The FIRE!! PRO is intended for professionals in the film sector (directors, producers, exhibitors, distributors, actors, journalists, teachers and students of film schools, etc.), and also for any other person in our audience interested in knowing more about the world of the cinema.

create spaces for reflection and creation given the low production of LGBTI-themed films in our country, compared to other countries such as France, Germany, the United States and others in Latin America.

In Spain, the cinema dedicated to affective and sexual diversity is – paradoxically – very absent. Here, the distribution relies heavily on foreign films to address the LGTBI issue. Although the LGBTI community is here particularly active, relatively well integrated into the social environment and quite visible on the media and television level, all of this is not very often reflected in local film production.

For all this, FIRE!! FIRE!! PRO has 3 main objectives:

To encourage discussion and training on the production and commercialization of national LGBTI-themed films.

To implement a support space for the creation and development of LGBTI-themed audio-visual works.

To support the scriptwriters, directors and audio-visual producers in the realization of their works on this subject in the initial stage of the cinematographic proces

…(directors, producers, exhibitors, distributors, actors, journalists, teachers and students of film schools, etc.), and also to anyone else in our audience interested in knowing how to understand more about the audiovisual industry..

FIRE!! PRO was born from the need to create spaces for reflection and creation given the low production of LGBTI-themed films in our country, compared to other countries such as France, Germany, the United States and others in Latin America.

In Spain, the cinema dedicated to affective and sexual diversity is – paradoxically – very absent. Here, the distribution relies heavily on foreign films to address the LGTBI issue. Although the LGBTI community is here particularly active, relatively well integrated into the social environment and quite visible on the media and television level, all of this is not very often reflected in local film production.

For all this, FIRE!! FIRE!! PRO has 3 main objectives:

To encourage discussion and training on the production and commercialization of national LGBTI-themed films.

To implement a support space for the creation and development of LGBTI-themed audio-visual works.

To support the scriptwriters, directors and audio-visual producers in the realization of their works on this subject in the initial stage of the cinematographic proces

FIRE!! PRO consists of 4 activities or services:

FIRE!! Lab

FIRE!! LAB, laboratory for film development and writing of LGTBIQ+ themed series.

Round Tables

Round tables on LGTBIQ+ audiovisual content.

Interviews

Meetings with the directors and artistic teams of the films that make up this year’s selection.

Source list

A source list with the contacts of the distributors of all the programmed films in Mostra FIRE!!: feature films, documentaries and short films.

ROUND TABLE

Thursday 11 June, 6pm

The Arab and Persian Queer Film Revolution

Taula rodona: La revolució del cinema queer àrab i persa
The young generations of the “SWANA” countries (i.e., South-West Asia and North Africa) have been fighting resolutely for more freedoms since, one day in December 2010 in Tunisia, demonstrations ignited what would be called the “Arab Spring” and which would spread to different countries in this immense part of the world, with uneven results and progress obscured in the following years by new systems of power and armed conflicts. The LGBTIQ+ groups in these countries have not yet benefited on a large scale from this incipient evolution and are still fighting to achieve fundamental rights.

On the other hand, their queer scenes, spurred by the globalization of social networks or the circulation of LGBTIQ audio-visual productions, have become increasingly visible. And also, what is now an immense SWANA queer community residing outside its borders, is doing an extraordinary job not only to remain linked to its networks of origin, but to increasingly provide them with spaces of visibility and transformative audio-visual tools. The new Arab and Persian queer cinema is not only opening our eyes to its realities, but is also profoundly changing the lives of these groups, offering positive models and references for millions of LGBTIQ+ young people still extremely limited by their social, political and legal environment.

To talk about this slow but inevitable (r)evolution, different Lebanese professionals from the audio-visual world will be with us, the Lebanese queer community being perhaps the most active in this movement: the producer and distributor Amar Sokhen, the director and producer Liliane Rahal, the director Mohammad Moe Sabbah, and the director, with the moderation of photographer and performer Hadi Moussally, aka Salma Zahore.

LGTBI CENTRE Thursday 11 June 6pm Free entry The round table will have interpretation in Catalan sign language Live broadcast from the YouTube channel of the LGBTI center of Barcelona.

For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded.

Activity organized in collaboration with:

Centre LGBTI de Barcelona

Speakers

Speakers

Amar Sokhen

Amar Sokhen is an independent cultural curator and programmer, collaborating with cultural spaces and organizations to create exhibitions, film screenings and multidisciplinary events. She is also an audio-visual producer with a strong passion for cinema, working on projects that connect art, cinema and social impact between different communities. After moving to Spain, she wanted to continue the cultural work she was developing in Lebanon, creating bridges between the SWANA region and Europe through film, photography and visual arts. The project promotes screenings, exhibitions and cultural events to give visibility to artists living and working in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, and to generate spaces for meeting, dialogue and cultural exchange with new audiences.

