The Seminci – Valladolid International Film Festival will unspool its 70th edition from 24 October-1 November with a line-up that examines global conflicts from a humanist perspective. Boasting 224 titles (including 29 world and 103 national premieres), it will sketch a powerful portrait of contemporary geopolitical tensions. As its director, José Luis Cienfuegos, underlined at a recent presentation in Madrid, the festival cements its vocation as a showcase for humanist cinema, reaffirming its commitment to stories that challenge audiences’ conscience.

The Official Selection, comprising 28 features, gathers some of the most highly respected filmmakers on the international scene, including, from Cannes, the Dardenne brothers with Young Mothers [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Luc e Jean-Pierre Dardenne
scheda film] (winner of Best Screenplay), Bi Gan with Resurrection [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] (Special Jury Prize), Sergei Loznitsa with Two Prosecutors [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Sergei Loznitsa
scheda film], Lav Diaz with Magellan [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], Christian Petzold with Mirrors No. 3 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Christian Petzold
scheda film], Nadav Lapid with Yes [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] and Kelly Reichardt with The Mastermind. Meanwhile, arriving from Venice are Gianfranco Rosi with Below the Clouds [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Gianfranco Rosi
scheda film], Special Jury Prize; Ildikó Enyedi with Silent Friend [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Ildikó Enyedi
scheda film]; László Nemes with Orphan [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: László Nemes
scheda film]; and Pietro Marcello with Duse [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Pietro Marcello
scheda film].

Alongside them are fresh faces such as Mascha Schilinski with Sound of Falling [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Mascha Schilinski
scheda film], Jury Prize winner at Cannes; Gabriel Mascaro with The Blue Trail [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], Grand Jury Prize at Berlin; Shih-Ching Tsou, producer for Oscar winner Sean Baker, with Left-Handed Girl [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film]; Harry Lighton with Pillion [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film]; and actors Kristen Stewart with The Cronology of Water [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] and Shu Qi with Girl (out of competition); plus Chinese director Huo Meng with Living the Land, Best Director at the Berlinale; US filmmaker Eva Victor with Sorry, Baby, rewarded at Sundance; Japanese filmmaker Hikari with Rental Family; and Argentina's Ramiro Sonzini and Ezequiel Salinas with La noche está marchándose ya.

These will be joined by the already-announced Spanish titles (see the news) as well as the feature-length directorial debut by Rafael Cobos, Golpes (see the news), and David Trueba’s latest film, Siempre es invierno (see the news), which will close the out-of-competition strand.

Meanwhile, the ever-stimulating Punto de Encuentro sidebar consolidates its status as a space for discovering new talent, with 20 international titles joining the Spanish selection (see the news). This section will feature films such as Palestine 36 [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Annemarie Jacir; I Only Rest in the Storm [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Pedro Pinho
scheda film] (Best Actress in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard) by Pedro Pinho; Heads or Tails? [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Alessio Rigo de Righi e Ma…
scheda film], a spaghetti western orchestrated by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis; Gavagai [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Ulrich Köhler; and On the Road (Orizzonti Best Film and Queer Lion at Venice) by David Pablos, among others.

On the industry front, the festival will bring the European film sector together from 27 October-1 November around a comprehensive slate of professional activities. The new edition of the Independent Film Market (MERCI) will gather around 200 distribution and exhibition professionals, who will get a first look at forthcoming arthouse releases over the course of three days. The meeting will include a joint session with the Europa Cinemas network on subscription models, and the market’s closing ceremony will host the La Meseta Distribución Awards, which for the first time will recognise the best promotional campaigns for movies released by independent distributors.

In parallel, from 29 October-1 November, the Patio Herreriano will host the Europa Cinemas Audience Development and Innovation Lab under the title “Designing the Cinemas of the Future”, where European exhibitors will work on strategies in the fields of digital marketing, programming and sustainability.