Javea to host international dance film festival with free screenings and live performances

Javea is preparing to celebrate the creative relationship between dance and cinema with a festival bringing international short films, live performances and an interactive workshop to the town this November.

The second edition of the Riurau Dansa Film Festival will take place from November 16 to 20, with a programme designed to introduce audiences to the growing art of dance film while giving local residents the opportunity to get involved.

All activities in Javea will be free to attend, with events taking place at the Sala Polivalent del Portal del Clot and the Casa de la Cultura.

The festival focuses on a distinctive form of filmmaking in which choreography and cinematography work together to tell stories through movement, rather than relying solely on dialogue.

Residents invited to take part in film workshop

The programme will open on Monday, November 16, with an open workshop offering participants the chance to explore movement and improvisation in front of a camera.

Taking place at 6pm at the Sala Polivalent del Portal del Clot, the session will be led by actress and therapist Alicia Costa.

The workshop is open to actors, dancers and anyone interested in experimenting with physical expression, meaning no previous professional experience is required.

Participants will explore how the human body can communicate emotions and ideas through movement. Their work will also be filmed, with the resulting footage screened during the festival’s Javea programme.

Three artists take to the stage

The festival’s main programme will move to the Casa de la Cultura, in plaça de Baix, on Friday, November 20, when the official opening ceremony begins at 6pm.

Audiences will be treated to three live performances exploring the relationship between the body, movement, gesture and voice.

The line-up includes Xema Soler, who will present Fragmentos de Relación, an interactive work; Rafel Arnal Rodrigo, performing Sursum Corda; and Brazilian artist Davi de Lacerda, who will bring his piece Saturna to the stage.

Grouped under the title Metáfora, the performances will offer three different artistic interpretations, bringing the festival’s focus on movement beyond the cinema screen.

Eight international films screened in Javea

Film enthusiasts will have another opportunity to experience the festival at 8pm on Friday, when the first official screening session gets underway.

Eight short films from seven different countries will be shown, offering an international perspective on how dance and cinema can combine to create powerful visual stories.

The selection includes The Broken Cycle by Andreas Guzman, Control by Stelian, Effetá by Roger Bayerri and Jacob Gómez, Strange Age by Fu Le, Muses by Simon Vermeulen, Trust by Charles Evans, Summer Cloud by Esraa Osama and Rota [not every day, but almost] by Juá Leindecker and Flora Leles.

The screening will also feature the film created during the improvisation workshop held earlier in the week.

The wider festival’s official competition features 16 short films selected from more than 900 submissions representing almost 80 nationalities. Half of the selected films will be screened in Javea, while the remaining eight will be presented the following day in Ràfol d’Almúnia, where the festival’s awards ceremony will also take place.

Supporting culture throughout the year

The independent festival was previously incorporated into the Riurau Film Festival before becoming a standalone event in 2025. Its second edition continues to establish dance cinema as an artistic discipline in its own right.

Organised by the Associació Escola de Cinema Riurau, the event receives support from Javea Town Hall through its Department of Culture.

Culture councillor Mavi Pérez said the festival reflected the municipality’s commitment to providing cultural activities throughout the year, rather than concentrating events into the main tourist season.

With free entry, international filmmaking and opportunities for residents to participate, the festival aims to make an unusual and creative art form accessible to a wider audience.