The International Children’s Film Festival of Valencia (FICIV), which has already reached the third edition, is more alive than ever, as witnessed by more than five thousand spectators who have attended this annual event. 14 feature films, colloquiums, expositions, workshops and tributes to Maite Ruiz de Austrí, to Rateta Marieta by Fina Masgrau and Lourdes Bellver, to Guillermo García Carcí, creator of Pocoyo. Maite Ruiz de Austrí highlighted “it has been a distinction for me and I was delighted to collaborate from the beginning”. The tribute had great public expectation and was supported by personalities of the Valencian culture.

In the week of the event, the number of public and attendees was higher than expected, with a significant increase over the last two years. To this end, the new programs and sections launched by the organization have intervened, all of them aimed at the smallest public.

Entities and Associations such as Save de Children, Bioparc, Cines Lys, El Corte Inglés, Chovi kids, Aron multimedia, or the Optometrists Association of the Valencian Community, among others, have joined the initiative through the support of activities and workshops where they were present until the last day of the Festival showing their cultural commitment to film or literature.

Marcos Campos, promoter and director of the festival has indicated regarding the event “is a record number of participants, so many works have never been projected with the enthusiasm that the viewer has shown this year”. In fact, Marcos has already anticipated that for the next edition of 2018 there will be support not only from private companies, but also from the public administration that has shown its support for the event, a clear example that the show continues to grow and that the festival It has a long way to go.

The Theater of the Mercantile Athenaeum, which has participated in the exposition during this week, hosted on Sunday the closing gala of the festival in which the feature film of the official section of Ficiv, Treasures, was awarded with the solidarity statue of Save de Children and Official Jury Prize, from director María Novaro de México.

The award was presented by the President of the Official Jury Luis Gasca who underlined “the importance of these festivals for Spanish cinema with the quality shown. In addition, he stressed that he was returning to his homeland, San Sebastian with the positive impression of the good result of the Festival”. “I would have liked that at the beginning of the San Sebastian Festival we had the magnificent influx of spectators like the one that Ficiv has obtained”. Luis Gasca requested the presence on the stage of the Director of Programming Carmen Chavés to whom he publicly thanked his talent and professionalism in this Festival, pointing out the director “the marked course is from Valencia to the world, with the purpose of educating new filmmakers”.

The Stop Motion Award of the Short Contest was won by Victor and Marío Barrera and the Stop Motion Public Award by CEIP Federico García Sanchiz of Alzira generating the delirium of students and professors who took the stage marking the best moment of the Gala.

Rocío Cebrián also participated on the stage as Honorary Consul in Valencia of the guest country, Switzerland. Cebrián showed his happiness in the participation with a didactic and emotional speech towards the organization and the children.

There was also time at the gala to honor the directors selected for the quality of their work, Liliana Romero, from Argentina, Catalina Arango, from Ecuador. The director Kunihiko Yuyama of Japan and the creators of Pokemon and Yokanda Watch.

The gala was closed at the Teatro del Ateneo Mercantil with the full capacity and large audience that stayed in the Ateneo Hall to greet and ask for autographs, especially the children’s audience, the presenters, the Valencian actor Toni Gómez and the winner of the 4th Edition of Master Chef Junior, José Enrique.