The Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest presented its 14th edition this morning. Jaume Ripoll, director of the festival, presented the festival programme at the Cine Doré in Madrid. Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest will open on 20 July with the world premiere of Isla perdida, directed by Fernando Trueba and starring Matt Dillon and Aida Folch, who will travel to Mallorca for the screening. It is the second thriller in the career of the Oscar-winning Fernando Trueba after the extraordinary “El sueño del mono loco”.
The gala will also feature a musical performance by Maria Hein and the presentation of the Master of Cinema 2023 Award to Liv Ullmann, who was unable to receive it last year due to the Hollywood actors’ strike. Ullmann will give a talk to the public on Saturday 20 July in Es Baluard.
For 10 days, between the 19th and 28th of July, Palma will become the venue for this now-consolidated festival of film, music, talks and industry meetings. AMFF will screen 105 feature films, 16 short films, which is 35% more than the previous edition, and more than 60% of the screenings will be national premieres. AMFF2024 will host 21 concerts and more than 300 guests from the audiovisual industry will gather in the Balearic capital.
On Sunday 21 July, the emblematic La Misericordia venue will host a special gala at which the Masters of Cinema Award will be presented for the first time to Spanish filmmaker, director Juan Antonio Bayona. Juan Antonio Bayona, winner of four Goya awards and nominated for an Oscar for his latest film “The Snow Society”, has established himself as one of the most acclaimed Spanish filmmakers, among audiences and critics around the world.
Bayona will be giving a talk to audiovisual students and film-lovers on Monday 22nd July at 11.30 am at Es Baluard. The Spanish filmmaker will not be the only special award in this edition. On 25 and 28 July, the Masters of Cinema will be awarded to director and screenwriter Montxo Armendáriz and Oscar-winning actor and producer Michael Douglas, who has owned a house in Valldemossa on the island for decades and who will close the festival by collecting the award honouring a legendary career.
Among the films that will form part of the programme of the 14th edition of the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest are major premieres that will place Mallorca at the epicentre of European cinema. One of the most striking presences will be that of filmmaker Atom Egoyan, one of the most important Canadian directors in history. Nominated for two Oscars and winner of six awards at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals. Atom Egoyan will present at AMFF his latest work, Seven Veils, a psychological thriller starring Amanda Seyfried.
Another of AMFF’s must-see events will be the premiere of The Balconettes, directed, co-written and starring Noémie Merlant, a film set to offend and excite in equal parts. Atlàntida will also host the premiere of The Drama Queens by Alexis Langlois, a film that features cameos by Asia Argento and Alma Jodorowsky and the participation of Bilal Hassani, France’s Eurovision representative in 2019.
The romantic musical Carmen, directed by the dance genius Benjamin Millepied, who makes his directorial debut in this film. A literary classic adapted for a new generation, with performances by Paul Mescal, Melissa Barrera and Rossy de Palma, police chases and songs by Julieta Venegas.
And with musical content also comes premieres such as Blur to the end directed by Toby L, which portrays the reunion after eight years of separation of one of the most revered groups in history. Four old friends face new songs, many memories and a concert at Wembley. Another group, in this case from Spain, will be the stars of the Atlàntida nights. Stay Homas, la banda que no debió existir, a musical documentary directed by Oriol Gispert, Nick Bolger, Ramon Balagué in which you will discover how Klaus, Guillem and Rai managed their success, the end of their confinement and the ups and downs of their friendship.
Completing this section are titles such as Squash sunset, a fantastic comedy directed by David Zellner, Nathan Zellnep; the musical biopic Kneecap directed by Rich Peppiatt, The soul eater by Julien Maury and Alexanfdre Bustillo, Eternal by Ulaa Salim, In camera by Nappsah Khalid and Lubo by Giorgio Diritti.