The Málaga Festival presents the poster for its 30th edition, featuring Lola Flores and Carlos Saura

Topics Festival de Málaga Fundación Unicaja

The event, to be held from February 26 to March 7, 2027, uses a work by Saura on Lola Flores intervened by Javier Calleja and the filmmaker's handwritten lettering.

P. Gonz. L. · Published on October 20, 2026 at 16:25 · Updated on October 24, 2026 at 22:57

Update of October 24, 22:57

The note specifies that the Mármol&Fa edition on which the poster was based had the advice of the artist Javier Calleja, and adds that Carlos Saura died two years after the release of that edition, at the age of 91. It also details that the documentary «Carlos Saura. Ese niño de la fotografía», directed by Anna Saura, premiered in 2025 at the Festival de Málaga, and that the donated piece first passed into the artistic and cultural heritage of the event before becoming its image for 2027.

Update 22:35

The presentation of the poster was attended by representatives of the institutions and companies sponsoring the competition, including the territorial delegate of Culture, Historical Heritage and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía in Málaga, Carlos García; the territorial delegate of Tourism, Justice, Deregulation and Local Administration, Belén Rubio; the Culture deputy of the Diputación de Málaga, Manuel López Mestanza; the producer of Atresmedia Cine Rosa Pérez; the South-Central territorial manager of the Fundación «la Caixa», Juan Carlos Barroso; the commercial director of CaixaBank in Málaga, Córdoba, Almería, Ceuta and Melilla, Carmen González Novo; the head of Performing Arts of Fundación Unicaja, Gema Domínguez; the head of Communication and External Relations of Cervezas Victoria, Genoveva Ferragut; and the head of Sponsorship of Repsol, Ana Bella García. The government subdelegate in Málaga, Francisco Javier Salas, and the representatives of Alimentos de España and RTVE were unable to attend. The note also states that the competition has the sponsorship of Fundación Unicaja and details that the Mármol&Fa edition had the advice of the artist Javier Calleja. It adds that Carlos Saura died two years after the launch of that edition, at the age of 91.

The Málaga Festival already has an image for its 30th edition, which will be held from February 26 to March 7, 2027. The poster is based on a work by Carlos Saura dedicated to Lola Flores and combines it with an intervention by the artist Javier Calleja, as announced by the organization.

A work by Saura as a base

The image takes as its starting point a limited edition finished by hand by Saura of his work «Lola Flores, Sevillanas 1992». That edition arose from a collaboration between Mármol&Fa, the art editions firm led by Alicia Gutiérrez Mármol, and Anna Saura, the filmmaker's daughter. The piece was a gift to the Festival in its last edition, coinciding with the premiere of the documentary «Carlos Saura. Ese niño de la fotografía», directed by Anna Saura. The original work came out in 2021 with 85 pieces: 70 serialized reproductions and 15 «fotosaurios». The donated one belongs to that series of 15, in which Saura mixed photography and painting based on the portrait he took of Lola Flores during the filming of «Sevillanas».

The filmmaker's lettering and the Málaga accent

The poster also incorporates Carlos Saura's handwritten lettering as the main typeface, together with a central illustration of a flamenco dancer in blues, blacks and whites. In addition, it brings back the «acento boquerón» that Calleja introduced into the word Málaga on the occasion of the event's 20th anniversary. The director of the Festival, Juan Antonio Vigar, explained that the organization chose this image because it represents the spirit of this edition: «Cumplir treinta ediciones es una oportunidad para mirar atrás y reconocer el camino recorrido, pero también para seguir abriendo espacios de encuentro». Anna Saura has pointed out that this work «aúna todo lo que a mi padre le apasionaba: el cine, la fotografía, la pintura y la música», and has recalled that it was the first time he painted in a format larger than A3. Gutiérrez Mármol has highlighted that the piece went from being part of the Festival's heritage to becoming its image for 2027.

Presentation

The poster has been presented at a press conference with the participation of the mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre; the councillor for Culture and Historical Heritage, Mariana Pineda; the director of the Festival, Juan Antonio Vigar; Anna Saura; Lolita Flores; Javier Calleja and Alicia Gutiérrez Mármol.