Why José Luis Cienfuegos is putting young audiences at the heart of Valladolid festival week

The 70^th edition of Seminici, the Valladolid International Film Week, is showcasing international independent films to Spanish audiences, distributors and exhibitors.

Most of Spain’s leading distributors will be in town, alongside Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, public regional TV companies, platforms Movistar Plus+ and Filmin, and programmers.

“Valladolid has cemented its position as a platform for the distribution of independent cinema in Spain, thanks to its programming, substantial monetary awards and our independent market, Merci,” suggests festival director José Luis Cienfuegos. 

This year’s event is screening 225 films - 15 more than last year. The official selection is showcasing 25 titles in competition and four out-of-competition. 

The total prize pot stands at €214,000. While the top two awards – the Golden and Silver Spikes – remain unchanged, with the Spanish distributors of the winning films receiving €70,000 and €25,000 respectively, the Meeting Point strand for first and second features is receiving a boost. There are now three awards in the section, with a total sum of €45,000 – almost double the €23,000 on offer when Cienfuegos became director three years ago. 

Cienfuegos is excited by the buzz among the Spanish independent distribution scene for the films in the Meeting Point strand. “More than half of the films [in Meeting Point] have already been bought by Spanish distributors, five of them having been confirmed in the last month,” he says.

As of the beginning of the festival, 80% of the films in the official selection had secured Spanish distribution. 

Meanwhile, a new award will be presented in the fifth edition of Merci, the market hosted with Adicine (the Association of Independent Spanish Distributors). It will recognise the best distribution and marketing campaign, as an independent jury selects three winners from a shortlist of eight, which will receive €10,000, €5,000 and €5,000 respectively. 

Platform

Following the Spanish box-office success of films such as The Brutalist and A Real Pain, as well as Armand and Bob Trevino Likes It, which were all showcased at the Seminici in 2024, this year features a similarly strong international lineup, boosted by the late addition of Chloe Zhao’s awards hopeful Hamnet.

“It’s one of the many films that is very likely to attract a wide audience in Spain, alongside Harry Lighton’s Pillion, the Dardenne brothers’ Young Mothers and Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend,” Cienfuegos predicts.

Mubi, which is starting to launch a theatrical arm in Spain, has Below The Clouds and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind  both in competition; the latter will be released in Spain immediately after the festival on October 31. No date has yet been set for Below The Clouds.  

(Though not in Valladolid, Mubi is going on to release Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love on November 14, and  Park Chan-Wook’s No Other Choice on January 16.)

 Of the rest of the programme, Cinefuegos adds: “I am proud to have key names of independent cinema like Sergei Loznitsa, Pietro Marcello, Ildikó Enyedi and Bi Gan, to name a few, taking central stage.” 

Audiences

Encouraging young audiences to be excited about cinemagoing is central to Cienfuegos’ programming of the festival.

”One of the strategies beyond the films we programme has been strengthening the bonds with film schools, which are now very much involved,” he explains. “This year, over 500 students are coming. We are also giving an honorary award to two schools: Madrid-based ECAM and ESCAC in Catalonia. It will be given every year to a school, organisation, lecturer or mentor involved in film studies.”

Last year, the festival garnered 100,000 admissions, a rise of 15% since 2022. In that time, box office revenues have shot up by 40%.

The Valladolid International Film Week runs from October 24-November 1.

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