London witnesses the birth of the ‘Galician Film Forum’ which will begin the season with the screening of ‘Encallados’, from Alfonso Zarauza


The initiative sparks out of a group of Galicians emigrated in the United Kingdom.

London, 18th February, 2015. The Galician Film Forum (GFF) announces the celebration of its first day of Galician cinema in London on Friday, March 20th. It will take place at 18:30h. at the prestigious University King’s College London (see map).

The event will consist of the screening of a feature film shot in Galicia and two shorts films made by Galician filmmakers who live in the UK. The selected titles are ‘Encallados’, from the director of ‘Os Fenómenos’ Alfonso Zarauza, ‘Curricán’, short film directed by Álvaro Gago and ‘1977’ from the Ferrol-born animation director Peque Varela.

We will have the opportunity to talk with all film directors after the screening. Alfonso Zarauza and his cast will be with us via video call, and both Alvaro Gago as Peque Varela will be present in the room for a Q&A with the audience.

The GFF has the support of the King’s College Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies.

What is the Galician Film Forum?

The GFF is an initiative that begins to take shape earlier this year, conducted by a group of Galicians emigrated in London with great interest for the Galician culture. The aim of the GFF is to create a space for the dissemination of Galician cinema in the British capital.

The proposal spontaneously arises after an open discussion in a facebook group named  ‘Galegos Morriñentos en Londres‘,one of the online references for all Galicians living in the city.

The GFF has a vocation for continuity and its here to serve to the Galician cinema under three different axes: as an exhibition platform, as an observatory of the new audiovisual generation emigrated to the United Kingdom and as a space for reflection on cinema and Galician culture in universal terms.

Who are the directors?

Alfonso Zarauza (Compostela, 1973),screenwriter and director. He began making short films during the mid 90s with titles like Hai que foderse (1994), A danza de Katiuska (1998) or Touro (2002). In 2008 he directed his first feature film, A noite que deixou de chover, which won Best In Progress Screenplay at the LALIFF (Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival). He has recently directed two films, Encallados and Os Fenómenos, the latter one starring Lola Dueñas and Luís Tosar, which continues to lead all Galician cinema billboards, and is about to make the leap to commercial cinemas in the rest of the Spanish state.

Alvaro Gago (Vigo, 1986), director and editor. He lives in London since 2009, when he came to complete a Masters in Filmmaking at The London Film School. Curricán is his first short film, which won the CREA award for Best Director at the Curtocircuíto International Film Festival of Santiago de Compostela.

Peque Varela (Ferrol, 1977), director and animator. Based in London and graduated from the National Film and Television School. Her work ranges from commercials to shorts and animation videos. The GFF will screened 1977, a short film that has received 15 international awards and was selected for international film festivals of great prestige such as Sundance (Utah, USA) or Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival (France).

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