This morning, in the courtyard of Centre “Gabrielet,” the island got a first look at Formentera Film 2017. At a morning presentation of the event, councillors of culture and tourism Susana Labrador and Alejandra Ferrer were joined by the festival's two coordinators, Monica Timperi and Silvio Bandinelli. Now in its fifth year, the showcase of short films, documentaries and video art runs May 18 to 21.

Screenings for Formentera Film are free and begin Thursday, May 18 at 8.30pm in la Mola's central plaza. They pick up the same time next day in Sant Francesc's plaça de la Constitució, which will be their home for the remainder of the festival. Thursday's focus on documentaries will give way Friday and Saturday to a selection encompassing short works of fiction and animation and video art. Twenty-three shorts—of which three were produced in the Balearics—have been entered to compete in this year's contest. The nightly programme kicks off at 8.30pm with performances from a musical duo from Lisbon's Port do Sol. Presenting duties will be covered by Toni Riera and Viviana Carlet.

On Sunday, May 21, in addition to the day's screenings, audiences—an assortment including directors, producers, distributors and festival organisers—will see the crowning of 2017's selected productions. Winners will receive prizes crafted by local artists Enric Majoral, Lorenzo Pepe, Sol Courrèges Boné and Andrés Rodríguez. Also on Sunday, from 10.30pm, spectators will be treated to a premiere of a short film cut over four days by Zero Video.

Youth involvement
On May 19 and 20, Centre “Gabrielet” plays host to a parallel programme of 18 shorts for children. This year, following a workshop on video production, 12 teens from the island's youth centre put together a music video spotlighting local rapper El Puerta. Students at la Mola's primary school congregated for their own workshop, ultimately churning out the video that will open each day's programme. The workshops were headed up by Arturo Bandinelli and CHD Animation, respectively.

The Formentera Film jury, a panel formed by Véronique Landy, chair of the island's summer film series Cinema a la Fresca, Xavi Herrero, head of Eivissa Cinema Fest and Antonio Delgado, coordinator of Madrid's Centro Cultural Pilar Miró, also includes the filmmaker behind last year's award-winning “A lo oscuro más seguro,” David Pantalons.

Throughout the festival, Sant Francesc's main square will be arrayed with works concocted by Atelier frase, a London-based design firm that specialises in one of a kind, site-specific structures. The company's Formentera installation draws inspiration from coastal landscapes and includes a collection of sculptures fashioned from recycled wood.

Save Posidonia Project
Formentera Film Festival is a part of Save Posidonia Project. Among this year's selected productions is an educational film about the outreach initiative aimed at securing sponsors of portions of local posidonia meadows.

The Formentera Council and the island's tourism advisory board work in tandem with the non-profit group FormenteraArt, a band formed by Bandinelli, Timperi, Carlet and Carlo Migotto which is dedicated to steering the organisation of Formentera Film Festival and conjuring human and professional experiences that support the local community. This year's festival received counsel from Balears Film Commission. Full details can be found at http://www.formenterafilm.com/cat/.

Earlier this evening, the Govern's minister of energy, Marc Pons, stood before members of the Formentera Council to share details surrounding a new undersea power cable the Palma administration hopes to run from Eivissa to Formentera. Today is the first day of public notice of the nearly €78-million project.

CiF chair Jaume Ferrer said calls for the cable went back years and characterised it as “an essential investment for our energy system”. According to the Council head, the cable will do away with the noise and emissions problems faced by residents near the power station in the Es Ca Marí neighbourhood. The Council, he pledged, will present its own review of the scheme along with suggested improvements. Ferrer also intimated that the administration would push to minimise any knock-on effects, particularly in inland portions of the project.

Technical features
The project, which officials predicted would be complete between 2019 and 2020, envisions construction on Formentera of an ancillary power station rigged for 132 kilowatts (kW), expansion of Eivissa's existing 132-kW station, “Torrent,” burial of ground portions of cables on both islands, installation of the underwater cable itself and a tripolar linkage with integrated, AC fibre-optic connections. Undersea operations will not exceed a depth of 65 metres, nominal tension of 132 kW and 100 megawatt power.

Plans for the cable reflect an attempt to address the shortcomings long plaguing Formentera's summer electricity supply while sidestepping new infrastructure that would generate power locally. Today, the connection between the islands is equipped for 30 kW, though near constant snags have threatened the stability of Formentera's energy supplies.

In attendance at the presentation were Alejandra Ferrer, Rafael González and Daisee Aguilera, the Council's heads of land, infrastructure/IT and environment/energy, respectively. Also in tow were the Govern's director general of energy and climate change, Joan Groizard, the regional envoy of Spain's power grid, Eduardo Maynau, and the Govern delegation's chief of industry, José Ignacio Pradas.