FIFTH MÁLAGA FILM FESTIVAL
More than 250 short films and documentaries have enrolled to take part in the 5th Málaga Spanish Film Festival, which will be held between April 26 and May 4, and in the official selection of which 16 feature films will take part. This event is one of the most interesting cultural events on offer in Málaga every year.
The enrolment into the two first sections has seen a notable increase, especially in the shorts, up from 92 to 131, of which 20 opt for prizes and 30 will form a informative section.
In the Local Video Creation section, participation is up 50% with 51 works presented in this edition, compared to 34 last year. In addition this section will have a public prize for the first time, worth 1,500€.

FLAMINGO NESTING 2002
Thousands of flamingos can be seen already in the Fuente de Piedra lagoon in Málaga where they have arrived, as they do each year at this time, to nest and give birth to their chicks.
The good feeding and breeding conditions found at the nature reserve have attracted numerous flamingos over recent days to reach some 13,000 pairs in number.
The Lagoon itself has improved after the latest rains which left 50 litres per m2. In the middle of march there were more than 12,000 birds and in just two weeks some 25,000 have been recorded. The first eggs were seen on the 4th and 5th of March with births of the first chicks expected in forthcoming days. The highest number of flamingos recorded in the Fuente de Piedra lagoon was seen in 1990 when 40,000 flamingos and 10,000 chicks made this Málaga nature reserve their home.

PROMOTION OF MALAGA PORT
The Port of Málaga has received the prize for the largest investment made in the Cruise Line sector, in the International Tourism Cruise Fair, held a few days ago in Miami.
The Levante Dike is, therefore recognised internationally as a magnificent platform to receive cruises from across the world. The award was presented by the prestigious magazine 'World Cruise Destination', in which many of the most important professionals in the sector write. The event brought together the majority of Spanish ports under a single large pavilion dedicated to Spain, and where the Málaga port had its own space to promote its unbeatable facilities as well as the grand attractions of the city and the province. The attendance at the fair, in which the Costa del Sol Tourist Board, Málaga City Council and the Chamber of Commerce all also took part, allows us to observe how the sector is developing and its future perspectives. Last year Málaga port welcomed the Millennium – one of the largest cruise liners in the world, and which inaugurated the recently constructed Levante Dike.

JAMES BOND IS ALREADY IN CÁDIZ
James Bond has already arrived in Cádiz. The stars of the latest film in the saga of the famous secret agent, actors Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, are in Cádiz to start filming of the new film called 'Die Another Day'.
The new film about the popular 007 will be set as if on the island of Cuba and scenes will fundamentally be filmed in La Caleta, where the famous Malecón wall of La Habana will be reproduced, the San Sebastián castle, the Sagrario Tower and the Camposoto road in the Cádiz province town of San Fernando. The films producers, Fox, has chosen these locations considering them to be closest to the style and atmosphere of the Cuban capital, which means important promotion for the city of Cádiz worldwide. For the filming of 'Die Another Day' some 2,000 Cádiz people will be used as extras, the inhabitants and tourists to the island of Cuba.

FESTIVAL OF YOUNG PRODUCERS
Close to 100 short films are entered this year for the Golden Camera award from the International Young Producers Festival, which is held in Granada until April 14 and which has for the first time included a space dedicated to Argentinean cinema.
This event, which is already in its 9th edition, will strengthen its training programme with the organisation of workshops aimed at actors, writers and producers.
The festival, which has already become one of the most outstanding cultural events in Granada, keeps the section 'El Festival en las Aulas' – the objective of which is to introduce youngsters to the world of film showing them cinematographic language as well as aspects related to production and direction of films.
As a side activity, the International Cinema and Television lecture room will continue the work started last year with a workshop in film script writing.

PRESENTATION OF ESPÁRRAGO ROCK 2002
Some of the most outstanding Spanish groups and singers will take part in the 14th edition of the Espárrago Rock festival which will be held in the Cádiz town of Jerez de la Frontera this coming July. The soloists Bunbury and Amaral and the groups Extremoduro and Dover, have already confirmed their attendance and international names are expected to sign as the top of the bill.
Espárrago Rock, which will be held in the Jerez racing track on July 11, 12 and 13 has a budget of 1.3 million €. Entrance tickets which go on sale on Monday 8th April cost 35 € for a pass and 20 € for a daily ticket as a special early offer price. In addition the festival organisers have reached an agreement with the Cádiz University, under which parallel cultural and other activities, such as a film cycle, musical training and new technology courses and a debate on the financing of large festivals, will be developed

FOREIGN PUBLICATIONS IN MÁLAGA
The communities of Danes, Finnish, Swedish, British and Germans are some of those on the Costa del Sol with publications in their own language – there are about 65 in total including newspapers, magazines as well as radio and TV stations.
The increase of residential tourism between Nerja, in Málaga province and San Roque, in Cádiz province, has supported these publications and the presence of journalists and photographers from other countries who have now set up the Costa Press Club – an international association which intends to become a reference point for the communications media which travel to the Andalucian coast to make reports and those especially interested in the lifestyle of their compatriots in Spain or the typical cuisine of the country. The foreign publications intend to inform the residents, especially those who do not speak Spanish, on local, political, social and cultural news as well as providing a guide to other services such as restaurants, excursions, leisure centres or any other place of interest in each town. www.costapressclub.com

LUIS CERNUDA CENTENARY
The events of the International Day of the Book, which is held on April 23rd, at the Andalucian Centre of Letters, will be dedicated to the Seville poet Luis Cernuda. The centre is dependent on the regional government culture department. Through the day a series of similar events will take place in the 8 Andalucian capital cities, where, as in previous years, the book is the main protagonist. Each city will host a conference on the life and work of the talented Andalucian poet – his poetic trajectory, his prose and other details of his life.
In Seville, Cernuda's native city, the conference will be given by his nephew, Angel Yanguas Cernuda.
After the conference in each city a continuous reading of a selection of poems from the Cernuda anthology will be read by the invited authors from that province.