• The industry programme includes the sixth edition of MERCI, La Meseta’s laboratories, the European Film Academy’s Sound Chapter, Ópera Prima ESCAC, and activities dedicated to short films and audiovisual heritage.
• MERCI will present Otilio García Gobeo with the José Luis Cienfuegos Award in recognition of his career at the helm of Cines Golem and Golem Distribución.
• The Women Journalists’ Meeting will explore Cienfuegos’s legacy and the profession’s current challenges.

The 71st edition of SEMINCI  is expanding its industry programme with events focusing on distribution and exhibition, project development, the creative process behind sound, film journalism, short films and audiovisual heritage.

MERCI Champions Independent Cinema with More Than 200 Industry Professionals

The Independent Film Market — MERCI will hold its sixth edition from 28 to 30 October at Cines Broadway in Valladolid. The market will exclusively present 26 titles to cinema exhibitors, with releases scheduled between late 2026 and the first half of 2027. This initiative, organised by SEMINCI and the Association of Independent Film Distributors (ADICINE), will bring together more than 200 professionals from distribution, exhibition and the wider audiovisual industry. The programme will also feature a roundtable on the sector’s challenges, titled Cinemas, Distributors and Platforms: Working Together for Audiences, alongside the presentations A Licence to Discover: AI, Agentic Search and Cinema’s Next Audience, organised in collaboration with Europa Cinemas, and Towards Accessible Cinema with GRETA App.

The José Luis Cienfuegos Award will honour Otilio García Gobeo for his contribution to independent cinema through exhibition, as well as his work at the helm of Cines Golem and Golem Distribución, championing key filmmakers such as Lars von Trier, Aki Kaurismäki, Roy Andersson, Christian Petzold, Takeshi Kitano and Michael Haneke, among others.

La Meseta Supports Eight Short Films and Seven Feature Film Distribution Campaigns

The second edition of La Meseta will develop two strands of activity. The Short Film Creation and Development Lab, organised in collaboration with the European University Miguel de Cervantes (UEMC) and coordinated by Dirdira Lab, will hold its latest edition from 27 to 29 October. Eight projects, selected from more than 150 submissions, will take part in mentoring sessions and masterclasses covering directing, production, cinematography and screenwriting.

Meanwhile, La Meseta: Distribution Lab, taking place on 29 and 30 October, has selected seven distribution campaigns for independent feature films scheduled for commercial theatrical release. Their teams have worked with industry professionals on distribution and promotional strategies and will present their projects to a jury. The awards, worth a total of €9,000, will be presented on 30 October during the closing event of MERCI.

Women Journalists’ Meeting Explores the Present and Future of the Profession

On Monday, 26 October, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Patio Herreriano Museum will host the Women Journalists’ Meeting, organised in collaboration with RTVE and CIMA. The event will feature two panel discussions and two case studies examining the evolution of film journalism, working conditions, equality and editorial independence.

The first panel, The Legacy of José Luis Cienfuegos: Festivals That Make Us Think About Cinema, will reflect on the role of film festivals as meeting places for filmmakers, audiences and journalists. Participants will include Chusa L. Monjas, Head of Communications at the Spanish Film Academy; Conxita Casanovas, director of RNE’s Va de cine and the BCN Film Fest; Yolanda Flores, director of RNE’s De película; and Marta Medina, film critic for El Confidencial, screenwriter and director. This will be followed by the case study Equality with a Critical Eye: Tools to Transform the Audiovisual Industry, presented by Mercedes de Pablos and Beatriz Aparicio, respectively, from RTVE’s Equality Observatory.

The second panel, Who Tells the Story of Cinema Today? Challenges Facing Film Journalism, will bring together Begoña Donat, a freelance journalist specialising in comprehensive communications for cultural organisations; Jara Yáñez, director of Caimán Cuadernos de Cine; Eulàlia Iglesias, journalist and professor at Universitat Rovira i Virgili; and Begoña Piña, film critic and journalist at Público. The programme will conclude with a presentation of Filmtopia: How to Create and Sustain a Media Outlet Dedicated to Films Made by Women, led by its founder and director, Marta Armengou.

European Film Academy Brings Its Sound Chapter to Valladolid

The European Film Academy will bring members of its Sound Designers Chapter to Valladolid for the first time. The chapter brings together sound professionals and works to increase the visibility of their creative contribution to cinema. The gathering will encourage the exchange of professional experiences and practices, as well as foster connections between specialists from across Europe and Spain. Participants will include Axel Arft, a member of the sound team behind Wim Wenders’s Wings of Desire; Silvia Moraes, a frequent collaborator of Paolo Sorrentino on films including The Hand of God, Youth and Parthenope; Daniela Bassani, a sound professional in Italian cinema and winner of the David di Donatello Award for Io Capitano; Krzysztof Stasiak, whose credits include recent Polish films such as Tricks, Mammalia and In the Name of…; and Tarn Willers, winner of the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Sound for The Zone of Interest.

They will all take part in the public event The Art of Listening: Great Sound Designers of European Cinema, on Tuesday, 27 October, at 12:30 p.m. in the Hall of Mirrors at Teatro Calderón.

Ópera Prima ESCAC Presents Eight Projects to Mark Its 20th Anniversary

The ESCAC Ópera Prima Lab will participate in SEMINCI for the first time, coinciding with its 20th anniversary. On Tuesday, 27 October, it will present seven feature films and one series developed at the school to industry professionals. This year, Camionero and Salen las lobas will premiere at the festival. Both titles, along with their filmmakers, have previously taken part in the lab, which has also supported the debut feature films of directors such as Mar Coll, Kike Maíllo and Elena Trapé.

Short Film Networking Brings Filmmakers Together

On Thursday, 29 October, at 12:00 p.m., the Patio Herreriano Museum will host the Short Film Networking event, bringing together participants from La Meseta’s Creation and Development Lab, AFTER ECAM and SEMINCI Factory with industry professionals and the short filmmakers selected for the 71st edition of SEMINCI. The event strengthens Seminci’s longstanding commitment to short films and its mission to discover and support emerging talent. It will include a talk on distribution by Jorge Rivero, from Aguilar Film Festival, as well as the presentation of the ALÍA post-production awards and the Impulso ECAM awards for projects participating in La Meseta.

DOCMA Invites Audiences to Rethink Access to Audiovisual Archives

To mark National Audiovisual Heritage Day, DOCMA, the Spanish Documentary Film Association, will organise the panel Looking Again: Archives and Cinema, dedicated to access to and the reuse of archival materials in film production, particularly documentary filmmaking. Participants will include Virginia Bazán-Gil, Director of Archives at RTVE; Marian del Egido, Director of the Carlos Saura Film Collection Conservation and Restoration Centre at Filmoteca Española; and Alberto Pascual, director and member of DOCMA’s Archives Working Group. The session will be moderated by Irene Cardona, filmmaker and president of DOCMA. The event will take place on Friday, 30 October, at 12:00 p.m. at the Patio Herreriano Museum.