The Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival (FICX), running from 14-22 November, is offering a rich and varied line-up in which its Albar and Retueyos official competitions take centre stage. The former is dedicated to masters of contemporary arthouse cinema, while the latter focuses on discovering bold, fresh voices on the international scene.

In Albar, three of the festival’s most beloved filmmakers return to the Asturian city: South Korean director Hong Sang-soo with What Does that Nature Say to You, where he explores the latent tensions that surface during a family gathering; Romanian helmer Radu Jude with Kontinental '25 [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], a real-estate satire rewarded at Berlin; and French filmmaker Valérie Donzelli with At Work [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Valérie Donzelli
fiche film], the Venice-lauded portrait of a successful photographer who abandons everything in order to devote himself to his true vocation - writing. Alongside them, leading indie filmmakers Richard Linklater and Ira Sachs will take part with their new movies, Blue Moon [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] and Peter Hujar's Day [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film], respectively.

(L'article continue plus bas - Inf. publicitaire)

Joining them, Belgian director Laura Wandel cements her auteur style with her second feature, Adam's Sake [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Laura Wandel
fiche film], a humane, moving tale about care and bureaucracy; French helmer Léonor Serraille will present Ari [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Léonor Serraille
fiche film], her third film, a portrait of a young teacher in the throes of an existential crisis; and her compatriot Stéphane Demoustier directs The Great Arch [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Stéphane Demoustier
fiche film], about the architect who created the Grande Arche de La Défense in Paris. Fellow French director Anna Cazenave Cambet is bringing along her second feature, Love Me Tender [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Anna Cazenave Cambet
fiche film], the story of a woman who loses custody of her son after confessing to her ex-husband that she is in relationships with women; German filmmaker Frédéric Hambalek is taking part with his sophomore outing, What Marielle Knows [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Frédéric Hambalek
fiche film]; and Iranian director Ali Asgari returns with Divine Comedy [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film], a satire about bureaucracy and censorship in his country. The selected first features are Reedland [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] by Dutch helmer Sven Bresser, a movie about the latent evil lurking in the most unsuspected places; the dazzling The Girl in the Snow [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Louise Hémon
fiche film] by France’s Louise Hémon, winner of the Jean Vigo Prize; Anemone [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] by Ronan Day-Lewis, toplined by his father, Daniel Day-Lewis; and Omaha by US filmmaker Cole Webley.

As for the Spanish participants, the section will feature the (co-)productions Emergency Exit, a moving tribute by Catalan director Lluís Miñarro to late actress Marisa Paredes; The Dashed Lines by Anxos Fazáns; Nothing Personal by Javier Marco, a feature-length adaptation of his short film Face to Face; And So the Night Fell by Ángel Santos (see the news); and To the West, in Zapata [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], the debut feature by David Bim.

For its part, the Retueyos competition, devoted to the most ground-breaking voices, will host titles such as one of the most impressive debuts of the year, Wind, Talk to Me [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Stefan Đorđević
fiche film] by Serbian director Stefan Djordjevic, winner of the Heart of Sarajevo; the Locarno-awarded hybrid film White Snail [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Elsa Kremser et Levin Peter
fiche film] by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter; the US comedy Magic Farm by Spanish-Argentinian filmmaker Amalia Ulman; the Cannes-screened titles A Light That Never Goes Out, the debut by Finnish helmer Lauri-Matti Parppei, and Love Letters [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] by French director Alice Douard; and the Asturian production Plaza Mayor, directed by Marcos M Merino, among others.

Lastly, among the festival’s many other strands, we once again find the Semilleru industry days, aimed at professionals in the sector and organised in co-production with the Asturias Paraíso Natural Film Commission. This year, the programme focuses on directing and production workshops, round-table discussions on new narratives and audiovisual trends, and talks on legal aspects and co-production opportunities, among other topics. It also hosts the regular project laboratory, Semilleru Lab.