World
Madrid’s ECAM Forum Off to Flying Start as ‘Gods of Stone’ Pic, ‘Estrella del Green,’ ‘She and Me But Mostly Her’ Series Nab Awards
Under the auspices of Comunidad de Madrid and the prestigious ECAM film school, the four day ECAM Forum co-production market got off to a flying start with its inaugural session, closing June 13 with an awards ceremony at Madrid’s historical Matadero cultural space.
One of eight features in work in progress, the creative documentary “Gods of Stone” (“Deuses de Pedra”) by the Spanish Iván Castiñeiras Gallego scooped the new Comunidad de Madrid award and its €15,000 ($16,000) cash prize earmarked towards its post-production.
A trained cinematographer/filmmaker, graduate from ESTC in Lisbon, the Louis Lumiere School in Paris and ESCAC in Barcelona, Castiñeiras Gallego earned festival attention for his short docs “A raia” (2013) and “Where the Jungle Is” (2016).
Shot on 16mm, the Spain-Portugal-France co-production “Gods of Stone” is a non-linear compendium of stories portraying the way of life of a rural community located between Galicia and Portugal, on the oldest border in Europe. There, children’s stories merge with legends. Among the young people, Mariana grows up and aged 17, faces the decision to abandon her village and family to study abroad.
“The film we want to award tries to capture the essence of a timeless place and its people through a poetic and sincere gaze,” said the jury about the documentary produced by Spain’s Amateurfilms, with France’s Promenon-nous dans les Bois and Portugal’s Rua Escura and Primeira Idade.
In the ‘Films to Come’ competition, the three winners reflect the rich array of titles from Spain and Latin America, helmed by newcomers and seasoned filmmakers, showcased in Madrid.
One of five projects from the celebrated ECAM Incubator lab, “Memorial” from Sergi Lopez (a best film Gaudí Award winner for “The Long Way Home”), won the Filmin Award consisting of €30,000 ($32,000) in a minimum guaantee from the Spanish streamer. In it, we follow Manel, a curator of Flemish paintings at the Prado Museum, who is forced to move to Belgium a Rubens painting to which he is deeply attached, while dealing with personal grief and family secrets in Madrid.
The jury praised the “unique project which masterly combines family, memories and art in a physical and spiritual journey deep in the soul.”The Spanish pic is being produced by Edna Cinema, Sumendi, Bteam, and Noodles.
“Phantom”, the musical drama by Cristóbal Fernandez (co-helmer of the festival docu hit “Mudar la piel”) about a group of musicians from the band Phantom, shaken by personal tensions, scooped the Madrid Film Office Award. Spain’s El Gesto Cinematográfico is producing.
Meanwhile the comedy “For Gods Sake” (“El Milagro de Surudí”) by Montevideo-born Lorenzo Tocco, who scooped best short at Guadalajara for “The Anniversary,” won the IFFR Pro Award which gives it access to the next Rotterdam and Cinemart market.
In the Series competition, the Benidorm-set black comedy “Estrella del Green” by London-based Spanish writer-creator Denise Moreno, among HBO Access’ 25 emerging directors, was handed out the Series Mania Award and an invitation to the next Lille-based leading series festival and forum. The six-part series, in early development, turns on an unlikely duo – a pregnant zillennial and a bankrupt diva in her seventies, who set up a weed empire in Benidorm.
Pierre Ziemniak, head of the Series Mania Institute – a close partner to ECAM school – said the Series Mania Award rewards “the screenwriter of a profoundly Spanish series project with strong international potential” and a “story about two women that will attract audiences in several countries.” The U.K. co-production, spearheaded by Jonathan Duncan of Common People Films, was looking for a majority Spanish producer in Madrid.
Another standout Spanish comedy series project, “She and Me, But Mostly Her” (“Ella y yo sobre todo Ella”), penned byMarta Ambel Meyer, scooped the Serielizados Award. The humorous and heartfelt story tells of Claudia, 30, who would rather lie to her friends and to the world rather than accept her brother’s bipolar disorder. The creator told Variety that her aim with what she dubbed a ‘traumedy’ is to raise awareness and foster understanding on mental health issues through a well-balanced dose of humour and sensitivity.
