Muestra De Cine Mujeres En Escena (16)

Festival start: 01 October 2026      Festival end: 30 November 2026

The Malaga Festival, in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Area of ​​the Malaga City Council, pursues the objective of supporting the presence of women in film production, creating spaces that make visible the work of women in the audiovisual field, professional field where they are underrepresented, both in the direction, in the production or in the writing of scripts; favoring the film industry with the diverse views of women.

In order to fulfill this objective, the Equal Opportunities Area will hold its “XXII FILM SHOW WOMEN ON STAGE”, between the months of October and November 2026.

THE WOMEN ON STAGE FILM EXHIBITION was created in 2002 with the aim of debating, through the holding of cineforums, the existing gender inequalities in our society as well as in other nearby ones, reflecting on their causes and possible social strategies to eradicate them.
The Málaga Festival, in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Department of Málaga City Council, aims to support the presence of women in film production by creating spaces that showcase women’s work in the audiovisual field, a professional area where they are underrepresented, whether in directing, producing, or screenwriting; thereby enriching the film industry with the diverse perspectives of women.

To fulfill this objective, the Equal Opportunities Department will hold its “24th WOMEN ON STAGE FILM SHOWCASE” between October and November 2026.

The WOMEN ON STAGE FILM SHOWCASE was created in 2002 with the aim of fostering debate, through film forums, on gender inequalities present in our society and in others nearby, reflecting on their causes and possible social strategies to eradicate them.

Since 2010, in addition to this objective of raising awareness and increasing visibility, the initiative has also aimed to support the presence of women in film production, a field where there is a significant gender gap. As more and more women are interested in developing their professional careers in this area, one of the purposes of the OFFICIAL WOMEN ON STAGE SECTION is to highlight audiovisual productions made by women.

Among the works submitted, the Málaga Festival will grant 4 “WOMEN ON STAGE” AWARDS. These include:

3 AWARDS aimed at women participating as directors, producers, and/or screenwriters of audiovisual works: the Silver Biznaga Women on Stage Award for Best Documentary, the Silver Biznaga Women on Stage Award for Best Fiction Work, and the Silver Biznaga Audience Award Women on Stage.
1 Silver Biznaga “MÁLAGA, WOMEN ON STAGE” Award for the best work created by a woman born or residing in Málaga, in any professional category.

All awards will be presented in the section AFFIRMING WOMEN’S RIGHTS, during the 30th EDITION OF THE MÁLAGA FESTIVAL, which will take place from February 26 to March 7, 2027
Since 2010, this objective of raising awareness and visibility has been added to supporting the presence of women in film production, an area in which there is a large gender gap, taking advantage of the fact that every day there are more women interested in developing their professional careers. In this field, therefore, one of the purposes of the OFFICIAL WOMEN ON STAGE SECTION is the visibility of audiovisual productions made by women, and it is achieved by dedicating the evening sessions to the exclusive projection of works directed, produced or scripted by women .

- AWARDS for women who participate as directors, producers and/or scriptwriters of audiovisual products:

Biznaga Women on Scene for Best Documentary, Biznaga Women on Scene for Best Fiction Work, and the Biznaga for Women on Stage for the work most voted by the Public.

- 1 Biznaga “MÁLAGA, MUJERES EN ESCENA” for the best work done by a woman, born or residing in Malaga, in any professional category.

The prizes have no financial endowment.

The prizes may be declared void.

The jury may award, together with the official prizes, up to 3 special mentions.

The jury may award a maximum of two prizes ex aequo.

PARTICIPATION CONDITIONS

The works competing in the 16th “Women on Stage” Awards, aimed at women participating as directors, producers and/or screenwriters of audiovisual works, must meet the following requirements:

Women of legal age may participate in the competition, whether or not they are professionals in the audiovisual field.
Participation may be individual or collective through legally constituted entities.
The theme is open, and all audiovisual genres will be accepted: drama, animation, documentary, etc.
It is an essential requirement that the works selected for theatrical screening be submitted in their original version with Spanish subtitles, even if the audiovisual work is spoken in Spanish, in order to guarantee inclusive cinema.
Works made before January 1, 2025 may not be submitted.
A brief bio-filmography of the professional or professionals (director, producer or screenwriter) entering the competition must be added to the registration form on the platform.

