Spain Moving Images Festival 2019 | Interview

As part of the media partnership with culture360.ASEF.org, we interviewed Susana Sanz, Artistic Director of the Spain Moving Images Festival 2019, which took place from 21 to 30 June 2019, at Madrid, Spain. We asked Susana to tell us more about the 4th edition of the Festival.

2019 marks the 4th edition of the Spain Moving Images Festival, what inspired you to launch the festival in 2016? How would you define the role the festival plays within the context of Madrid and within the international film industry?

Spain Moving Images Festival (SMIF) is the only festival of art-house cinema and Asian video art that takes place in Madrid. SMIF arises precisely to cover this gap between film industry, AV professionals and experimentation from Asia and Spain, Europe and Latin America.

What is the vision for the festival this year? Did it meet your expectations in terms of participation and engagement? Is there anyone you are excited to be working with in particular?

In this edition, SMIF has continued to grow in audience and media coverage. In addition, we have signed a series of important collaboration agreements with different Spanish and Asian cultural institutions. And we have had the honor of having the visit of renowned artist Chen Chieh-jen, who premiered his latest work in A Field of Non-Field in Spain.

The films presented at the festival are categorised by themes – Asian Classics, Millennial China, Experimental Asia etc. How were the films curated or chosen this year?

This year, the fourth edition of Spain Moving Images Festival is promoting more than ever on the new talents that will revolutionize the 21st century Asian moving images, stirring consciences and promoting necessary changes, emphasizing tolerance and coexistence, contributing to disseminate and make visible the most urgent problems, such as the situation of women in the world, the LGTBI collective and Asian migrants in Europe.

Have you observed any trend among the filmmakers chosen to present their films or attendees of the festival over the past three years?

There is a general trend to present short films, video art and animation, always highlighting the role of cinema and audiovisual as relevant formats for social change and to improve the coexistence between different cultures. In a world of constant change and geographic mobility, special importance is given to those works that reflect critically and positively the experiences of Asian migrants in Spain and Europe, making their situation visible and promoting understanding and tolerance.

What do you see for the future of the Spain Moving Images Festival?

The future of the festival will continue to promote Asian culture, its emerging authors and their creations, putting it in dialogue with the Hispanic audiovisual culture and its professionals to improve mutual understanding.

To know more, visit www.spainmovingimagesfestival.com/ or connect via social media:

Facebook/Instagram: @spainmovingimages

Twitter: @spmovingimages

#smif2019

Susana Sanz is a Spanish curator, art critic and expert in contemporary Chinese art and has a PhD in History of Contemporary Asian Art (Universidad Complutense, Madrid), Bachelor of Oriental Studies (UAM, China) and Master of Chinese Art History (Tsinghua University, Beijing). She has been the executive editor of Art in China magazine (2011-2012), has worked as a Spanish art history teacher at the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA, 2013-2014), and has held the position of Coordinator Cultural at the Cervantes Institute in Beijing (2014-March 2015). She currently works as Artistic Director of Spain Moving Images Festival and independent curator between Spain and Asia.