Cines del Sur came to life five years ago as an example of how the Andalusian Regional Government has made a priority of supporting invisible cinema, of giving Spain a new kind of international festival that helps all of us open our eyes and understand the languages and viewpoints of distant lands.
Looking back over these five years, it is easy to see all that the Granada Film Festival Cines del Sur has achieved and just how much it has nourished the soul of Granada, a city that is always exploring its own fragmented history. Over three hundred films have been shown, coming from every corner of that South that draws us to it and struggles to overcome its problems, and is now starting to look like the driving force towards a future we still cannot foretell.
Along the way we have been accompanied by many directors, producers and actors, who after their visit to our Festival have become enthusiastic ambassadors and spokespeople of this gem that hopefully will last for many years. Many of these friends of the festival are very well-known: Omar Sharif, Arturo Ripstein, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi and Gael García Bernal. For many others the festival has helped them open new doors and create new possibilities.
And we have always felt the support of Andalusia and of Granada, of the city’s audiences who understood right away the importance of the compelling stories told in films from Asia, Africa or Latin America.
Let us hope that the future enhances what we have already achieved, that doubts and ambivalence give way to absolute certainty that a festival like this one is vital for making society happier and more human.
Festival Cines del Sur
