ALMERIA GOES WESTERN

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The first European wide festival dedicated to the Western film genre took over the Almería town of Tabernas on Thursday, as nine official films were showcased in the second outing of a film festival focussing on the cinematic works of producers from America, Spain, Brazil and France.

The event is designed to promote the western genre through their films, with competitions and votes in a number of categories. Perhaps not quite the star studied attraction of the annual Academy Awards; this event aims to put Tabernas on the movie map, as a location that saw hundreds of legendary films in the 60s and 70s shot in the natural landscape of the area.

In a press conference chaired by the three event organisers, César Méndez, Danny García and Íñigo Espada, the overall aim is an initiative for revitalizing the area both culturally, and economically, because through its investment and its ability to provide facilities to both film crews and tourists, collectively they contribute to the revitalization of Tabernas and, by the same virtue, the rural municipalities and the province of Almería.

Amongst the nine films chosen this year, favourites appear to be “Orson West”, “Good Night for Justice – The Measure of a Man”, which stars American TV favourite Luke Perry, and the Brazilian favourite, “Pólvora negra”.

As well as the feature film content, the three day event featured other favourite, including Spaghetti Westerns, music, dance and entertainment, plus a wide range of activities in both the day and night time.