- The eagerly awaited Spanish premiere of Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” completes the Official Section Out of Competition
The opening and closing galas will be hosted by journalists Pepa Blanes, Elena Sánchez and actress Llum Barrera, featuring performances by Niño de Elche and La La Love You
Twenty-four feature films will compete for the Golden Spike in the Official Section of the 70th edition of the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), which totals 29 titles with the out-of-competition inclusion of Hamnet, the highly anticipated adaptation of the international publishing phenomenon of the same title by Irish writer Maggie O’Farrell, directed by Chloé Zhao (Silver Spike and Pilar Miró Award for Best Direction at the 62nd Seminci for The Rider). The strongest selection in terms of the number of major filmmakers represented serves as the headline of a program consisting of 225 films (137 of them premieres: 104 in Spain, 29 world premieres, 3 European premieres, and 1 international premiere), which includes offerings for children, young people, and seniors, in addition to serving as a showcase for film production and future talents from Castilla y León.”
Long-time fans of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell’s novel (Libros del Asteroide, 2020) that won the National Foreign Language Critics’ Award in 2021, are in for a treat. They won’t have to wait until January to enjoy the film adaptation of this novel directed by filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Oscar for Best Picture in 2021, and Eternals). The 70th edition of SEMINCI will host the Spanish premiere of this film, starring Paul Mescal (Normal People, Gladiator 2) and actress and singer Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose and Oscar nominee for The Lost Daughter), which won the People’s Choice Award for Best Film at the Toronto Film Festival. Mescal, who will play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes‘ quartet of feature films about The Beatles, and Buckley, who will play Frankenstein’s bride in Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s The Bride!, play William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway (Agnes, in the book). Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, The Brutalist) and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) complete the cast of this story centred on the relationship between the writer and his wife and how they each deal with an unexpected tragedy within the family.
Jury
The international selection of experts responsible for choosing the winners of this Official Section is made up by the Romanian programmer and artistic director of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), Mihai Chirilov; the Italian producer Laurentina Guidotti; the Spanish filmmaker Elena López Riera (El agua, Las novias del sur), Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues, and renowned French critic and cultural manager Serge Toubiana.
The jury for the Meeting Point section includes Colombian producer Ivette Liang, Argentine screenwriter and director Federico Luis (Simon of the Mountain, Grand Prix winner at Cannes), and Spanish director Adrián Orr, who presented A nuestros amigos at the 69th SEMINCI. Meanwhile, Time of History brings together Spanish programmer Manuel Asín, Austrian director, writer and curator Alexander Horwath (Henry Fonda for President) and Lebanese filmmaker Feyrouz Serhal.
The most daring proposals in the Alchemies section will be evaluated by Italian filmmaker Yuri Ancarani, Spanish filmmaker María Antón Cabot, and Argentine co-founder of the production company Un Puma, Victoria Marotta. The short film jury will bring together animation filmmaker Begoña Arostegui, Lithuanian filmmaker Andrius Blaževičius and Czech programmer and distributor Daniel Vadocky. The three will be responsible for assessing the short format submissions.
The FIPRESCI Prize, awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, will be decided by Loreta Gandolfi, Giuseppe Sedia and Elsa Tébar. The Green Spike, an award recognising environmental commitment in cinema, will have a jury made up of Cristina Casado Polo, journalist Manuel Planelles and José Manuel Rodríguez Fernández. The Rainbow Spike, now in its tenth year of rewarding films with LGTBIQ+ content, will be awarded by filmmakers Karu Borge, Alejandro Marín, and programmer Yolanda Rodríguez Valentín. Rounding out the list are the nine young people who will choose the best feature films and short films to win the Youth Jury Award.
Filmmakers from Castile and Leon at SEMINCI
The 70th edition of SEMINCI will devote ample space to regional production. This significant presence of regional audiovisual productions is part of the boost that La Meseta, the film labs co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the region of Castile and Leon with funds from the Ministry of Culture, providing to the regional sector, reinforcing the connection between creators and industry, and the exchange of filmmakers from different regions in Valladolid.
The Castile and León in Feature Films section presents two titles: Los Cangrejos, by Rubén Seca, and Mi sueño cubano, by Christian Dehugo. Rubén Seca‘s first feature-length documentary stems from the discovery of the memoirs of his great-grandfather Eloy, who was persecuted in Soria during the Civil War for belonging to the CNT (National Confederation of Labour). The director, who was the camera operator on José Luis Guerin‘s Good Valley Stories, reconstructs this silenced memory through research and recordings of the places where his captivity took place. Seca is currently finishing his second documentary, El projecte Pisoft, and developing El far, an adaptation of Paco Roca‘s graphic novel.