Six other awards went to emerging Spanish talents and their short films:
Alba Menor won the best debut and Abycine Lanza awards for “Manu Drives at Night,” Claudia Gracia the Skyline Benidorm Award for “Turbocapitalend,”, Sara Domínguez the Short Film Lab Award for “You Will Grow Scales,” Matías García the Madrid Film Office Award for” No One Wants to Bury You” and Guillermo Chapa the Telemadrid Award for “Love to See You Again”.
Flawless First ECAM Forum
Expectations were high for the first ECAM Forum and its organisers-ECAM Industria head Rafa Alberola, ECAM Forum coordinator Alberto Valverde and their team. Even so, after four days of pitches, meetings and conferences in a warm and festive working atmosphere, the overall consensus from both attendees and organisers, was that the event ‘s ace kick-off beat all expectations.
Among the 50-plus international delegates that included a who’s-who of some of top world festival programmers, from Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight to Toronto, Sundance, Rotterdam and Locarno, the Berlinale’s Jacqueline Nisiah praised both the organisation and the program. “I thought ECAM Forum was very well organised, the information flow and hospitality were amazing. I felt very well taken care off, all the invited guests were super nice and we enjoyed enriching conversations.”
Regarding the works in progress she added: “the films presented at the Last Push were very well curated, it’s the first thing that sprung into mind, after the first day. I think the films were a good mix of fiction, documentary and hybrid, some with a stronger commercial appeal, others more experimental. Generally, I would say the standard of the films was high.”
Echoing Nisiah’s positive feedback, Stockholm-based Olivier Guerpillon (“Fox in the Snow”), producer of the acclaimed “Costa Brava, Lebanon” and Magnolia Pictures acquired-“Sound of Noise,” said “the Forum really delivered! We were obviously expecting good projects, good food and good weather, but the quality level of the projects really impressed us, as well as the great range of professionals invited. It was very friendly and well organised, and we think it can only grow in importance, when we see how Spanish and Latin American cinema are booming and bursting with creativity.”
On a business level, he said “as a Swedish company currently co-producing our first project with Spain [“Forastera” by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias], we want to develop bridges between Sweden and the Spanish-speaking countries so this was great. We had good co-production meetings with very exciting projects. The format allowed also for generous time for all the guests to get to know each other beyond the classic one-to-one meetings, which is really important to strengthen co-production bonds between companies and long-term connections with filmmakers.”
Also from Sweden, Jenny Gilbertsson from the leading Scandinavian regional film fund Film i Väst who was also exploring new co-pro ventures, said she was impressed “by the range of emerging new talent, with energy and creativity. Spain is a highly productive film country and the co-productions with Latin America were also interesting,” she said.
Ziemniak added: “I was struck by the buzzy atmosphere and fluidity of the event anchored in the reality of the current market.”
Booming Spanish Market
The reality of the Spanish – and Madrid region – audiovisual market, still on an upswing despite the challenging overall micro-economic climate and the need to consolidate and create new international bridges, was underscored by Gonzalo Cabrera Martín, head of the cultural department of the Comunidad de Madrid, ECAM Forum’s main backer.
“For a few years we’ve been working on how to improve the audiovisual industry in Madrid. We thought the best way was to work with ECAM, as they are one of 15 best film schools in the world and an excellent partner.”
“Through ECAM Forum, we want to stimulate co-productions, international cooperation, but also entice post-production works and filming here, as we have several top-end studios here,” he said, referring notably to Netflix’s Tres Cantos European Production Hub just north of Madrid hub and advantageous tax rebates of up to 30% in Madrid.
And indeed, according to the Madrid Film Office, 2023 was a year of intense filming activity in the Spanish capital which saw filming increase by 8% from 2022 with 930 medium and large projects including 15-plus international feature co-productions such as “Daniela Forever” by Nacho Vigalondo and ‘Volveréi’ by Jonás Trueba.
