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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Valérie Donzelli
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Joining them, Belgian director Laura Wandel cements her auteur style with her second feature, Adam's Sake [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laura Wandel
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intervista: Léonor Serraille
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intervista: Stéphane Demoustier
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intervista: Anna Cazenave Cambet
scheda 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Frédéric Hambalek
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intervista: Louise Hémon
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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 [+leggi anche:
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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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stefan Đorđević
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intervista: Elsa Kremser e Levin Peter
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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.