Also a documentary, Mi sueño cubano portrays the Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba school and company, located in Old Havana. For almost 35 years, this institution has transformed lives by teaching not only dance, but also the children who are part of it to believe, create and imagine a better future. Soundtrack composer for the documentaries 24, Castilla y León en un día and El sueño ilustrado, by Eduardo Margareto, Christian Dehugo made his debut as co-director in 2019 at SEMINCI with Nous, La evolución del pensamiento. He has also directed Maaté, la maman D’Afrique and the short film En cuerpo y alma.
Castilla y León en Corto brings together five films with a wide variety of themes and styles: La raíz, by Isabel Sáez Pérez; Metta, by Sara Martínez Sanz and Rocío Pérez; 15 días con 15 años, by Dacio de las Heras; Bajo el sol de España, by Carla Álvarez Coello; and Darshan, by Alberto Allica. Presented by their directors, they will be screened on Sunday 26th at the Broadway Cinemas, together with the short film Costillar y chuletilla, made by the students of the UVA Master’s Degree in Film, Lucía Beltrán, Lucía Caviedes and Patricia Pérez.
On 29 October, the Castile y Leon Gala is scheduled to be held at the Teatro Zorrilla, during which the Segovian actor Luis Callejo will receive the Honorary Spike award from actress Ruth Díaz and director Benito Zambrano. Along with the tribute, two short documentaries restored by the Castile and Leon Film Library will be screened. Valladolid-based creator J. Sasso, who works in the visual arts and sound experimentation, will provide live music during the Gala for the screening of the restored copy of El Canal de Castilla, a silent film shot in 1931 by Salamanca filmmaker Leopoldo Alonso. El Noveno, by Basilio Martín Patino, filmed during the festivities of San Felices de los Gallegos (Salamanca), completes the Gala programme.
SEMINCI Factory, an initiative of Valladolid City Council, Valladolid Film Commission, the Castile and Leon Audiovisual Platform and SEMINCI to support filmmakers and production companies by promoting the creation of short films and the development of audiovisual projects, will present the two award-winning projects from the 69th edition: Cenizas mi amor (Ashes, My Love) by Pedro Tamames and Margo García, and Esta no es tu casa (This Is Not Your Home) by Javier Noriega. Both will be screened on 30 October at the Teatro Zorrilla as part of the UNESCO Valladolid City of Film Gala, where the names of this year’s winning projects will be announced.
The region’s film talent pool will be represented by six projects in development grouped under Quercus: La biblioteca, by Carlos Zalama; 9 mujeres (en el bosque lácteo), by Alfonso Ordoñez; Brannia Ossaria, by Miguel Sánchez González; Enroque nocturno, by Juan Rodríguez-Briso; Max, by Jaime Alonso de Linaje, and Canina, by Néstor López. These works will be screened on Monday 27th at the Broadway Cinemas.
Gala nights and horror
The festival will begin on 24 October with the opening gala at the Calderón Theatre at 7 pm. Presented by journalist Pepa Blanes, the actress Blanca Portillo will award Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson and Sergi Casamitjana, directors of the ECAM and ESCAC film schools, this year’s Honorary Spike Award recipients.
Niño de Elche, artist-in-residence at the Calderón Theatre, will explore the roots of Castilian folklore on stage, drawing on representative figures from its culture, such as the Segovian concert performer Agapito Marazuela, the Valladolid dancer and choreographer Vicente Escudero, and the Zamora poet and playwright Agustín García Calvo. This process of revisiting the Castilian jota will culminate in the opening gala of the 70th SEMINCI with a unique performance that will bring together different musicians from the region, such as guitarist Sergio Portales from Zamora, percussionist Laura Silva from Palencia and rapper Erik Urano from Valladolid. The choir of the Valladolid Municipal School of Music will also take part in this performance.
SEMINCI will also host two RTVE galas in 2025. On 25 October, at 9.45 p.m. at the Carrión Theatre, the first RTVE Gala will take place with the screening of Frontera, by Judith Colell, while on 26 October, at the Teatro Zorrilla, Leo & Lou by Carlos Saiz will be presented. Both events, which will be attended by the filmmakers and the artistic team, reinforce RTVE’s historic commitment to the Valladolid festival and its support for Spanish film production.
On 29 October, during the Gourmet Gala, to be held at the FUNDOS Forum Auditorium, oenologist Antonio Flores, Master Blender at Bodegas González Byass, will receive the Honorary Spike Award from Conrado Íscar, President of the Valladolid Provincial Council. After the award ceremony, the audience will be able to enjoy the film The Hills of Wrath, presented by its director Léo Boudet. This documentary transports viewers to the heart of the wine-growing regions of Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie, the domains of winemaker Christine Vernay, and pays tribute to an extraordinary place and people, against the backdrop of climate change, the role of women in agriculture, biodiversity, soil protection through organic viticulture and the transmission of heritage.
