The City Council of Estepona reports that the ‘XXIII International Week of Fantastic Cinema on the Costa del Sol’ will render this year a tribute to the genre of catastrophes, an event which will be held from September 4 to 10 at the Padre Manuel Cultural Center and at the Felipe VI Auditorium in Estepona along with other points in the province.
The film competition will begin on Sunday 4 September, at 7:30 p.m., in the Felipe VI Auditorium with the opening of the exhibition ’20 Years with Harry Potter’ and the Inaugural concert tribute to the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter, by the Ciudad de Jaén Symphonic Band. The event can be attended with free admission, after collecting the invitation at the Estepona City Council Culture delegation.
In this gala, the Argentine director Eduardo Pinto will present the film “the salvage yard”, included in the Official Section. Likewise, it will present the 2022 Special Jury Prize “Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol” to the actor from Malaga Joaquín Núñez.
Another of the personalities attending the opening gala will be mentalist Anthony Blakeas Godfather of this edition of the festival, and the Italian actor Cosimo Fusco. Known for the series “30 Coins” or “Veneciaphrenia”, both by director Alex de la Iglesia, he will be awarded the Lumiere Foundation Medal for his professional career. At the same gala, the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Award will be presented to Trevor Butterfield, special effects technician for the entire saga.
The homage to the “Cinema of catastrophes” will give rise to enjoy with the presentation of the commemorative book “This is a disaster” with text by Julio Peces Ruíz, and illustrations by Manuel Bejarano, with different presentations, among them, on the 5th, at 8:00 p.m., at the Hotel el Pilar Andalucía, in Estepona.
The activities parallel to the festival will be completed with the “XII Gastronomic Conference 2022”. After a few years on hiatus, last year this original initiative returned, mixing cinema and gastronomy in the kitchen. As hosts, restaurants will participate Rufino from Benahavís, and Take A Wine and La Boquerona, in Estepona.
In terms of exhibitions, in addition to “20 Years with Harry Potter”, at the Felipe VI Auditorium in Estepona, the XXIII week of fantastic cinema will present in San Pedro Alcántara and Comic Stores in Malaga, the exhibition “This is a disaster”, made up of a compilation of the best films of the genre, from 1936, with the film “San Francisco”, until 2021 with “Don’t look up”.