Liliane Rahal

Liliane Rahal is a Lebanese producer and filmmaker, and co-founder of Karaaj Films, an award-winning company focused on identity and social injustice. She co-directed the documentary short film Bread and Tea, which won the Best Documentary Short Film award at Cinéma Vérité (Iran, 2016). In 2018, she produced the documentary feature film Underdown, which premiered at IDFA and won five awards at international festivals. Liliane also produced the fiction short film The Window (2022), which won the Best Feature Film award at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival (New York) and Best Narrative Short Film at AFMI (San Francisco). She has recently directed her first documentary short film, She’s Swimming, which won the Bronze Tanit at the Cartago Film Festival (December 2025).

Mohammad Moe Sabbah

Mohamad (Moe) Sabbah, born in 1990, is a Lebanese filmmaker/artist based in Cologne. In his work, he observes the world from a queer perspective. He studied filmmaking at ALBA-UOB and the Academy Baden-Württemberg, where he developed his debut film Chronic. He co-directed Embodied Chorus, a hybrid documentary about bodies and shame. Since 2021, Moe has explored the medium of performance. He creates non-human creatures and brings them to the world to tell stories and spread spells. His latest works are Mold Will Eat It All or The Time Teller Returns. He is currently developing his multidisciplinary project Escaping Him, a music album, performative installation, and film.

Moderated by

Hadi Moussally

Hadi Moussally, born in Lebanon in 1987, is a filmmaker, photographer, performer, and producer based between Paris and Barcelona. His work encompasses fiction and documentary film, experimental cinema, fashion, and dance, often exploring queer Arab identities and self-representation through his alter ego, Salma Zahore. Co-founder of h7o7, his films, such as Bellydance Vogue, Space Woman, and La Casquette, have been selected for over 500 festivals worldwide and have won more than 60 awards.

FIRE!! LAB 2026

From 8 to 10 June

6th LGBTI-themed film development laboratory

The FIRE!! LAB is a laboratory for the development of LGBTI films, which seeks to encourage their production and marketing in Spain. The initiative, which will be carried out within the framework of the FIRE!! 2026, will last 3 days, from 8 to 10 June.

The scriptwriters, directors and producers of the selected projects and films will receive advice / tutorials in artistic areas such as script, direction, as well as production, by prominent professionals of the national and international audio-visual industry.

At the end of the classes and individual tutorials, the projects will be presented to different producers during a pitching session and the following 2 prizes will be awarded:

● FIRE Award!! LAB to support the development of a feature film: 1000€
San Sebastian Film Festival Industry Award: stay and accreditation

To request more information: industria@mostrafire.com

The FIRE!! LAB is a laboratory for the development of LGBTI films, which seeks to encourage their production and marketing in Spain. The initiative, which will be carried out within the framework of the FIRE!! 2026, will last 3 days, from 8 to 10 June.

The scriptwriters, directors and producers of the selected projects and films will receive advice / tutorials in artistic areas such as script, direction, as well as production, by prominent professionals of the national and international audio-visual industry.

At the end of the classes and individual tutorials, the projects will be presented to different producers during a pitching session and the following 2 prizes will be awarded:

● FIRE Award!! LAB to support the development of a feature film: 1000€
San Sebastian Film Festival Industry Award: stay and accreditation

To request more information: industria@mostrafire.com

For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded.
FIRE LAB 5 ▪ Laboratory for the development of films and the writing of LGBTI-themed series

Closed Call

Until March 15

Until march 31

With the support of:

In collaboration with:

Festival de San Sebastián
Festival de Málaga
Festival de Málaga

Selected projects 2026

FEATURE FILMS

Còlera

Còlera

DIRECTION
Jose Luis Lázaro

PRODUCTION
Mila Luengo (Aire de Cinema)

Dj Marcelle, A Film About A Documentary

Dj Marcelle, A Film About A Documentary

DIRECTION
Juns Castella

PRODUCTION
Xavi Vara and Paula Moya

Esperar El Fuego

Esperar El Fuego

DIRECTION
Leonor Segovia

PRODUCTION
Nicolás Fernández-Montes

La Natura Ens Acabarà Abraçant

La Natura Ens Acabarà Abraçant

DIRECTION
Néstor Reina

PRODUCTION
Jana Llopart i Maria Gumà (Corte a Films)