The second screening in the Gourmet Cinema section will invite audiences to travel to Iceland on 30 October. Odd Fish, by Snævar Sölvason (From Iceland to Eden), tells the story of Hjalti and Björn, two childhood friends who run a fish restaurant during the summer and dream of keeping it open all year round. The gender change of one of them tests their friendship, forcing them to face life with a new perspective in order to preserve what matters most to them.
Audiences attending the two screenings in the Gourmet Cinema section have the opportunity to complete the gastronomic experience by booking a tasting menu for the same evening at the Melêl and HacheQú restaurants, inspired by the plot of each of the films and paired with wines from Ribera del Duero. Places for these dinners, which are limited and exclusively for viewers of these films, must be requested before 12 noon on 27 October by emailing eventos@seminci.com.
Horror will invade the Cervantes Theatre on Halloween night, 31 October, with a double feature programmed by the PUFA festival consisting of Alpha, by Julia Ducorneau (Palme d’Or in 2021 for Titane) and The Smile of Evil, by Paolo Strippoli.
That same night, French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve will receive the Honorary Spike Award at the Calderón Theatre. The 70th edition will close the following day, 1 November, at the same theatre in a ceremony presented by journalist Elena Sánchez and actress Llum Barrera. The awards ceremony will be rounded off with a performance by the group La La Love You, one of Spain’s biggest musical talents of recent years, who will present a preview of their upcoming album at the ceremony.
Miniminci and SEMINCI Youth
In 2025, the festival is expanding its educational programme to promote film culture among young people. It is maintaining its traditional sections: Miniminci (up to 12 years old) and ‘ SEMINCI Youth ’ (over 12 years old) in cinemas, which on this occasion is expanding to Tordesillas and Tudela de Duero. With the aim of educating film-loving audiences to think critically, using films that address issues such as integration, the environment and identity, SEMINCI is programming 17 feature films for young people, 12 for children and two programmes of six short films for 9 to 11-year-olds and ten for 5 to 8-year-olds.
‘Thinking about cinema at SEMINCI’
SEMINCI is once again opening up a space for reflection on cinema and its link with the contemporary world. “Thinking about cinema at SEMINCI” proposes a series of meetings with leading filmmakers and other figures from the cultural sphere who will present their latest works at the festival, sharing with the audience the creative processes behind their works.
The scheduled meetings will begin on Monday 27 October at 12 noon in the Paraninfo of the University of Valladolid with a transatlantic conversation on the 475th anniversary of the Valladolid Controversy and human rights. With the participation of Alejandra Trelles, artistic director of the Uruguayan Film Archive, and historian Víctor J. Vázquez, and moderated by philosopher José Manuel Chillón Lorenzo, it complements the programme for the 70th edition.
That same day, at 5 p.m., filmmakers Paco Plaza (REC, Verónica) and Pablo Guerrero (Entre tierras, Alba) will talk with Pablo Barrero about their first joint collaboration on the series La suerte as part of “DAMA Mondays”.
On Wednesday 29th, at noon, the Mirror Room at the Calderón Theatre will host the presentation of the book ‘The Capture of Time. A Cinema Under the Influence of the Real’, a publication on the various manifestations of cinematic realism edited by SEMINCI. Participants will include Professor of Film History and Theory Àngel Quintana, Carlos F. Heredero, editorial director of Caimán Cuadernos de Cine, and Laura Gómez Vaquero, PhD in Film History. The career and vision of filmmaker and writer David Trueba, who is premiering his latest film, Siempre es invierno (It’s Always Winter), at SEMINCI, will be discussed with the audience on Friday 31st at 12.30 pm in the FUNDOS Auditorium. On Friday 31st, at 1 pm, in the Hall of Mirrors, Sandra Leege, representative of the European Film Academy, and the five filmmakers nominated for the European Film Awards for best short film will explain how they operate, as well as providing insight into their experience as filmmakers.
Women Filmmakers Meeting
The Women Filmmakers Meeting promoted by SEMINCI celebrates its eighth edition this year, the second with its new format after continuing the Women Filmmakers Forum in 2024. On this occasion, the event seeks to reflect on activism, collaboration and the future of cinema made by women. With this objective in mind, on Tuesday 28 October, the festival will hold three round tables in the auditorium of the University of Valladolid.
The first panel, entitled “Militant Cinema”, will feature Judith Colell, who is presenting in the Official Section Frontera; Inés G. Aparicio, author of the short film La diva, mi abuela y yo; Candela Sotos, director of Yrupê; and Amparo Climent, director of Dolores Ibárruri. Pasionaria (2025). The second panel, developed in collaboration with RTVE and entitled “New Audiovisual Professions”, will open up a space for discovering emerging professions that, as they are not subject to traditional gender roles, allow for the creation of a more equitable industry from the ground up. The participants will be music supervision specialist Judit A. Riera; the head of the Accessibility Unit at TVE, Laura Feyto; and the head of the RTVE Equality Observatory Unit, Beatriz Aparicio.