“Then education is key,” Cabrera Martin goes on. “We collaborate with the Torino Film Lab among prestigious international film initiatives, to bring different talents here. We are just trying to create a huge wide network of international collaborations on all levels,” he told Variety.
ECAM Forum 2025
Looking at 2025, Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson, ECAM general manager said the plan is to consolidate the new co-production showcase “as a short, efficient and memorable” event for students and professionals alike.
Reiterating the school’s DNA as a private non-profit organisation focused on education and post-education and industry-led initiatives, he said: “Our ultimate goal is about making the field fertile for talent to grow and flourish.”
For the next edition, Alberola promises to apply the same recipe of success of a focused and friendly working environment with a high-standard of projects and guests. “We wanted to created a spot where people could find projects, but also find each other.
“Projects change, you can’t control that, but if people come here and feel they are well treated and they can extend their network,” they will come back,” he asserts. “The biggest challenge is to keep up the level of this first edition!” he said.
Meanwhile Valverde said he will look into attracting perhaps ‘bigger’ names and making the best use of the cultural Matadero (a former abattoir) multi-disciplinary artistic space.
He said he also hopes to expand the conferences and seminars which welcomed this week, among other luminaries, U.S. indie production veteran Ted Hope and French cinematographer Hélène Louvart. “I’d love to expand the space for inspirational talks, bring in engineers, philosophers, other professionals who can explain how images, stories move us,” he said.
In total, more than 400 audiovisual students and professionals signed up for the ECAM Forum where 53 films and series in development and post-production were showcased over June 10-14 in Madrid.
World
Kristin Scott Thomas Receives Crystal Nymph From Prince Albert II at Monte-Carlo Television Festival Opening
Prince Albert II of Monaco opened the 65th edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival on Friday and presented the Crystal Nymph Award to Kristin Scott Thomas, in recognition of her “outstanding contribution to television and screen storytelling.”
The evening culminated in the international premiere of the first two episodes of Season 3 of AMC Studios’ “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” in the presence of actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, together with showrunner Seth Hoffman.
The International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent was awarded to Spanish actress Ester Expósito, who broke through with the hit series “Elite.” The festival also paid tribute to French TV journalist and host Michel Drucker, who received the Honorary Nymph Award in recognition of “an extraordinary career and his exceptional contribution to television history.”
The opening ceremony was joined by the jury members.
The fiction jury is chaired by British actress Lesley Manville, who serves alongside British actor Kevin McKidd, U.S. showrunner Greg Daniels, French actress Frédérique Bel, South Korean producer Hojin Kwon and British actress Yasmin Finney.
The feature reports and news jury is chaired by American filmmaker Joshua Seftel and includes Mouhssine Ennaimi, Emmy-winning French documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist, French TV producer and journalist Hélène Mannarino and Dutch investigative journalist Margo Smit.
The digital jury is chaired by American media executive Susanne Daniels, former global head of original content at YouTube, alongside British writer, producer and director Luke Hyams, and French actor and content creator Morgan Niquet. It is the first time that the award for an innovative original digital format has been included.
Prince Albert II of Monaco stated: “Sixty-five years later, the ambition of the festival remains more relevant than ever. It continues to promote an industry in perpetual transformation, while remaining faithful to its essence: celebrating stories and outstanding individuals capable of moving, questioning, enlightening and informing.”
Laurent Puons, general manager of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, commented: “As we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the festival, we are proud to continue bringing together the very best of international television in Monaco. This milestone edition reflects both the heritage of the festival and the extraordinary dynamism of today’s audiovisual industry.”
Cécile Menoni, executive director of the festival, added: “This opening sets the tone for an exceptional anniversary edition celebrating both the festival’s remarkable legacy and the future of audiovisual creation. The presence of Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Michel Drucker, Ester Expósito and the team behind ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ perfectly reflects the diversity, international reach and creative excellence that define the festival.”