Madre B

Madre B

DIRECTION
Gerard Gil Obradors

PRODUCTION
Júlia Mur Bárzano (Debut Films)

Cercanías

Niño Maldito

DIRECTION
Alejandro González Mañoso

PRODUCTION
Lucía Merino

Tutor/s

SANDRA TAPIA

Sandra Tapia, with a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, joined Arcadia Motion Pictures as an executive producer in 2009, becoming a partner ten years later. Its titles include the Goya winners for Best Motion Picture Snow White (Pablo Berger, 2012) and The Beasts (Rodrigo Sorogoyen, 2022), as well as Robot Dreams, nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2024 Oscars and winner of the Goya for Best Animated Film in the same year.

Among his most recent releases are the comedy Les Irresponsables, by Laura Mañá; the debut film by Asier Urbieta, Faisaien Irla. La Isla de los Faisanes ; and La buena letra, Celia Rico’s third film. In February 2026, the series Ravalear, created by Pol Rodríguez, premieres in the Berlinale’s Special Series section and is immersed in the post-production of Daniel Monzón’s new film, Ruega por nosotras.

PAOLA BOTRÁN

Gemma Blasco, 1993. He studied directing and screenwriting at the Bande à Part school in Barcelona. She has also trained in workshops such as The Construction of the Character at EICTV (Cuba) or Filming in Barcelona with Abbas Kiarostami. He has directed feature films, short films, advertising and audiovisuals for theatre.

 

His short film Jauría (2018) received the SGAE-Nova Autoria award at the Sitges Film Festival. In 2019, the Gijón festival premiered its project El zoo, an experimental feature film that plays with theatrical registers. She recently premiered The Fury, her first fiction feature film, at the South by Southwest North American festival and, nationally, at the Malaga Film Festival, where she won three awards in the Official Selection (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing), as well as the Special Jury Mention at SXSW London. Fury was also the opening film of the D’A Festival Cinema Barcelona 2025.

ROCIO MESA

David Moragas (Almoster, 1993) is a writer, screenwriter and film director. Graduated in Audiovisual Communication from Pompeu Fabra University and trained in film directing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, his work explores affective relationships and the dynamics of desire from an intimate and observational perspective. He has directed the feature films A Stormy Night and Un Altre Home, premiered and awarded at national and international festivals such as the Malaga Film Festival, the D’A Film Festival Barcelona or the BFI Flare. He is also the author of the novel Fervor and is currently developing his next feature film, Esto que fem, while combining directing and screenwriting with teaching at Pompeu Fabra University.

Asesors

JÚLIA DE PAZ

Pitch Workshop

Zebina Guerra Peña is a screenwriter and screenwriting teacher. Among his most outstanding works are feature films Mi querida cofradía, Pionerass. Solo querían jugar —awarded with the Silver Biznaga in Malaga in 2018 and 2026, respectively— and Los buenos modales, as well as the series L’última nit del karaoke (3Cat) and Zoomers. She is also the author of the novel Artes maritales mixtas para una fugitiva, published by Penguin Random House.

LOLA CLAVO

Introduction to work with intimate scenes from the coordination of intimacy.

Lola Clavo is a filmmaker, teacher and coordinator of intimacy from Barcelona. She specializes in representations of the LGBTIQ+ community, Kink/BDSM and sex work. She is the intimacy coordinator of productions such as La Mesías, Smiley, Nudes, Yo, adicto or La teoría King Kong, among others, and is part of the Calatà collective of intimacy coordinators SOMA, as well as the driving group of the Department Against Abuses of the Catalan Film Academy. She is also co-founder of RED ICIE and AESCI Spanish Association of Privacy Coordination Professionals, which has just published the first Guide for the work of intimate scenes in audiovisual fiction.

JOSE GIL

Designing the Journey of a Project: Festivals and Markets from Development

José Gil Rincón has a degree in Social Communication, specialising in audiovisual production (Ibermedia), cultural management and film distribution. He has professional experience in audiovisual companies and institutions in Venezuela, Chile and Spain. He holds a Master’s Degree in Film Business from the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), and has been a programmer for the Latin American University Video Festival VIART, the Manuel Trujillo Durán Festival and the Almagro International Film Festival.

També ha treballat a les seccions d’indústria del Festival de Cinema de Màlaga (MAFIZ), al Pitchbox del Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Sitges, a la Mostra FIRE!! de Barcelona i al Chileshorts Market de Santiago de Xile.

