Abstract
Out of the many roles that a film festival and other forms of cinematic events can play within the community, that of mediating site for debate and reflection on conflict resolution is perhaps one of the most remarkable ones. Film as a medium of reflection on human nature is at its best when accompanied by a forum of debate that reaches the community broadly. A film showing situations of conflict and/or culture clash always involves an individual intellectual exercise for the viewer. A screening followed by a debate with the presence of some of the film agents and a wide mass media coverage means an even more intense intellectual exercise which usually involves a first step into the conflict resolution process: growing a collective awareness of the need for social reflection, as well as the identification of the causes of clash. The film festival can turn into a window to myriad perspectives on conflict resolution through a collective exercise of analysis of difference and diversity. As a case in point, this paper presents the particular context of the Film Festival and the audiovisual industry in the Canary Islands, a European frontier and a strategic gate to three continents: Africa, America, and Europe. The flow of African population migrating to Europe has become a considerable point of conflict in the social map of the region. This presentation discusses the role that an International Film Festival has played in the perception of a situation that impacts on the whole European continent.
Author Information
Elisa Costa-Villaverde, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
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