Benalmádena

Benalmádena opens FICCAB with the award to Gracia Querejeta and the screening of 'Landa'

Topics Casa de la Cultura de Arroyo de la Miel FICCAB

The Benalmádena International Film Festival (FICCAB) has begun its 25th edition with the presentation of the Ciudad de Benalmádena Directing Award to filmmaker Gracia Querejeta, at a gala held at the Casa de la Cultura de Arroyo de la Miel.

Redacción · Published on October 11, 2026 at 09:37

The Benalmádena International Film Festival (FICCAB) has kicked off its 25th edition with a gala at the Casa de la Cultura in Arroyo de la Miel, where the Ciudad de Benalmádena Directing Award was presented to filmmaker Gracia Querejeta. The ceremony, hosted by comedian Tomás García, served to recognize the career of the director and screenwriter.

An award for an entire career

The festival highlighted Querejeta for «a distinctive, recognizable and deeply human gaze, which she has built over decades into a filmography attentive to personal relationships, family conflicts and characters searching for their place in the world». The filmmaker received the award with emotion and recalled her ties to the area: «I used to come to Torremolinos and Benalmádena with my parents, who were from Euskadi and hated the rain. After being in this land since I was 7, it is very exciting to receive an award here». Querejeta also assessed the current moment in cinema: «Cinema has changed enormously, I think for the better. Now many more people can shoot, experiment and try, without the difficulties of before». The day concluded with the screening of 'Landa', a documentary co-directed by her and Miguel Olid about the figure of Alfredo Landa.

Messages from other actresses

The gala featured messages from Natalia Verbeke, Maribel Verdú and Emma Suárez, who wanted to join the tribute. Emma Suárez noted that she has always «admired your talent, your wisdom, your integrity and your vocation when it comes to making cinema». Maribel Verdú stressed that «the Benalmádena Festival has very good taste, because they are giving an award to a woman, a filmmaker, a friend, which is a luxury». Natalia Verbeke described the award as «an act of justice, for a filmmaker who has spent more than three decades proving that the greatest cinema is sometimes told through the smallest and closest stories».

Recognition for collaborators

The festival directors, Jaime Noguera and José Ramón Martínez, presented commemorative plaques to Rafael Díaz, from the Papa Erig restaurant, and Antonio García, from the La Despensa del Mar restaurant, for their ten years of support for the event. Natalia Brudke also received a special distinction. The event was attended by the mayor of Benalmádena, Juan Antonio Lara, the councillor for Culture, Jessica Trujillo, and the vice-president and deputy for Culture of the Diputación Provincial de Málaga, Manuel López Mestanza, among other guests.