He has been a jury member in several festivals and professional spaces, such as the Iquique Film Festival (Chile), Korça Short Fest (Albania), La Gran Pantalla (Barcelona) and the ShortCat catalogue of Catalan Films, as well as an evaluator of short film projects for the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC). He is currently Head of Non-Theatrical Distribution and Sales at Feelsales.

JOAN RUIZ

Internationalization of audiovisual projects, from development.

Born in the Pyrenees (1990), Joan Ruiz graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and obtained a Postgraduate Degree in Audiovisual Distribution and Marketing from the Open University of Catalonia. In 2013 he joined the team of the Industry Department of the San Sebastian International Film Festival as coordinator and curator of conferences and round tables and as head of professional publications. In 2015 he began the professional days of the D’A Film Festival Barcelona and was responsible for five editions. Communication coordinator of the Talking Galleries Barcelona 2017 symposium and collaborator of LOOP Fair. In 2018 he developed the communication project of the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola school in Tabakalera. In 2019 he conceived La Pedrera – D’A Film Lab and began working for the Business Development Service of the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies. In January 2020 he joined the Catalan Films team.

ZAIDA CARMONA

Between the underground, impulse and friends. A meeting with Zaida Carmona.
She has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Pompeu Fabra University and a master’s degree in Screenwriting from the Carlos III University of Madrid. She has worked as a television editor at TVE and in media such as Notodo and Vice. She is currently creative director of marketing at Filmin.

In cinema, he has directed several short films and video clips, such as Son ilusiones, premiered at the D’A Film Festival, as well as videos for Christina Rosenvinge, Lidia Damunt and Monterrosa. In 2021 he shot his first feature film, La amiga de mi amiga, premiered in 2022 at the D’A Film Festival, where he won the “Un Impuls Col·lectiu” award for Best Film. Subsequently, he also received the Audience Award at the Rizoma and the Jury Prize at the Reteena Festival. The film has been selected in more than 50 national and international festivals, such as the San Sebastian Film Festival (Made in Spain section), the Rotterdam Festival (Bright Future section), the Cartagena International Film Festival of the Indies or the New Horizons in Poland, and has been distributed in several territories through Salzgeber and MUBI.

In 2023 he was part of the jury of the Un Impuls Col·lectiu section of the D’A Film Festival in Barcelona and starred in the monograph of Dies Curts at the Filmoteca de Catalunya, dedicated to his career in short films.

Meetings with directors and artistic teams

Some directors will be present at the screening of their film; the public will have the opportunity to talk with them at the end of the screening, in the cinema or on the terrace of the French Institute.

Montréal, ma belle

Trobada amb amb Xavier Lezcano i Josep María Machado, directors de l’Americana Film Festival
DIV 05/06 ● 22 h

Una perra andaluza

Meeting with Pablo Tocino, director of Una perra andaluza and the actors and actresses Sara Perogil, Lucía Romero, Rafa Álamos, Esther de los Reyes, Maialen Ruiz and Julia Colomer
DIS 06/06 ● 6 p.m.

Abjad Hawaz

Meeting with Hadi Moussally,
coordinator of A Lebanese Evening with Hadi Moussally
SUN 07/06 ● 6 pm

Perro perro

Meeting with Juan Ramos,
Lead Actor in Dog Dog
SUN 07/06 ● 8 pm

Rural simplicity

Meeting with Hadi Moussally,
Director of Rural Simplicity
SUN 09/06 ● 8 pm

Rural simplicity

Owen John Olden,
director of the Endimaris Festival,
will present 3670
THU 11/06 ● 10 pm

Los amantes astronautas

Meeting with Sergio Avellaneda Belmonte, director of Francisco, and the sisters Belmonte (Antonia, Asunción, Maria José, Ana Belén i Isabel)
FRI 12/06 ● 8 pm

Stallion y la bola de cristal

Meeting with Christian Avilés,
Director of Stallion y la bola de cristal
FRI 12/06 ● 8 pm

We, the Weapon

Meeting with Mohammad Moe Sabbah,
Director of We, the Weapon
SAT 13/06 ● 8 pm

We, the Weapon

Meeting with Bastian Klügel,
Producer of We, the Weapon
SAT 13/06 ● 8 pm

The Activist

Meeting with Romas Zabarauskas,
Director of The Activist
SAT 13/06 ● 10 pm

The Activist

Interview with Robertas Petraitis,
Featured Actor in The Activist
SAT 13/06 ● 10 pm

Source list 2026

Distribution and programming professionals will find here our Source List, with the contacts of the distributors of all the programmed films: feature films, documentaries and short films.