19/10/2023 - The programme from the new director of the well-established event, who will breathe rhythm, modernity and a strong Spanish presence, will characterise its 68th edition

A few months ago, we announced it and had the opportunity to talk to him (read interview), but the moment of truth has arrived and from Saturday, 21 October, the 68th Seminci - Valladolid International Film Festival will be held under its new director, José Luis Cienfuegos. He also put the Gijón Festival on the world independent film map (between 1995 and 2011) and in the last decade made the Seville Festival an unmissable event for European film lovers.

The 68th Seminci will be a festival that bridges the past and the future, as a “space to reclaim the film heritage and a commitment to new values", as demonstrated by the new Alquimias section, dedicated to the most vibrant and original cinema (which includes from this year's Locarno Golden Leopard, Critical Zone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by the Iranian Ali Ahmadzadeh, to the new film by Lav Diaz, Essential Truths of the Lake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). But the event will also open this Friday with Plena pausa, a show where Jota, from Los Planetas, will provide a live soundtrack to super-8 recordings by Iván Zulueta; an event that will enliven the cinemas where the screenings will take place with a select background music and with performances and DJ sessions.

And, as we published earlier (read news), the number of Spanish films has increased significantly in the festival’s programme this year, with names such as Lois Patiño, who will premiere in Spain his award-winning spiritual experiment Samsara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lois Patiño
film profile]; Manuel Martín Cuenca, with Andrea’s Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manuel Martín Cuenca
film profile] before travelling to the Black Nights in Tallin; Víctor Iriarte and his debut Foremost by Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Víctor Iriarte
film profile], which was seen at the Giornate degli Autori at the last Venice festival; Laura Ferrés and her debut film The Permanent Picture [+see also:
film review
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interview: Laura Ferrés
film profile], which premiered at Locarno; and Antonio Méndez Esparza y Something Is About to Happen [+see also:
film review
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interview: Antonio Méndez Esparza
film profile], his adaptation of the novel by Juan Antonio Millás, will shine in the fight for the Golden Spike, the festival’s highest award.

The Official Section in competition will also include All of Us Strangers [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], a film by British director Andrew Haigh; The Beast [+see also:
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interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile], by French director Bertrand Bonello; The Teachers' Lounge [+see also:
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trailer
interview: İlker Çatak
interview: Leonie Benesch
film profile], by German director Ilker Çatak; La chimera [+see also:
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film profile], by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher; How to Have Sex [+see also:
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interview: Molly Manning Walker
film profile], by  British director Molly Manning Walker; Music [+see also:
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film profile], by German director Angela Schanelec; Four Daughters [+see also:
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interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile], by the French-based Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania; and the works of veteran filmmakers such as Agnieszka Holland (with her controversial Green Border [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), Marco Bellocchio (Kidnapped [+see also:
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film profile]) and Ken Loach (The Old Oak [+see also:
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film profile]). Completing the section are The Sweet East, by the American Sean Price Williams and The Shadowless Tower, by Chinese director Zhang Lu.

Out of competition, Tarsem Singh (The Cell) will present his new work entitled Dear Jassi, during the event from India, this year’s guest country. Also screened are Spanish films Teresa [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Paula Ortiz; El maestro que prometió el mar, by Patricia Font; the documentary The Hidden Eye [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], directed by Carlota Nelson; Mamacruz [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], by Patricia Ortega; and The Movie Teller [+see also:
trailer
interview: Lone Scherfig
film profile], by Lone Scherfig, which opens the festival.

The festival will also showcase short films, with its Official Short Film Section, and continues its two traditional competitive sections, Meeting Point, dedicated to first or second fiction films, and Time for History, dedicated to documentaries, both with feature and short film sections.

Finally, the festival will award its Honorary Spike to four superb actresses (Spain's Kiti Mánver and Blanca Portillo, France's Nathalie Baye and Britain's Charlotte Rampling, who will close the festival on 28 October with Juniper, a New Zealand film directed by Matthew J Saville) and to the European Film Academy.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)