El Festival de Cine en Alcalá de Henares

In 2004 the Film Festival in Alcalá de Henares takes place from 12 to 20 of November. 

Since its beginnings in 1960 the festival has done a lot to show the public the great talent that is evident in the area of Spanish film. Throughout the years the festival has evolved considerably. So that today the festival has grown to have significant international prestige. 

It forms part of an important calendar of film festivals in Europe, standing out among them in the area of "shorts" or "short films". 

The European circuit includes, for example, the “Festival Premiers Plans” (France - January), the “Odense Film Festival” (Denmark - August), the “Cork Film Festival” (Ireland - October) and many more. The festival is without a doubt a required visit for film lovers.

The section of "Shorts" within the Film Festival in Alcalá de Henares is becoming the most important in Spain. This showing of Spanish film is important to discover new talent in the cinematic panorama and also to help young talent just starting out in directing in the seventh art. Both spectators and critics alike can see their first artistic steps.  

This festival also serves to support experimental and artistic films which do not have a commercial attraction. Without the help of this festival many of these types of films would not survive in the world of commercial film. 

As mentioned previously, since 1980 the festival has had an international dimension. Each year the festival prepares a tribute to a foreign Film Director who is not well known within Spain. Also since 1980, different expositions about various aspects of Spanish film have taken place. Normally these are centered around a person who has made an important contribution to Spanish film during his career. For this reason, the festival has celebrated tributes to various directors, producers, art directors, etc.  

Many cultural and governmental organizations contribute economically to support the festival, for example, the city of Alcalá de Henares, the University of Alcalá, the cultural association "Fundación Colegio del Rey" and the government of the Community of Madrid, among others. 

Finally it is important to say that anyone can enjoy the festival. It is not only limited to film critics. During the festival there are many parallel cultural activities and it is directed towards strengthening interest for Spanish film in the general public.  

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