At the end of May 1998, Málaga was enthusiastically celebrating the first edition of its Spanish Film Festival, an event that from its very beginnings knew how to capture attention and The affection of the entire film sector of our country. Since its inaugural edition, the Málaga contest has become the most popular event in the world. It will become one of the main meeting points for national celluloid and a fundamental event for its support and dissemination.
The film in charge of inaugurating this edition was ‘A perfect couple’, a comedy by Francesc Betriu with a script by Rafael Azcona and starring Antonio Resines, José Sazatornil and Kiti Mánver from Málaga, who, thanks to this work, received a prize. the first award for best actress of the contest.
‘La primera noche de mi vida’, by Miguel Albaladejo, was the great winner of the recently born Festival de Málaga. The film obtained the first Biznaga de oro in the history of the Malaga competition, as well as the award. such as the Audience Award, the award for best actor for Emilio Gutiérrez Caba and a Special Mention from the Jury to the young performer Iñigo Garcés. The film ‘Subjudice’, by Josep Maria Forn, received recognition. the second prize in the list of winners, while Manuel Toledano obtained the corresponding to the best new director for ‘Cuernos de espuma’, his first film.
The mythical performer, director and screenwriter Fernando Fernán Gómez, one of the essential figures of Spanish celluloid, was the subject of the Festival's first tribute, which was dedicated to the festival. his first retrospective of the filmography of the Navarrese filmmaker Montxo Armendáriz.
With a total of 14 sections, the inaugural grill of the Malaga Festival also conquered the audience. the heart of the Malaga public, which welcomed the event. I welcomed the film proposal with open arms. More than 30,000 people participated in this first edition of a contest that since its first edition has become the most popular event in the world. to Malaga in the capital of Spanish cinema.
The first edition of the Malaga Festival was received with great interest both by the Malaga public and by the Spanish film industry
The first retrospective of the Malaga Festival was dedicated to the filmography of Navarre filmmaker Montxo Armendáriz
The actor Fernando Fernán Gómez thanks the public for the tribute that the Malaga Festival paid him in its first edition. The interpreter was accompanied by numerous friends and colleagues
The Malaga Festival brought together Malaga talent in the world of cinema. Actors such as Julio Sanjuán, Toni Zenet, Kiti Mánver, Domi del Postigo, Fiorella Faltoyano and Lucio Romero, among others, took part in the meeting.