Progress with Iran can only be achieved ‘by force,’ expert warns
President Trump hints at an imminent peace deal with Iran, suggesting the Supreme Leader has approved it and the US will lift blockades. Rebecca Heinrichs, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, expresses skepticism, citing Iran’s continued harassment in the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program. She also addresses reports of the US cutting fighter jets in Europe, questioning the timing given escalating tensions with Russia.
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The U.S. has hit back against threats to now block another Middle East waterway by Iranian terror proxy, the Houthis.
Earlier this week, the group declared a complete ban on Israeli-owned ships using the Red Sea, declaring them to be “legitimate targets.”
The Red Sea and the waterway through its narrow Bab-el Mandeb Strait has become the main route for oil to ship out of the Middle East to Asia since the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stopped functioning as the main route of navigation for shipping.
IRAN’S AFRICA ACTIVITIES POSE ‘SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO US NATIONAL SECURITY’
Houthi terrorists walk over British and U.S. flags at a rally supporting Palestinians amid Houthi strikes on shipping near Sana’a, Yemen, on Feb. 4, 2024. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on Monday, “We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and we consider all enemy movements to be legitimate targets.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson struck back: “The escalatory actions of Iran and their Houthi proxies are unacceptable. These dangerous actions only serve to further enflame tensions and further disrupt global supply chains. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.”
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital, “The Houthis have indeed risen to the challenge, at least verbally. In common with much ‘Axis of Resistance’ rhetoric at present, the intention appears to be to leverage U.S. political nervousness and market volatility, and to drive a wedge between the Americans and the Israelis.”
An aerial view of The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is a sea route connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2021)
Fitton-Brown, a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen, added, “Provided the allies keep talking to each other, the Israelis respond proportionately, as they have done, and the Iranians continue to provoke President Trump with actions like the downing of the helicopter, these tactics are unlikely to achieve significant success.”
“It will be interesting if the Houthis do go all in, and resume their campaign against Red Sea shipping with full intensity,” Fitton-Brown said, adding, “This will draw international anger and likely result in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Sana’a and Hodeida. There is potential for a general escalation if this happens, albeit one in which the allies have a clear military advantage.”
US STRIKES ON YEMEN CONTINUE AFTER HOUTHI MISSILE HITS BY ISRAELI AIRPORT; TERROR GROUP VOWS ‘AERIAL BLOCKADE’
A huge column of fire erupts in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida following reported strikes on July 20, 2024. The strikes targeted a fuel depot in the port, according to Houthi-run media and an AFP correspondent.
Landlocked Ethiopia acts as regional anti-terrorism buffer
Such actions come as reports emerge that Ethiopia, the Red Sea region’s most populous country, is stepping up as a major U.S. ally against Islamic terrorism.
While landlocked, Ethiopia has a population of some 130 million, making it the largest nation in the Horn of Africa. Located near parts of the Red Sea corridor, the country is roughly 60% Christian, according to a recent report by the Association of Religion Data Archives.
World Data Locator Map, Ethiopia. (Encyclopedia Britannica/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
And despite it being landlocked, Ethiopian researcher Blen M. Diriba told Fox News Digital that the country acts as a strategic roadblock or “a keystone state” on the Islamist expansionist “highway” that has formed all the way from Iran to Sudan.
Diriba, executive director of the Horn Review — an Addis Ababa-based research and publication think tank — told Fox News Digital that “Ethiopia, long a frontline U.S. security partner, now sits at the center of an expanding pressure zone where maritime disruption, insurgent violence, terrorist threats, and proxy competition converge.”
Diriba added. “Iran’s Bab el-Mandeb threat transforms the Horn of Africa into a militarized frontline, placing Ethiopia at the center of a choke point crisis. With Iranian influence radiating through conflict ecosystems in Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia, the region is beginning to resemble a continuous arc of instability stretching from the Arabian Peninsula into East Africa.”
