- The winner of the Toronto International Film Festival’s International Audience Award, starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, will screen on October 26 at the Miguel Delibes Cultural Center
- PTA’s new film, a portrait of musician Cameron Winter at the Carnegie Hall, rounds out the Time of History section, which will feature 18 nonfiction titles
- The Official Section will also include, out of competition, The Electric Kiss by Pierre Salvadori; The Weight by Padraic McKinley, starring Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, and Julia Jones; and A Talent for Murder by Anton Corbijn, starring Helen Mirren, Olivia Cooke, and Alden Ehrenreich
- Among its special screenings, SEMINCI will present Andrew Patterson’s new film, The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey, and El ladrón de la noche, the feature film debut of Spanish director G. Hernández
The 71st edition of SEMINCI will host the Spanish premiere of Elsinore, the new film by Australian director Simon Stone (The Daughter, The Dig), which will be screened out of competition in the Official Selection on October 26 at the Miguel Delibes Cultural Center. Starring Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers, Ripley) and Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown), the film is inspired by the true story of Scottish actor Ian Charleson and his portrayal of Hamlet at the National Theatre in London. Following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the International Audience Award, SEMINCI audiences will be the first in Spain to see it.
Set in 1989, the film tells the story of how Charleson agreed to play Hamlet in the production directed by Richard Eyre. Internationally known for his role as Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire, the actor faced the challenge of preparing to play one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters while battling AIDS, the disease that would ultimately claim his life in January 1990, at the age of 40. The cast also includes Billie Piper (Doctor Who), Luke Thompson (Dunkirk, Bridgerton), Peter Mullan—winner of the Best Actor Award at the 43rd SEMINCI—and Adeel Akhtar (Ali & Ava). With a screenplay by Stephen Beresford (Pride), the film combines the creative process behind the staging of Hamlet with the story of Charleson and those who were with him during his final months.
Along with this highly anticipated screening, the 71st SEMINCI will also host the Spanish premiere of Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall, the new film by Paul Thomas Anderson, which will be presented in the Time of History section following its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. The American filmmaker transforms the concert given by musician and singer Cameron Winter—leader of the band Geese and one of the most distinctive voices on the new New York music scene—at Carnegie Hall on December 11, 2025, into a cinematic experience. Alone at a Steinway piano, Winter performs a repertoire of extraordinary intensity while Anderson films the concert in 16- and 35-mm formats. The film thus joins the 17 non-fiction feature films already announced for the Time of History section of the 71st SEMINCI.
Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, and Helen Mirren
Three new films expand the Official Out-of-Competition Section, including The Weight. The debut feature by Padraic McKinley—producer and director of series such as Kingdom and Debris—stars Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Blue Moon), Russell Crowe (Academy Award for Best Actor for A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator), and Julia Jones (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Dexter: New Blood), and is set during the Great Depression. It follows a man who, separated from his daughter and confined to a labor camp, finds an opportunity to regain his freedom through a dangerous gold smuggling operation.
Anton Corbijn, the acclaimed music video director for Depeche Mode and U2, as well as a photographer and director of films such as Control—a biopic about Ian Curtis, the frontman of Joy Division—and The American, directs A Talent for Murder, based on the play by Joanna Murray-Smith. Helen Mirren—Oscar winner for Best Actress for The Queen—plays Patricia Highsmith, who receives a visit at her Swiss retreat from a young literary agent determined to get her to write a new Tom Ripley novel. The encounter turns into a game of seduction, manipulation, and power. Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) and Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) round out the cast.
The Official Out-of-Competition Section will also feature The Electric Kiss by Pierre Salvadori (The Trouble with You, Wild Target), a comedy set in 1928 Paris that opened last year’s Cannes Film Festival. It follows a painter who has lost his inspiration following the death of his wife and turns to a medium to contact her, setting off a web of deception and misunderstandings.
Two family stories in the Special Screenings
The Rivals of Amziah King, Andrew Patterson’s second feature film following The Vast of Night, will be part of the Special Screenings. Matthew McConaughey—Oscar winner for Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club—stars in this story set in Oklahoma, which combines music, rural landscapes, and elements of the Western genre, centered on Amziah King, a beekeeper and musician, and his foster daughter Kateri. Beneath its guise as a heartwarming family story, the film introduces a threat that jeopardizes their economic and emotional stability.
The selection is rounded out by El ladrón de la noche, a documentary by G. Hernández about rapper Elio Toffana and his relationship with his grandmother Tina, who has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. This intimate portrait of their family life offers insight into the origins of his artistic creation and the importance of memory. The documentary features appearances by Las Ninyas del Corro, Santiago Zannou, Juan Dávila, Recycled J, Govea, El Langui, Okuda, Emilio Delgado, and Arón Piper, as well as Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, the film’s executive producer.
- Elsinore, by Simon Stone
- The Weight, by Padraic McKinley
- Talento para matar, by Anton Corbijn
- El arte del engaño, by Pierre Salvadori
- Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall, by Paul Thomas Anderson
- The Rivals of Amziah King, by Andrew Patterson
- El ladrón de la noche, by G. Hernández