Today, Friday the 24th, the 16th edition of Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest begins. We kick things off in style, opening the venues of Es Baluard Museu, CineCiutat, and Sala Rívoli. Lots of films, talks, a trivia quiz, and a bit of partying and music.
ES BALUARD MUSEU
In the cistern of Palma’s contemporary art museum, we begin our queer film programme. Interrupted by a festival tradition: the Atlàntida trivia quiz, where winners will receive gifts and surprises. And, to end the first night on the Es Baluard terrace, we have 2 DJ sets by Baaldo and Biel Bibiloni.
– 11:00 CASTRATION MOVIE, UNA ANTOLOGÍA: CAPÍTULOS 1 Y 2
The first part of one of the festival’s hidden gems. A retrospective of the most avant-garde queer film saga of the moment. Narratively independent films that follow the same pattern: daring stories, extravagant queer characters, and being shot on a mini DV camera belonging to the director’s parents.
Today we screen the first chapters of Louise Weard’s anthology:
11:00h – Chapter 1: Incel Superman (90 mins)
12:30h – Chapter 2: Traps Swan Princess (120 mins)
– 17:00 HIGH ART
AMFF Classics begins with the Spanish premiere of the 4K restoration of the most iconic lesbian film of the 90s. A milestone since its premiere at Sundance and celebrated ever since. It follows a journalist who meets, through her work, a photographer struggling with drug addiction. A relationship develops between them that oscillates between love, professional convenience, and emotional dependency. With references to photographers such as Nan Goldin and Larry Clark, and an unforgettable soundtrack by Shudder to Think.
– 19:00 JIMPA
One of those films to enjoy with friends and cry in the cinema. Starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (“The Crown”, “La favorita”), it tells the story of Hannah, a mother who takes her non-binary child to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather Jim, affectionately known as Jimpa.
– 21:00 EN EL CAMINO
A Mexican film about truck drivers and queer life. Awarded at the Venice Film Festival and produced by actor Diego Luna (“Y tu Mamá También”, “Andor”), it is one of the Latin American films of the year. A road movie starring Veneno, a young rebellious drifter who has sex with truck drivers in roadside bars. His life changes when he meets Muñeco, a tough and reserved truck driver with whom he travels across northern Mexico.
SALA RÍVOLI
– 17:00 KOKUHO: EL MAESTRO DEL KABUKI
The latest major film in Japanese cinema, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup, is the 2nd highest-grossing film in the country’s history with more than 14 million viewers. Raised in a mafia clan, Kikuo will discover his great passion: Kabuki, one of the most popular forms of theatre in Japan.
– 20:30 EL CASO ELISA
A harrowing story, based on real events, for those who think true crime lacks depth. With the cinematographer of Paolo Sorrentino, it tells the story of Elisa, who was arrested for murdering and burning her older sister. Ten years later, in prison, she agrees to meet criminologist Alaoui and talk about what happened.
CINECIUTAT
– 17:00 MANARA
One of Europe’s greatest comic artists and the most sensual comic artist—this is not our claim but Frank Miller’s, the creator of “El caballero oscuro”. This documentary explores the life and work of the great Milo Manara. A revolutionary in the world of comics, focused on erotic themes, he liberated female desire through his protagonists and explored the power of sex as a political act.
– 19:00 JOHN WILSON, LA HISTORIA DEL HORMIGÓN
An unclassifiable figure; we do not know if he is an artist, photographer, filmmaker, comedian… The only thing we know is that there is no one like him. John Wilson became world-famous with his series “How To With John Wilson”, and this marks his return and his debut on the big screen. After attending a workshop for TV movie screenwriters, John Wilson tries to apply this predictable formula to sell his producers a documentary about… concrete. This leads him on an incredible journey through the most varied corners of the United States, where we will discover the fascinating secrets of the world’s most widely used material.
– 21:00 UNA INFANCIA EN LESOTO
The African documentary of the year and one of the most beautiful testimonies of displacement and migration we have seen. The new documentary by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese is a search for his identity, a study of colonial violence, a cascade of poetic images from his childhood, and, above all, a love letter to cinema.