Malaga Film Festival prepares for rain-soaked opening of 29th edition

Malaga Film Festival opens on Friday, 6 March, and the weather forecast predicts rain at the opening ceremony for a second consecutive year.

But thanks to a special charter flight operation no celebrities will miss the red carpet in front of Teatro Cervantes at 6.30pm - even if they do get a bit damp.

The closure of the high-speed line in the province forced organisers of the 29th edition of the festival to look for alternative transport. Due to the high volume of attendees and the importance of the opening and closing ceremonies, they decided to dig deep into their pockets and book charter flights.

For the rest of the festival they have organised private transfers by road from Antequera-Santa Ana, where the high-speed train from Madrid stops.

Putting logistics aside, the most important part of the festival are the films: a total of 263 titles, among them the official selection, some auteur films and comedies, which are making a strong comeback this year.

The opening film on Friday is Spanish-born Moroccan director Maryam Touzani's Calle Málaga, starring Carmen Maura, which talks about love in old age and the memory of Hispanic culture in Tangiers.

Calle Málaga is among the 22 films in the official selection this year, alongside Víctor García León's Altas capacidades; Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz's Pioneras; Ángeles González-Sinde's Después de Kim; Fernando González Molina's Mi querida señorita; David Serrano's Lapönia; Juan Pablo Sallato's Hangar rojo; and Jorge Perugorría's Neurótica anónima.

The list of films includes debut works by Laura García Alonso (Corredorа), Bàrbara Farré (Mala bestia), Ian de la Rosa (Iván y Hadoum, winner of the LGTBI Teddy Award at the Berlin Festival), Marta Matute (Yo no moriré de amor), Carlo Padial (Pizza Movies) and Julia de Paz (La buena hija).

Great names and great film titles, but no a priori crowd favourites, as has happened in previous years with Sorda, Segundo premio and 20.000 especies de abejas.

Films from 71 countries will take over the screens at Teatro Cervantes, Albéniz, Echegaray, Museo Picasso and Centro Cultural MVA. There will be fiction feature films, shorts and documentaries, as well as the culinary selection of Cinema Cocina.

For a second year, the organisers have prepared La Villa del Mar at La Malagueta - a space open to the public and professionals where the latest trends in the audiovisual industry and new technologies will converge.

Actress Kira Miró is hosting the opening ceremony on Friday evening. She is also the presenter of the comedy section on Saturday.

Over the next few days, Malaga will see the stars of Spanish cinema and their work.