An Honorary Spike for the versatility of Blanca Portillo

The protagonist of Paula Ortiz’s latest film, Teresa, which will have its world premiere at the 68th Seminci, joins the gallery of awards in an edition that mainly highlights female talent, with distinctions for Charlotte Rampling, Nathalie Baye and Kiti Mánver

It is not the first time she visits Valladolid, nor, it would be desirable, will it be the last. But on this occasion the Seminci is responsible for the visit of Blanca Portillo. Valladolid International Film Festival will present her with an Honorary Spike with which it applauds the versatility of an actress who has the approval of the critics and the public for her prolific work both on stage and on the big screen.

Winner of the Goya Award for Maixabel (2021), by Iciar Bollain; Best Female Performance Award at Cannes for Volver (2006), by Pedro Almodóvar, and Silver Shell at San Sebastián for Siete mesas de billar francés (2007), by Gracia Querejeta, Portillo has become an essential name in the national acting scene, with the added endorsement in the stage field of her five MAX Awards or the recent Corral de Comedias Award at the Almagro International Classical Theater Festival.

With the award to Blanca Portillo, the Seminci completes its gallery of honorary prizes in an edition in which the Honorary Spikes are mostly awarded to great actresses of different nationalities.

The British Charlotte Rampling, with a hundred films to her credit that have earned her awards such as the honorary César (2001), the European Film Award, the Silver Bear, or the Oscar nomination for 45 years, for which she won Best Actress at the Seminci, will receive her own at the closing of the 68th Seminci, coinciding with the special screening of Juniper (Matthew Saville).

The screening of The Green Room (François Truffaut) will be the backdrop for a tribute to Nathalie Baye, the French actress who has won four César awards, the Volpi Cup in Venice and the Silver Shell in San Sebastian, among many other awards, and who will meet with the audience.

On the Spanish side, in addition to Blanca Portillo, Kiti Mánver -starring in Patricia Ortega’s Mamacruz, selected in the Official Selection- will receive her Honorary Spike. She is another all-rounder in acting who has combined the small and big screen with the stage and has worked with directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Fernando Colomo, Fernando Trueba, Martín Patino, Álex de la Iglesia and José Luis Garci.

In addition, the Gourmet Cinema section will serve as a framework for the presentation of an Honorary Spike to the Leonese winemaker Raúl Pérez, one of the most prestigious winemakers in the world, who achieved 100 Parker points for the first time with Viariz La Muria 2021, his new creation in El Bierzo, a milestone that only twenty wines in Spain have reached.