Malaga all set for its leading role in Spanish-language film

This year's Malaga film festival gets under way today (Friday 14th March), the start of a ten-day celebration of Spanish-language cinema.

Now in its 28th year, the Festival de Málaga attracts hundreds of film buffs, directors and actors from around Spain and the wider Spanish-speaking world.

In total some 260 films from 54 countries will be screened over the next ten days at the festival's venues, including the Cervantes and Echegaray theatres and the theatre at the Picasso museum.

There are 22 films competing in the official section for the coveted Biznaga de Oro, a 'golden' version of Malaga's famous flower made using jasmine. Of these 15 are from Spain and the rest from Latin American countries.

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More films are also in the official section but not competing for a prize, among them the recent work of established directors such as Julio Médem, Borja Cobeaga, Javier Veiga and María Ripoll. Also being screened at the festival is Vírgenes, a film by Álvaro Díaz Lorenzo about the Costa del Sol of the 1960s.

Like all film festivals, Malaga's is not without its gala evenings and red carpet glamour. The opening gala tonight at the Cervantes theatre can be followed live on sur.es while the closing gala on Sunday 23 March, hosted by journalist Elena Sánchez and recent Goya-winning actor Salva Reina, will be screened on Spanish RTVE channels.

This year's Málaga-SUR award goes to actor Carmen Machi who will also leave her hand print on her own monolith on the Antonio Banderas seafront promenade on Saturday.

While its main focus is on Spanish-language film, the festival does have something for non-Spanish speakers. Mosaico: International Scene is a section devoted to international film, with screenings from a number of different countries. These include Stockholm Bloodbath from Sweden, Ghostlight from the US, William Tell (UK/Italy/Switzerland) and L'Attachement (France) among others.

As well as feature films, the Malaga festival also has sections for shorts, documentaries and children's film.

New this year is the venue known as La Villa del Mar in the Antonio Martín restaurant on La Malagueta beach. This will include experiences in audiovisual and gaming technology and well as being a meeting point for professionals and creators.

The festival also comes with live music with free concerts on La Malagueta beach from Saturday to Wednesday.

Visitors to Malaga over the coming week will be able to walk the red carpets set up outside the main theatre venues and hotels and soak up the festival atmosphere in the streets, weather permitting.