![Benjamin Kramer Headshot Photo Credit_CAA[40][40]](https://d1nslcd7m2225b.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/6/6/4/1455664_benjaminkramerheadshotphotocredit_caa4040_107707.jpeg)
The second edition of the four-day pitching event ECAM Forum starts today (June 10) in Madrid, nearly double in size compared to 2024 with over 700 attendees.
They include programmers from Cannes, Venice and Berlin, and international sales companies Le Pacte, Films Boutique, Alpha Violet and Charades.
ECAM, the Madrid film school behind the Forum, and also behind one of one of the most prestigious talent development labs in Spain, set up this week’s gathering to widen the reach of Spanish productions globally and encourage co-productions with local talent.
“Increasingly we see the projects that end up being international successes get there because they were conceived as international co-productions and were interacting with international partners from the start,” says Alberto Valverde, co-ordinator of the ECAM Forum. He points to Cannes Competition titles Romería by Carla Simón, and Sirât by Oliver Laxe, both collaborations between Spain and France.
The Forum showcases features, series and shorts by rising Spanish producers, directors and writers. This year, it has also included international projects in search of a Spanish partner.
The event is comprised of two main selections: Films To Come is platforming 15 projects in search of financing and co-production partners, while the Last Push section will screen eight Spanish and international films in post-production to programmers, sales agents and distributors.
Films To Come
The projects in development include Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegría’s second feature Nativity, Spanish director María Herrera’s debut feature, which is being produced by leading local outfit Avalon, and Hospital Of Irremediable Desires, a UK-Iran co-production by Iranian artist and filmmaker Maryam Tafakory, winner of the 2024 Film London Jarman Award for her body of work.
Several projects by rising Spanish filmmakers offer varying takes on the coming of age genre: Ainoha Bolaños’ Hybrids, Carmen Jiménez’ I Breathe Fire and Alba Esquinas’ BAI BAI.
I Breathe Fire and BAI BAI, along with Anna Martí Domingo and Laura Santos Martí’s Face Of Grace, Rai María’s The (Big) Rip, and Elena Molina’s The Eeel’s Dilemma were also selected for the ECAM lab, La Incubadora.
All of the projects in the Films to Come section are directed by women, including The Painting co-directed by Paula Moreno Vergara and Esteban Hoyos García. This happened completely by chance, says Valverde. “We focused on the projects,” he explains.
Several awards will be presented including the €30,000 Filmin Prize, the IFFR Rotterdam award for which the project will be invited to the CineMart co-production market; the Madrid Film Office award with €7,000 for the development of a project set in Madrid and the Screen International ECAM Forum Award for the project with the most international appeal.
The Last Push
The eight films in post-production that are being shown to international attendees include Anekumen by Spanish filmmaker Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe whose short Contadores was selected at the 2023 Critics Week, Claudia Estrada Tarascó’s debut fearture Wolf Grrrls!, and Romanian director Mihai Mincan’s Milk Teeth, following Mincan’s To The North which premiered at Venice Orizzonti.
The winning feature in Last Push will receive a €15,000 prize.
All of the films that took part in the Last Push in 2024 went on to play on the international festival circuit. Lois Patiño’s Ariel premiered in Rotterdam and Belén Funes’ The Exiles went to TIFF.
The Forum is supported by Madrid’s Autonomous Community government, and, with further support form the Madrid Audiovisual Cluster, has added new sidebar events for 2025 such as the FINDE talks, about investment and financing for independent producers.
What makes the ECAM Forum stand out in a busy calendar of international industry events?
“ECAM is very much focused on the quality of the projects selected,” says Valverde. “It has a strong curatorial vision, designed to spotlight a reduced number of very good projects.
“One of the big challenges has been the selection,” he adds. “We could have had double the number of first-class projects by European and Latin American producers.”
No comments yet