EMIFF announces their 2023 opening and closing night films

Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (EMIFF) announced its Opening and Closing Night feature films for its upcoming 12^th edition of the Palma-based international film festival.

The films were unveiled by festival founder and director Sandra Lipski to be Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor for Opening Night (October 18) and fellow female filmmaker Lone Scherfig’s The Movie Teller for Closing Night (October 24), following its recent World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Coixet will also receive Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival’s 2023 Evolution VISION Award ahead of the Gala screening of her film; the VISION award is given to an iconic filmmaker that inspires audiences, breaks boundaries, and creates diverse stories for a global audience. Previous recipients in recent years have included Asif Kapadia, Marjane Satrapi, Ruben Östlund and Wim Wenders.

Written and directed by Coixet from the novel by Sara Mesa, UN AMOR is a striking account of existential doubt and the transformative power of carnal desire, exploring the subversive nature of gender roles. Starring Laia Costa, Hovik Keuchkerian and Hugo Silva, it is hoped that alongside Coixet, cast members will be able to attend EMIFF’s Opening Night Gala at the historic Teatro Principal, which has become an annual high point for the vibrant arts & culture scene in Palma, Mallorca.

The multi-award winning filmmaker behind films such as My Life Without Me; Goya-winner for Best Direction and Screenplay, The Secret Life of Words;  the Palm d’Or nominated Map of the Sounds of Tokyo; and Goya winner for Best Film and Best Director, The Bookshop, Isabel Coixet is one of the most prolific film directors of contemporary Spain and an undeniable and celebrated ‘Catalan Auteur’, across feature films, documentaries, shorts, and commercials.

Said Sandra Seeling, founder and festival director of EMIFF: “As a female film festival director, I am honored to open this year’s festival with Isabel’s latest film, UN AMOR. Welcoming Isabel Coixet to the festival and presenting her with the Evolution VISION Award has been a dream of mine for many years. Isabel’s cinema and her honest and direct way of working have been an inspiration to me since the day I saw My Life Without Me. She continues to push the boundaries of contemporary cinema in the most exciting way”.

EMIFF’s closing night film will aptly celebrate the enduring power of cinema, with Lone Scherfig’s THE MOVIE TELLER. Staring Bérénice Bejo, Daniel Brühl, Sara Becker and Alondra Valenzuela and warmly received during its recent TIFF debut, a young woman uses her storytelling gifts to share the magic of the pictures she has seen in the cinema, with the poor inhabitants of a desert mining community. Scherfig received the Evolution VISION Award at last year’s Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival and the festival team are thrilled to be able to showcase her most recent work, in Spanish, a year later.

Seeling continued: “I cannot think of a more perfect film to close this years’ 12th festival edition than The Movie Teller by Lone Scherfig. Last year, I had the immense pleasure of welcoming Lone to the festival and she was the most generous filmmaker one could imagine;  sharing her ideas and knowledge about writing, directing and filmmaking and enriching our audiences”.

EMIFF’s 2023 edition will also welcome the previously announced Oscar-winning DOP Erik Messerschmidt ASC, who will receive the Cinematography ICON Award, in recognition of his cinematography on films such as Ferrari, directed by Michael Mann; The Killer, directed by David Fincher; and Mank (also for Fincher). Messerschmidt has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, amongst many other accolades and nominations.

Now in its 12^th year, Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival is recognised as one of the fastest-growing film festivals in Europe and the longest-running physical film festival in Palma de Mallorca. Founded by filmmaker and Mallorca-raised Sandra Seeling, EMIFF has been proudly supported by the Fundació Mallorca Turisme and the Mallorca Film Commission since its inception in 2012.

Using international film to shape a creative community and allow independent filmmakers to feel inspired, to network and thrive, 2023 marks the second year of the festival’s Cinematography Focus – a sidebar programme that welcomes Directors of Photography from across the world to participate in panels, networking events, and screenings.

The full EMIFF screening programme for 2023 will be announced via a press conference in Mallorca in early October, with additional festival Honorees, centrepiece feature films and EMIFF’s panels and industry discussion events, to be unveiled in the coming weeks.