- José Luis Cienfuegos’ bold vision as a programmer and champion of emerging filmmakers takes center stage in a Spanish film series in Europe
The cycle There Was a Horizon: The Reinvention of Film Genres, co-organized by the Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI) and the Cervantes Institute, will screen four Spanish films featured in the SEMINCI lineup. The programme will take place this June in Hamburg (Germany) and Bucharest (Romania). In July, the film series will be hosted at the London office (United Kingdom), followed later by the offices in Bremen (Germany) and Sofia (Bulgaria).
The selected films are They Will Be Dust (Carlos Marques-Marcet, 2024), The Human Hibernation (Anna Cornudella, 2024), La parra (Alberto Gracia, 2024), and On the Go (María Royo and Julia de Castro, 2024). In London, screenings will be held at The Garden Cinema on Friday the 17th (La Parra) and Sunday the 19th (They Will Be Dust).
The common thread running through all of them is their free reinterpretation of genres, using traditional conventions as a foundation to present unusual perspectives on universal themes. “When we think of film genres, we don’t think of Spanish cinema. However, in recent years, Spanish cinema has been making astonishing forays into these genres, which are almost as old as cinema itself,” explain Mariona Viader and Javier H. Estrada, co-directors of SEMINCI. “The films in this series are perfect examples of this trend, while also showcasing the unique styles of their filmmakers.”
Thus, They Will Be Dust by Carlos Marques-Marcet, the film that opened SEMINCI in 2024, is a tragicomedy musical that explores the blurred boundaries between life and death. Ángela Molina plays Claudia, a woman diagnosed with a terminal illness who decides to go to Switzerland with her partner to end her life. The result is an unexpected celebration of life and the unconditional love of those who accompany us on our journey.
Also exploring physical and emotional displacement, On the Go, the debut feature by María Giséle Royo and Julia De Castro, unfolds as an unconventional road movie through Andalusia aboard a white Chevrolet, reexamining the connection to motherhood in our time.
La parra, Alberto Gracia’s third feature film and winner of the Alquimias Award at the 69th SEMINCI, draws on elements of film noir and fantasy to recount, in an enigmatic atmosphere, the protagonist’s return to his native Ferrol following his father’s death.
Finally, Anna Cornudella’s debut, The Human Hibernation (FIPRESCI Award at the Berlinale), transports the viewer to a future in which humans must hibernate for three months a year. The film challenges the conventions of classic science fiction, sparking a reflection on humanity’s relationship with the ecosystem and proposing a visionary ecological utopia.
The films included in There Was a Horizon premiered in Spain at the 68th and 69th SEMINCI film festivals, editions directed by José Luis Cienfuegos, who passed away in December of last year. “The four films are faithful examples of the unique and bold vision for programming and organizing festivals that he developed over three decades in Gijón, Seville, and Valladolid,” state the festival’s co-directors. “We dedicate this cycle to him, featuring filmmakers whom he passionately supported from their very beginnings,” add Mariona Viader and Javier H. Estrada.