Film Labs” and “Ibiza Shorts”. According to Xavi Benlloch, director of the event, “Ibiza Film Labs” is a project with the purpose of promoting and producing film projects on the island. By advocating Ibiza not only as a location for filming but also as an inspiring environment. This project is backed by partners such as producer Kiko Martínez, musician Jake Keller, entrepreneur Kike Sarasola, among others.
On the other hand, “Ibiza shorts” is a shorts competition which serves as a platform to support independent artists of the island to make a name for themselves. Thus, this contest also contributes in creating a pool of young and promising artists in the island bringing future directors and content creators in the film world.
It must be considered that this project pledges to new generations in setting new trends and specific cultural habits. The impact of content-streaming platforms, such as Netflix or HBOdemonstrate that these coming generations need the industry to adapt to accommodate their tastes, ideas and projects. Benlloch expresses this desire by saying,
“we want to discover the next Tarantino, Coppola or Benicio del Toro, and we will achieve this by creating one of the most successful short film festivals and with the support of the film industry. We have the potential and the opportunity to plant the seed and create a product, from a distance, similar to Sundance”.
Vibuk: the link between film industry and artistic talent.
Last June the IFF signed a collaboration agreement with the site Vibuk, with the intention of bridging a relation between the film industry and artistic talent. This agreement aims to help develop post-production projects and commercial shorts, as well as support between both brands.
The fast-paced technology which makes our lives easier day by day, also impacts heavily in the world of cinema. So much so that one of each casting in Spain are online, something that a few years ago would have been completely unimaginable. For this reason, Vibuk is not trying to eliminate the face-to-face casting but serve as a first filter, among many other functions.
Actor Antonio Banderas mentions “We all have some artistic talent or a characteristic feature, and now, thanks to Vibuk, you will be able to share it with the industry. Upload your talent to Vibuk and make visible within and beyond your borders.”
Xavier Benlloch, director of the festival, expresses “the goal of Vibuk is to give actors visibility so that they can be hired and offer a wide range of artistic talent to those who need them for their projects. A platform created by and for professionals, having Antonio Resines, former president of the Academy of cinema and actor, as one of the founders”.