“Ethiopia sits at the center of one of the world’s most combustible security corridors,” Diriba continued. “And in strategic terms, its relevance to the United States is amplified, not diminished, by that reality: From the Red Sea disruptions driven by the Houthis to the persistent insurgency threat of al-Shabab in Somalia, Ethiopia functions as a massive inland security buffer whose stability directly shapes whether these threats expand or are contained.”
IRAN’S KILLER DRONES INCREASE SLAUGHTER IN SUDAN AMID WORLD’S FORGOTTEN WAR
Members of the Ethiopian National Defense Force parade during the 116th celebration of Ethiopian Defense Force day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Oct. 26, 2023. (Amanuel Sileshi/AFP via Getty Images)
But in addition to being pro-U.S., Ethiopia also has relations with Iran.
Fitton-Brown believes to some extent Ethiopia can be accused of playing both sides, as he said Tehran “has helped Ethiopia with its internal conflicts, giving drone support and military aid to the Ethiopian government during the recent Tigray War.”
He added, “There is a new memorandum of understanding built upon that basis, with Iran gaining influence in Ethiopia, while Ethiopia receives military, police and intelligence support to counter its domestic ethnic insurgencies.”
However, Diriba said, “Ethiopia’s engagement with Iran is neither affinity nor alignment, it’s strategic awareness: keeping channels open to engage where necessary, cooperate selectively, and strategically manage its relations with a complex regional actor, while firmly anchoring its core partnerships with its emerging and long-standing partners — the United States being on the top of that list.”
A drone view shows vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 25, 2026. (Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY via Reuters)
“Ethiopia has pursued a flexible multi-alignment strategy, Diriba said, “prioritizing its entrenched security partnership with Washington while keeping open channels with Tehran to preserve diplomatic room to maneuver in an increasingly fragmented Horn of Africa–Red Sea order.”
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Fitton-Brown said relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia “are good, especially in the field of counterterrorism. Both countries use Somaliland to their advantage without having gone so far as to recognize it as an independent state.”
Fox News Digital reached out to both the Department of War and the Ethiopian government for comment, but received no response by the time of publication.
The Israeli military has ordered residents of 20 Lebanese towns and villages to leave their homes immediately.
Published On 13 Jun 2026
Israeli air raids across southern Lebanon have killed one person as attacks continue despite a United States-brokered “ceasefire”.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the person was killed in an Israeli air raid in the municipality of Maarakeh, in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon.
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Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut, said that over the course of Friday and into the evening, there were continued Israeli air attacks on towns and villages that are well north of what the Israelis call the “Yellow Line” – the part of southern Lebanon that they have been seeking to control and to occupy.
The attacks come after an announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday that the United States and Iran have agreed on the wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war, and that mediators were working with both sides to finalise a deal.
Iranian media report the initial agreement would declare an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon”.
This has led to fears that Israel’s actions in Lebanon could scupper a deal, since Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the US and Iran, and its leaders have said they do not plan to withdraw from Lebanon.
The attacks also come amid a supposed ceasefire, agreed between Israeli and Lebanese officials earlier this month, that would require a “complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah, yet the fighting continues.
The next round of talks between the two countries is expected on June 22, with a view towards reaching a comprehensive agreement.
Israel issues forced displacement orders, demolishes homes
Israeli attacks at dawn have demolished homes and government buildings in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, the country’s NNA reports.
The Israeli military also ordered residents of 20 Lebanese towns and villages to leave their homes immediately and move “north of the Zahrani River”.
The forced displacement orders apply to Deir al-Zahrani, al-Namirieh, al-Sharquieh, al-Dewayr, Harouf, Habboush, Kfarjoz, Zibdine (Nabatieh), Nabatieh al-Tahta, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Rouman, Al-Mahmoudieh, Sajed (Jezzine), Reihan, Aaramta, Kfarchouba, Mlki, Al-Lawiza (Jezzine), Jarjouh and Arab Salim.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said an air raid alert had been activated in the northern town of Metula due to the “infiltration of a hostile aircraft” from Lebanon, but did not name the armed group Hezbollah.
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