The works competing for the Silver Biznaga “MÁLAGA. WOMEN ON STAGE”, in addition to the above conditions, must meet the following requirements:

The entrant or entrants must have been born in or reside in Málaga.
The award granted will take into account any professional category that was necessary for the creation of the submitted work (Production, Directing, Screenwriting, Female Performance, Musical Composition, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Hairdressing, Sound, Special Effects, etc.).
In the registration form on the platform, applicants must indicate the category for which they are applying, whether they were born in or reside in Málaga, and add a brief bio-filmography of the professional entering the competition.

VERSIONS

It is an essential requirement that the works selected for theatrical screening be submitted in their original version with Spanish subtitles, even if the audiovisual work is spoken in Spanish, in order to guarantee inclusive cinema.

SUBMISSIONS AND DOCUMENTATION

Registration through the Festhome platform.

• Uploading the video of the audiovisual work

• Completion of the registration form on the Festhome platform

• The submission deadline is June 8, 2026

For any information, interested applicants may contact the Equal Opportunities Department via email at cine.areaigualdad@malaga.eu

Failure to comply with the above requirements will result in the works being excluded from the selection process.

The organization will inform the persons responsible of the works selected for screening in the Women on Stage Film Showcase.

AWARDS:

SILVER BIZNAGA “WOMEN ON STAGE” for Best Documentary

SILVER BIZNAGA “WOMEN ON STAGE” for Best Fiction Work

SILVER BIZNAGA AUDIENCE AWARD, “WOMEN ON STAGE”

SILVER BIZNAGA, “MÁLAGA. WOMEN ON STAGE” for the best work made by women born in or residing in the city of Málaga

The awards will be granted to the works chosen by the jury from among those selected for screening in the Official Section of the 2026 Women on Stage Film Showcase.

The awards carry no cash prize.

The awards may be declared void.

The jury may grant, together with the official awards, up to 3 special mentions.

The jury may grant a maximum of two ex aequo awards.

JURY

A professional jury, made up of gender experts from the Equal Opportunities Department and professionals from the world of culture and cinema representing the Festival de Málaga, will decide the winning works from among those selected and screened during the 24th Women on Stage Film Showcase, granting the Silver Biznaga Women on Stage for Best Documentary and the Silver Biznaga Women on Stage for Best Fiction Work. The jury’s decision shall be final and will be announced by publication on the website cinemujeresenescena.es of the Equality Department of Málaga City Council. The vote cast through ballots by the audience attending the Film Showcase will determine the Silver Biznaga Audience Award “Women on Stage.”

A jury made up of professionals, representatives of the Festival de Málaga and the Equal Opportunities Department will decide the Silver Biznaga “Málaga Women on Stage.”

SCREENING RIGHTS

The holder of the screening rights of the works submitted to the competition undertakes to assign and authorize the screening of said title during the Women on Stage Film Showcase, at no cost to the Showcase itself.

CIRCULATION OF COPIES

Those selected must send the festival a copy of the film before September 1, 2026, choosing one of the following methods:

• Physical shipment of the DCP addressed to the Equal Opportunities Department. It must bear a label with the title of the work, its running time, version, footage, screen and projection format, and sound type, as well as the address to which the copy should be returned once the Film Showcase has ended.

Shipping costs from the place of dispatch of the copy to the Equal Opportunities Department of Málaga City Council shall be borne by the production companies.

• Digital delivery of the DCP, which must be hosted uncompressed, with ZIP or RAR files not accepted, before September 1, 2026. Download links through Google Drive or any other platform that compresses files will not be accepted. Subtitles must be embedded or in VF.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS:

Once a film has been selected for the Official Section of the Women on Stage Film Showcase, it may not be withdrawn.

These participation rules may be supplemented or modified prior to the start date of the 24th Edition of the Film Showcase, with prior notice to the interested parties, through any annexes deemed appropriate by the Organization.

The Equal Opportunities Department may request the screening of the submitted works for non-profit audiovisual dissemination and, in any case, the intended use, always cultural and non-profit in nature, shall be communicated in advance.

Submitting a work for selection implies full acceptance of these Participation Rules and any possible Annexes. Their interpretation shall be the exclusive responsibility of the Festival de Málaga in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Department.