The 66th edition of Seminci kicks off with a carpet full of stars

Valladolid is dressed for film. The 66th edition of its International Film Festival, Seminci, has started this Saturday 23rd October 2021 with an opening carpet along which several of the most representative faces of the films that can be seen in this edition strolled. Big names and stars from the world of show business, media, politics and, of course, the seventh art, have helped the city to welcome its most cinephile week, from the vicinity of Calderón Theatre, soon to host the Opening Gala and the screening of the opening feature film, Libertad [Freedom], by Clara Roquet.

Festival Director, Javier Angulo, Mayor Óscar Puente and the Valladolid City Councillor for Culture, Ana Redondo, welcomed those who walked along the green carpet outside the Calderón Theatre to the expectation and applause of film lovers and media representatives. Actresses Ana Morgade and Eva Marciel, hostesses of the opening gala of the International Film Festival, were among the first to make an appearance. The members of Trío Caracol, responsible for the melodic entertainment in the opening ceremony of Seminci 2021, stood out because of their costumes and their closeness to the Festival.

Several Spike award winners also paraded along the carpet: actors such as Eduardo Blanco, Javier Godino, Clara Lago and Oscar Martínez, as well as producer Gerardo Herrero, were among the honorees this year; Argentine filmmaker Juan José Campanella, who will receive the Spike of Honour this year along with Vittorio Storaro, Mercedes Sampietro, Álex de la Iglesia, José Luis Alcaide, Jose Coronado and Emilio Gutiérrez Caba.

Among the guests of honour from the political sphere on the carpet it is also worth mentioning Indian ambassador, Sanjay Verma, and the Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto.

A Cinema Celebration

Among the people working on both in-competition and out-of-competition films, few were as eagerly awaited as the crew of A Forbidden Orange, TCM’s documentary about the Spanish premiere of A Clockwork Orange (as part of the Valladolid Seminci), featuring legendary actor Malcolm McDowell. Also representing the documentary were director Pedro González Bermúdez and the then head of the Film Festival, Carmelo Romero.

The main group of stars were the cast of La Club Virginia, a documentary about the 1992 film that brought to Valladolid its director, Manuel Iborra, costume designer, Helena Sanchís, and actors Antonio Resines and Emma Suárez, the godmother of the 66th edition of Seminci. We also saw director Pan Nalin, responsible for the film in competition in the Official Section Last Film Show, as well as two Spanish filmmakers present in the Spanish Cinema section: David Martín de los Santos, of La vida era eso [Life was That], and Javier Marco, of Josefina, a film also represented by actor Roberto Álamo.

Two of the great national proposals this year also appeared on the Green Carpet outside Calderón Theatre; Las consecuencias [The Consequences], represented by director Claudia Pinto and the actress María Romanillos; and Libertad [Freedom], the opening film of the 66th edition of Seminci, which received on the carpet its director, Clara Roquet, and the actresses María Morera, Vicky Peña, Carol Hurtado and Nicolle García.

Among the professionals in front of and behind the cameras was the crew of the film Hasta el alba [Until Dawn], represented by director Horacio de Alcalá, the head of the National Dance Company, Joaquín de Luz, and actress Aida Folch, could also be seen. Another star-studded line-up, that of the production Pan de limón con semillas de amapola, graced the festival with the presence of actresses Eva Martín and Elia Galera, accompanied by director Benito Zambrano.

The Judges’ Carpet

Several of those who will be responsible for the sentencing at the end of the 66th Seminci also paraded outside Calderón Theatre. Among the International Jury members, those responsible for the awarding of Spikes and deciding on the main list of winners at the 2021 Seminci, was a Festival regular, Indian director Deepa Mehta; presiding over a team that also includes actress Marta Etura, journalist Elsa Fernández Santos, producer Alberto García Ferrer and artistic director Javier Porta Fouz. Another jury, that of Castilla Leon in Short Film, followed in the footsteps of their counterparts in the Official Section: actresses Sara Rivero and Estefanía Luyk and director and producer Roberto Lozano.

Similarly, the juries for the Meeting Point and Time of History sections were announced. For the former, Romina Paula, Farnoosh Samadi and José Luis Montesinos; and for the latter, María Silvia Esteve, Antonio Delgado Liz and Abraham Domínguez; two groups responsible for the recognition that Seminci will award to the first and second films of emerging filmmakers and the best non-fiction works made in the last year, respectively.

The DOC.Spain jury, was made up of a trio of men: Héctor Domínguez, Ignacio Acconcia and Manuel Menchón. In addition, the most recent jury at Seminci, in charge of awarding the Rainbow Spike, this year made up of Lucien Burkel, Roberto F. Canuto, David Lagunilla, Yolanda Moreno and Mónica Tranque.

Dressing the Stars

As forfashion on the green carpet, the designers present were Ainhoa Salcedo, César González de las Heras, Ernesto Terrón, Irene de la Cuesta, Natacha Arranz, Patricia Tascón, Natalia Esgueva Soto, Sandra Postigo, Esther Noriega, Baro Lucas, Mireia González, Alejandro Maíllo and Ana María Rincón Canaán. The jewellery and accessory designs were the work of Antonio Zúñiga, Kiko Contreras, Toska, Marola Varela, Francis y Teo. In the union between cinema and fashion it is worth mentioning the collaboration of shops Raúl Barthe, Raquel Castaño and Jaime Valentín.