Madrid Film School ECAM Launches Co-Production Forum, Call for Participants

Publish date: 2024-08-13

With co-production an ever-popular resource for independents and emerging talent, the Madrid Film School (ECAM), hailed as one of the leading film schools in the world, has launched ECAM Forum, a new co-production initiative to run June 10 – 13 in Madrid.

An Open Call ending April 9 has been announced March 18 for submissions from local Spanish feature film projects in development or in post-production, and series projects in development.

Said ECAM director Gonzalo Salazar Simpson at a press conference in late Feb.: “I believe that the key to the Forum’s success will have to do with the presence of decision makers and international professionals. ECAM’s ability to attract this kind of people has been growing for about 10 years or so. I have no doubt we will be able to attract them.”

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The forum is aimed at producers, directors and screenwriters, and seeks to foster audiovisual production, promote emerging talent and present local audiovisual projects and companies to the international marketplace.

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It aims to match each project with the right creative and financial partners by tailoring its approach to each individual project, serving as a platform to foster international deals and funding opportunities.  

For the duration of four days, both local and international projects in different formats such as feature films, short films, and series, will converge in a shared workspace. This gathering will encompass presentations, screenings, scheduled meetings, one-to-one discussions, as well as organized encounters. Additionally, attendees can expect conferences, lunches, and industry rendezvous meals to further foster collaboration and networking opportunities.

In this inaugural edition, the culmination of projects from ECAM’s diverse programs throughout 2024, comprising feature films – La Incubadora, short films – AFTER, and Series, will come together.

These will join handpicked projects with global potential, in either development or post-production, that have been selected through calls, at festivals or development programs with such partners as Focus CoPro (Cannes SFC), BAM Bogota, Málaga Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (MAFF – MAFIZ) and Ikusmira Berriak (Tabakalera, San Sebastián Festival).

Three calls have been opened: For local feature films in development (dubbed The Films to Come), feature films in post-production (The Last Push), and series projects in development (Series).

The projects selected in this maiden edition will compete for various awards, including a prize of €15,000 ($16,350) for the best film in the Last Push section aimed at helping the lead producer to complete his/her film.

ECAM has also been home to an incubator, backed by the Spanish Film Institute (ICAA) and the Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid Council), since 2019.

Speaking at the press conference, Gonzalo Cabrera, the Comunidad de Madrid’s director general of culture and creative industries, noted: “Between the years 2019 and 2024, up to 12 feature films were produced through the incubator with great success. These garnered important awards such as the Silver Bear, the Golden Shell, the Golden Biznaga, the Forqué Awards, the Feroz Awards, the Goya Awards, and participation in festivals such as San Sebastián, Berlin, Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, Seville and Sitges.”

“This has always been one of our fundamental objectives: to support and promote the industrial creative fabric of audiovisual works within the Community of Madrid, a community that houses nearly 29,000 professionals. Some 50% of the production companies in the national territory are based in Madrid,” he added.

The five new projects selected for the latest incubator, the seventh edition, are: “Flores para una madre ausente” by Ana Puentes and Adriana Vera; “Los Olvidados,” Jorge Cantos and Eva Bodas; “Memorial,” Sergi Pérez, Carla Sospedera and Anna Cammany; “Riure,” Jorde Boquet Claramunt and Anna Moragriega and “Tres dias de verano,” Alvaro Lopez Alba and Nuria Muñoz Ortín

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