Barcelona International Erotic Film Festival | |
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Date | 1992 |
Location | Barcelona & Madrid |
Country | Kingdom of Spain |
The Barcelona International Erotic Film Festival or FICEB (Festival Internacional de Cinema Eròtic de Barcelona in Catalan) is an annual Spanish pornographic film festival and awards ceremony. It is the oldest adult film festival in Europe.
The event dates from 1992. Since 1997, it has been held in the La Farga convention center in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, a town outside Barcelona. In 2005, the event was recognized by the regional government of Catalonia, but, in 2006, the L'Hospitalet municipal government controversially voted not to renew the festival's contract, requiring it to seek a new location (Madrid) for 2007-08. The FICEB moved to Madrid in 2008 and was held at the Room Fabrik.
Compared to the analogous Hot d'Or film festival in Cannes, the Barcelona festival has been called less exclusive and more comprehensive. Besides film awards and star appearances, the five days of FICEB include hundreds of strip-tease and live sex shows, as well as a lingerie show and a sex product fair with adult toys. The event exists, in part, to promote the sex industry in Spain by promoting the domestic production of adult films and organizing discussion forums. At or above 50,000 people attended the festival in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The FICEB has served as launching pad for actresses, actors, and directors such as: Sophie Evans, Celia Blanco, Nacho Vidal, Max Cortés, Sara Bernat, and Toni Ribas.