La Pinochera Film Event Embraces "Fallow Land" Concept for Fifth Edition
The fifth edition of La Pinochera, a rural cinema event in the Canary Islands, is taking a symbolic break this year with a focus on "fallow land" to foster artistic exploration, community engagement, and ecofeminist principles while honoring farming heritage and local wisdom.
La Pinochera, a rural cinema event in the Canary Islands, is holding its fifth edition until Saturday. This year, the event, which connects modern filmmaking with the countryside, is taking a symbolic break. It's focusing on "fallow land" – that period of rest that allows the earth and its workers to recover before new growth.
This event brings together artistic exploration and community engagement with an ecofeminist approach. It supports projects that link filmmaking with the farming heritage and local wisdom of the Canary Islands.
As part of this, La Pinochera 2025 is hosting the Barbecho artistic residency in the La Esperanza mountains. For ten days, artists Verónica Perales, Elia Estévez, Laura Sam, and Kinewa have been living, researching, and creating together, inspired by ideas of care and rural life. Elia Estévez described the experience as deeply moving, saying, "On the La Pinochera mural, it wasn't just about painting; it was about honouring real people, with names, stories, and family connections." She created her artwork using natural clays and pigments, working alongside local residents and their families.
The artists' work explores themes of bodies, land, and rest. Verónica Perales' "Sueños de un solo cuerpo" (Dreams of a Single Body) compares fallow land to restorative sleep. Laura Sam's "Idiorritmia" looks at collective identity and language, reflecting on how we care for each other.
La Pinochera is building connections between artists, farmers, educators, and the local community. It uses the camera as a tool for preserving memory and empowering people. For instance, a community meeting allowed for a shared discussion about the future of the event: its goals, how to collaborate, and the core values that will keep it a rural, ecofeminist, and Canarian project, created by and for the people.
Over the weekend, a community meal was also held, honouring the women involved in the event. Amidst music, food, and conversation, the sense of connection and community spirit was strengthened. The event is built on three key ideas: creating art in specific locations, engaging with the community, and ensuring cultural sustainability. La Pinochera sees art not as a performance, but as a way to connect and care.