SEMINCI amplifies women’s voices in the film industry with a programme of meetings, exhibitions and concerts

• On 22 October, the University of Valladolid will host the encounter of Women Filmmakers on the theme ‘What happens when women speak up’.
• Activities include the exhibition ‘Traces and Fugues’. Spanish cinema at SEMINCI and the series of meetings with filmmakers Thinking about cinema.

Valladolid, 9 October 2024. The processes of film creation will play a fundamental role in the activities organised as part of the 69th edition of SEMINCI. Talks open to the public with filmmakers, professional meetings and exhibitions will explore, from 18 October, the innovative forms and artistic crossroads facing cinema today. Alongside the pedagogical approach, the programme will include a programme of activities with the aim of extending the Festival’s presence outside the cinemas.

On 22 October, the University of Valladolid will host the meeting of Women Filmmakers on the theme ‘What happens when women speak up? The transformative power of women in film, both creatively and organisationally’. This initiative aims to create a favourable, intergenerational and multidisciplinary environment for female professionals in the industry to share their experiences and collectively build new perspectives. A space that seeks to amplify women’s voices and aspires to influence the discussion agendas.

The meeting, open to the public for the first time, inherits the spirit of the Women Filmmakers Forum held at SEMINCI for seven years. It is structured into two round tables and a series of presentations on case studies. Entitled The Future of Independent Filmmaking: Challenges for the Next Generation, the technical roundtable, co-organised with ECAM Industry, proposes an intergenerational dialogue in which producers Sara de la Fuente (Por donde pasa el silencio), Silvia Fuentes (O corno), Marisa Fernández Armenteros (Cinco lobitos, Un amor) and María Luisa Gutiérrez (Padre no hay más que uno) will contrast their visions and experiences with a focus on the future and the transformation generated by women producers.

The creative round table, co-organised with the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA), will feature the participation of directors Icíar Bollaín (Soy Nevenka), María Herrera (Cuento de una noche de verano), Almudena Carracedo (No estás sola) and the actress and intimacy coordinator Tábata Cerezo. They will debate on new perspectives on consent and sexual violence in fiction and documentaries. Creative processes and representation.

At the same time, SEMINCI audiences will have the opportunity to attend encounters included in the Thinking About Cinema space. This cycle aims to become a platform for enrichment and exchange open to all, where the participants can delve deeper into the creative process, promote knowledge about film as a craft, and hear the voices of key filmmakers who come to SEMINCI to present their work. These dialogues, moderated by members of the festival’s programming team, will include Tracie Laymon, Tyler Taormina, Carson Lund and Sarah Friedland (Salón de los Espejos del Teatro Calderón, Monday 21); Diego Luna, Ray Loriga and Santiago Maza (Paraninfo Uva, Wednesday 23); Alexander Horwath, Kamal Aljafari and Maria Choustova (Salón de los Espejos del Teatro Calderón, Friday 24), and Spanish short filmmakers (Teatro Calderón, Friday 25). The meetings are open to the public until full capacity is reached.

Two publications will also be presented on 25 October: the Festival’s publication Mirror of Passions. German Cinema, the 1970s and the 21st Century: Modern/Contemporary, coordinated by Carlos Losilla, and Caimán Cuadernos de Cine, and El tema de Lara. Words on cinema in Cartelera Turia, written by Fernando Lara (who directed SEMINCI between 1984 and 2004) and published by Vial Books. The director and member of the jury Helena Wittmann and director Thomas Arslan will take part in the presentation of the book on German cinema, which will be held, like the one dedicated to Fernando Lara, in the Salón de Espejos of the Teatro Calderón.

Exhibition Traces and Fugues. Spanish cinema at SEMINCI

Behind every film project programmed at the Valladolid International Film Festival lies a vast task of production, documentation, research and creative and technical effort to make it a reality. In order to give greater visibility to 17 Spanish films included in the Official Section, Time of History and Alchemies, the 69th edition inaugurates the exhibition Traces and Fugues. Spanish cinema at SEMINCI. Curated by the set designer and visual artist Ramón Isidoro and the director of SEMINCI, José Luis Cienfuegos, it brings together documents, costumes, posters, storyboards and other objects related to the production or filming of Mar Coll‘s Salve María and Carlos Marques-Marcet‘s Polvo serán. It proposes an intimate approach to the imaginations and creative thinking of the Spanish filmmakers present at this edition, with a view to becoming an event that will be repeated at subsequent editions. It can be visited in the exhibition hall of the San Benito Tourist Office from 15 October to 3 November.

SEMINCI at midday and at night

After the success of last year’s edition, SEMINCI is once again teaming up with Cervezas Alhambra to offer an exciting evening programme during the course of the festival. A unique musical experience that will become an intergenerational meeting point for guests and fans to share a festive atmosphere with good music, beyond the darkness of the cinemas. From 18 to 26 October, the entertainment venues Kafka, Bizarro and Desierto Rojo will offer a programme of concerts and DJ sessions, which will start when the screenings end, at midnight.

During the weekends (Saturday 19, Sunday 20 and Saturday 26 October), SEMINCI has organised three vermouth sessions to start the film season with a light musical aperitif in front of the Kafka and Bizarro venues, near the Teatro Calderón. With the support of Bendito Vermut, visitors and locals will be able to enjoy free of charge the 90s rock band Doctor Explosion and DJ Pablo Pueblo.

Activities aimed at professionals

If, with concerts, exhibitions and talks open to the public, SEMINCI aims to invite spectators to experience the Festival outside the cinemas, the 69th edition also aims to become a meeting point for the Spanish film industry. Thus, the ECAM Incubator will participate in MERCI Valladolid, which is held as part of SEMINCI Industry, offering a pitching space to local distributors participating in the market. The programme, aimed at emerging producers, directors and screenwriters living in Spain, offers filmmakers in training the opportunity to receive specialised advice, mentoring and the necessary resources to develop their film projects. In recent years, this initiative has promoted films such as O Corno, by Jaione Camborda, Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Festival, and 20,000 Species of Bees, by Estíbaliz Urresola.

SEMINCI, in collaboration with the Castilla y León Film Commission and Valladolid City of Film, also supports the talent of Castilla y León by organising a meeting between the directors and screenwriters of ten pre-selected projects with producers with experience in the audiovisual industry. Emerging creators will also be able to apply for the Castilla y León New Talent/ Open ECAM Award, an initiative jointly promoted by the ECAM and SEMINCI, in collaboration with the Aguilar Film Festival, to provide resources and the necessary support to young short filmmakers to carry out their projects.

Press contact:

983 42 64 60

prensa@seminci.com