03/11/2025 - The Mastermind and Magellan are joint winners of the top prize at the Valladolid International Film Festival

The 70th edition of the Seminci - Valladolid International Film Festival closed last Saturday with its gala ceremony, where the jury of the Official Section awarded the Golden Spike to the latest The Mastermind, feature films by American director Kelly Reichardt, and Magellan, [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] the new work by Filipino master Lav Diaz. The jury – composed of Elena López Riera, Laurentina Guidotti, Serge Toubiana, João Pedro Rodrigues and Mihai Chirilov – noted that awarding the top prize to two films is not unprecedented in the history of Seminci, having occurred three times in its seven decades: 1963, 1971 and 1984.

The Silver Spike went to Silent Friend, [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile] by Ildikó Enyedi, who also won the Green Spike Award for her “comforting view of a world in crisis,” according to the jury's statement. The Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director was presented to Argentine filmmakers Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini for La noche está marchándose ya. In the acting category, the winners were Eva Victor, for her role in Sorry, Baby, which she also directed, and Harry Melling for Pillion [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Harry Lighton, because both “brilliantly sustain two bittersweet dramas full of touches of humour, humanise these films and bring out their emotional core, transforming the cinematic experience into the pure pleasure of sensitive storytelling,” according to the jury.

The jury also gave a special mention to the trio of non-professional actors Lionel Corral Bernal, Lionel Corral and Alicia Corral Bernal, stars of the Spanish road movie Lionel, by Carlos Saiz. The award for Best Cinematography went to Christopher Blauvelt for The Mastermind, while Fernando Franco and Begoña Arostegui received the Miguel Delibes Award for Best Script for their work on the feature film directed by Franco, Subsuelo, described by the jury as “a time bomb full of shocking twists and silent revelations that skilfully defies audience expectations”. Finally, Nili Feller received the José Salcedo Award for Best Editing for her work on Yes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a film directed by Nadav Lapid, which the jury described as “both a puzzle and a mental challenge”.

In the Meeting Point section, the jury — composed of Ivette Liang, Federico Luis and Adrián Orr — chose I Only Rest In The Storm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Pinho
film profile], by Portuguese director Pedro Pinho as the winning feature film. The jury highlighted its “exercise of freedom and rebellion in challenging formulas and fears so common in today's film industry” and its ability to reflect on “the historical power relations between Europe and its colonies through the body, desire and contradictions of its protagonist”.

The Special FUNDOS Award in this category went to the Spanish film Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabriel Azorín
film profile], by Gabriel Azorín, praised for “offering a view of masculinity from a perspective of tenderness and vulnerability, with a formal and emotional freedom that turns every moment into an experience of discovery.” In addition, Belgium's Alexe Poukine won the new ESCAC Award for Best Director of a First or Second Film for Kika [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile], while the jury also gave a special mention to France's Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile], by Pauline Loquès.

The list of winners:

Feature Film Competition

Golden Spike (ex aequo)
The Mastermind - Kelly Reichardt (United States)
Magellan [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Lav Diaz (Portugal/Spain/France/Philippines/Taiwan)

Silver Spike
Silent Friend [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile] - Ildikó Enyedi (Germany/Hungary/France)

Ribera del Duero Award for Best Director
Ezequiel Salinas, Ramiro Sonzini - La noche está marchándose ya (Argentina)

Best Actor
Harry Melling - Pillion [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Ireland/United Kingdom)

Best Actress
Eva Victor - Sorry, Baby (United States)

Special Mention
Lionel Corral Bernal, Lionel Corral, Alicia Corral Bernal – Lionel (Spain/France)

Miguel Delibes Award for Best Script
Fernando Franco, Begoña Arostegui – Subsuelo (Spain/Uruguay)

Best Director of Photography
Christopher Blauvelt - The Mastermind

José Salcedo Award for Best Editing
Nili Feller - Yes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Israel/Cyprus/Germany)

Short Film Competition

Golden Spike for Best Short Film
Living Stones - Jakob Ladányi Jancsó (Hungary)

Silver Spike (ex aequo)
Dog Alone - Marta Reis Andrade (Portugal/France)
No Skate! - Guil Sela (France)

Best European Short Film
Mercy - Hedda Mjøen (Norway)

Night of the Spanish Short Film Award
Casi septiembre - Lucía G. Romero (Spain)
Special Mention
Abortion Party - Julia Mellen (Spain)

Short Film from Castilla y León
Darshan - Alberto Allica (Spain/United Kingdom)

Movistar Plus+ Short Project
El cuerpo en cuestión - María Herrera

Meeting Point

Meeting Point Award
I Only Rest In The Storm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Pinho
film profile] - Pedro Pinho (Portugal/France/Romania/Brazil)

ESCAC Award for Best Director of a First or Second Film
Alexe Poukine – Kika [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] (Belgium/France)

Special Mention
Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile] - Pauline Loquès (France)

Special Fundos Award
Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabriel Azorín
film profile] – Gabriel Azorín (Spain/Portugal)

Alchemies

Grand Prize
Bulakna [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Leonor Noivo (Portugal/France)

Special Mention
Memory of Princess Mumbi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damien Hauser
film profile] - Damien Hauser (Kenya/Switzerland/Saudi Arabia)

Time of History

Grand Prize
Cara a cara – Federico Veiroj (Uruguay/Argentina)

Special Mention
Memory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladlena Sandu
film profile] – Vladlena Sandu (France/Netherlands)

Special Mention
Notes of a True Criminal - Alexander Rodnyansky, Andriy Alferov (United States/Ukraine)

Other Awards

Audience Award Official Section
Hamnet [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Chloé Zhao (United Kingdom/United States)

Audience Award Meeting Point
A Sad and Beautiful World [+see also:
film review
interview: Cyril Aris
film profile] - Cyril Aris (Lebanon/United States/Germany/Saudi Arabia/Qatar)

Pilar Miró Award to Best Spanish Director
Lucía Aleñar – Forastera [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Spain/Sweden/Italy)

DOC Award. Spain
Yrupẽ [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Candela Sotos (Spain)
Special Mention
Los Cangrejos - Rubén Seca (Spain)

Seminci Youth Award
Good Boy [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Jan Komasa (Poland/United Kingdom)

Young Jury Award Official Section
The Blue Trail [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil/Mexico/Chile/Netherlands)

Young Jury Award Meeting Point
Wild Foxes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valéry Carnoy
film profile] - Valéry Carnoy (Belgium/France)

Rainbow Spike Award
Between Dreams and Hope - Farnoosh Samadi (Iran)

Green Spike Award
Silent Friend – Ildikó Enyedi
Honourable Mention
Hair, Paper, Water [+see also:
film review
interview: Trương Minh Quý
film profile] - Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy (Belgium/Vietnam)

FIPRESCI Award
Two Prosecutors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] – Sergei Loznitsa (France/Germany/Netherlands/Latvia/Romania/Lithuania)

(Translated from Spanish)