FICBUEU will become the first Galician film festival with a free toy library to facilitate work-life balance
FICBUEUI The new service will attend to children from 3 to 10 years old and will be available between 11 and 16 September, in the afternoon, at the Centro Social do Mar in Bueu
03.09.2023. Following in the footsteps of major international film festivals such as Berlin, Cannes or San Sebastian, and in line with its social commitment, the Bueu International Film Festival, or FICBUEU, will become in this edition an event in favour of family conciliation with the creation of a toy library for children from 3 to 10 years old. Its aim is to facilitate the attendance of mothers and fathers to the screenings of the programmed short films and also to the cultural activities related to the event, which will take place between the 8th and the 23rd of September in Bueu (Pontevedra).
This new playroom is a pioneering service in film festivals held in Galicia and has the support of the Xunta de Galicia’s Secretaría Xeral da Igualdade. «The experience and contact with our regular audience tell us that on many occasions their presence at the festival is conditioned by having to look after the minors in their care. That is why we are promoting this new initiative, to promote equal access to culture», say the organisers of FICBUEU.
The toy library will be free and will have 15 places, which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. It will be located in the Centro Social do Mar in Bueu –the venue where the festival is held every year– and will be open from Monday 11th September until Saturday 16th September, from 17.30 to 21.00. The children’s leisure area will be supervised by FICBUEU staff and will have games (some of them made and donated by the Juan XXIII Association of Cangas), stories and books, creative activities and also a rest area.
With this service, families will be able to enjoy the festival’s programme aimed at older audiences with the peace of mind that children will be well looked after, entertained «and sharing group time». «Work-life balance is a recurring theme, but one that is almost always forgotten when it comes to leisure and cultural activities for adults. It is important to raise awareness and to do it with facts», says the organisation.
Short films, discussions, music or radio
FICBUEU, which every year showcases new trends in film creation and auteur cinema, will celebrate its 16th edition with the screening of 89 short films from around thirty countries from the five continents, of which 28 will participate in the «Official Selection». The selection of films will be completed with those that can be seen in the categories «GZ_00», «International Schools», «Discoveries», «Retrospective» (dedicated this year to the Dutch documentary short filmmaker Joris Ivens), «Galician Schools» and «Family Shorts». There will also be discussions with filmmakers, talks and master classes, concerts, workshops and live radio programmes.
The awards event of FICBUEU 2023 will take place on Saturday 16th (23.00) at the Auditorium of the Centro Social do Mar in Bueu. One of the prizes will be the FICBUEU Galician Cinema Award, which in this edition will be given to Luisa Merelas, actress of well-known series and films such as Pratos Combinados, Fariña, Los lunes al sol or As bestas.