(ANS - Madrid) - The short documentary sponsored by the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, "Yo no soy bruja" (I'm not a witch), directed by Raúl de la Fuente, is one of twenty-one finalists (out of a total of 234 films) in the International Festival of Ethnographic Documentaries at Sobrarbe, for the Espiello Awards. This is the only national event dedicated to the documentary genre and is a benchmark in the industry, to the point that the number of international applicants has once again exceeded the number from Spain.

The twenty-one finalists include nine Spanish films, three Belgian and two Peruvian, then one each from Paraguay/Bolivia, Argentina, Croatia, United States/Syria/Turkey, United States, Netherlands and India. All of them will be viewed, as finalists in the competition, in the thirteenth festival, from 17 to 25 April next, in the Palacio de Congresos de Boltaña, Huesca, Spain.

Spain submitted the largest number of films, 107, a figure that represents 45% of the total. Next came Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Argentina and the United States. "Compared to previous years, there has been increased participation from European and non-Latino countries," reports the Director of the Festival, Patricia Español. A total of forty-nine countries entered documentaries in the competition. This year’s theme was "life stories".

"We were very strict in choosing ethnographic films, and used a scientific approach in classifying the films from the point of view of anthropology," says the director.

The twenty-one finalists were selected over the past three months by a previously chosen jury. Decisions were reached by unanimous consensus.

Armed conflicts, popular tradition, the okupa movement, real estate speculation, the current situation in various societies and different cultures, the circus and popular festivals are some of the themes of this year’s documentaries.

Published 26/02/2015