I. Cinema of Spain

The art of motion-picture making within Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema.

In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition.

Only a small portion of box office sales in Spain are generated by domestic films. The different Spanish governments have therefore implemented measures aimed at supporting local film production and the movie theaters, which currently include the assurance of funding from the main television broadcasters. Nowadays, the Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) is the State agency in charge of regulating the allocation of public funds to the domestic film industry.

The San Sebastian International Film Festival is a major film festival supervised by the FIAPF. It was started in 1953, and it takes place in San Sebastián every year. Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn, Steven Spielberg, Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor are some of the stars that have participated in this festival, the most important in Spain.

The Sitges Film Festival, now known as the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, was started in 1967. It is considered one of the best cinematographic contests in Europe, and is the best in the specialty of science fiction film.

There are several other film festivals with important prizes for the industry such as the Valladolid International Film Festival, and the Seville European Film Festival from September to November, –Autumn has become the season par excellence for the debut of Spanish films in the domestic commercial circuit. Meanwhile the Málaga Film Festival, focused on Spanish and Ibero-American films, is generally held in early Spring.