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This is the third year in which the main film festivals in Pontevedra are united under the same brand created by the Diputación de Pontevedra.

In addition to FICBUEU, the Rías Baixas Film Fest also includes other seven events.

The Diputación de Pontevedra has presented the new edition of the Rías Baixas Film Fest, a label that for the third consecutive year will bring together the most important film festivals in the province. This brand was born with the intention of giving them greater projection and strength, while at the same time trying to contribute to the dissemination of local and galician culture, according to the Diputación de Pontevedra.

This year’s programme was presented at an event that took place outside the headquarters of the Diputación in Vigo, with the presence of representatives of all the festivals and some public officials, such as the president of the Diputación, Carmela Silva. There, and through a video summary of all the participating festivals, the names and dates of the different events were announced.

The first to be held will be the Play-Doc International Documentary Film Festival in Tuy (from 4 to 8 May) and the Cans Festival in Porriño (from 18 to 21). After these first two events, in September it will be the turn of the Primavera do Cine Festival in Vigo (from 6 to 11), the FICBUEU – Bueu International Film Festival (from 11 to 24) and the Galicia Freaky Film Festival in Vigo (from 23 September to 1 October).

In October, the Vigo Inclusive Film Festival will take place (from 18 to 22) and the Curtas, Festival do Imaxinario de Villagarcía de Arosa (from 21 to 30), leaving the final in the hands of the Novos Cinemas International Film Festival of Pontevedra, which will put the finishing touch to this year’s programme of the Rías Baixas Film Fest between 13 and 18 December.

Manuel Pena, director of FICBUEU, also spoke at the event, highlighting the diversity of the profiles of the festivals in the province and the character of the non-profit associations behind each one, motivated in his words by “the passion for cinema and culture”.

On the other hand, the director of FICBUEU wanted to have a few words to value the efforts of all those involved in the world of culture, while highlighting “the importance and the dimension to which the film festival programmes have reached”, stressing that they go far beyond the screenings by including other initiatives such as workshops or activities that promote culture, being ambitious for the future and trusting in the growth of the different projects in the area.

After him, the director of programming of the Primavera do Cine Festival, Ana Gontad, took the floor, who wanted to highlight not only the seventh art and the importance of festivals, especially now that it seems that we are beginning to emerge from the health situation that put everything on hold a little over two years ago.

Gontad also made a plea for the recovery of the free space for cinema, describing it as “a victory for collective sensitivity” in the face of “totalitarian, xenophobic, sexist and liberal ideologies that challenge the inclusive democratic coexistence that we have worked so hard to build”.

Finally, the presentation was brought to a close by the president of the Diputación de Pontevedra, Carmela Silva, who speaks accompanied by Victoria Alonso, director of the area of Culture. Silva wanted to highlight the work of all the participating festivals, while commenting on the richness that this type of cultural event brings to each municipality and the province.

Silva also affirmed that “these festivals allow people to have different views, as the world of cinema has the capacity to create new visions of the world” and that, in turn, these events translate into “hope for the future”, as he commented that these types of celebrations fill the towns with life and bring culture closer to the people.

After this, the event ended with an humorous film scene starring the president herself, putting the finishing touch to the presentation of the Rías Baixas Film Fest 2022.