Finally, the round table “Creative Complicities” will explore shared authorship as an alternative model to the myth of individual genius. In recent years, female directors, producers, screenwriters and editors have demonstrated how trust and horizontal working enrich their work and set an inspiring example for new generations. In this context, director Paula Ortiz and producer María Zamora, winner of the 2024 National Film Award, will engage in dialogue with filmmaker Mar Coll and screenwriter Valentina Viso, who competed at Seminci last year with Mother Don’t.
Concerts and exhibitions, the traces and escapes of cinema and music at SEMINCI
On 30 October, the Valladolid Arts Laboratory (LAVA) will host a performance by Fantasma Sur, a collective formed by Alondra Bentley, Isaki Lacuesta, Ylia and Albert Coma, who will offer a live music concert that interacts with audiovisual projections.
Before this, on 22 October, the Exhibition Hall of the San Benito Tourist Office will inaugurate the second edition of the exhibition Traces and Escapes. Spanish cinema at Seminci. The exhibition, curated by set designer and visual artist Ramón Isidoro together with the festival director, José Luis Cienfuegos, brings together original materials that document the creative process of some of the Spanish productions programmed in the different sections of this edition: sketches, costumes, props, storyboards, shooting journals, or posters that reveal the physical traces of the filmmaking process.
Some of the titles represented on this occasion will be This Body of Mine by Afioco Gnecco and Carolina Yuste (with a banner they carried themselves during the International Pride Day march in 2024); Lionel, by Carlos Saiz (with objects such as the broken headlight from the car that appears in the film and an original firefighter’s suit from France); and some of the puppets from Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, the debut film by Irene Iborra Rizo, the first Spanish director to release a stop-motion animated feature film.
Previously, starting October 22nd, the Exhibition Hall of the San Benito Tourism Office will inaugurate the second edition of the exhibition ‘Huellas y fugas. El cine español en Seminci’ (Traces and Escapes. Spanish Cinema at Seminci). The exhibition, curated by set designer and visual artist Ramón Isidoro alongside festival director José Luis Cienfuegos, brings together original materials documenting the creative process of some of the Spanish productions programmed in the different sections of this edition: sketches, costumes, props, storyboards, shooting notebooks, and posters that reveal the physical traces of the filmmaking process.
Some of the titles represented on this occasion will be Este cuerpo mío (This Body of Mine), by Afioco Gnecco and Carolina Yuste (featuring a banner they themselves carried during the 2024 International Pride Day march); Lionel, by Carlos Saiz (with objects such as the broken headlight from the car that appears in the film and an original firefighter suit from France); and some of the puppets from Olivia y el terremoto invisible (Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake), the debut feature by Irene Iborra Rizo, the first Spanish director to release a stop-motion animated feature film.
Alhambra SEMINCI Nights
For the third consecutive year, SEMINCI is teaming up with Alhambra to offer an attractive programme of night-time entertainment during the festival. On this occasion, Bizarro, El Desierto Rojo and the Patio Herreriano Museum will be the meeting points, where guests and fans can get together in a festive atmosphere with good music, away from the intensity of the cinemas. From 25 October to 1 November, these three venues will offer a programme of free concerts and DJ sessions to complement the daily screenings from midnight onwards.
The programme will kick off on Saturday 25th at the Patio Herreriano Museum with live performances by Guadalupe Plata and Boydivision, and will return there on Friday 31st with Yahaira and Coño; and on 1st November with Julio Ródenas DJ and Carlangas. The programme at Bizarro begins on Sunday 26th with Gerar Fallen, and over the following days, visitors to the venue will be able to enjoy performances by María Espada (27th), Kill Vir (Tuesday 28th), Victor Verrier DJ (Wednesday 29th) and Inkilino Komunista DJ (Thursday 30th).
At the same time, at El Desierto Rojo, Sunday 26th will be the turn of Basoa and Lykkelau, followed on Monday 27th by Sama Yax and Marta Fever Girl; on Tuesday 28th, Mr. Cong and resident DJ Oscar de Angel; on Wednesday 29th, Carlos Bayona and Oscarmina DJ; and on Thursday 30th October, Víctor Carré and Body-o plus Queen África.
Just like at the festival, where mixing and unexpected discoveries are the order of the day, the musical offering will be equally diverse, with sounds ranging from rock and blues to psychedelic pop, electronic music and many more sounds that are setting the pace on the national scene.